Chopin in Context: Soundscapes and Narrativity
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Week 1-3 in person, Week 4-5 online |Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9:30 AM – 12:00 PM
The course offers an interdisciplinary exploration of the music, life, and cultural legacy of Fryderyk Chopin through a blend of lectures, seminars, research projects, and creative engagement projects. By tracing Chopin’s biography, we will identify the soundscapes—the acoustic environments that surrounded him and later found their way into his compositions. From the bells of Warsaw’s Old Town and the ambient sounds of the Polish countryside to the cities he passed through en route to Paris, the Parisian sites he frequented, and finally the distinctive atmosphere of Mallorca, our discussions and analytical work will illuminate how these sonic environments shaped Chopin’s musical imagination. The course combines close analysis with biographical and manuscript studies, examining how place, memory, and ritual manifest in Chopin’s music. Particular attention will be given to narrative strategies in his works, drawing on methodologies including topic theory, semiotics, intertextual analysis, hermeneutics, and performance studies. Case studies that remap the meanings of the Preludes, Ballades, and Nocturnes will offer new insights for both understanding and performing this repertoire.
Read our blog: Eastman Summer Spotlight: Music and Movement
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