37087 - History of Music Iv: 1900S (1)

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students will:

- understand the phenomena and compositional-aesthetic choices that, between the end of 19^th and the beginning of the 20^th century, determined the crisis of the tonal system and the related stylistic and syntactic forms;

- learn the stylistic and poetic tendencies falling within the category "neoclassicism", in relation to or opposed to trends that persisted in radical linguistic research begun before the First World War;

- know and understand the experimentation and avant-garde innovations in the second half of the 20^th century.

Course contents

Course Title:

The Main Trends of The Music of the 20^th Century, with Particular Emphasis on Igor Stravinsky's Neoclassical Period, from Pulcinella (1920) to The Rake’s Progress (1951). [30 hours, 6 credits]

The course will deal with the main composition tendencies of European music of the 20^th century. A specific part will treat the neoclassical period of Igor Stravinsky, from Pulcinella (1920) to The Rake’s Progress (1951).

In the thirty years between 1920 and 1951, Igor Stravinskij suddenly changed his style and language of the composing method respected to his radical and strongly innovative works of the years between 1910 and 1920 (just think of Petrouschka, Le Sagre du printemps, the Three Japanese Lyrics and Le Rossignol). The new Stravinsky idiom was inspired by a recovery - not merely imitating, but skillfully mediated - of certain stylistic movements and of certain linguistic choices concerning the music of tradition, especially that of the eighteenth century. In recapturing those historically stylized references - and of the tonal idiom related to them, Stravinskij systematically subjected them to a sort of partial 'torsion' composing, which modernized the harmonic aspect and the rhythmic and metrical dances.

This course treats mainly this period of Stravinsky's artistic journey, which was defined as its "neoclassical" period: the main compositions and some of the peculiar linguistic features will be illustrated. This course will also focus on the influence that Stravinsky’s neoclassicism had on many European composers active between the two World Wars. During the second part of the course, more specifically, it will be read the symphonic suite from the Pulcinella ballet, and this reading will be based on the repeated repetition of some sections of the suite and the score reading at the same time.

Readings/Bibliography

1. Gianfranco Vinay, Stravinsky neoclassico: l'invenzione della memoria nel '900 musicale, Venezia, Marsilio, 1987, pp. 17-172.

2. Stephen Walsh, voce Stravinsky, Igor, in Grove Music Online, i capitoli 1-8 [consultabile all'indirizzo web: http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/] oppure – nella versione cartacea – in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd edition, a cura di Stanley Sadie e John Tyrrell, 29 voll., London, MacMillan, 2001.

3. Raffaele Pozzi, L'ideologia neoclassica, in Enciclopedia della musica, vol. I: Il Novecento, a cura di Jean-Jacques Nattiez, Torino, Einaudi, 2001, pp. 444-470.

4. Herbert Schneider, Stravinskij e la parodia, in Stravinskij, a cura di Gianfranco Vinay, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1992, pp. 133-150.

5. Paul Griffiths, La musica del Novecento, Torino, Einaudi, 2015, pp. 300-470 (sulla musica del secondo Novecento).

Score:

Igor Stravinsky, Pulcinella suite for orchestra, revised 1949 version […] after Giambattista Pergolesi, London, Boosey & Hawkes, 1949; moviments: I. Sinfonia (Ouverture) – IV. Tarantella – VIII. Minuetto (molto moderato) e Finale (allegro assai).

Recording:

Students shall read the score above while listening to a studio recording of this composition of Stravinskij; the following is the suggested studio recording:

Igor Stravinsky, L'Oiseau de feu, suite - Pulcinella suite - Scènes de ballet, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra directed by Leonard Bernstein, CD Deutsche Grammophone 435 595-2, originally recorded between 1984 and 1985.

Assessment methods

Students will be assessed by oral examination based on the syllabus above.

Students who wants to take the examination shall demonstrate:

1) a knowledge of the examination bibliography, with special regard to the main ideological, aesthetic, linguistic and historical-critical features of Igor Stravinskij's neoclassical period.

2) a knowledge gained through the listening and reading of the score of the whole symphonic suite from Pulcinella. They are also required to be able to analyse the following sections for the most part: I. Sinfonia (Ouverture) - IV. Tarantella - VIII. Minuetto (molto moderato) and Finale (allegro assai).

It will be assessed as excellent the performance of those students achieving an organic vision of the course contents, the use of a proper specific language, the originality of the reflection as well as the familiarity with the tolls for analysing the History of The Music of the 20^th Century.

It will be assessed as discrete the performance of those students showing mostly mechanical or mnemonic knowledge of the subject, not articulated synthesis and analysis capabilities, a correct but not always appropriate language, as well as a scholastic study of the History of The Music of the 20^th Century. It will be assessed as barely sufficient the performance of those students showing learning gaps, inappropriate language, lack of knowledge of the History of The Music of the 20^th Century. It will be assessed as insufficient the performance of those students showing learning gaps, inappropriate language, no orientation within the recommended bibliography and inability to analyse the History of The Music of the 20^th Century.

For office hours please consult the webpage of the teacher, professor Paolo Cecchi

Office hours

See the website of Paolo Cecchi