Three Directions, 1900–1945 — When the rules disappear, what guides your performance?
Driving Question
You spent last semester in a world of singing lines and expressive rubato. Listen to these two excerpts without any explanation — what changed? What is your body's reaction?
Driving Question
Do Verklärte Nacht and the Second String Quartet sound like the same composer? What changed?
Driving Question
Both Bartók and Stravinsky rejected Expressionism, but their alternatives are completely different. Where exactly do they diverge?
Driving Question
If you didn't know Shostakovich's political situation, would you hear the Eighth String Quartet differently?
Driving Question
Can you see the shape of what happened between 1900 and 1950? Where do you stand in this landscape?
Postwar to Century's End — After disintegration, what building materials remain?
Driving Question
Is this still "music"? What criteria do you use to answer that question?
Driving Question
In this music, does the individual performer matter?
Driving Question
How minimal can music be and still hold your attention? What is the difference between Reich's repetition and Pärt's repetition?
Driving Question
The avant-garde was not the only path. What else was happening at the same time?
Contemporary Practice — Where do you stand?
Driving Question
When the score no longer looks like a score, how do you prepare a performance?
Driving Question
As a local string player, where do you see yourself in this global landscape?
This course uses a flipped model: historical background, composer biographies, and basic style features are your responsibility before class. You are encouraged to use AI tools, online resources, books, or any other means.
Class time focuses on: comparative listening, real-time discussion, hands-on practice, and professor-led expert listening — things that can only happen face-to-face.
Every week, come with at least one question. Your question doesn't need to be brilliant — it just needs to be genuine.
每週課前，請完成指定的預習任務並聆聽指定作品。歡迎使用 AI 工具整理背景資料，但請務必自己聽過指定的錄音——AI 可以描述音樂，但無法取代你的耳朵。
Design a 45 - 60 minutes string concert program in groups of 4. The program must include at least one post-1945 work. You are free to choose any format: chamber music, solo recital, mixed programming, or any creative combination.
Submit complete program notes written for an audience (not an academic paper) and present your curatorial concept in an 8-minute group oral presentation.
四人一組，設計一場 45 - 60 分鐘的弦樂音樂會節目。曲目需包含至少一首 1945 年以後的作品。形式不限：室內樂、獨奏、混合編制皆可。需附完整節目單文字（寫給聽眾看的，不是學術論文）。期末進行 8 分鐘的分組口頭報告，說明選曲邏輯與詮釋構想。
其他同學將進行互評：針對節目設計提出具體想法與建議（不直接參與評分，但回饋品質納入平時成績）。報告後一週內繳交根據回饋修訂的最終書面版。
互評提問方向：
這份節目的曲目排列順序說服你了嗎？如果不完全說服，是哪個環節讓你猶豫？
如果你是聽眾，節目單文字有沒有讓你更想聽這場音樂會？
這組選擇的「1945 年後作品」在整場節目中扮演什麼角色？放在這個位置合適嗎？
Milestone Week Task
Assigned 佈置 W3 (3/9) Project briefing, form groups
Draft 1 初稿 W10 (4/27) Preliminary repertoire list with rationale (1 page)
Draft 2 修訂 W12 (5/11) Revised version with draft program notes
Final Presentation 報告 W16 (6/8) 8-min group oral presentation + peer review
Final Submission 定稿 6/15 Revised written program after incorporating peer feedback
Component Weight
Pre-class prep & post-class assignments 課前預習與課後作業 25%
Class participation & discussion 課堂參與與討論 20%
Midterm 期中考 (W8, 4/13) 20%
Final Project: Group Concert Program Design 35%
學期專案：分組音樂會節目設計 (W16, 6/8)