Course Details in 2025/26 Session

Module Title	LH The Symphony: Prestige and Politics
School	Lan, Cult, Art Hist & Music
Department	Music
Module Code	10 37045
Module Lead	Dr Nicholas Attfield
Level	Honours Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 1
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	None
Contact Hours	Lecture-20 hours Guided independent study-180 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	The symphony was the high-prestige mode of instrumental composition in nineteenth-century Europe and the wider world, and it retained its status in professional orchestral concerts and in the era of recording. The symphonic repertory of this era has often been considered one of the glories of western civilization; but, by the same token, it has been criticised for its maintenance and celebration of certain cultural values:. the symphony typically connotes masculinity, wealth, intellectual-philosophical pedigree, nationalism, antimodernism, and conservative conceptions of western European identity. Against the backdrop of these claims, the module examines the symphony from its origins to the interwar period of the twentieth century, exploring the works of famous canonic composers and of those whom the implicit boundaries of the genre would seem to marginalise; it makes use of numerous contrasting aesthetic, social, and political perspectives in order to do so. Composers treated may include Sammartini, Stamitz, Haydn, Mozart, Farrenc, Beethoven, Schubert, Mayer, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, Bruckner, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Mahler, and Price.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: Recognise and critically discuss the historical features of the genre of the symphony and their modifications through time, from the mid-eighteenth century to the early twentieth century; recognise and critically discuss composition styles and strategies and place them historically in social and political context with considerable insight; discuss and analyse specific compositions at some length and with a high degree of sophistication.
Assessment	37045-01 : Essay 1 : Coursework (50%) 37045-02 : Essay 2 : Coursework (50%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	Assessment: 50% Essay (2500 words), 50% Essay (2500 words). Reassessment: No resits are permitted in final year. If students miss the assessed task owing to extenuating circumstances, the failed task would be rescheduled at a later date.
Other
Reading List