This unit introduces students to the key ideas, figures and debates in the development of music aesthetics and criticism since Ancient Greek times to the present. In particular the unit will examine the links between aesthetic theories and their application and appropriation in musicology and journalistic criticism. Topics to be addressed in detail include theories of beauty, form and structure; authenticity, text-music relationships; semiotics; and the idea of musical meaning in both western and non-western contexts. The influence of aesthetics on theories of musical criticism and approaches to composition and performance will be studied. -- Course Website
Instructor: Dr Sarah Collins
