MHST 319 - Studies in Genre: The Symphonic Poem

FC CNDP, DDHU

4 credits
This course follows the emergence of the symphonic poem from its late 18th-century antecedents (characteristic symphony, concert overture, melodrama) and how the relationship between words and instrumental music was reevaluated at the beginning of the 19th century. Repertoire will include works of Beethoven, Schumann, Liszt, Dvorak, and Strauss, among others. We will consider how critical reception established a philosophy of program music, articulating the tensions between musical representation, formal cohesion, and transcendent meaning. Together we will explore research tools most relevant to this topic, and students will receive continuous support in the preparation of their original research projects. Recommended Preparation: MHST 101 and one 200-level course in music history.

Prerequisites: ESOL 130 (for students in ESOL sequence).