Courses at Utrecht University for 2008-2009 are:

 

Classical Music Repertoire: try the NEW exam mp3 here below!

Here is the list of 50 compositions which form the independent study course of classical music repertoire.

This list includes some of the most important compositions written in the last four hundred years (since 1609 to be exact).

It is undoubtedly subjective; the list attempts to be not only a representative survey of some of the most

important works ever written, but is also a balanced set of examples of specific genres, instrumentations, ensembles and styles.

All these works can be found on recordings (each in at least one performance, sometimes more) in the university library.

The relevant scores can, for the most part, be found in the Musicology Department.

This course has been developed for independent study. All are expected to listen to all works as included,

knowing them sufficiently to be able to recognize them when heard

(complete, or in excerpt), as well as the ability to name the form and type of each work and/or to name

the relevant movement within a work.

The course will be examined via a listening as well as a written test at the end of the half semester.

Excerpts of the works will be chosen for identification and description

(where should it be placed in the entire composition,

where should it be placed in music history).

List of Repertoire :

Bach, Johann Sebastian: - Matthäus-Passion/St. Mathew Passion, BWV 244 ,- Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 ,- Suite for cello solo no. 2 in d minor, BWV 1008

Bartók, Béla - Concerto for Orchestra Beethoven, Ludwig van - Symphony no. 9 in d minor, opus 125 ,- Sonata in A flat major, opus 110

Boulez, Pierre - Le marteau sans maître

Brahms, Johannes - Symphony no. 1 in c minor, opus 68

Britten, Benjamin -War Requiem, opus 66

Bruckner, Anton - Symphony no. 7 in E major (Nowak edition is preferred)

Chopin, Frédéric - Two Nocturnes, opus 37

Debussy, Claude - Préludes (books I and II)

Dvorák, Antonín - Symphony no.9 in e minor, opus 95 (From the New World) , - 'Dumky', Trio no. 4 in e minor, opus 90

Gershwin, George - Rhapsody in Blue (version for orchestra) 

Gubaidulina, Sophia -Offertorium, for violin solo and orchestra

Haydn, Joseph - String Quartets, opus 33 (complete), - Symphony no. 103, in E flat major, 'Paukenwirbel/Drum Roll'

Ives, Charles - The Unanswered Question

Liszt, Franz - Les Préludes (symphonic poem no. 3)

Mahler, Gustav - Symphony no. 5 in C sharp minor

Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Felix - Midsummernight's dream, opus 21 and opus 61 (all movements)

Messiaen, Olivier - Turangalîla-symphonie

Milhaud, Darius 24- La Création du Monde

Monteverdi, Claudio - L'Orfeo, favola in musica

 

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus - Don Giovanni, K 527 , - Concerto for Clarinet in A major, K 622

Rachmaninoff, Sergei - Concerto for piano no. 3 in d minor, opus 30

Rameau, Jean Philippe - Pièces de Clavecin en Concerts no. 3

Reich, Steve - Different Trains

Schoenberg, Arnold - Drei Klavierstücke, opus 11, - Suite for Piano, opus 25

Schubert, Franz - Quintet (for two violins, viola and two celli) in C major, D.956 (opus posth. 163) , - Vier Lieder from Wilhelm Meister (Goethe), D.877

Schumann, Robert - Lieder und Gësange from Wilhelm Meister (Goethe), opus 98a, - Kreisleriana, opus 16
Shostakovich, Dmitri - String Quartet no. 8, opus 110 Sibelius, Jean - Concerto for violin in d minor, opus 47

Stockhausen, Karlheinz - Gruppen, for three orchestras

Strauss, Richard -Salome

Stravinsky, Igor - Le Sacre du Printemps 42- Pulcinella: Suite

Sweelinck, Jan Pieterszoon - Fantasia C[h]romatica

Tchaikovsky, Piotr Ilyich - Symphony no. 6 in b minor, opus 74,'Pathétique'

Varèse, Edgar - Amériques (1927 version)

Verdi, Giuseppe - La Traviata

Vivaldi, Antonio - Le Quattro Stagioni/Four Seasons, opus 8, nos. 1-4

Wagner, Richard - Tristan und Isolde

Webern, Anton - Fünf Stücke für Orchester, opus 10

Weill, Kurt -Dreigroschenoper/Threepenny Opera

 

Try your hand at the exam the students have to cope with!

Play the mp3 tracks, all very short, and note down the following relevant facts:

-the composer's name

-the name of the work

-the movement: which part of a work it is

-the year of composition (or approximation thereof)

-the genre

Aside from these facts, you are cordially invited to supplement them with a programmatic theme,

the librettist (of an opera), the structure of the movement, and/or the form of the whole work,

or its place and/or significance in the oeuvre of the composer.

Points can also be earned by naming the opus number, relevant key and mode,

as well as identification of the performers.

 

You have 20 minutes as of NOW!: click here:  You need to upgrade your Flash Player

Dutch Music and Song Culture: a joint venture with Prof. dr. L.P.Grijp.

This course presents Dutch music culture in its totality, not only classical but also folk,

and popular music histories. Vital to this approach is the publication 'Een muziekgeschiedenis der Nederlanden'

(A Music History of the Netherlands).

The theoretical models used will be both the elite and folk, but cross-overs and related abnormalities

will certainly be included. Holland's most important classical composers,

from Jan Pieterzoon Sweelinck up and including Peter Schat will of course receive their

attention as deserved and will be presented in appropriate social contexts. Singing by,

and its relevance to, the general population will be a central theme, studied through popular

books and sheet music, from Hadewijch to Hazes. Contrafaction and oral history are of essence to our approach,

as is an emphasis on the literary, making this course of interest not only to musicology students, but to all studying within the Humanities Faculty.

Repertoire and Programming :

 Focus here is on two important aspects of musical life in the Netherlands: the repertoire presented,

both past and present, on the concert stages, in radio and television broadcasts and on commercial recordings,

as well as the manner in which this repertoire is programmed.

Both artistic and business determinants of programming policy and decisions

(as well as the decision makers involved) will be analysed, often by guest appearances by

said decision makers. Students will be expected to complete practical assignments, for example,

programming radio broadcasts and concert series.

 

Music Journalism: delegated to guest lecturer drs. Elmer Schönberger

This course combines the history of music journalism, especially that in the Dutch language yet from an

international perspective, with a survey of the present day musical press and its infrastructure.

It also includes practical components: writing assignments in several different types of music journalism.

Students will be expected to attend and review concerts, write on recently published books, cd's and dvd's,

and undertake programme notes as well as interview prominent individuals in Dutch musical life for written publication.