The Faust Legend in Music
Overview
The Faust legend, particularly as reimagined by Goethe, has inspired many great composers to produce works based on it. We will explore notable contributions to this tradition, including operas, choral works, songs and symphonies. Works to be studied will include Gounod’s opera Faust, Liszt’s A Faust Symphony, The Damnation of Faust by Berlioz, Mahler’s Symphony of a Thousand and other adaptations by Schumann, Wagner, Boito and Busoni, as time allows. No specialist knowledge is required for full participation – just an interest in listening to music and exploring its historical and literary background.
Programme details
Session 1
Introduction: Faust in song (Beethoven, Schubert and Mussorgsky)
Session 2
Berlioz ‘The Damnation of Faust’ I
Session 3
Berlioz ‘The Damnation of Faust’ II
Session 4
Schumann ‘Scenes from Goethe’s Faust’
Session 5
Liszt ‘A Faust Symphony’ I
Session 6
Liszt ‘A Faust Symphony’ II
Session 7
Gounod ‘Faust’ I
Session 8
Gounod ‘Faust’ II
Session 9
Mahler Symphony No.8, part 2
Session 10
Boito ‘Mefistophele’
Session 11
Busoni ‘Doctor Faust’
Session 12
‘Reverse engineering’: Thomas Mann ‘Doktor Faustus’ and some conclusions
Tutor
Dr Peter Copley
Tutor
Peter Copley D.Phil, MA, B.mus is a composer, cellist and pianist. He is a visiting lecturer at OUDCE, the University of Sussex and for the Open University, where he has been a Research Associate for the music faculty.
Course aims
This course aims to provide an overview of significant musical works inspired by the Faust legend.
Teaching methods
All summer school courses are taught through group seminars and individual tutorials. Students also conduct private study when not in class and there is a well stocked library at OUDCE to support individual research needs.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this course, students will be expected to understand:
- The range of musical works inspired by the Faust legend composed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
- How these relate to the traditions of the genres in which they were composed
- How they relate to their respective composers’ developments
- The influence that these works had on later composers
For more information click "LINK TO ORIGINAL" below.
This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:
https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/courses/the-faust-legend-in-music?code=O20I508SSR