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L2 Historical Studies (Classical Pianist) Syllabus 1011
L2 Historical Studies (Classical Pianist) Syllabus 1011
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HISTORICAL STUDIES (Level 2)
The module description for Level 2 Historical Studies in the Undergraduate pages of Muse provides you
with information on:
This syllabus provides you with more detailed information on the content of lectures, on suitable reading
material, on assessment tasks and on deadlines for the submission of coursework. It also includes any
additional guidance that your module lecturers consider appropriate.
DELIVERY 22 75-minute group lectures (given between September 2010 and May
2011).
OBJECTIVES This module enables you to extend your knowledge of musical history
and gain a broad and informed awareness of selected composers,
performers, musical genres and artistic ideas. It encourages you to use
both primary and secondary sources in order to gain an understanding
of genres, repertoire, their context and performance history.
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LECTURE PLAN
1. Introduction and overview the course.
course. The methods of study, and discussions on the
selection of the “key works”
works
Works to be discussed:
Haydn Sonata in G Major (Hob: XVI:40)
Sonata in C Major (Hob: XVI:48)
Sonata in E-flat major (Hob: XVI:52)
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Works to be discussed:
Mozart Sonata in C minor (K.457)
Sonata in F major (K.547a)
Sonata in B-flat major (K.570)
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Works to be discussed:
Beethoven Sonata in C major (op. 2:3)
Sonata in A-flat major (op. 26)
Sonata in E-flat major (op. 27:1)
Sonata in D major (op. 29)
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Works to be discussed:
Beethoven Sonata in C Major (op. 53)
Sonata in F Minor (op. 23)
Variations with Fugue on a Theme from ‘Prometheus’ (op. 35)
Variation on an original theme (WoO 80)
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6. Case Study 1
• This could be a detailed analysis and discussion of a single sonata by Haydn, Mozart or
Beethoven, or a comparison of two or three sonatas by different composers.
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Works to be discussed:
Clementi Sonata in F minor (op. 13)
Sonata in B flat major (op. 24)
Sonata in F sharp minor (op. 25)
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Dussek Sonata in G major (op. 51)
Grand Sonata in E-flat major (op. 75)
Cramer Selected studies
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Works to be discussed:
CPE Bach Prussian Sonatas
Württemberg Sonatas
Probestücke Sonatas
Sonatas, Rondos, and Fantasias Für Kenner und Liebhaber
Versuch über die wahre Art das Clavier zuspielen (1753, trans
Mitchell, Eulenberg 1973)
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9. From Harpsichord to Pianoforte II – J C Bach
Works to be discussed:
J C Bach Sonatas op. 5
Sonatas op. 17
Works to be discussed:
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Works to be discussed:
Haydn Sonata in G minor (Hob: XVI:44)
Various sonatas written before 1770
Mozart Sonata in G major (K.283)
Sonata in E-flat major (K.189)
Sonata in D major (K.284)
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• This lecture will introduce to some of the keyboard instruments housed in the RCM
Museum, including the opportunity to see a Broadwood piano from the late 1790s, similar
to those Haydn would have heard on his visits to London.
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13. Case Study 2
• This class could concentrate on some the less well known early sonatas by Haydn or
Mozart, and we could use the opportunity to compare these with composers like CPE
Bach and JC Bach.
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Works to be discussed:
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C P E Bach Double Concerto for Concerto for Piano and Harpsichord and Fortepiano in E-
flat major
CPE Bach Keyboard Concerto in C minor
JC Bach Selected concertos from op. 1 & 7
JC Bach/Mozart Concerto in E flat major
Haydn Piano Concerto in D major (Hob. XVIII:11
Mozart Piano Concerto in E flat major (K.271)
Concerto for Two Pianos in E flat major (K.365)
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15. The Piano Concerto II
Works to be discussed:
Mozart Piano Concerto in C major (K. 467)
Piano Concerto in B flat major (K. 595)
Piano Concerto in E-flat major (K. 482)
Piano Concerto in D minor (K.466)
Works to be discussed:
Beethoven Piano Concertos 1 – 5
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• This could be a detailed study of a late concerto by Mozart or one of Beethoven’s piano
concertos.
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Works to be discussed:
Schubert Sonata in A major (D.664)
Sonata in A minor (D.537)
Sonata in F Minor (D.625)
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Works to be discussed:
Beethoven Piano Trios
Violin Sonata in F major
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This could be a detailed study of a chamber work, for example a Trio of Haydn or Beethoven, or a
Violin Sonata of Mozart or Beethoven.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Though there are no set works or set books, you are strongly advised to consult the following
regularly as a staring point for your studies:
These books, though not primarily concerned with piano repertoire, should be consulted regularly in
your studies, and are essential reading for some of the set essay topics.
There is an huge amount of material available on composers like Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven. Most
of it is not listed here, as it is available easily in libraries. However, the following list is not exhaustive
but provides you with some of the other material that is available.
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ASSESSMENT DETAILS
(1)
(1) GROUP PRESENTATION (20 minutes) 20% of the overall module
mark
1. Compare at least two recordings of an extract of a work from your Historical Studies
syllabus. You may focus on areas such as changing performance traditions, the
interpretations of the composer's intentions, the stylistic background of the work and the
individual qualities of the performer(s).
3. Using works from your Historical Studies syllabus to illustrate your talk, outline one stage
of musical development, for example the transition from the Classical Style to early
Romanticism, or from late Romanticism to Modernism.
(2)
(2) TWO WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS
You may choose one from each of the following lists, or may choose your own topics. If you
choose your own topic you must have this approved by your lecturer beforehand.
th
Date and
a nd time of first submission: 4pm, Thursday 13 January 2011
Assignment
Assignment 1 – 1500 words
1. Write an essay which discusses Mozart’s innovations in writing piano concertos. You should
compare some of those written in Salzburg before 1781, with those written in Vienna in the
last ten years of Mozart’s life. Try to select a few works that you consider representative, rather
than a general surveying the genre in general.
2. Discuss what innovations are to be found in piano works by Haydn. Review his use of
harmony, form, writing for, and use of, the instrument. You should also comment on the
musical and historical significance of these works.
3. Write an essay which surveys the keyboard music of the sons of J S Bach. Compare and
contrast their styles, as well as saying how you feel these composers may have influenced their
younger contemporaries.
4. Write an appreciation of the harmonic and formal innovations in the piano music of
Beethoven. You should write only about works composed before 1815.
5. Write an account of the mechanical developments of the piano in the eighteenth century, and
explain how these were affected by, and how they affected, their social and musical
environment.
6. Write an essay which discusses the use of the piano in either chamber music or in sonatas for
solo instruments. You should choose two works for detailed discussion. Comment on how the
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instruments contribute to the musical material and the way in which they interact. You
discussions should pay particular attention to baance, textures and sonority.
7. Write an essay which compares and contrasts Mozart and Haydn’s use of sonata form. Rather
than covering this subject is a general manner, try to concentrate on a few works that you
consider representative of the points you are trying to make.
1. Compare and contrast two recordings of one work for solo piano or a chamber work that uses
the piano. In your essay comment on how you think the performers have approached the
overall musical structure, and how the performances reflect the historical period, style and genre
of the work(s). This will require detailed analysis of the score as well as the recordings you have
chosen. You should submit a copy of the recordings with your essay. Do the performers reveal
any idiosyncrasies that, in your opinion, deflect from the music and its historical context?
2. How crucial do you feel that a performer living in our time should be aware of the kind of
instrument composers like Haydn and Mozart wrote for? Should this have any bearing on
today’s interpretations on modern instruments? Select at least two works for detailed discussion
in your essay. You should be considering dynamics, articulations, other marks of expression, as
well as a close examination of sonority and texture etc.
3. The RCM library has a large number of recordings of Classical Music for piano. Which
performers do you consider to be the most effective in performing music form this period?
Write an essay which discusses Classical Style and how recorded performances in the last 50 or so
years have reflected both changing attitudes to playing this music, as well as interpretations
which seem to have ignored more recent scholarship in shaping the way this music is performed.
4. The late eighteenth century saw an explosion in treatises which were written to help students
perform music in an appropriate way. Taking C P E Bach’s Versuch über die wahre Art das Clavier
zu spielen (True art of playing the keyboard) as a starting point write an essay which discusses
period performance and techniques associated with mid – eighteenth century keyboard playing.
(You may also wish to consult other treatises.
This examination will take place at a time notified during Written Examination Week (16th – 20th
May 2011) and will last for 2 hours. It will consist of short-answer questions about eight examples
played thrice drawn from music studied during the course of this module. All students on the
course take this
this examination.
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IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE COMPLETION AND SUBMISSION OF
COURSEWORK
Written assignments must be submitted online. You can do this via the ‘My Assignments’ area of
your MySite on MUSE (the RCM portal). Please note the deadlines for submission. Submission
will be available from seven days prior to the deadline.
Students missing the stipulated deadline for coursework submission should note that they have up
to two weeks after this deadline to submit work online if they wish this to be marked and receive a
bare minimum pass (40%). Work submitted after this two-week period must be handed directly to
Registry. It will not be eligible for marking, but may be re-assessed over the Summer Vacation,
should the student fail the module and be offered a reassessment opportunity by the
Undergraduate Board of Examiners.
Marked coursework will be available online after three teaching weeks (ie excluding vacations,
Audition Weeks, Planning and Review Weeks).anning and Review Weeks).
ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE
(1) Advice on Written
Written Assignments
You are required to submit two essays. Each essay must be selected from the titles listed above, though
you may consult your lecturer if you want to write on a different topic. Essays should be word-
processed and submitted online. Poorly presented work will be penalised.
You are expected to include relevant musical examples, references to and quotations from original
sources and detailed, and clear descriptions of the music you have examined. Always append a
bibliography that conforms in style to the bibliographical items in the RCM’s Guide to the Presentation
of Written Work. This bibliography should give the details of all the books and articles you have cited.
Do not copy directly out of books or articles. This is cheating and will be dealt with accordingly. By all
means paraphrase what you have read, acknowledging the source, but always try to put your own
point of view and support it with evidence.
Make everything you write count. Avoid repeating yourself and using unnecessary superlatives. Don't
gush. Most of the music you write does not need your approval. Don't use strings of unnecessary
adjectives. Try to condense as much as you can into each sentence, but don't make your sentences too
long. Usually one point per sentence is enough. Condensing a good deal of information into a short
essay is a skill that requires time and clarity of thought, but is a skill well worth acquiring.
As musicians you need to take the opportunity to listen to as much music as possible. All your
work will benefit greatly from this. Try to attend as many concerts and operas as possible, and take
advantage of the wide range of music that is regularly performed at College concerts. Aim to
become a ‘virtuoso listener’ – there are also excellent listening facilities available at the College
Library to help you develop this skill.
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(3) Reading and Listening
It is vital that you build on what is covered in the lectures through independent listening, reading,
performance and self-motivated research.
Extracts from most scores listed in the lecture schedule will be available in class, but it is essential
that you use the extensive resources of the College Library to enhance your understanding of the
prescribed music and the literature written about it. Each week you will be encouraged to
familiarise yourself first and foremost with the music set in the syllabus (through scores and
recordings); once you have done this, you should investigate some of the writings about, or
relevant to, the set work(s). Not unexpectedly, the literature about this subject area is simply vast
– so don’t be daunted! You will not be able (nor expected) to read it all: informed selection will be
essential. To this end, a select bibliography is given at the end of the lecture schedule to get you
started, and some specific bibliographic references are given with each lecture. Here, only titles are
given, so your research skills are crucial: learning how to make informed selections and how to
scan texts efficiently in order to find appropriate passages is most important. Composer
biographies are not generally given in these reading lists, but it goes without saying that The New
Grove (2001) should be your first port of call for biographical and bibliographical information.
Where appropriate, ‘standard’, recurring texts will be given in summary in the lecture lists and only
once in full in the Select Bibliography: e.g., Brun (2000) is short for P. Brun, A New History of the
Double Bass (Paul Brun Productions, 2000). Occasionally, recommendations about useful
recordings will be given informally in class.
Finally, you will get to know a lot of choral music, but don’t forget that this music was not written
in a vacuum: looking at other music alongside your special subject will help you place the works
you are studying in context. If you still have time, therefore, there is nothing to stop you from
listening to other works by the set composers!
If you are in your second year you will give a twenty-minute group presentation and your Historical
Studies professor will assign you to groups of three or four students. If you are in your third or
fourth year you are not required to give this presentation.
presentation
Each group may sign up for tutorial time while preparing their work. The dates and registers for
signing up are held by the Registry. Each group must ensure that additional equipment
(Powerpoint projectors, special playback facilities, etc) has been booked the week before the
presentation by emailing facilitiesstaff@rcm.ac.uk and requesting a confirmation.
Each group is encouraged to prepare handouts if relevant. These may include an outline of the
presentation, a list of additional references relevant to the topic, and (if appropriate) musical
illustrations. You should also be prepared to answer questions (for up to 5 minutes) following your
presentation. You will be assessed by your Historical Studies professor and either the Head or
Deputy Head of Undergraduate Programmes.
You will be assessed on the accuracy, thoroughness and degree of independent understanding
demonstrated in the
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The RCM Guide to the Presentation of Written Work
All students are expected to have developed effective written communication skills. Your
written work at the RCM may include essays, projects, dissertations, concert reports,
programme notes. Markers will annotate texts and make suggestions to inform and
improve your subsequent work so you should leave room for these in your scripts.
Written work should be word-processed and suitably bound. Text should be on one side
of the paper only, double-spaced, with a further blank line left between each paragraph.
Each page should be numbered. Written work should conclude with a bibliography of all
sources consulted, and all quotations included in the text must be acknowledged in a
footnote (such as this).1 The following sections explain how to present bibliographies (and
discographies), how to cite quoted material and how to prepare footnotes.
3. PRESENTING A BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bibliographies should list all published (and unpublished) material consulted during the
preparation of your written work. They should be set out alphabetically, by author’s
surname (though the order for the author’s name is initial(s) followed by surname).
Bibliographies should follow the models cited below in punctuation and italicisation.
[author’s initial(s) and surname / comma / title in italics (underlined if your script is
handwritten) / open brackets / place of publication / comma / date of publication / close
brackets]
3.2
3. 2 Citing an article in a periodical or journal
[author’s initial(s) and surname / comma / title of article in single inverted commas /
comma / title of periodical in italics (underlined if your script is handwritten) / comma /
volume number (use arabic numbers) /date of publication in brackets / comma / initial
and terminal page numbers for the article]
1
Failure to properly cite works may leave you open to changes of plagiarism. See Section 7 of this
document, and the General academic regulations for students 2004/5, under ‘Regulations concerning
cheating, plagiarism and collusion’.
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M. Babbitt, ‘Three Essays on Schoenberg’, Perspectives on Schoenberg and Stravinsky, ed.
Benjamin Boretz and Edward T. Cone (Princeton, 1968), 47-60
[author’s initial(s) and surname / comma / title of article in single inverted commas /
comma / title of complete work in italics (underlined if your script is handwritten) /
comma / ed. (note the full stop) / editor’s (editors’) name(s) / open brackets / place of
publication / comma / date of publication / close brackets /comma / initial and terminal
page numbers for the essay]
I. Bent, ‘Analysis’, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie
(London, 1980), i, 340-88
[author’s initial(s) and surname / comma / title of article in single inverted commas /
comma / title of dictionary or encyclopedia in italics (underlined if your script is
handwritten) / comma / ed. (note full stop) /
editor’s (editors’) name(s) / open brackets / place of publication / comma / date of
publication / close brackets / comma / volume number of dictionary (if a multi-volume
work) in roman numerals / comma /initial and terminal page numbers]
Your examiners will expect to see a reasonable balance between printed and web-based
sources.
Reference to websites (but always consider how reliable those you consult might be) should be
included after the discography, laid out in the following way:
N. Shackleton, 'Basset-horn’, Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 5 October 2001),
http://www.grovemusic.com
[author’s initial(s) and surname / comma / title of dissertation in single inverted commas /
open brackets / Ph.D. (M.Mus. etc) dissertation / comma / name of university / comma /
date of submission / close brackets]
If there are two or more authors of a book or article, list their names as they appear in the
publication (not in alphabetical order). The first surname listed will determine the
alphabetical placing within the bibliography. Some of the examples listed above have
been taken from ‘Notes for Contributors to Research Chronicle’ found in each issue of the
Royal Musical Association’s Research Chronicle. If you wish to cite a source for which no
example is provided in these guidelines, you should consult this periodical which is
available in the RCM Library.
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4. PRESENTING A DISCOGRAPHY
A discography should follow on from the bibliography and give full details of any
recordings consulted (including any dates; you need only give one if the recording is NOT
a reissue),listing items in alphabetical order of composer:
P. Boulez, Pli selon pli, Phyllis Bryn-Julson, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Boulez (Erato),
1962/R1995, CD 229245376-2
[composer’s initial(s) and surname name / comma / title of work in italics (underlined if
your script is handwritten) / comma / performers: soloist(s), orchestra, conductor,
separated by commas / record label in
brackets / comma / date / comma / format (CD, LP etc) / number]
[a] Several of Stravinsky’s early works show a ‘satirical wit’ and ‘genial affection’ at
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work.
[b] Rosen asserts that ‘taking a pleasure in music is the most obvious sign of
comprehension’.3
Rights in intellectual property would have to be put in every respect on a par with
rights in all other property, especially as regards inheritability.4
Note that footnotes to which the numbers refer appear at the bottom of the page, and
that the numbers should always appear after any punctuation mark, such as a comma or
full stop.
When preparing footnotes you may also wish to use the following terms (which you will
also see used in sources you consult):
op.
op. cit. (Latin: ‘the cited work’.) Using this term indicates that you have cited the work
already in a footnote (unless you have since cited a different work by the same author)
and allows you to use the shorter format expressed in note 9 below:
7
R. Vlad, Stravinsky (London, 1978), 65
8
R. P. Morgan, Twentieth-Century Music (London & New York, 1991), 67
2
P. Griffiths, Modern Music: a Concise History (2nd edn, London, 1994), 66.
3
C. Rosen, ‘The Frontiers of Nonsense’, The Frontiers of Meaning: Three Informal Lectures on
Music(London, 1998), 3
4
A. Schoenberg, Style and Idea, ed. Leonard Stein (London, 1975), 371 164
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9
Vlad, op. cit., 85
ibid. (Latin: ‘the same’.) This term indicates the same author and work to which the
previous footnote has referred (ie you have not referred to any other source in between):
12
P. Kivy, Osmin’s Rage: Philosophical Reflections on Opera, Drama, and Text
(Princeton, 1988), 72-3
13
ibid., 97
loc. cit.
cit. (Latin: ‘in the place/passage previously quoted’.) This indicates that quotations
acknowledged in consecutive footnotes are taken from the same page:
14
R. Vlad, Stravinsky (London, 1978), 65
15
loc. cit.
passim. (Latin: ‘in many places’.) This indicates that in several subsequent parts of the text
(beyond the specified page number) the reader will encounter further commentary on the
same theme. Subsequent references in footnotes to a previously cited source (ie those
which are not consecutive and which therefore cannot make use of op. cit.) may be
abbreviated as follows:
19
Rosen (1996), 506
[author’s surname / date of publication in brackets / comma / page reference]
6. PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is taking the words or ideas of someone else and making it appear that these
are your own. Some people refer to this as ‘intellectual theft’.
If you copy out any section (no matter how small) from any published source you must
acknowledge this source immediately as a footnote (or endnote). If you copy out material
word for-word without acknowledging its source, you are guilty of plagiarism.
If you summarise the content of someone’s work and include that summary in your own
work you must acknowledge this immediately as a footnote (or endnote). Failure to make
such an acknowledgement means you have plagiarised another person’s ideas.
It is expected that you will consult a wide range of source materials (websites, books,
articles, scores etc) as you prepare your written work. Learn to keep a careful record of any
material taken directly from other sources. When taking notes, place all such text in
quotation marks so that you do not inadvertently incorporate this into your own work
without acknowledgement.
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ASSESSMENT CRITERIA FOR ASSIGNMENTS
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
CRITERIA FOR WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS
% Grade Description
Class
I 80 and Outstanding originality of thought. Essay structure has outstanding clarity.
above Factually highly detailed and accurate. An exceptional standard of
presentation.
I 70—79 Excellent originality of thought. Essay structure has excellent clarity. Factually
detailed and accurate. An excellent standard of presentation.
IIi 60—69 Good originality of thought. Essay structure has good clarity. Generally
factually detailed and accurate. A high standard of presentation.
IIii 50—59 Some originality of thought. Essay structure has some clarity. Factually less
detailed or inaccurate. A satisfactory standard of presentation.
III 40-49 Limited originality of thought. Essay structure has limited clarity. Factually
superficial or inaccurate. A low standard of presentation.
Fail 39 & No originality of thought. Essay structure has no clarity. Factually superficial
below and inaccurate. An inadequate standard of presentation.
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