Readings assigned for each class session are given in the following table.
Duckworth = Duckworth, William. Talking Music: Conversations with John Cage, Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson and 5 Generations of American Experimental Composers. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 1999. ISBN: 9780306808937.
Ford = Ford, Andrew. Composer to Composer: Conversations About Contemporary Music. Australia, Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin, 1994. ISBN: 9781863734431.
Griffiths = Griffiths, Paul. Modern Music and After: Directions Since 1945. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2007. ISBN: 9780198165118.
New sounds = Griffiths, Paul. New Sounds, New Personalities: British Composers of the Nineteen Eighties. London, UK: Faber & Faber, 1985. ISBN: 9780571100613.
Rockwell = Rockwell, John. All American Music: Composition in the Late 20th Century. New York, NY: Vintage/Knopf Publishing Group, 1984. ISBN: 9780394722467.
Schwartz and Childs = Schwartz, Elliott, and Barney Childs. Contemporary Composers on Contemporary Music. 2nd ed (reprint). Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 1998. ISBN: 9780306808197.
Schwartz and Godfrey = Schwartz, Elliott, and Daniel Godfrey. Music Since 1945: Issues, Materials and Literature. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth, 1993. ISBN: 9780028730400.
Simms = Simms, Bryan. Composers on Modern Musical Culture. New York, NY: Schirmer Books, 1999. ISBN: 9780028647517.
| LEC # | TOPICS | Readings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Welcome Ritual Reading of the Syllabus Overview | |
| Prelude: 1900-1960 | ||
| 2 |
Expressionism and Serial Technique Arnold Schoenberg: Pierrot lunaire (1912), Variations for Orchestra (1928) Alban Berg: Five Orchestral Songs (Altenberg-Lieder) (1912), Wozzeck (1922), Lulu (1935) Anton Webern: Slow Movement for String Quartet (1905), Six Bagatelles for String Quartet (1913), Piano Variations (1936) | |
| 3 |
Primitivism, Neoclassicism, Mavericks Igor Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring (1913), The Rake's Progress (1951) Maurice Ravel: Le tombeau de Couperin (1917) Béla Bartók: Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta (1936) Olivier Messiaen: Quatuor pour la fin du temps (1940) Edgard Varèse: Hyperprism (1923) | |
| 4 |
Electronics and Other Developments after World War II Pierre Boulez: Structures I (1952), Le marteau sans maître (1954) Karlheinz Stockhausen: Gesang der Jünglinge (1956), Zyklus (1959) Edgard Varèse: Poème électronique (1958) Iannis Xenakis: Metastasis (1954) | |
| Unit One: Order and Entropy | ||
| 5 | Pierre Boulez: Pli selon pli [Fold upon Fold] (1957-62) Ralph Shapey: Incantations (1961) Luigi Nono: Canti di vita e d'amore (1962) Igor Stravinsky: Requiem Canticles (1965-66) | Griffiths. pp. 70-99 and 104-115. Schwartz and Godfrey. pp. 78-106. Rockwell. pp. 60-70 (Shapey). Simms. pp. 145-151 (Boulez). |
| 6 | Donald Martino: Notturno (1973) Elliott Carter: A Mirror on which to Dwell (1975) Iannis Xenakis: Pleïades (1979) Charles Wuorinen: Capriccio (1981) | Ford. pp. 1-9 (Carter). Griffiths. pp. 53-59 (Carter); 91, 198 (last paragraph), and 200 (Xenakis). Rockwell. pp. 37-46 (Carter). Schwartz and Childs. pp. 261-273 (Carter), and 367-375 (Wuorinen). Simms. pp. 227-234 (Carter). |
| 7 | Karlheinz Stockhausen: Samstag [Saturday] (1981-83) from Licht [Light] Brian Ferneyhough: Intermedio alla ciccona (1986) Pierre Boulez: Sur incises (1996-98) | Ford. pp. 17-28 (Boulez), 137-146 (Stockhausen), and 147-155 (Ferneyhough). Griffiths. pp. 244-248 (Stockhausen's Licht), and 294-303 (Ferneyhough). New sounds. pp. 65-83 (Ferneyhough). Schwartz, and Childs. pp. 379-383 (Stockhausen), and 469-480 (Ferneyhough). Schwartz and Godfrey. pp. 466-67. |
| Unit Two: Mavericks | ||
| 8 | Krzysztof Penderecki: Threnody (1960) György Ligeti: Atmosphères (1961) Witold Lutoslawski: Trois poèmes d'Henri Michaux [Three poems by Henri Michaux] (1963) Karel Husa: Music for Prague (1968) Giacinto Scelsi: Khoom (1962) Harry Partch: And on the Seventh Day Petals fell in Petaluma (1964) | Griffiths. pp. 100-101, 134-136, and 254-256. Schwartz and Childs. pp. 209-220 (Partch), and 388-402 (Ligeti). Schwartz and Godfrey. pp. 181-191. |
| 9 | George Crumb: Ancient Voices of Children (1970) György Kurtág: Messages of the Late R.V. Trussova (1976-80) Harrison Birtwistle: Secret Theatre (1984) | Ford. pp. 51-59 (Birtwistle). Griffiths. pp. 162 (Crumb), 281-288 (Kurtág), 218-221, and 320-324 (Birtwistle). Schwartz and Godfrey. pp. 233-235 (Ancient Voices...), and 428-429 (just the paragraph on Kurtág). |
| 10 | Conlon Nancarrow: Selected Studies for Player Piano György Ligeti: Selected Études for Piano Solo (1985-) Henri Dutilleux: Mystère de l'instant (1989) Harrison Birtwistle: Selected movements from Harrison's Clocks (1997-98) | Duckworth. pp. 29-51 (Nancarrow). Griffiths. pp. 100-03, and 276-281. Schwartz and Godfrey. pp. 176 (Nancarrow). |
| Unit Three: New Sounds, New Technologies | ||
| 11 | John Cage: Aria (1958) Milton Babbitt: Phonemena (1969-70) Luciano Berio: Sequenza III (1966) Mario Davidovsky: Synchronisms no. 3 (1965) Mario Davidovsky: Synchronisms no. 6 (1970) | Duckworth. pp. 3-28 (Cage), and pp.52-93 (Babbitt). Ford. pp. 171-184 (Cage). Griffiths. p. 69 (Babbitt), pp. 140-147 (Stockhausen), and pp. 191-194 (Berio). Rockwell. pp. 25-36 (Babbitt), and pp. 47-59 (Cage). Schwartz, and Childs. pp. 243-250* (Babbitt), and 335-348 (Cage). Schwartz and Godfrey. pp. 120-134 (survey of electronic music, ca. 1960-1985), and pp. 411-412 (Cage). Simms. pp. 160-167 (Cage), and 152-159* (Babbitt). *These are the same essay by Babbitt ("Who cares if you listen?/The composer as specialist"). |
| 12 | Paul Lansky: Six Fantasies on a Poem by Thomas Campion (1978-79) Pierre Boulez: Répons (1981-84) George Benjamin: Antara (1985-87) Mario Davidovsky: Synchronisms no. 9 (1988) | Griffiths. pp. 310-312 (Benjamin), and 318-320 (Boulez). New sounds. pp. 22-30 (Benjamin). Schwartz and Godfrey. pp. 342-369 (survey of computer music), and pp. 445-446 (Benjamin). |
| 13 | Kaija Saariaho: Noa noa (1992) Jonathan Harvey: Song Offerings (1985) Tristan Murail: Allégories (1989) Joan La Barbara: Shamansong (1992) John Oswald: Plunderphonic Richard D. James (a.k.a. Aphex Twin): Selected pieces arranged for chamber orchestra | Griffiths. pp. 248-249 (Murail). New sounds. pp. 46-53 (Harvey). Schwartz and Godfrey. pp. 425 (Saariaho), and 444 (Harvey). |
| Unit Four: Quotation and Polystyle | ||
| 14 | Stockhausen: Hymnen (1966-67) Luciano Berio: Sinfonia (1968) Peter Maxwell Davies: Eight Songs for a Mad King (1969) | Griffiths. pp. 160-170 (Quotation, Berio, Stockhausen). Schwartz and Godfrey. pp. 230-232 (Davies), 242-262 (collage and quotation), and 375-378 (Berio). Simms. pp. 182-187 (Berio). |
| 15 | The Beatles: Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) Leonard Bernstein: Mass (1971) HK Gruber: Frankenstein!! (1971-78) William Bolcom: Songs of Innocence and Experience (1981-84) | Schwartz and Godfrey. pp. 259 (Gruber), and 306-307 (Bernstein). |
| 16 | Alfred Schnittke: String Quartet no. 3 (1983) John Harbison: November 19, 1828 (1988) John Zorn: Cat-o'-nine-tails (1988) Osvaldo Golijov: Ayre (2004) | Griffiths. pp. 252-254 (Schnittke). Schwartz and Godfrey. p. 472 (Schnittke). |
| Unit Five: The Minimalist Impulse | ||
| 17 | Terry Riley: In C (1964) Steve Reich: Music for 18 Musicians (1976) Philip Glass: Einstein on the Beach (1976) John Adams: Shaker Loops (1978) King Crimson [Robert Fripp et al.]: Discipline (1981) Laurie Anderson: United States, parts I-IV (1981) | Ford. pp. 61-67 (Reich). Griffiths. pp. 209-214 and 260-263 (Reich). Rockwell. pp. 109-122 (Glass), and pp. 123-132 (Anderson). Schwartz and Childs. pp. 421-424. Schwartz and Godfrey. pp. 315-341. |
| 18 | Henryk Górecki: Symphony no. 3 (1976) Louis Andriessen: De staat (1972-74) Arvo Pärt: Berlin Mass (1992) John Adams: Nixon in China (1985-87) | Ford. pp. 79-85 (Andriessen). Griffiths. pp. 274-276, 267, 289 (Adams), and 309. Schwartz and Godfrey. pp. 429-431 (Górecki, Pärt), and 436 (Andriessen). |
| 19 | Meredith Monk: Atlas (1987-91) Michael Torke: Adjustable Wrench (1987) Elena Ruehr: Shimmer (1994) Julia Wolfe: Lick (1994) Evan Ziporyn: Partial Truths (1997) John Adams: On the Transmigration of Souls (2002) Brian Robison: The Congress of the Insomniacs (2003) | Griffiths. pp. 274-275 (minimalism). Schwartz and Godfrey. pp. 338-339 (Torke). |
| Unit Six: The Persistence of Tonality | ||
| 20 | Dimitri Shostakovich: String Quartet no. 8 in C Minor (1960) Benjamin Britten: War Requiem (1961) George Rochberg: String Quartet no. 3 (1972) David Del Tredici: Final Alice (1976) Joan Tower: Petroushskates (1980) Joan Tower: Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman (1986) | Rockwell. pp. 71-83 (Del Tredici). Schwartz and Childs. pp. 403-407 (Rochberg). Schwartz and Godfrey. pp. 263-288 ("The resurgence of tonality"), and 382-385 (Del Tredici). Simms. pp. 190-197 (Rochberg). |
| 21 | John Harbison: Mirabai Songs (1982) Stephen Albert: Symphony: RiverRun (1983) Astor Piazzolla: Hora cero (1965), Sex-tet (1989) Ellen Taafe Zwilich: Clarinet Quintet (1990) John Corigliano: Symphony no. 1 (1990) | Ford. pp. 11-16 (Zwilich). Simms. pp. 198-205 (Harbison). |
| 22 | Libby Larsen: Marimba Concerto: After Hampton (1992) Aaron Jay Kernis: Still Movement with Hymn (1993) Tan Dun: Ghost Opera (1994) Jennifer Higdon: Running the Edge (1996) Peter Child: Fantasia (2003) Charles Shadle: The Penny Ballad of Elvious Ricks (2005) | |
| Unit Seven: Agora | ||
| 23-26 | Student Presentations of Term Papers | |
| Final Exam | ||