Description
We shall study what distinguishes the great composers from the merely good.
Anthony Tommasini, the chief classical music critic of The New York Times, recently published a book, in which he presents 17 indispensable composers. He is a writer of immense musical knowledge who shares his insights about many favorite pieces.
The book is intended as a guide and perfectly fulfills its aim: it presents highly readable mini-profiles of the greats. The author is entertaining, highly enthusiastic, and very knowledgeable.
Each of our presentations can be illustrated by musical examples played (via computer) in the class.
We strongly encourage you to do so; a tutorial will be provided.
Weekly Topics
1. Introduction; Claudio Monteverdi 1
2. J.S. Bach 39
3. G.F. Handel 65
4-5. The “Vienna Four”: F.J.Haydn 91
6. W.A. Mozart 113
7. L. van Beethoven 145
8. Franz Schubert 175
9. Frederic Chopin & Robert Schumann 205
10. Giuseppe Verdi & Richard Wagner 247
11. Johannes Brahms 307
12. Claude Debussy 339
13. Giacomo Puccini 369
14. A. Schoenberg, I. Stravinsky, B. Bartok 397
Note: The 14 chapters had been collapsed into 13 presentations as the 4th chapter is very short and serves just as an introduction to “The Vienna Four’ (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert). This can easily be expanded by splitting into two Chapter 10 (the longest) or by one additional class where each participant presents her/his favorite composition (in 5-6 minutes).
Bibliography
The Indispensable Composers by Anthony Tommasini, Penguin, 2018
