Descriptif

This class surveys individuals and works of the classical-music world (1700 – today) through a series of head-to-head battles. Some of these were fought between the heroes and icons of established traditions on the one hand, and on the other, the anti-heroes who –sometimes brutally – confronted and challenged them. Other battles were fought over disagreements about what the future of music should look and sound like. Of course, these were not just aesthetic brawls. Lurking behind the conflicts about the nature of music were opposing visions of society, culture, and politics.

Through “set pieces” (teacher presentations), guided listenings from the piano, video and audio extracts, group and pair discussions, supporting documents and individual exercises, the course comprises eight case studies which are meant to better understand why music evolved the way it did, how the creative work and outside-the-box thinking of specific individuals and groups drove change, and how developments in music history relate to wider social phenomena.