Take a musical journey through four of Europe's great cultural centres. Beginning in Reformation-era Magdeburg, explore the music of Gallus Dressler and his contemporaries before travelling to eighteenth century Milan, where J.C. Bach and the young Mozart flourished. Continue to Vienna during Schubert's lifetime to discover lesser-known works alongside his beloved masterpieces, before concluding in fin-de-siècle Paris with the music of Fauré and Ravel. Combining history, architecture and outstanding music, this course offers a rich exploration of how great cities have inspired extraordinary musical creativity across the centuries.

DELIVERY MODE

Face to face

COURSE OUTLINE

• The Hanseatic city of Magdeburg on the river Elbe - the music of Gallus Dressler and his predecessors and successors in the city - from the mid-Renaissance to the early Baroque
• Milan - J C Bach's works composed for Milan Cathedral when he served as organist there; Mozart's first prestigious opera commissions for an important Italian city
• Schubert in Vienna - selections from some of his operas which are among his most neglected compositions, and extracts from his symphonic writing, his solo piano music, and his sacred music
• Gabriel Fauré and his pupil Maurice Ravel in Paris - incidental music for plays, piano repertoire and vocal music   

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Outline the importance of each of the cities during the period studied within their different geographic environments
• Distinguish the contrasting musical styles concentrated from the the mid-Renaissance to the early 20th century
• Evaluate the contribution made by each composer studied in the course to their immediate environment and beyond
• Relate the music to its visual environment and the location of the first performances