CVA2032 Appreciating Classical Music: The Art of Listening
4 Credit Intermediate Liberal Arts
Classical music can seem daunting to inexperienced listeners. How do you make sense of instrumental music that has no lyrics to guide you? What instruments are you hearing? How do you make sense of an opera in a language you don’t understand? How can you tell the difference between one orchestra and another? Why are some works typically performed in a church, others in a theater, others in a concert hall, and still others in intimate spaces? Why do we still revere composers like J.S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner? Why can’t most people name a female composer? This courses answers these questions, and more, through a thematic introduction to the classical music tradition of Western Europe and the United States. Foundation AHS and RHT