WELCOME TO HUX 551!

Dear Humanities 551 Student:

Congratulations! You have chosen to enroll in Humanities 551 at a particularly interesting juncture in the course's history. Many of the materials we have been using in the "old" course have gone out of print or have become difficult to locate. In addition, since it has been many years since the course was revised, the administration of the program is interested in injecting new life and ideas into 551, and has requested a new look at the old materials.

The course guide is simply an introduction to the material and contains the course assignments. For those interested in additional readings, a small bibliography is provided at the conclusion of the course guide.

In addition, an audiocassette tape will be provided to you illustrating the principal music examples cited by Charles Rosen in the first part of his book. When appropriate, some explanatory comment will accompany these examples.

Please do not hesitate to ask questions about what you do not understand.

Marshall Bialosky, Professor of Music
Phone: 310/243-3543 (office)

COURSE OBJECTIVES

The purposes of this course are the following:

• to study the historical context of Beethoven by clearly locating him in the Classic Period and examining exactly what are the musical characteristics of that period;
• to become familiar with Beethoven’s life;
• to get an overview of Beethoven’s entire musical output;
• to focus on a few works from his various "periods" in order to better understand and hear his personal growth;
• to contemplate the idea of "spiritual growth" in a great artist;
• to develop an increased awareness of what actually happens in a serious musical composition;
• to develop skills in writing papers on musical topics which require some research and listening skills.

BOOKS/MATERIALS REQUIRED

Charles Rosen, The Classical Style. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. ISBN: 0-393-00653-0

J. W. N. Sullivan, Beethoven, His Spiritual Development. Random House, Inc. ISBN: 0-394-70100-3

Joseph Kerman and Alan Tyson, The New Grove Beethoven. Optional Only (not required); not available through the University Bookstore. This book may be used in all of your assignments, and may also assist you in making a choice of what works you will choose to write about for Assignments 2 and 3.

Recordings, audiocassette tapes, or compact discs (to be purchased directly by the students from their own sources):

One work by Beethoven, in any medium you prefer, drawn from his opus 1 to opus 21.

One work by Beethoven drawn from his work between and including opus 90 to opus 136, again in any medium you prefer. The string quartets from this late period are especially recommended, although the student may choose whatever s/he finds the most appealing, or whatever s/he may have an interest in.

Of course, if you are a music reader or even just a general follower, it will probably be advantageous to you to acquire from your library or local music store the actual music you choose to write about.

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