[S]Department of Music
Stanford University


WebernHulce
RachmaninoffSchoenberg

Music 002: The Symphony

Lectures Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9:00-9:50am, Campbell Recital Hall
Section Tuesday/Thursday, 9:00-9:50am

Instructor Stephen Hinton
Braun Music Center, 214
shinton@leland
Office Hour: Monday, 10:00-12:00

Teaching Assistants
Kara Gardner, Braun 201, kgardner@leland
Susan Harvey, Braun 201, Tel. 824-3920

What is a symphony? The extensive article "symphony" in the 20-volume New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians quotes the expression "orchestral sonata." Beethoven's contemporaries spoke of a "sonata for orchestra." Such a definition very roughly describes both form and apparatus, but omits any historical or sociological explanation. The genre rapidly emerged in the 18th century, when tens of thousands of symphonies were composed. Yet only a small fraction of them survive in the concert repertory--an invention of the 19th century that is still very much with us. The symphony hasn't exactly become extinct in the twentieth-century, despite the modern movement's robust opposition both to generic conventions and public institutions. Even so, few--if any--modern works have attained the exposure enjoyed by the traditional canon. Why is this?

In tackling these issues, the course will trace the history of the symphony, using as examples some of the best-known compositions by major composers. The aim is to enhance musical enjoyment through historical and analytical explanation. An interest in careful listening is the primary requirement for the course. Supplementary readings are contained in the Course Reader, available from the Stanford Bookstore. Tapes of the set pieces, along with scores, are on reserve in Meyer Library, although students are encouraged to acquire their own copies of recordings for repeated listenings at their leisure.

Apart from taking the Mid-Term and End-Quarter Examinations, participants are required to produce one essay (topic to be announced). The essay should be approx. 1,000 words, and is due on March 8.

Syllabus
January 10 Introduction
January 12 Beethoven, Symphony No. 9 in d minor, op. 125
January 17 Stamitz, Symphony in E flat major, op. 11/3
January 19 C.P.E. Bach, Symphony in D major (Wq. 183/1)
January 22 J.C. Bach, Symphony in B flat major, op. 18/2
January 24 Haydn, Symphony No. 104 in D major ("London")
January 26 /cont...
January 29 Mozart, Symphony No. 40 in g minor, K. 550
January 31 /cont...
February 2 Beethoven, Symphony No. 5 in c minor, op. 67
February 5 Schubert, Symphony No. 8 in b minor, D. 759 ("Unfinished")
February 7 Mid-Term Examination
February 9 Schumann, Symphony No. 3 in E major, op. 97 ("Rhenish")
February 12 /cont...
February 14 Berlioz, Symphonie fantastique, op. 14
February 16 /cont...
February 21 Liszt, Eine Faust-Sinfonie
February 23 /cont...
February 26 Brahms, Symphony No. 2 in D major, op. 73
February 28 /cont...
March 1 Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 6 in b minor, op. 74 ("Pathétique")
March 4 /cont...
March 6 Rachmaninoff, Symphony No. 2 in e minor, op. 27
March 8 /cont... [Essay due]
March 11 Schoenberg, Kammersymphonie, op. 9
March 13 Webern, Symphony, op. 21
March 15 No class
March 18 End-Quarter Examination


Textbook Paul Bekker, The Orchestra (reproduced in Course Reader)

Recordings on Reserve

Further Reading

Robert Layton (ed.), A Guide to the Symphony, Oxford, 21995

Michael Steinberg, The Symphony: A Listener's Guide, Oxford, 1995

Donald Francis Tovey, Essays in Musical Analysis: Symphonies and Other Orchestral Works, Oxford, 1935; rep. 1989