MUSIC 150: Music Theory and Interpretation

This course focuses on how analyzing music through the lens of different music-theoretical models brings out different—and sometimes contradictory—interpretations. Students will be introduced to a range of advanced modern-day theoretical models designed to address Western music from the late 18th and 19th centuries. Armed with these theoretical perspectives, the emphasis of the course will be on exploring how our musical analyses influence the way we listen to performances and recordings, and how we might imagine the music ought to go if we were to perform it ourselves. Our repertoire will include songs by Schubert, Schumann, and Liszt and instrumental music by Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms. Some of these composers also read theory treatises written by their contemporaries, and thus we shall also consider how a historical appreciation of music theory can foster new ways of understanding, hearing, and performing some of the most famous musical works of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

For students interested in performing, there will be opportunities to apply these concepts to pieces you already know, are learning in other music courses, or wish to get to know. Writing assignments will develop techniques in music journalism, concert and recording reviews, program notes, and academic writing.