COMPOSER BIOGRAPHIES – SYLLABUS

(F-08)

Instructor: John Spitzer

Email: jspitzer@sfcm.edu

Class meets: Wednesday 1-2:50, Room 319

Office Hours: Thursday (by appointment), room 405

Website: www.sfcmhistory.com/

Sept 10 Introduction – Biography as a literary genre

Sept 17 Mozart – Overview

READ: Groves; Niemetschek

Sept 24 Mozart – Letters

READ: Anderson letters; Spaethling letters; Schroeder; Rosselli; Solomon; Braunbehrens; Hildesheimer; Knepler

Oct 1 Mozart – Personality

READ: Einstein; Stafford; Solomon

WATCH: Amadeus

Oct 8 Mozart – Music

READ: Solomon; Einstein; Rosselli

LISTEN: Quintet K.516; Sonata K.310

Oct 15 Schumann - Overview

READ: HDM, Bakers, Groves

ASST 1 DUE (Mozart)

Oct 22 Schumann – Love and marriage

READ: Daverio; Reich; Worthen; Galloway; Landis

Oct 29 Schumann – Works

READ: Daverio; Worthen; Jensen; Ostwald; Schauffler

LISTEN: String quartets 1-2; Trio 1

Nov 5 Schumann – Mental illness

READ: Waseilwski; Ostwald; Daverio; Worthen; Jensen

Nov 12 Ives – Overview

READ: HDM, Bakers, Cowell

ASST 2 DUE (Schumann)

Nov 19 Ives – Ives and his father

READ: Perlis; Swafford; Rossiter; Feder; Wooldridge

Nov 26 Ives – Ideas and music

READ: Rossiter; Swafford; Burkholder; Ives

LISTEN: Concord Sonata, Songs, 4^th symphony?

Dec 3 Ives – Reception

READ: Perlis; Cowells; Rossiter; Swafford

Dec 10 Open

Dec 17 Recapitulation – Composer biographies as a genre

ASST 3 DUE (Book review)