MUS-T 410 Summer 2007

Variation in the 18C and 19C

Instructor: Prof. Roman Ivanovitch
E-mail: rivanovi @ indiana.edu
MWF 12:00-1:20 p.m.

Variation has long been one of the most important and central – yet double-edged –concepts in music, for composers and theorists alike. For composers, it has often been a stock-in-trade, a means of making money, teaching, demonstrating performative and compositional virtuosity; as a theoretical concept, the notion of similarity and difference that is at the heart of variation cuts to the core of theory and analysis, which often rests eventually on the demonstration of connectedness. The “double edge” of variation lies in the fact that its sectional, repetitive form has often been thought less interesting than more overtly dynamic structures, such as sonata form; while its mundane, mercantile associations have sometimes placed it on a lower aesthetic rung than other genres, such as symphonies. Variation is a fascinating prism through which to view changes in musical styles and attitudes.

This class examines the phenomenon in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, a period roughly spanning from Bach’s “Goldberg” Variations, through Beethoven’s towering examples, to Brahms’s “Handel” Variations. The class is mainly analytical: we’ll look at many pieces in depth, using standard techniques of tonal analysis; where appropriate we’ll read around the subject too, using primary and secondary sources. At the same time, once we’re secure with some basic traits of variation sets, we’ll start to examine the concept of variation beyond its confines as a genre, seeing how its signal aspect – the impulse to act recursively – can interact richly with more goal-directed forms (such as sonata).

Familiarity with basic tonal analytical techniques, together with some historical perspective, will be assumed.T252 or T262 is a prerequisite.

The workload will involve several short written analytical projects and a final paper.