1681. Walter Piston, Symphony no. 3 (29:39)

Date:
1960
Summary:
A third kind of American musical composition is the subject of this program. Contrasted with the strongly emotional and nationalistic music of Harris, or the attempts at a resolution of the national-universal conflict in the music of Copland, is the music of Walter Piston, which, the composer explains, is "not intended to convey other than musical ideas." Professor Woodworth uses Piston's comment as a key to understanding his music, and shows by the use of visual aids and recordings how Piston has contrived to write a classical symphony in modern idiom. The use of orchestration, tonality and rhythm supports his efforts to write vital and dramatic music devoid of representational elements, says Professor Woodworth, and he demonstrates these points by examples drawn from Piston's Third Symphony.

1682. Roy Harris : Symphony no. 3 (29:43)

Date:
1960
Summary:
In this program the new developments in American music are introduced through a study of Roy Harris' Symphony Number 3. Professor Woodworth interprets this music in terms of a growing American nationalism which express such American problems as the will to succeed, the desire for spiritual assurance, and the materialistic conflict in musical terms. Harris’ rejection of the techniques of Stravinsky, and his return to Baroque musical forms influences all of his music, and particularly this Symphony. Professor Woodworth plays recorded portions of this work to demonstrate some of the unique characteristics of this form of American music.

1683. Introduction to the 20th century (29:37)

Date:
1960
Summary:
As the 20th Century opened, symphonic composers faced, among other things, a conflict between nationalism and internationalism. Still nationalist in orientation, says Professor Woodworth, are composers such as Vaughan Williams, while partaking of the new spirit of internationalism is the work of the composer Honegger. But despite this new spirit, the basic construction of the modern symphony remains the same as it was originally conceived in the middle of the 18th Century.

1684. The grand plan (29:40)

Date:
1960
Summary:
"The understanding of music consists in the responding to music in its own terms." This quotation from music critic Thomas Serret is the keynote not only to this program but also to the whole series. At this point, Professor Woodworth gives a careful and complete analysis of the first movement of Beethoven's Second Symphony. The separate parts of the movement --introduction, exposition, development, recapitulation and coda --are present in almost all first movements of almost all symphonies. Though the idioms or specific ideas may vary, this musical plan has survived for some two hundred years thanks to its symmetry, unity, variety and beauty, explains Professor Woodworth.

1685. This question of color (55:07)

Date:
1965
Summary:
Talks about a new anti-discrimation bill going before Parliament. This episode is seen through the eyes, experiences and observations of Sha Jahan, 23 of Pakistan and Rudy Kizerman, a young British subject from Barbados. Discusses hostility towards many Indian, Pakistani and African immigrants and social aspects of race in the country.

1686. The wind band in the classical orchestra (29:39)

Date:
1960
Summary:
Professor Woodworth demonstrates the importance to the composer of the various kinds of sounds made by different musical instruments. He uses the wind instruments as examples, drawing on members of the Cambridge Festival Orchestra who perform passages from works including Haydn's Military Symphony, three pieces by Beethoven including a passage from his Sixth Symphony, and Mozart's Symphony Number 41. The arrangement of instruments, the uses to which they can be put, and the varied effects of solo and group performance are elements in a study of sonority which is the subject of this program.

1687. Beethoven : Eroica and Pastoral (29:45)

Date:
1960
Summary:
Professor Woodworth begins the program by declaring that Beethoven's "Eroica” and "Pastoral" Symphonies are examples of Whitman's line, "It is not the sounds alone that move, but their exquisite meaning." The French Revolution, liberation from tyranny, equality, fraternity, heroism—these, says Professor Woodworth, were present in Beethoven's mind when he wrote the Third Symphony and named it "Eroica." Yet it—like the Sixth or "Pastoral" Symphony which took its theme from a holiday in the country—follows strict musical and compositional forms and can be understood even without an acquaintance with the pictorial or poetic background which influenced them.

1688. The development of musical ideas (29:39)

Date:
1960
Summary:
Professor Woodworth uses this program to introduce some general principles of musical composition, illustrating his remarks by examples from Haydn's Symphony Number 102. He explains how musical ideas are developed, how they are used and recognized in composition, and how they can be transformed and manipulated within the structure of the movement. Diagrams, and rear-screen projections of the score are used in this program.

1689. Finale (29:42)

Date:
1960
Summary:
In this last program Professor Woodworth summarizes the points he has made in the course of the series. Then, as a climax to the study of the symphonic form, Professor Woodworth conducts the Cambridge Festival Orchestra in a performance of the final movement of Mozart's Symphony Number 38, and then in a complete performance of Prokofiev's Classical Symphony, showing the transition from the 18th Century to modern music.

1690. The classical achievement (29:38)

Date:
1960
Summary:
This program is a summation of the first development of the symphony as conceived by Haydn, Mozart and the early Beethoven. The examples used to show this development include the Minuet and Trio of Mozart's 39th Symphony, and the finales of Haydn's Symphony Number 102, Mozart's Symphony Number 41, and Beethoven's Symphony Number 1. Musical ideas and their development are explored in terms of a consistent classical pattern.