MUS 313 — Music History III: The 20th and 21st Century
Monday & Wednesday, 12:00 noon – 1:10 pm
Shattuck B13
Instructor
Dr. Joel Matthys
jmatthys@carrollu.edu
Shattuck B35 x7185
Office hours Monday - Thursday 11:00 am – 12:00 noon
Course Objectives
This course continues the study of music history begun in MUS 311 and MUS 312, concentrating on the
composers, techniques, stylistic and aesthetic trends from approximately 1890 to the present. Students will
examine political, aesthetic, social, and technological developments which contribute to an understanding of
contemporary art music.
Prerequisites
Students must be able to read music fluently in multiple clefs.
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, a student should be able to:
• Name and describe the major stylistic trends in 20 th and 21st century music
• Aurally identify selected masterworks by major composers of the period
• Make an educated guess about the style and approximate date of an unidentified 20 th century piece
• Analyze a twelve-tone row and identify the various row forms in a piece of serial music
• Discuss the political, social, and aesthetic trends which influenced 20 th century composition
Required Course Materials
•
•
Twentieth-Century Music by Robert P. Morgan
The Rest is Noise by Alex Ross
Classroom Policy
•
Attendance is an essential component of the course, and is therefore mandatory. Students are permitted
two (2) unexcused absences during the semester; each additional absence will automatically reduce a
student's grade by one letter grade division, eg. from A to AB, AB to B, etc. Absences are excused only
with a valid doctor's note. Notifying the professor in advance of absence is not sufficient for an
excused absence.
•
All students will silence their mobile devices at the beginning of class and place them in the designated
location for safekeeping. Receiving calls, texting, or checking social media during class will result in
immediate ejection from the classroom and an automatic penalty of one full letter deducted from
your final grade.
•
Food is not allowed in the classroom. Drinks must be in closed containers and be placed on the
floor away from papers or electronic equipment. Empty bottles and trash must be disposed of upon
exiting the room.
•
Students will conduct themselves in an attentive, professional, and respectful manner in the
classroom. Students are responsible for bringing the correct materials to class.
•
Because this class involves multiple styles of writing (words, music, graphic notation), as well as
discussion and close listening, laptops are a greater hindrance than help, and frequently act as a
distraction to the student and others. Therefore, the use of laptop computers or tablets for
note-taking is discouraged unless necessary because of disability.
Grading Rubric
Written exams
Listening tests
Quizzes
Presentation
Research paper
Grading Scale:
A = 92-100
C = 70-77
40%
20%
20%
10%
10%
AB = 88-91
D = 60-69
B = 82-87
F = below 60
BC = 78-81
•
Tests and quizzes cannot be taken early or made up at a later time. If you arrive late to class and
miss a quiz or portion of a quiz, it will not be made up. In the event of family emergency or illness,
you must call the professor BEFORE the test and inform him of the problem. At the professor's
discretion, an alternative arrangement may be reached. Calling or writing the professor after an
absence or after the test has been administered will result in a zero for the test.
•
All assignments must be submitted at the beginning of class on the due date for full credit.
Assignments turned in after the beginning of class will be penalized a full letter grade if turned in
within 4 hours; and two letter grades if turned in by the end of the day. No assignments will be
accepted after 11:59 pm on the due date.
Academic Standards and Integrity
All submitted work must be original and conform to high academic standards of style, ownership, and
citation. I encourage you to review the Carroll University Academic Integrity Policy located in your student
handbook at http://www.carrollu.edu/campuslife/pdfs/handbook.pdf. Plagiarism is subject to severe
consequences, ranging from a failing grade on a particular assignment to failure and ejection from
the course. If you are ever in doubt about the acceptability of your work, talk to your professor in advance
of the assignment's due date.
2
Disability Services
Students with documented disabilities who may need accommodations, or any student considering
obtaining documentation, should make an appointment with Ms. Martha Bledsoe, Director of Services for
Students with Disabilities, no later than the first week of classes. She can be reached by calling
262-524-7335 or by contacting her via email at mbledsoe@carrollu.edu.
The instructor and the university reserve the right to modify, amend, or change the syllabus, including
schedule, course requirements, grading policy, etc., as the curriculum and/or program requires.
COURSE SCHEDULE (TENTATIVE)
Week 1: September 9 & 11
Introduction, syllabus, administrata
Political and social overview of the 20 th century
Late Romanticism: Mahler, Strauss
Readings: Ross 1-32 (for Sept. 9); Morgan 1-35 (For Sept. 11)
Readings are typically due at the beginning of the respective week.
Additional readings will be posted online or handed out in class.
Listening:
Richard Strauss, Don Juan
Strauss, Four Last Songs: 3. Beim Schlafengehen
Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 6, IV. Finale
Week 2: September 16 & 18
Impressionism: Debussy, Ravel, Vaughan Williams
Readings: Morgan 40-50, 124-134; Ross 41-44
Listening:
Claude Debussy, Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
Debussy, Préludes for Piano, Book 1, nos. 8 & 10
Maurice Ravel, La valse
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Sinfonia Antartica: 1. Prelude
Week 3: September 23 & 25
Nationalist composers: Sibelius, Janacek, Grieg, Elgar, Holst, Grainger, Ives
Readings: Ross 157-169; Morgan 117-124, 134-148
Listening:
Jean Sibelius, Symphony No. 4
Edvard Grieg, Haugtussa, Op. 67
Alexander Scriabin, Vers la flamme, Op. 72
Gustav Holst, The Planets, Op. 32: 4. Jupiter & 5. Saturn
Charles Ives, Symphony No. 3: I. Old Folks Gatherin'
Ives, The Unanswered Question
Week 4: September 30 & October 2
Bartók & Young Stravinsky
Readings: Morgan 103-110, 179-186, Ross 74-97
Listening:
Igor Stravinsky, Petrushka: Tableau 1 (The Shrove-Tide Fair)
3
Stravinsky, Le sacre du printemps
Béla Bartók, Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celeste
Bartók, String quartet no. 4: IV. Allegretto pizzicato
Week 5: October 7 & 9
Satie, Stravinsky, and Neoclassicism
Readings: Morgan 160-161, 168-179
Listening:
Erik Satie, Gymnopédies 1-3
Satie, Socrate: 3. Mort de Socrate
Igor Stravinsky, Pulcinella, I. Overture
Stravinsky, L'Histoire du soldat
Stravinsky, Symphony of Psalms
EXAM 1
Week 6: October 14 & 16
Schoenberg, Expressionism, and Free Atonality
Readings: Ross 45-63
Listening:
Arnold Schoenberg, Verklärte Nacht
Schoenberg, Pierrot Lunaire
Schoenberg, 6 Kleine Klavierstücke
Schoenberg, Kol Nidre, Op. 39
♫ FALL BREAK ♫
Week 7: October 23
The Second Viennese School: Schoenberg, Berg, Webern
Readings: Morgan 62-88, Ross 64-73
Listening:
Arnold Schoenberg, Violin Concerto, Op. 36: I. Poco allegro
Schoenberg, Piano Concerto, Op. 42
Alban Berg, Violin Concerto
Berg, Lulu Suite: 1. Rondo: Andante und Hymne & III. Lied der Lulu: Comodo
Anton Webern, Five Pieces, Op. 10
Webern, Concerto for 9 Instruments, Op. 24
Week 8: October 28 & 30
Behind the Iron Curtain: Prokofiev, Shostakovich
Readings: Ross 215-259
Listening:
Sergei Prokofiev, Symphony No. 1, “Classical”
Prokofiev, Piano Sonata No. 7 in B-Flat Major: III. Precipitato
Dmitri Shostakovich, Symphony No. 5
Shostakovich, Lady MacBeth of Mtsensk District: Act II, scene 4 & Entr'acte
Week 9: November 4 & 6
Europe after WWII: Boulez, Stockhausen, Schaeffer, Henry
Readings: Morgan 325-348, 463-464
Listening:
Pierre Boulez, Le marteau sans maître (excerpt)
4
EXAM 2
Karlhein Stockhausen, Kreuzspiel
Stockhausen, Zyklus
Pierre Schaeffer, Étude aux chemins de fer
Scott Wyatt, On a Roll
Week 10: November 11 & 13
Traditionalism, vs. Futurism: Britten, Copland, Russolo, Varese, Cowell
Readings: Ross 411-435; Morgan 283-314
Listening:
Benjamin Britten, Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings, Op 31
Aaron Copland, Appalachian Spring
Edgar Varese, Ionisation
Varese, Density 21.5
Henry Cowell, The Banshee
Cowell, Aeolian Harp
Week 11: November 18 & 20
Chance, indeterminacy, and process: Cage, Brown, Feldman, Riley, Glass, Reich
Readings: Ross 364-371, 473-512
Listening:
John Cage, Amores
Cage, Third Construction in Metal
Cage, Child of Tree
Morton Feldman, For Stefan Wolpe
Steve Reich, It's Gonna Rain
Reich, Music for 18 Musicians
Week 12: November 25 & 27
Computers and algorithms: Xenakis, Ligeti, Harvey, Wyatt
Readings: Morgan 387-397
Listening:
Iannis Xenakis, Eonta
Xenakis, Persephassa
Gyorgy Ligeti, Atmosphères
Ligeti, Désordre
Jonathan Harvey, Mortuos plango, vivos voco
Week 13: December 2 & 4
Spectral music and Post-minimalism: Murail, Grisey, Saariaho, Adams, Andriessen
Readings: (handouts only)
Listening:
Gerard Grisey, Vortex Temporum
Kaija Saariaho, Noa Noa
John Adams, Short Ride in a Fast Machine
Louis Andriessen, De Stijl
Caroline Shaw, Partita for 8 Voices
Week 14: December 9 & 11
Student presentations
5