FALL 2016 Newberry Seminars Picturing America: Art in the United States Arts, Music, and Language from the Colonial Period to the Civil War From Bach to Brahms: New Skills for Wednesdays, 11 am - 1 pm From Bach to Brahms: New Skills for Enhanced Listening September 14 - October 26 Enhanced Listening Tuesdays, 2 - 4 pm This seminar will explore early American art September 13 - November 8 from the colonial period to the Civil War, (class will not meet October 11) decades of dramatic upheaval that witnessed the Everyone can have a new and enriched experi- birth of a new nation, Western expansion, and Everyone can have a new and enriched experi- a rapidly changing society. Sessions will focus ence with each visit toto thethe concertconcert hall.hall. BelieveBelieve itit or not, one’s listening skills can be improved with on visual analysis of works of art, as well as or not, one’s listening skills can be improved with discussions of primary and secondary sources that just pen and paper.paper. ThisThis coursecourse resemblesresembles “Music“Music 101,” but with a novel twist: the visualization of illuminate the historic and cultural context of the 101,” but with a novel twist: the visualization of works’ production. Artists to be discussed include thematic material. OurOur journeyjourney willwill provideprovide anan overview of J.S. Bach and the Baroque, Haydn Copley, West, Homer, and individuals associated overview of J.S. Bach and the Baroque, Haydn with the Hudson River School. Information and Mozart as representatives ofof thethe ClassicalClassical period, Beethoven as the bridge to Romanticism, about first readings will be sent upon registration. period, Beethoven as the bridge to Romanticism, Seven sessions, $220. and Brahms—whoBrahms – who combinescombines Classical,classic, romantic, Romantic, and modern all in one.one. PleasePlease listenlisten toto Bach’sBach’s Patricia Smith Scanlan holds a PhD in American art Brandenburg Concertos, Concertos, Nos. Nos. 2 and 2 and3 for 3 thefor thefirst from Indiana University, serves as an adjunct lecturer firstclass. class. Eight Eight sessions, sessions, $240. $240. at the Art Institute of Chicago, and has taught at Stephanie Ettelson, who has been well-known for her DePaul University and the Newberry. Stephanie Ettelson, who has been well-known for her pre-concert lectures and classes on symphonic and cham- ber music for more than four decades, brings a unique The Birth of Modern Art: Impressionism to Now perspective to “The Art of Listening,” incorporating Wednesdays, 2 - 4 pm her background as an orchestral and chamber music September 14 - October 5 violinist, arts writer, and music reviewer. violinist, arts writer, and music reviewer. In this four-week course, we will explore how and why the modernist art movement developed Music of the Belle Époque Music of the Belle Époque in late-nineteenth-century France and spread to Tuesdays, 2 - 4 pm the rest of the world, leaving a host of “ism’s” September 13 - November 22 (Post-Impressionism, Cubism, Surrealism) in its (class will not meet October 11) wake. We will examine not only the world of Every era in music history has produced works fine arts, but also how broader cultural, political, Every era in music history has produced works industrial, and economic changes have created that stir our souls, but perhaps none more so than the Belle Époque. This class will provide and perpetuated revolutionary and exciting than the Belle Époque. This class will provide a artistic developments. Four sessions, $160. looka look into into the the music music of ofthe the astonishingly astonishingly creative periodcreative in period Paris thatin Paris succeeded that succeeded the Franco- the Judy Pomeranz, art critic and advisor, has written PrussianFranco-Prussian War and War the andParis the Commune. Paris Commune. The and lectured extensively on art history topics. She has BelleThe Belle Époque Époque was was a sublime, a sublime, artistic artistic moment moment delivered lectures at the Smithsonian Institution and has that introduced music by some of the greatest given tours of museum exhibitions around the country. European composers to the Parisian public and to She is also the published author of two novels and the world, including Stravinsky, Ravel, Debussy, many short stories. de Falla, Strauss, Respighi, Fauré, Saint-Saëns, and many more. Ten sessions, $270. and many more. Ten sessions, $270. Art and Politics Stephen Kleiman, a composer and orchestra conductor Stephen Kleiman, a composer and orchestra conductor Thursdays, 2 - 4 pm in Europe and former music director of the National September 15 - October 27 Chamber Orchestra in Washington, DC, holds a BS (class will not meet October 13) degree from the Mannes College of Music and an MM in music composition from the University of Michigan. The 2016 election season offers an opportunity in music composition from the University of Michigan. to explore the historical links between art and His compositions have been performed all over the world, and he has taught at the Newberry since 2008. politics by considering artworks produced in world, and he has taught at the Newberry since 2008. Europe and America from the Renaissance to the present. Themes to be considered include the From Beau Brummell to Cary Grant: The Dandy From Beau Brummell to Cary Grant: The Dandy visual display of power, art and social protest, and the Evolution of Modern Masculinity and the Evolution of Modern Masculinity artists’ responses to war and revolution, public Tuesdays, 2 - 4 pm art and politics, and art and identity politics. September 13 - November 1 Six sessions, $200. (class will not meet October 11) (class will not meet October 11) Margaret Farr is an art historian who has worked at The “dandy” has been a figure in Western social the Art Institute of Chicago for over 18 years and has life and culture for over two centuries. Beyond taught at the Newberry, St. Xavier University, and his choices in style and fashion, the dandy Columbia College. creates a persona by playing with notions of individuality, gender, sexuality, and social class. This seminar will explore the many facets and Musical Interpretation: The Keys to Accessing This seminar will explore the many facets and Great Performances types of the dandy, concentrating on the figure’s heyday in nineteenth-century literature and Thursdays, 2 - 4 pm heyday in nineteenth-century literature and September 15 - November 17 visual culture and examining its echoes on the modern stage and screen. Seven sessions, $220. In this seminar, we will address issues that Jeffrey Nigro is a research associate in the Depart- perplex most music listeners: What makes a Jeffrey Nigro is a Research Associate in the Depart- great performance? What should we expect ment of Ancient and Byzantine Art and an Adjunctadjunct lecturer at the Art Institute of Chicago. of the performer? Why do we find some Lecturer at the Art Institute of Chicago. performances incredible, while performances of William Phillips taught English as a second/foreign William Phillips taught English as a Second/Foreign the same pieces by different musicians fall flat? Languagelanguage for for 35 35 years years in in the the U.S., U.S., Saudi Saudi Arabia, Arabia, Often, the emotions we feel while listening to a and Japan. performance influence our assessment of its artistry. Over the course of ten sessions, we structured and colorful music embodied an will look at ways to understand how emotional extreme departure from tradition—one of the reactions factor into the interpretation of music. movement’s defining tenets. While it is debatable Ten sessions, $270. whether Maurice Ravel can be considered an Impressionist, he is often yoked with Debussy, Stephen Kleiman (see bio previous page). and we will examine him as an antipode to Debussy’s style. Works by figures as disparate Andiamo in Italia: An Italophile’s Travel Course as Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Igor Stravinsky, Thursdays, 5:45 - 7:45 pm Pierre Boulez, and others would not have September 15 - November 17 been possible without this powerful stylistic movement. Eight sessions, $240. There are many passiones—fine art, architecture, music, film, fashion, gastronomy, or shopping John Gibbons, teacher of piano, composition, music —that can capture an Italophile’s imagination. theory, and a variety of music appreciation classes for This course is intended for those who have adults, holds a PhD in music composition from the prior experience traveling in Italy or studying University of Chicago. John is a long-time instructor at the language. Our classroom role-play of real- the University of Chicago Graham School. life travel situations and our practice of high- frequency language patterns will prepare you for Music, Aesthetics, and Ideology in a more enjoyable and authentic exploration of Cultural History Italian language and culture. Ten sessions, $270. Wednesdays, 2 - 4 pm Susan Pezzino, a lifelong Italophile and former United September 21 - November 9 States Fulbright Scholar, holds an MA in applied Some musical masterpieces are relevant not linguistics and works as a professional language teacher only because of their musical elements but also and multimedia curriculum designer in Chicago. because of their cultural significance. Such works illuminate key moments in history—moments Dinner Parties Gone Wrong when music played an especially important Thursdays, 6:15 - 7:45 pm role—from the Reformation through the Soviet September 15 - November 3 Revolution, to Nazi Germany. Each week, this Throughout history the dinner party has course will analyze a different masterpiece and traditionally been conceptualized as the height examine its contemporary aesthetics, ideology, of etiquette, civility, and decorum. Perhaps this and cultural history. Compositions to be analyzed is why so many novelists and filmmakers use it musically include Palestrina masses, symphonies as a forum for precisely the opposite: uncouth by Beethoven and Shostakovich, and tone poems debauchery, anarchic subversion, and all-around by Smetana, Scriabin, and Richard Strauss.