Syllabus
|
10:30am-12:00pm
Harmonie Club + Zoom |
Sept. 13 The Old World of the “New World Symphony”
Carnegie Hall, approaching the first-quarter mark of the 21st century, opens the season with a comfortable orchestral chestnut from the 19th. But was it progressive in its own day?
Sept. 20 Toxic Femininity - Medea and Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk
To a world dependent on maternal nurture, stories of women who kill have exercised a particular horrific fascination through the ages.
[Sept. 27 and Oct. 4 no class]
Oct. 11 Peter Grimes - The Last Traditional Grand Opera?
The “standard repertory” of opera houses came to a sudden halt with the appearance of talking movies at the end of the 1920s, but one brilliant and tortured British composer created an anti-heroic exception in 1945.
[Oct. 18 no class]
Oct. 25 Behind Every Great Man
Carnegie Hall highlights works by Clara Schumann and Fanny Mendelssohn - not their salon miniatures, but big works of the kind “lady composers” weren’t supposed to write.
Nov. 1 The Philharmonic Visits Jurassic Park
Let’s admit what half-a-century of achievement has proved: John Williams is the most significant modern composer for symphony orchestra. How do his scores stand up when we’re just listening?
[Nov. 8 no class]
Nov. 15 The Hours
New opera is viewed with some trepidation for the likelihood that it will be musically harsh. Kevin Puts, in the score that will bring Renee Fleming back to the MET, has decided to try the opposite.
[Nov. 22 no class]
Nov. 29 [Zoom] Does The Magic Flute make any sense?
Who’s good, who’s bad, how do we know, and should we agree?
[Dec. 6 no class]
Dec. 13 [Zoom] Melody again: How it’s sung can make the difference!
Last semester we looked at what turns a collection of notes into “a tune.” This time, a free-wheeling selection of great melodic interpreters, showing how the singer’s handling can make a decent tune great, or a great one celestial.
Carnegie Hall, approaching the first-quarter mark of the 21st century, opens the season with a comfortable orchestral chestnut from the 19th. But was it progressive in its own day?
Sept. 20 Toxic Femininity - Medea and Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk
To a world dependent on maternal nurture, stories of women who kill have exercised a particular horrific fascination through the ages.
[Sept. 27 and Oct. 4 no class]
Oct. 11 Peter Grimes - The Last Traditional Grand Opera?
The “standard repertory” of opera houses came to a sudden halt with the appearance of talking movies at the end of the 1920s, but one brilliant and tortured British composer created an anti-heroic exception in 1945.
[Oct. 18 no class]
Oct. 25 Behind Every Great Man
Carnegie Hall highlights works by Clara Schumann and Fanny Mendelssohn - not their salon miniatures, but big works of the kind “lady composers” weren’t supposed to write.
Nov. 1 The Philharmonic Visits Jurassic Park
Let’s admit what half-a-century of achievement has proved: John Williams is the most significant modern composer for symphony orchestra. How do his scores stand up when we’re just listening?
[Nov. 8 no class]
Nov. 15 The Hours
New opera is viewed with some trepidation for the likelihood that it will be musically harsh. Kevin Puts, in the score that will bring Renee Fleming back to the MET, has decided to try the opposite.
[Nov. 22 no class]
Nov. 29 [Zoom] Does The Magic Flute make any sense?
Who’s good, who’s bad, how do we know, and should we agree?
[Dec. 6 no class]
Dec. 13 [Zoom] Melody again: How it’s sung can make the difference!
Last semester we looked at what turns a collection of notes into “a tune.” This time, a free-wheeling selection of great melodic interpreters, showing how the singer’s handling can make a decent tune great, or a great one celestial.