MS 378 - The Second Viennese School and the Early 20th Century

This course offers a historical survey of music composed, performed, or premiered in Central Europe in the period from about 1900 to 1950. We will consider the challenges—compositional, political, social—that these early twentieth-century composers faced and the strategies that they adopted to solve them. We will explore these composers, musical works, and contexts through a combination of lectures, readings, listening, discussion, activities, and excursions to historical sites and museums.