MUS 116(S) Music in Modernism (W)
The synthesis of the arts was a primary pursuit of modernist composers, artists,
choreographers, and writers. Seeking either to realize Wagner's "total work of
art" in the theater, or to uncover the more general correspondences celebrated by
Baudelaire, modernists consistently looked beyond their own media.
Collaborations on works of "total theater" were common: Satie, Cocteau,
Massine, Picasso; Brecht, Hindemith, Weill; Stravinsky, Nijinsky, Bakst;
Claudel, Honegger, Rubinstein. Modernists explored new connections between
music and color (Scriabin, Kandinsky), music and literature (Joyce, Mann), and
music and dance (Duncan, Graham). Occasionally, modernists attempted to
unite the arts on their own: Schoenberg painted, Pound composed, and
Kokoschka wrote. Our focus will be on those works of music, art, dance, and
literature that explored new relationships between the arts. One goal will be to
investigate whether specific equivalents exist between techniques of modernist
painting, poetics, choreography, and composition. Aware of the risks and
rewards of interdisciplinary study, we will attempt our own theories of artistic
synthesis. This course is designed to bring multiple perspectives to the study of
music in modernism.
Format: discussion/lecture. Evaluation will be based on three papers (7, 10, and
14 pages in length) and on class participation. Drafts of two of these papers will
be required. Students will receive detailed comments on each paper, allowing
them to build upon those comments in subsequent writing assignments.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 15 (expected: 10).