Music 352: Beethoven and the Myth of Beethoven Spring 2008: T-R (2:30-3:45) Steve Saunders Office: 229 Bixler Phone: x5677; e-mail: sesaunde Class Home Page: http://www.colby.edu/music/saunders/MU352/ Office Hours: Tuesdays 9:00-9:50 and by appointment, but feel free to drop by any time! Overview Music 352 is a close study of Beethoven, his music, and the music culture of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Europe. We will deal with the relationship between life and works; analytical and interpretive questions surrounding major compositions; criticism; and performance practice. The course will also consider Beethoven reception—the uses and meanings that have attached to Beethoven’s music in the years since his death. Textbook Purchases • Maynard Solomon, Beethoven, 2nd ed, New York, 1998. • Nicholas Cook, Beethoven: Symphony No. 9, Choral, Cambridge, 1993. • Beethoven, Symphony No. 9 (score), New York, 1990. • Beethoven, Complete Concertos in Full Score, New York, 1984 • Coursepacks for MU 352 (public domain scores) Class Home Page http://www.colby.edu/music/saunders/MU352 The web page contains links for many of the asssignments, streaming audio files, resources for papers, and supplementary links. Most reserve readings are available as e-reserves from the library catalog. Requirements and Evaluation Your grade in Music 352 will be based on: 1. Class participation (10%) Regular class attendance is required. Since this is a small class with significant student involvement, you should notify me in advance if you will miss a class. Many classes will be conducted as seminars, for which you will have presentations to prepare. Short assignments, preparation of musical performances, and brief oral reports on additional readings will also be part of the class participation component. See the attendance policy, below. 2. The score on two hour exams (30%) 3. Grade on 2 written papers/projects (30%) Research Basics of a Single Piece/Bibliography/Annotated Bibliography Analytical Paper on the Eroica Variations 4. Final Seminar Paper and Presentation (30%) Details TBA Attendance Policy Regular attendance is required, and unexcused absences are not permitted. You may miss two class meetings for routine illness, emergencies, athletic conflicts, etc. without penalty— provided that you notify me as soon as possible of your absence. Each absence beyond two lowers the semester grade by 5 percentage points. 2 Music 352: Course Syllabus DATE TOPICS ASSIGNMENT (To be completed before each class) Th Feb. 7 Exploring Beethoven: An Introduction ______________________________________ to Beethoven Sources T Feb. 12 The Mythic Beethoven: History, R: Solomon, Beethoven, Introduction, Ch. 1-2, and pp. 63-68; Biography, and Reception Comini, The Changing Image of B., 13-18 Burnham, NG2, ¶. 19. 1-2, “History of the Myth” Cook, Music: A Very Short Intro, 18-29 Taruskin, Oxford History, 670-71 L: Piano Quartet, WoO 36, no. 3 Th Feb. 14 Beethoven’s World R: Solomon, Ch. 3-4, and pp. 68-73 Lockwood, Beethoven, 26-31; 35-38 Cooper: Beethoven Compendium, 58-65; 142- 50 Dahlhaus, Ludwig van Beethoven, 1-3 L: Cantata Emperor Joeseph II (excerpts, 24957) T Feb. 19 Beethoven Myths redux: Research “Search” Due R: Solomon, Ch. 15 Screening of Imortal Beloved Sloane, A Multipl Choice Quiz, class will run until 4:45 Rothstein, “How Can a Movie Be So Wrong” Lockwood, “Film Biography as Travesty” Anon.: Reactions to Immortal Beloved L: An die ferne Geliebte Th Feb. 21 Beethoven as Pianist: Early Sonatas Bibliography Search Due R: Solomon Ch. 6-7, pp. 127-31; 137-41 and Concertos New Grove 2, ¶ 11, “The Three Periods” Kinderman, The Piano Music, 111-113. Stanley, “Genre Aesthetics and Function” Newman, Beethoven on Beethoven, 76-80 L: Op. 2, no. 1 (I-II); Op. 13, Pathétique T Feb. 26 Toward the New Path: R: Solomon Ch, Ch. 8 (105-117); Ch. 9; (138-41) Lockwood, Reshaping the Genre Transformation in the Piano Sonata L: Op. 27 no. 1; Op. 31, no. 2 Opp. 26-31 Th Feb. 28 Beethoven Hero: The Eroica R: Solomon, Ch. 11-12; 250-55 Burnham, Beethoven Hero,Ch. 1 L: Eroica I, II, III; Op. 26, III T March 4 Two Eroica Variations R: Solomon, p. 247; reread 130-131 Sipe, “Eroica,” pp. 11-29 Dahlhaus, Ludwig van Beethoven, 171-73 L: Eroica IV, Eroica Variations, Op. 35 Th March 6 The 5th Through the Eyes of Topic and Annotated Bibliography Due R: Solomon, 264-67 Beethoven’s Contemporaries Kinderman, “Beethoven,” 126-130 Forbes, “Symphony No. 5,” 150-56; 186-94 Wallace, "Beethoven’s Critics," 126-34; 142-43 L: Symphony #5 (Video M1001 B4 A2 2002b) 3 T March 11 The Waldstein and Appasionata R: Solomon, 255-56 Lockwood, 280-98 Sonatas Rosen, Classical Style, pp. 396-400 Rosen, Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas, 180-86 L: Waldstein and Appasionata Sonatas Th March 13 Orpheus in Hades: Marx, Narrative Paper on Eroica Variations or Egomnt Due R: Solomon, 259-63 Structures and Hermeneutics Lockwood, 241-45 Jander, Beethoven’s Orpheus in Hades Jander, Orpheus Revisited Plantiga, Concertos, 185-94 L: Piano Concerto #4 T March 18 Exam #1 ______________________________________ Th March 20 Egmont Overture and More on R: Solomon, 273-74 Burnham, Beethoven Hero, 112-46 Narrative without Characters Lockwood, 252 L: Egmont Overture March 22-30 Spring Break ______________________________________ T April 1 Fidelio Screening R: Solomon, 256-59 Johnson, “Fidelio,” from NG Opera Th April 3 Order and Disorder in the Ninth R: Solomon,294-96; 331-42; 343-58 Cook, Beethoven’s 9th, vii-x, 1-25, 26-34 Symphony Levy, Beethoven, The 9th Symphony, 89-93 L: Symphony #9 T April 8 Whose Ninth? R: Solomon, 354-58; Cook, Beethoven’s 9th, pp. 65-105 L: Symphony #9 (finale again) Th April 10 The Ninth in Performance R: Cook, Beethoven’s 9th, pp. 48-64 Taruskin, Resisting the 9th Norrington, “Taking Music Off the Pedestal” L: Symphony #9 (selected recordings) T April 15 Late Style: Op. 111 R: Solomon, 391-99 Dahlhaus 202-06; 219-20 Taruskin, “Letting Go” Cooper, “The Last Decade,” 195-204 L: Op. 109, Op. 111, Th April 17 No Class ______________________________________ T April 22 Late Style II: String Quartet, Op. 135 R: Solomon, 391-99 L: Op. 135 Th April 24 Beethoven and Violence R: McClary, “Getting Down off the Beanstalk” L: Symphony #9; Genesis II T April 29 Beethoven at Large R: New Grove 2, Beethoven ¶19.2-3 Burnham, 4 Ages of Beethoven in Cambridge Dennis, Beethoven at Large L: TBA Th May 1 Exam #2 ______________________________________ May 3-4 Performances of Mass in C ______________________________________ T May 6 Seminar Presentations Draft of Seminar Paper Due Th May 8 Seminar Presentations ______________________________________ 4 Comini, The Changing Image of Beethoven: A Study in Mythmaking (New York, 1987). 5 .