Music Program Classes
Spring 2003 Classes offered at the Graduate Center
Note: In addition to these courses, Graduate Center students can request permission to
take courses at other CUNY campuses.
Music 73200 Electronic Music: Compositional Strategies/Digital Techniques (3
cr.) Thurs 2-5pm Prof. David Olan rm. 3389
Through projects and review of the repertory we will explore ways in which the electronic
medium can drive compositional thinking and process. In particular we will consider what
current digital techniques offer in the way of resources for working with timbre,
structure and transformation. Beginning students will get an introduction to the basic
techniques of sequencing, editing, mixing, synthesis and processing and some of the ways
in which they can be applied musically. More advanced students will pursue independent
projects and present their ongoing work in class meetings. There will also be
opportunities for students to work with image and sound.
Music 81001 Studio Tutorial (3 cr.) Staff
Music 81002 Studio Tutorial (3 cr.) Staff
Music 81003 Studio Tutorial (3 cr.) Staff
Music 81004 Studio Tutorial (3 cr.) Staff
Music 81101 Ensemble (1 cr.) Staff
Music 81102 Ensemble (1 cr.) Staff
Music 81103 Ensemble (1 cr.) Staff
Music 81004 Ensemble (1 cr.) Staff
Music 81504 Performance Practice: 20th Century (3
cr.) Thur 10am-1pm Prof. Maurice Peress rm. 3491
A selective survey of 20th and 21st century works by Antheil, Bernstein, Corigliano,
Crumb, Ellington, Feldman, Gershwin, Ives, and Stravinsky. Special emphasis will be given
to American composers whose broad range of vernacular-inspired styles pose interpretive
challenges along-side the technical problems usually faced by the modern performer:
polyrhythms, unusual instrumentation, layered tempi, and aleatoric music. Students will be
asked to prepare applicable works for instrument or voice.
Music 82000 Analysis for Performers
(3 cr.) Wed 10am-1pm Prof. John Graziano rm. 3491
Analysis of various works in tonal and post-tonal styles, with emphasis on those aspects
(harmonic, melodic, structural, rythmic and thematic) that influence performance
decisions. Students will prepare works for analysis and performance in class. The final
project is a complete analysis of a movement from a major work.
Music 82502 History of Theory II
(3 cr.) Wed 2-5pm Prof. William Rothstein rm. 3491
A study of eighteenth-and nineteenth-century writings on music theory, with more
limited coverage of the 17th and early 20th centuries. Where possible, we will use English
translations of primary sources. A few short readings in other languages (German, French,
and Italian) will be required. A term paper, covering some aspect of music theory between
1650 and 1910, is also required.
Music 83700 Seminar in
Ethnomusicology: The Aesthetics of Music in Cross-cultural Perspectives (3
cr.) Wed 2-5pm Prof. Peter Manuel rm. 3389
An exploration of selected topics in the aesthetics of music. The first section of
the course will examine contemporary writings on Western musical aesthetics, including
those of Kivy, Meyer, and others. The second section will explore notions of aesthetics in
selected popular musics and non-Western societies, together with neo-Marxist and
postmodernist approaches, and criticisms thereof.
Music 84000 Seminar
in Theory/Analysis: The Modern String Quartet (1905-1970) (3 cr.) Tues
10am-1pm Prof.
Joseph Straus rm. 3491
A survey of string quartets written during the twentieth century, with particular
focus on the quartets of Schoenberg, Bartok, and Shostakovich. Readings will focus on
historical, theoretical, and performance issues. No background in post-tonal theory is
presupposed. No prerequisite. Limited to 15 students.
Music 85400 Seminar in
Theory/Analysis: Intermediate Schenkerian Analysis (3 cr.) Mon
10am-1pm Prof.
David Gagne rm. 3491
Study of structure and style of the sonata-allegro and related forms in the
Classical and early Romantic eras. Weekly assignments in graphing. Prerequisite:
Schenkerian Analysis I or its equivalent.
Music 85600 Seminar in Musical
Transformation (3 cr.) Fri 10am-1pm Prof. Philip Lambert rm. 3389
A study of transformational theories and their application in musical analysis. The
first part of the semester will consist of a study of the theoretical literature on the
subject, with particular emphasis on the writings of David Lewin. The remainder of the
semester will be devoted to an examination of the validity and usefulness of the theories
as they might be applied in a variety of tonal and post-tonal contexts. Activities will
include collaborative analysis of the same music, either from the same or different
analytical angles, and individual analysis projects. This course is intended for students
who have already taken the fall-semester course in basic post-tonal theory or who have
acquired the equivalent background in some other way.
Music 86400 Seminar in Music History:
Writing about Music (3 cr.) Tues 2-4pm Prof. Allan Atlas
rm. 3491
To some extent, this course is an "advanced writing workshop." It will
deal with the strategies of scholarly writing, with the presentation of historical,
analytical, and aesthetic judgments/ interpretations in a clear, hard-driving, and
polished manner.
Each student will write (1) four short papers (approximately 500-750
words = 2-3 pages) on assigned topics, these to be submitted at the rate of one every
other session over the course of sessions 2-9 (each paper will be assigned two
respondents); (2) a Notes-length (approximately 1,000 words) review of a book,
edition, or recording of your choice (due at sessions 10-11), and (3) a faux dissertation
proposal (approximately 1,500 words plus annotated bibliography-due at sessions 12-13); in
addition, students will work in two-, three-, or four-person teams, with each team
presenting an annotated outline (in effect, an annotated table of contents of the kind
that one might submit to a publisher) for a large-scale book on the history of music in
the twentieth century. Finally, from time to time we will analyze selected readings from
the musicological (in the widest sense) literature, studying strategies and prose styles
(both good and bad) that various scholars have used.
N.B.: (1) class limit: eight students [NB:
unfortunately, the class is full as of December 18, 2002] (2) pre-requisite: the Music
Program's version of Music 70000, an equivalent course taken elsewhere, or permission of
the instructor; (3) although the class is worth 3 credits, it will meet 2 hours each week,
in addition to which I'll make myself available for another three hours each week.
Music 86600 Seminar in Music History:
Cycles (3 cr.) Thurs 2-5pm Prof. Richard Kramer rm. 3491
Taking Beethoven's An die ferne Geliebte, and some purely instrumental works
from around1816, as a defining moment, we inquire into the nature of cycle through a study
of Song before and after Beethoven, with a focus on the great cycles by Schubert and
Schumann. We will study as well those less prominent groups of songs that may make
legitimate claim to the condition of cycle, alongside such works as Schubert's Wanderer
Fantasy and Schumann's Fantasy, Opus 17. And we will examine recent scholarly
exchanges that address issues in hermeneutics, narrative and genre.
Music 88100 Regional Studies: African
Music (3 cr.) Tues 2-5pm Prof. Barbara Hampton rm.
3389
The interdisciplinary study of traditional and popular African music grounded in fieldwork
perspectives with emphasis on recent ethnomusicological literature.
Music 88300 Regional
Studies: Music of Iran and Central Asia (3 cr.) Mon 2-5pm Prof.
Stephen Blum rm. 3491
Music 89000 Independent Study and Composition Tutorial (1-12
cr.)
Music 89200 Composers Forum (0 cr.) Thurs 7-9pm Prof. David Olan
rm. 3491
The Composers Forum features a series of lectures by prestigious composers and scholars of
20th-century and contemporary music. The meetings of the Composers Forum are open to the
public. Note that the Composers Forum does not meet every Thursday, but only on selected
dates; the specific dates and events may be found on the Composers Forum page.
Music 90000 Dissertation Supervision
(1 cr.)
Classes of previous semesters: Fall 2002,
Spring 2002, Fall
2001.
The complete schedule may also be found at https://banner.gc.cuny.edu/schedule_range.htm.
Music Programs • The Graduate Center,
CUNY
365 Fifth Avenue • New York, New York 10016-4309
(212) 817-8590 • music@gc.cuny.edu
