THE REST IS NOISE
Listening to the 20th Century

The course, based on the Alex Ross book with the same title, explores significant sites and trends in the evolution of classical music in the 20th century: Vienna in 1901, Paris a decade later, Berlin in the 1920s, the Soviet Union during the Stalin era, Germany after the Second World War, the countercultural currents of the 1960s, and myriad trends of the last thirty years. Strauss, Mahler, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Debussy, Ravel, Weill, Bartok, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Sibelius, Messiaen, Britten, Ligeti, John Cage, Arvo Pärt and Steve Reich are but a few of the century’s towering musical figures we will encounter.

If you wish to develop or deepen your appreciation of the music of our time, through exciting, insightful listening, reading, and discussion, this course is for you!

COURSE LENGTH: 24 weeks
INSTRUCTOR: François Ouimet
FIRST SESSION: Monday, September 19, 2011 at 2:00 pm