This page presents the materials for each class session. This includes:
- A list of works to be studied and discussed
- Class agenda
- Description of in-class "warm-up" activities, if any
- Reading, listening, and homework assignments, to be completed before class
About Recordings
Specific recorded versions of the assigned works are not listed here, except for a few free online videos. MIT students enrolled in the class had access to online listening for most works, through MIT Libraries subscriptions to Naxos Music Library and Alexander Street. Any recordings to which you have ready access, via libraries or other resources, will be fine.
For works in the Auner Anthology, the textbook publisher W. W. Norton has created a playlist for Music in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries with links to representative recordings in WorldCat (library search), Amazon, iTunes, and the Naxos Music Library.
Readings
[Auner] = 
Auner, Joseph. Music in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries. W. W. Norton & Company, 2013. ISBN: 9780393929201. (Also available in eBook format, ISBN: 9780393904604)
[Anthology] = ———. Anthology for Music in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries. W. W. Norton & Company, 2013. ISBN: 9780393920215.
[Strunk] = Strunk, Oliver. Source Readings in Music History. W. W. Norton & Company, 1998. ISBN: 9780393037524.
Most assignments also begin with a brief biographical reading on a composer, from Grove® Music Online [a subscription-based service that is not provided for OCW users].
| CLASS # | TOPICS | WORK STUDIED | CLASS NOTES | READINGS | ASSIGNMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Late-Romanticism and the Dawn of Modernism |
[Anthology]Mahler, Gustav. Symphony No. 3, Movement 4. SupplementalMahler, Gustav. Das Lied von der Erde. ----. Symphony No. 5. Strauss, Richard. Salome. |
Class 1 agenda and warm-up (PDF) | ||
| 2 | Impressionism, Mystic Synesthesia, and Orchestral Exuberance |
[Anthology]Debussy, Claude. "Pagodes" from Estampes. SupplementalDebussy, Claude. Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune and La mer. Scriabin, Alexander. Prometheus. |
Class 2 agenda and warm-up (PDF) | [Auner] pp. 16–34. | Class 2 assignment (PDF) |
| 3 | Expressionism and Atonality |
[Anthology]Schoenberg, Arnold. "Mondestrunken" from Pierrot lunaire. Berg, Alban. Wozzeck, Act III, transition and scene 3. SupplementalSchoenberg, Arnold. Verklärte Nacht. Berg, Alban. Lyric Suite. |
Class 3 agenda and warm-up (PDF) |
[Auner] pp. 35–38 and 45–54. [Strunk] Schoenberg, Arnold. "Two Letters to Ferrucio Busoni." Reading #170, pp. 1283–9. |
Class 3 assignment (PDF) |
| 4 | Symphonic Innovations |
[Anthology]Ives, Charles. Symphony No. 4, Movement 1. SupplementalIves, Charles. "Decoration Day" from New England Holidays. Sibelius, Jean. Symphony No. 5, Movement 1. |
Class 4 agenda and warm-up (PDF) |
[Auner] pp. 56–64. [Strunk] Ives, Charles. "Music and its Future." Reading #178, pp. 1335–9. |
Class 4 assignment (PDF) |
| 5 | Stravinsky's Russian Ballets |
[Anthology]Stravinsky, Igor. Le sacre du printemps, Part I, Introduction. SupplementalStravinksy, Igor. Firebird ----. Petrushka. |
Class 5 agenda (PDF) | [Auner] pp. 64–67 and 70–76. | Class 5 assignment (PDF) |
| 6 | Weimar Modernism |
[Anthology]Weill, Kurt. Der Lindberghflug, "Introduction of the Pilot." SupplementalWeill, Kurt. Threepenny Opera.
Hindemith, Paul. Symphony: Mathis der Maler. |
Class 6 agenda (PDF) |
[Auner] pp. 82–92. [Strunk] Weill, Kurt. "Shifts in Musical Production." Reading #186, pp. 1393–5.
|
Class 6 assignment (PDF) |
| 7 | Neo-Classicism |
[Anthology]Stravinsky, Igor. Symphonie de psaumes, Movement 2. SupplementalStravinsky, Igor. Pulcinella. Satie, Erik. Parade. Prokofiev, Sergei. Symphony No. 1 "Classical." |
Class 7 agenda and warm-up (PDF) Handout on set theory: intervals and atonality (PDF) (Courtesy of Michael Cuthbert. Used with permission.) |
[Auner] pp. 103–17. | Class 7 assignment (PDF) |
| 8 | The Influence of Jazz |
[Anthology]Ravel, Maurice. Concerto in G for Piano and Orchestra, Movement 1. SupplementalGershwin, George. Rhapsody in Blue. Milhaud, Darius. La création du monde. |
Class 8 agenda and warm-up (PDF) |
[Auner] pp. 95, 99–101, and 118–23.
|
Class 8 assignment (PDF) |
| 9 | The Twelve-Tone System |
[Anthology]Schoenberg, Arnold. Piano Piece, Op. 33a. Webern, Anton. Symphony, Op. 21, Movement 2. SupplementalWebern, Anton. Orchestration of J.S. Bach's The Art of Fugue. Berg, Alban. Violin Concerto. |
Class 9 agenda (PDF) | [Auner] pp. 124–41. | Class 9 assignment (PDF) |
| 10 | Bartók: The Formal and the Folk |
[Anthology]Bartók, Béla. Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta, Movement 1. SupplementalBartók, Bela. Duke Bluebeard's Castle. ----. String Quartet No. 4. |
Class 10 agenda and warm-up (PDF) | [Auner] pp. 67–70 and 142–6. | Class 10 assignment (PDF) |
| 11 | American and British Landscapes |
[Anthology]Copland, Aaron. "Billy the Kid Suite" and "Street in a Frontier Town." SupplementalCopland, Aaron. Appalachian Spring. Williams, Ralph Vaughan. Symphony No. 3 "Pastoral." |
Class 11 agenda and warm-up (PDF) | [Auner] pp. 148–9 and 153–61. | Class 11 assignment (PDF) |
| 12 | Nationalism as Style; Style as Nationalism |
[Anthology]William, Grant Still. Africa, Movement 2. SupplementalVilla-Lobos, Heitor. Bachianas Brasileiras No. 7, "Tocata." McPhee, Colin. Tabuh-Tabuhan, "Ostinatos." Janáček, Leoš. Káťa Kabanová, "No, no, no one, yet my heart was beating." |
Class 12 agenda and warm-up (PDF) |
[Auner] pp. 149–52 and 161–6. [Strunk] Still, William Grant. Excerpt from "Horizons Unlimited." Reading #195, pp. 1421-3. |
Paper 1 due |
| 13 | Reactions to Destruction |
[Anthology]Britten, Benjamin. . War Requiem. "Requiem aeternam." SupplementalBritten, Benjamin. Peter Grimes. Strauss, Richard. Vier letzte Lieder. |
Class 13 agenda (PDF) | [Auner] pp. 170–81. | Class 13 assignment (PDF) |
| 14 | In the Soviet Union |
[Anthology]Shostakovich, Dmitri. String Quartet No. 8, Op. 110, Movement 3. SupplementalShostakovich, Dmitri. Symphony No. 5 ----. Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District. Prokofiev, Sergei. Romeo and Juliet. |
Class 14 agenda and warm-up (PDF) |
[Auner] pp. 181–9. [Strunk] Pravda's 1936 review of Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk: "Chaos Instead of Music." Reading #188, pp. 1397–9. |
Class 14 assignment (PDF) |
| 15 | Systematic Strategies |
[Anthology]Boulez, Pierre. Le marteau sans maître, Movement 5. SupplementalMessiaen, Olivier. Quatuor pour la fin du temps. Babbitt, Milton. Semi-Simple Variations.
|
Class 15 agenda and warm-up (PDF) |
[Auner] pp. 190–99. [Strunk] Babbitt, Milton. "Who Cares if You Listen?" Reading #174, pp. 1305–11. [Strunk] Boulez, Pierre. "Tendencies in Recent Music." Reading #180, pp. 1346–52. |
Class 15 assignment (PDF) |
| 16 | Music and Avant-Garde Performance/Art |
[Anthology]Oliveros, Pauline. Traveling Companions. SupplementalCage, John. Notations ----. Imaginary Landscape No. 5. Stockhausen, Karlheinz. Aus den sieben Tagen. Ono, Yoko. Grapefruit. |
Class 16 agenda and warm-up (PDF) |
[Auner] pp. 199–210. [Strunk] Cage, John. "Experimental Music." Reading #173, pp. 1301–5. [Strunk] Cardew, Cornelius. Excerpt from "A Scratch Orchestra: Draft Constitution." Reading #192, pp. 1409–11. |
Paper 1 revision due |
| 17 | Machines and Technologies |
[Anthology]Davidovsky, Mario. Synchronisms No. 6 for Piano and Tape. Saariaho, Kaija. Noanoa. SupplementalRussolo, Luigi. Risveglio di una Città. Antheil, George. Ballet mécanique, Roll One. Varèse, Edgard. Hyperprism ----. Poème électronique. Stockhausen, Karlheinz. Gesang der Jünglinge. |
Class 17 agenda and warm-up (PDF) |
[Auner] pp. 212–32. [Strunk] Russolo, Luigi. "The Art of Noises." Reading #170, pp. 1328–33. [Strunk] Varèse, Edgard. "The Liberation of Sound." Reading #179, pp. 1339–46. [Strunk] Stockhausen, Karlheinz. Excerpt from "The Concept of Unity in Electronic Music." Reading #182, pp. 1366–71. |
Class 17 assignment (PDF) |
| 18 | New Textures and Spectral Music |
[Anthology]Ligeti, György. Continuum. SupplementalLigeti, György. Atmosphères. Nancarrow, Conlon. Study 3. Grisey, Gérard. Partiels. Murail, Tristan. Vues aériennes. |
Class 18 agenda (PDF) | [Auner] pp. 234–52. | Class 18 assignment (PDF) |
| 19 | Complication, Again |
[Anthology]Carter, Elliott. String Quartet No. 5, first four sections. SupplementalLachenmann, Helmut. "…zwei Gefühle…" Ferneyhough, Brian. Flurries. |
Class 19 agenda and warm-up (PDF) | [Auner] pp. 251–55. | Class 19 assignment (PDF) |
| 20 | Post-Modernism |
[Anthology]Crumb, George. Vox balaenae
SupplementalCrumb, George. Ancient Voices of Children. Berio, Luciano. Sinfonia. |
Class 20 agenda (PDF) |
[Auner] pp. 257–73. [Strunk] Ziporyn, Evan. "Who Listens if You Care?" Reading #175, pp. 1312–8. |
Class 20 assignment (PDF) |
| 21 | Music from "The East" |
[Anthology]Yi, Chen. Ba Ban. SupplementalTakemitsu, Toru. November Steps. |
Class 21 agenda and warm-up (PDF) | [Auner] pp. 274–6. |
Paper 2: Ready for peer review of abstract and outlines |
| 22 |
Minimalism and its Aftermath Guest speaker: Evan Ziporyn |
[Anthology]Reich, Steve. Violin Phase. SupplementalReich, Steve. Different Trains. Riley, Terry. In C. |
Class 22 agenda and warm-up (PDF) |
[Auner] pp. 278–93.
Bernard, Jonathan W. "The Minimalist Aesthetic in the Plastic Arts and in Music." Perspectives of New Music 31 no. 1 (Winter 1993): 86–132. |
Class 22 assignment (PDF) |
| 23 | Great(?) American Opera |
[Anthology]Adams, John. Doctor Atomic, Act I, scene 3: Batter my heart.
SupplementalAdams, John. Nixon in China. Glass, Philip. Einstein on the Beach. |
Class 23 agenda and warm-up (PDF) | [Auner] pp. 293–305. | Class 23 assignment (PDF) |
| 24 | Guest speaker: Joseph Auner (Tufts University and author of our textbook) | ||||
| 25 | Short presentations on Paper 2 | Paper 2 due |