Music

What’s the best way to understand Beethoven in the classical tradition? It’s a straightforward question, and one that we’ve discussed a lot during this module. But it’s not a simple one to answer. You’ve read your text, Nicolas Cook, and Philip Ewell all address the idea. And there are hundreds of other essays and books written on the topic. Given our discussions, our listening, and your reading, offer your own response to this question. Is it best to understand Beethoven as a “great composer” who forever changed our understanding of music, or is it better to contextualize him in his time and place and think about how the immediate responses to him and his music continue to resonate? Should we put him at the center of courses like this one, and give him his own attention? Or should we de-center the study of Beethoven to open up places for other composers? Make your statement, and back it up by demonstrating you understand the various arguments proposed around Beethoven as we’ve discussed over this module