Selected Topics (335-0-1)

Topic

Interpreting Music

Instructors

Andrew Talle
847/491-7228
RCMA 4-133
Office Hours: by appointment
Coordinator, musicology program. Andrew Talle '95 studied at Northwestern from 1990-1995, earning a bachelor’s degree in cello performance as a student of Hans Jørgen Jensen, as well as bachelor’s and master’s degrees in linguistics. From 1995-2003, he was a PhD student at Harvard University, earning master’s and doctoral degrees in musicology. Dr. Talle spent one year lecturing at Harvard before moving to Baltimore in 2004 to join the musicology faculty at the Peabody Conservatory. In 2011, he was named a Gilman Scholar of the Johns Hopkins University, a distinction reserved for fewer than 20 faculty members across all nine divisions. He joined the Northwestern faculty in 2017.

Meeting Info

RCMA 1-160: Tues, Thurs 12:30PM - 1:50PM

Overview of class

This course will explore the issue of interpretation in music, both in theory and in practice. We will focus primarily on instrumental music in the classical tradition, since it poses questions of music's meaning most directly. The course will begin by addressing source questions, will go on to explore issues raised by 'authentic' performance practice, and to explore the range of meanings that have been attributed to a given work in contemporary culture. We will then examine issues of interpretation in non-musical fields: acting, law, and cooking. By considering the challenges posed by interpretation of ancient texts in these varied disciplines, we will illuminate issues of interpretation faced by musicians.

Class Attributes

Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area