The Orchestra in Times of Trouble
Music 9
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:00-12:20
Warren Lecture Hall 2154
Fall Quarter 2021
Instructors
Professor Steven Schick
Peter Ko
Sang Song
Alexander Taylor
sschick@ucsd.edu
m6ko@ucsd.edu
ssong@ucsd.edu
a3taylor@ucsd.edu
Course Description
In troubled and troubling times, there are lessons to be learned from studying the music
of other similarly troubled times. In Music 9, we will turn to symphonic music from the late
18th-century to the present as we seek lessons for our own era. We’ll start with the Classical
Era—in particular the music of Haydn and Beethoven—and its relationship to what was then
the new radical politics of The Enlightenment. From there, we’ll shift focus to the music of the
Romantic period and highlight the notion of the individual in crisis. From the hyper-romantic
orchestral music of the late 19th century, along with operatic and oratorio forms, we’ll move to
the music of wartime from the early and mid 20th century and to the music of cultural changes
in the 1960’s. In more recent music, we’ll turn to art-making that reflects contemporary
concerns, from social justice to climate change and beyond.
In addition to materials presented in lecture and section, we will use our ears as the
primary tools of inquiry, and will refer frequently to recordings of important pieces of music.
Class discussions will serve to elaborate concepts, terminology, and to hone our listening skills.
Ultimately, we will seek to understand music as a lens aimed at the social circumstances of the
moment.
Lectures and sections will be held in person, with additional materials posted to Canvas.
Occasional lectures, indicated in the syllabus below, will be delivered via Zoom. Recordings of
those sessions will be posted to Canvas. Since these will be pre-recorded lectures, they will be
available asynchronously.
Grade Breakdown
There will be two multiple choice exams: a midterm exam given asynchronously on
October 26 and a final for the course, also asynchronously, in the assigned final time. (Precise
details for the timing and nature of the exams will be given in class and posted on Canvas.) In
addition, you will write two short essays of no more than 1,000 words, choosing from a list of
topics that we will provide, due to your TA on October 19 and November 16 respectively. The
midterm exam will comprise 30% of your grade, the final exam will be 40%, and the essays
taken together will each be worth 15%.
Assignments and Exams
The exams will focus on material presented in class, with special emphasis on
recognizing and commenting on listening examples drawn from our discussions. The essays are
to be written in response to topics that you will be provided with.
Suggested Recordings
We urge you to consult the same recordings that we will use in class. Please note the
YouTube clips for each week, and use these to study for exams. The entire collection of musical
examples can be found on Canvas.
Classroom Behavior
We request that you limit the use of personal technology to those moments in class in
which you are asked to engage them. Otherwise, please do not use phones or computers in
class.
Academic Integrity
We will take academic integrity very seriously in Music 9. If you are caught cheating on
an exam or plagiarizing a paper you will fail the course and will be referred to the proper
university authorities.
What we hope you will learn this quarter
We hope you will develop a broad familiarity with the symphonic music of the
composers represented and of their cultural/historical contexts. We also hope that when you
hear these selected works on recordings that you will be able to recognize, follow and
understand them as well as explain their basic characteristics. We hope that you will have a
working knowledge—both passive and active—of basic music terminology.
We also intend to hone your aural comprehension. The major points of the class will be
delivered in lecture rather than through textbook. Listening to music as an act in and of itself
will be foregrounded whenever possible
Qualities of a successful student
Since there is not a text for the class, all information will be given in lectures and
discussions. A successful student will have very good attendance. The best means of studying
is reviewing lecture notes and by listening multiple times to the major works presented in class.
Be able to correlate those with concepts and ideas presented in lecture. To the extent possible,
this class will be taught as a kind of guided conversation rather than straight lecture. Please be
prepared to participate in discussions, both in lecture and sections.
If you have a question
Basic questions about class materials and logistics should go first to your TA. If that
does not answer your question please make an appointment with the instructor. Problems of a
sensitive or serious nature should be addressed immediately to the professor.
Class Schedule
Subject to Change
Week Zero
Thursday, September 23
General Orientation to the class and topic. Basic music terminology. Tips for listening.
Beginning with Beethoven
Beethoven’s First Symphony. Sonata Allegro Form. Instrumentation. Harmony.
Beethoven, Symphony #1
Christian Thielemann
Vienna Philharmonic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2f4T0e2EZ0&t=231s
Franz Josef Haydn, #45b (Last Movement of Farewell Symphony)
Daniel Barenboim
Vienna Philharmonic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfdZFduvh4w
Week 1
Continuing with Beethoven. Music from the Classical Period. Reinforcement of Sonata Form.
Terminology continues. The legacy of Franz Josef Haydn. The pivotal position of Beethoven in
the early 19th century. Tension between the universal and personal.
Tuesday, September 28
Franz Josef Haydn: Symphony #94
Reference Recording:
Yuri Temirkanov/St. Petersburg Philharmonic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apcXKjzrar0 (Second Movement at 6:23)
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony #1
Claudio Abbado
Chamber Orchestra of Europe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnVnhFzQVv8&t=1345s
Thursday, September 30
Beethoven/ Symphony #3
Alondra de la Parra
Tonhalle Orchester Zürich
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5ovX4aThP8
Week 2
In depth study of Beethoven Symphonies 5, 6, and 9. Alternating moods and voices in the
Beethoven Symphonies.
https://cnx.org/contents/bi-v9N66@2/Janissary-Music-and-Turkish-Influences-onWestern-Music
Tuesday, October 5
Beethoven Symphony #5
Christian Thielemann
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olMPeiqoiic&t=19s
Beethoven Symphony #6
Andrés Orozco-Estrada
Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv4PIFRpYcw
Thursday, October 7
No In-Person Class. Please see Pre-recorded lecture on Canvas
Beethoven Symphony #9
Herbert von Karajan
Berlin Philharmonic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOaI93Ob2B4
II: 15:40; III: 24:53; IV: 41:08
Week 3
Responding to the Personal: The growth of Romanticism. Balancing grandeur and intimacy in
Schubert and Berlioz. Combining message and Music in Verdi.
Tuesday, October 12
Bedrich Smetana
Ma Vlast , #2 (The Moldau)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6kqu2mk-Kw
Franz Schubert
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Der Erlkönig
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaBNUzVSnj8
Hector Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique
Mariss Jansens
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK6iAxe0oEc
(4:53 beginning; Mvt. 4 at 41:19; Mvt. 5 at 46:35)
Thursday, October 14
The Verdi Requiem
Steven Schick
La Jolla Symphony and Chorus (Dies Irae at 9:55)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMxY7TTNpfE&t=839s
Week 4
Ultra-Romantics before the War. Culmination of romanticism. Smetana, Scriabin, Mahler and
early Stravinsky
Tuesday, October 19
Gustav Mahler
Royal Concert Gebouw Orchestra
Symphony #1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JXMFbGRyII
First Essay due.
Thursday, October 21
The Stravinsky Ballets (Firebird and Petrushka)
Igor Stravinsky
Petrushka
Andris Nelsons
Concertgebouw Orchestra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esD90diWZds
Stravinsky
The Firebird (Complete)
Valerie Gerjiev
Vienna Philharmonic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZkIAVGlfWk
Review for Exam
Week 5
Midterm Exam, and the beginnings of stylistic and harmonic change in the 20th Century. 12
Tone methodologies.
Tuesday, October 26
Midterm Exam
Thursday, October 28
The Pivot: Arnold Schoenberg and Alban Berg
Arnold Schonberg
Five Pieces for Orchestra
Bernhard Haitink
Vienna Philharmonic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-axba7wwfw
Arnold Schoenberg
Piano Concerto
Mitsuko Uchida, piano
Pierre Boulez
Cleveland Orchestra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEY9lmCZbIc
Alban Berg
Altenberg Lieder
Halina Lukomska, soprano
Ernest Bour
Sudwestfunk Radio Orchestra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl5Xm4qYOP0
Alban Berg
Violin Concerto
Gil Shaham, violin
Paavo Järvi
NHK Symphony Orchestra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rsp6Y_VOlKU
Berg Documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCHEwV0BnJM
Week 6
Trajectories toward the Modern.
Tuesday, November 2
Stravinsky The Rite to Neoclassicism
Stravinsky
The Rite of Spring
Pina Bausch Choreography
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOTjyCM3Ou4
Stravinsky Rite (Complete)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-3wI3Upvpw
Stravinsky
Persephone
Steven Schick
La Jolla Symphony (27:40)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwHhgJ-lm3U&t=1911s
Stravinsky
Symphony in C
Mathias Manasi
Symphony Orchestra of Rome
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OuN3vvZ2h0
Thursday, November 4
Early Modernism: Antheil, Varèse.
George Antheil
Ballet Mécanique
Film by Fernand Leger
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWa2iy-0TEQ
Edgard Varèse
Intégrales
Tito Checcherini
Ensemble Intercontemporain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql7o3JZKLn8
Week 7
Fusing the political and the personal: The Second World War and Beyond
Tuesday, November 9
Prokofiev, Copland, and others. The Music of WW2
Aaron Copland
Appalachian Spring (Chamber Version)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYmM-LE2-OA
Perspectives Ensemble
Sergei Prokofiev
Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Symphony #5
Rotterdam Philharmonic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBY5Mb90_lw
Thursday, November 11
No in-person class. Pre-recorded Lecture posted on Canvas
Leonard Bernstein: Mass and Kaddish
Leonard Bernstein
Symphony #3 (Kaddish)
Eliahu Inbal
Frankfurt Radio Orchestra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTAnmHPTKEk
Leonard Bernstein
Mass
Wayne Marshall
Orchestre de Paris
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5imPUq39jlg
Week 8
Tuesday, November 16
Popular Music responds to its time. Music responds to the Natural World. Olivier Messiaen,
Michael Pisaro, Anna Thorvaldsdottir.
Recordings TBD
Second Essay Due
Thursday, November 18
Des Canyons aux Etoiles, Mvt. III
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dn4Mhi12j0&list=OLAK5uy_lp6pGsPYWMtAQu12cQ5_
MsDW1NqL6BMQY&index=3
Michael Pisaro; The Fields have Ears Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7v2OKdWpHtw
Michael Pisaro; ricefall
https://vimeo.com/187971251
Week 9
Continued: Music responds to the Natural World. Olivier Messiaen, Michael Pisaro, Anna
Thorvaldsdottir, John Luther Adams, Pauline Oliveros and David Dunn
Tuesday, November 23
John Luther Adams, Pauline Oliveros, and David Dunn
David Dunn: Mimus Plyglottos (1976)
https://youtu.be/i9veOLaHUzg
Pauline Oliveros
https://youtu.be/8wrNL063Gys
John Luther Adams, Become Desert
https://youtu.be/1VN9TBfWAEo
John Luther Adams; Become Ocean
https://youtu.be/dGva1NVWRXk
Thursday, November 25
No Class on Thanksgiving
Week 10
Modern Strife
Tuesday, November 30
The music of contemporary protest: Courtney Bryan and LJ White, among others
Courtney Bryan
Yet Unheard
Steven Schick
La Jolla Symphony and Chorus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsSENWpYqFw
LJ White
Community Acoustics
Steven Schick
La Jolla Symphony and Chorus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RapR0TBeg-4
Thursday, December 2
Review
Final Exam on assigned date