Module MUSI2681: Russian and Soviet Music, 1890-1975

Department: Music

MUSI2681: Russian and Soviet Music, 1890-1975

Prerequisites

• (MUSI1231 Historical Trends and Issues of the 17th and 18th Centuries) OR (MUSI1xx1 Historical Studies 1: The Long Nineteenth Century)

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To provide a broad overview of musical life in Russia/Soviet Union between 1890 and 1975.
• To study key creative achievements of significant composers during this period.
• To deepen understanding of the relationship between musical creativity and the wider currents of artistic and intellectual life in Russia/the USSR, as well as the contemporary social and political context.

Content

• The course will survey significant developments in Russian/Soviet music between 1890 and 1975, covering topics such as: composers of the Silver Age; musical life after the Russian Revolution; the emergence of a musical avant-garde; the increasing politicisation of musical life during the Stalinist era: music and Socialist Realism; music during the Zhdanovshchnina. It will build on the critical and analytical skills imparted in first year, and require the students to bring these to bear on a range of more sophisticated tasks.

Learning Outcomes

• Students will be provided with the opportunity to deepen their appreciation of the distinctive features of Russian/Soviet composition in relation to the social/cultural matrix from which it emerged, as well as to broaden their knowledge of mainstream repertoire.

• Students will learn to apply appropriate methods of assessment from a broad range of critical standpoints, notably the historical, cultural and political, drawing especially on hermeneutic methodologies which seek to elucidate the relationships between artworks and their social/cultural context. They will also become familiar with key works by leading scholars of Russian/Soviet music of this period.

• The ability to identify and conceptualise key issues in the study of music from this repertoire, situate ideas in context, engage in critically informed argument and apply appropriate analytical methodologies.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The module will be delivered through lectures and seminars/tutorials during Term 2. Formative assignments will be set in preparation for the summative tasks. The summative assignments will consist of two essays/analytical projects.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Preliminary formative task and short class presentation in preparation for summative project.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University