BEETHOVEN AT 250

Presented by the Dallas Chamber Music Society in partnership with the Dallas Institute

“For nearly two centuries, a single style of a single composer has epitomized musical vitality, becoming the paradigm of Western compositional logic and of all the positive virtues that music can embody for humanity.  This conviction has proved so strong that it no longer acts as an overt part of our musical consciousness; it is now simply a condition of the way we tend to engage the musical experience.  The values of Beethoven’s heroic style have become the values of music.”  In this class we will study several chamber music works of Ludwig van Beethoven in an effort to understand whether and how, in the 250th anniversary year of his birth, these words by the music theorist Scott Burnham continue to ring true.  What was so different about Beethoven’s music?  Why did he become so prominent?  Does he still matter today?  These and other questions will guide us through a consideration of Beethoven’s music and his legacy.

$60 for class

Class with Prof. Peter Kupfer
Thursdays: October 29, November 5 & 12: 6:30 – 8:30pm
Venue: Online by videoconferencing software

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DR. PETER KUPFER is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Musicology at SMU. His Ph.D. is in music history and theory from the University of Chicago.