Music 554 Music Literature: Orchestral Orchestral Literature Fall Semester 2013 MW 1:00-1:50, Music Room 261 Course Syllabus Instructor: Prof. Michael Gerdes Office: Music 222 Phone: (619) 594-4681 Office Hours: By Appointment E-mail: mgerdes@mail.sdsu.edu Final Date: Dec. 13 COURSE DESCRIPTION This course is an historical, philosophical, and analytical investigation of the modern-day symphony orchestra. We will trace the roots of the development of the form that has come to be known as the symphony and study representative examples of orchestral repertoire. Each class will focus on a different time period, genre, or geographical area of orchestral composition. Students will be asked to: Analyze compositions for aesthetic value, compositional elements, and historical background Demonstrate basic understanding of compositional form, instrumentation, pedagogy, and rehearsal/performance practices Develop methods and values that will critically evaluate compositions Read, analyze, and study musical scores This course provides a survey of orchestral literature from the birth of the orchestra to the present day, focusing on history, innovations, developments, the changing roles of orchestral instruments, performance style and techniques, and the compositional philosophies of the composers studied. LEARNING OUTCOMES Students who complete the course will: Be able to elucidate the broad outlines of the history of orchestral music. Be able to identify style periods (Classical, Romantic, 20 th Century) visually and aurally. Be able to demonstrate detailed knowledge of a series of representative compositions. Be able to identify the compositional style characteristics of composers studied in class. Be able to discuss relevant historical, social and aesthetic developments. Have an improved ability to identify orchestral music both aurally and visually. Have an improved ability to develop and articulate independent interpretations of orchestral works. PREREQUISITE Music 205B with a grade of C (2.0) or better.
GRADING Final grades will be based on the following scale: 20% Presentation(s) 50% Research Paper 10% Initial Draft 40% Final Copy 15% Critical Reflection Writing/Responses 15% Participation* *I take class participation grades seriously. Keeping quiet in class deprives your colleagues of your perspectives and stifles dialogue. Only those who consistently contribute to class discussions will receive full marks. COURSE POLICIES Attendance is taken in the first five minutes of class. If a student arrives to class after attendance has been taken, it is the student s responsibility to notify the instructor of their presence after class. Students arriving after attendance has been taken will be counted as tardy. Each unexcused tardy is counted as one half of an unexcused absence. Come to class on time and prepared. Bring your textbook and course reader every day. All electronic devices, including MP3 players, cellular telephones, and pagers, must be turned off or in silent mode during class. CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM I welcome and encourage you to discuss course materials and concepts with your colleagues. However, all evaluated work for this course (including homework, quizzes, and exams) is expected to be the sole production of each individual student, unless otherwise directed by me. If after due consideration, I am convinced that cheating or deliberate plagiarism has occurred on some homework, quiz, or exam, then the offending student will receive zero credit. Further, the student s action will be referred to the proper administrator for consideration. SDSU POLICY STATEMENTS Please familiarize yourself with SDSU s Student Conduct Policies at the university website: http://www.timdunn.biz/sdsu/university-policies/availability-of-information.html REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS and MATERIALS Due to the unique approach to this class, as well as the overall scope of this course, no single text (or even a set of resource recordings) can be utilized to cover everything that we will discuss. Much of the material will be brought together from a variety of sources. As such, you are required to purchase one text and one course reader packet for the class. 1. Stedman, Preston. The Symphony, 2d ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1992. 2. Course Reader *available in the SDSU Bookstore 3. One score of an orchestral work. Each student will choose a score (with teacher approval) and provide an analytical guide for the work. This analysis will be presented to the class. Most scores can be purchased online and may be available in the SDSU library.
SEMESTER SCHEDULE Week Days Topic Reading Assignment Due 1 (8/26) W Course Overview None 2 (9/2) W Origins of Orchestral Music 1-16 (Listening Assgnmt. TBD) Critical Reflection 1 3 (9/9) M/W Rise of the Symphony 17-41 (Listening Assgnmt. TBD) Critical Reflection 2 4 (9/16) M/W 19 th Century Symphonists Part 1 41-62 (Listening Assgnmt. TBD) Critical Reflection 3 5 (9/23) M/W 19 th Century Symphonists Part 2 Handouts (Listening Assgnmt. TBD) Critical Reflection 4 6 (9/30) M/W Beethoven 63-96 (Listening Assgnmt. TBD) Critical Reflection 5 7 (10/7) M/W Beethoven Part 2 Handouts (Listening Assgnmt. TBD) Critical Reflection 6 8 (10/14) M/W Romantics 96-159 (Listening Assgnmt. TBD) Critical Reflection 7 9 (10/21) M/W Romantics Part 2 159-238 (Listening Assgnmt. TBD) Critical Reflection 8 10 (10/28) M/W Presentations (tentative) None Analytical Guide 11 (11/4) M/W 20 th Century Symphonists 238-349 (Listening Assgnmt. TBD) Critical Reflection 9 12 (11/11) M/W Orchestral Lit in the Community/Classroom 349-417 (Listening Assgnmt. TBD) Critical Reflection 10 13 (11/18) M/W Alternate Forms Handouts (Listening Assgnmt. TBD) Critical Reflection 11 14 (11/25) M Individual Appts. to discuss initial draft of paper None Initial Draft Due 15 (12/2) M/W The Concerto Handouts (Listening Assgnmt. TBD) Critical Reflection 12 16 (12/9) M/W 21 st Century Literature Handouts (Listening Assgnmt. TBD) Critical Reflection 13 Final Final Paper None Final Paper Due This syllabus is subject to change at the teacher s discretion.
PRESENTATIONS AND FINAL PAPER The Presentation Each student, after conferring with me, will prepare an analytical guide for a work of their choosing (or a portion of that work). These analyses will be presented to the class. Students will be expected to form original, specific, and substantive ideas concerning the work in question and present those ideas before the class. The presentation may evolve into the final research paper. The Paper Students will write a research paper based on an orchestra work of their choosing. The paper will set forth an original, conjectural reading of some aspect of a symphonic work (or portion thereof) and defend that reading using appropriate analytical, critical, and scholarly methodologies. The paper will incorporate extensive research from the current scholarship in the areas of performance practice, theory, analysis, and historical context. Students will submit an initial draft of the paper and meet with me to discuss the initial draft before submitting the final version. When choosing musical works for the presentation and paper, the only blanket restriction is that necessary materials (score and recording) must be made available to the class. Students will consult me when choosing a work and before the presentation. Other than that, you have great freedom. If choosing a work covered in class, the presentation and paper must focus on aspects of that work not discussed in class. You need not limit yourself to works with symphony in the title, and you may choose works that are not purely instrumental however the focus should always be on the orchestral writing within a work. You may focus on an entire work, or on just a few measures. I am amenable to topics that are off the beaten path. The idea is choose an approach that will serve your own needs.
WORKS COVERED IN CLASS WILL BE CHOSEN FROM THE FOLLOWING: Corelli, Trio Sonata in f minor, Op. 3, No. 9 Bach, Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Vivaldi, Concerto Grosso in a minor, Op.3, No. 8 Handel, Overture from Messiah Pergolesi, Sinfonia to L Olimpiade Sammartini, Symphony in C Stamitz, Sinfonia a 8 Haydn, Symphony No. 6 Mozart, Symphony No. 29 Mozart, Symphony No. 40 Haydn, Symphony No. 104 Beethoven, Symphony No. 3 Beethoven, Symphony No. 7 Schubert, Symphony No. 8 Mendelssohn, Symphony No. 4 Schumann, Symphony No. 1 Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique Liszt, Faust Symphony Brahms, Symphony No. 1 Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 4 Bruckner, Symphony No. 4 Dvorak, Symphony No. 7 Franck, Symphony in D Strauss, Alpine Symphony Mahler, Symphony No. 5 Ives, Symphony No. 4 Sibelius, Symphony No. 4 Shostakovich, Symphony No. 5 Rachmaninov, Piano Concerto No. 2 Beethoven, Triple Concerto Berg, Violin Concerto Bartok, Concerto for Orchestra Debussy, La Mer Stravinsky, La Sacre du Printemps Strauss, Four Last Songs Ravel, La Valse Copland, Appalachian Hymn Bernstein, West Side Story Adams, Harmonielehre Messiaen, Turangalila-Symphonie Stockhausen, Gruppen Kurtag, Stele Adés, Asyla