78077 - History of Instruments and the Orchestra (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course students will know about the main instruments of the European tradition, especially those employed in the modern and contemporary orchestra: they are able to concisely present their history, describe their peculiarities as far as construction, sound and timbre are concerned, and provide examples of their use. Furthermore, students will know about the main stages in the history of the orchestra and orchestral direction, from the origins to our days. After carrying out practical sessions focusing on compositions from the 16^th and 17^th century, they will be able to recognize the essential principles of orchestral structure.

Course contents

The first module of the course provides in-depth knowledge about the history, construction, sound and timbre characteristics, and use of the main musical instruments of the European tradition, in particular those employed in modern and contemporary orchestras. Each instrument (according to its family: strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, keyboard instruments and plucked instruments) will be introduced through listenings and the analysis of the most significant passages, in order to arrive at a more in-depth knowledge of the writing peculiarities associated with each instrument and its role in the orchestra. The module also includes visits to the Museo della Musica and the Tagliavini Collection.

The second module is an in-depth exploration of the main stages in the history of orchestra and orchestral conducting, from the origins to our days. The key principles of orchestral writing will be discussed in seminars addressing the analysis of compositions from the 16^th to the 20^th century. Students will attend orchestra rehearsals, during which they will be able to follow the preparatory work of the orchestra and conductor for an important composition of the symphonic repertoire.

Readings/Bibliography

The exam program is the same for regular and non-regular students.

All the students are required to know:

- S. Adler, Lo studio dell’orchestrazione, Torino EDT, 2008, pp. 3-605 (in the Biblioteca del Dipartimento delle Arti, section of Musica e Spettacolo, students will find also the CDs with Musical Examples);

- L. Taschera, Forma e gesto nella composizione orchestrale. Linee guida per una lettura della partitura, Bologna, CLUEB, 2000;

- I. Cavallini, Il direttore d’orchestra. Genesi e storia di un’arte, Venezia, Marsilio, 1998.

 

All the students are further required to know at least one chapter of their choice from the following books:

- H. Sachs, Toscanini, Torino, EDT, 1981;

- Musica maestri! Il direttore d’orchestra tra mito e mestiere, ed. by F. Rosti, Milano, Feltrinelli, 1985;

- R. Osborne, Conversazioni con Herbert von Karajan, Parma, Guanda, 1990;

- P. Boulez, Conversazioni sulla direzione d’orchestra, Scandicci, La nuova Italia, 1995;

- E. W. Galkin, A History of Orchestral Conducting, in Theory and Practice, New York, Pendragon, 1998;

- The Cambridge Companion to the Orchestra, ed. by C. Lawson, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2003;

- The Cambridge Companion to Conducting, ed. by J. A. Bowen, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2003;

- J. Spitzer - N. Zaslaw, The Birth of the Orchestra: History of an Institution, 1650-1815, Oxford, Clarendon, 2004;

- D. Bertotti, Il direttore d’orchestra da Wagner a Furtwängler: l’illustre aberrazione, Palermo, L’Epos, 2005;

- A. Zignani, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Palermo, L’Epos, 2005;

- D. J. Koury, Orchestral Performance in the Nineteenth Century: Size, Proportions, and Seating, Rochester, University of Rochester Press, 2010 (also Ann Arbor, UMI, 1986);

- Arturo Toscanini: il direttore e l’artista mediatico, ed. by M. Capra and I. Cavallini, Lucca, LIM, 2011.

 

Students who lack adequate knowledge of music history from the 17^th to the 19^th century are advised to read:

- E. Surian, Manuale di Storia della musica, vol. II: Dalla musica strumentale del Cinquecento al periodo classico (5^th ed., Milano, Rugginenti, 2010), vol. III: L’Ottocento: la musica strumentale e il teatro d'opera (4^th ed., ibid., 2005), vol. IV: Il Novecento (3^rd ed., ibid., 2007).

NB: any change in this programme should be agreed with the professor.

Assessment methods

The final exam will consist in:

1) a concise listening test, in which students will have to be able to identify, at least roughly, the setting of an orchestral composition proposed by the professor, composed in the period between the 16^th and the 20^th century;

2) an oral discussion, focusing on the readings in the bibliography;

3) students will discuss their analysis of an orchestral score of their choice, from the period between the 17^th and the 20^th century. The analysis will concern the most significant elements in the orchestral writing (for the exam, students should carry with them the corresponding score). Students from the Theatre curriculum may replace this test with one of the readings chosen among those included in the bibliography (they may pick the same book from which they have drawn the chapter of choice).

Office hours

See the website of Elisabetta Pasquini