Composition Essay

Music Assignment You are to write an essay of 5 typed pages which identifies why the subject is important and discusses his/her life and work briefly.  It should include quotes, and follow the essay form. (5 or more sources; thesis tells importance; discuss the music you listened to.)  
For this assignment, you will need to choose a musician/composer, research him/her, listen to the music of this individual, and put it all together in an essay.  In terms of the music that you listen to, it is important to be familiar with several pieces/songs/albums of the subject.  If you choose a classical composer, you should listen to and discuss at least three major pieces (try to get a variety of works).  For other subjects, try to listen to music from several points in their careers.  You can check them out from libraries or buy them.  
The music you listen to and write about must be listed on your work cited page. You can quote from ‘liner notes.  I want you to place the piece/song in the context of the career of the subject and also write a paragraph that gives your own feelings about the music.  In this section only can you use the “I” pronoun.  (You do not have to limit yourself to three classic pieces or three ‘albums’ of the subject.)
The list: Classical: Handel, Bach, Vivaldi, Telemann, Purcell, Mozart, Hadyn, Mahler, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Brahms, Dvorak, Wagner, Strauss, Verdi, Puccini, Chopin, Bruckner, Sibelious, Stravinsky, Copland, Varese, Debussy, Rachmaninov, Scriabin, Shostakovich, Cage, Feldman, Ives, Satie, Prokofiev, Barber, Britten, Hindemith, Ravel, Schoenberg, Webern, Berg, Bartok, Bernstein, and others Oked by me. Jazz: Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Glen Miller, Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, Jelly Roll Morton, Scott Joplin, Dave Brubeck, Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Stan Getz, Art Tatum, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Mary Lou Williams, Wes Montgomery, Chet Baker, Ornette Coleman, Anthony Braxton, William Parker, Steve Lacy, Kenny Dorham, Cannonball Adderly, Joe Pass, Cecil Taylor, Paul Chambers, Red Garland, Dizzy Gellespie, Lee Morgan, Dexter Gordon, Jackie McLean, Bud Powell, Blue Note Records…etc.   
No matter who you choose, take time to listen to all the names on the list as you have time.  mp Suggested classical music to listen to: Just as there are certain films, books, and paintings that educated people should be familiar with, there are pieces of music that these same people should listen to and understand.  What follows is a shortlist of pieces that deserve to be heard by each succeeding generation.  If you have at least one ear on your head, you will inevitably find joy in this music. Bach—The Cello Suites (solo) (These could be the greatest pieces ever written.  Once you become familiar with them, it is interesting to hear a number of interpretations.);  The Well-Tempered Clavier ( Bks I/II);  The Brandenburg Concertos; The Goldberg Variations (piano);  Eventually you will want to listen to all of Bach….or at least as much as one lifetime will allow. Beethoven—All the symphonies, but especially the 5 th, 7 th, and 9 th;  All the String Quartets;  Certain of the Piano Sonatas. Brahms—The Fourth Symphony Barber—Adagio for Strings Britton—Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes Debussy—Preludes ( Bks I/II);  La Mer;  The String Quartet; The Afternoon of a Faune;  Clair de Lune Ravel—Pavane for a Dead Princess;  The String Quartet;  Le Tombeau de Couperin;  Bolero; Mother Goose Suite Satie—Gymnopedies Mozart—Piano Sonatas;  Various Symphonies and String Quartets; Eine Kleine Nacht Musik; Piano Concertos Stravinsky—The Firebird;  Petroushka; The Rite of Spring Prokofiev—5 th Symphony;  Peter and the Wolf;  Romeo and Juliet Shostakovich—5 th, 7 th, 8 th, 10 th Symphonies;  Assorted String Quartets; Hadyn—88 th Symphony (Plus other late symphonies);  Assorted String Quartets Dvorak—9 th (New World) Symphony Copland—Appalachian Spring;  Billy the Kid;  Rodeo Handel—The Messiah (All the oratorios and operas are great.);  Water Music;  Royal Fireworks Music;  Concerto Grossi Vivaldi—The Four Seasons Schoenberg—Pierre Lunaire, String Quartets Mendelssohn—Midsummer’s Nights Dream suite  Mahler—Symphony #1, 5, 9 Bartok—String Quartets, Concerto for Orchestra