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Credit: Nick Romanenko
Peter Kivy
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Students in the Mason Gross School of the Arts have a rare opportunity to see music through a philosopher’s eyes. Noted philosopher Peter Kivy is teaching a graduate level course at the school on music aesthetics.
Offered for the first time this semester at the school, the course gives students insight into the meaning of music as art and the nature of musical performance. Kivy’s students include philosophy majors, music historians and music theory students in addition to aspiring performing artists.
“Music historians and theorists take this course to build on their understanding of music as an art form, while music performers take it out of genuine curiosity,” says Kivy, a Board of Governors Professor, Faculty of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick.
The course opens with a discussion of music and its impact on the emotions, followed by an exploration of the enjoyment of musical performance and the nature of music as a work of art. The class will wrap up with a comparison of music with other art forms.
Kivy’s focus is on classical music; for example, he asks his students to explore the complex aesthetics of opera, where the meter and repetitious nature of music can be at odds with the need to craft a measured plot and build dramatic impact on a stage. Twelve students, mostly music historians and theorists, are taking the course for credit; another eight are auditing.
“Certain concepts about music and the nature of performance as an art form are more complex than students initially realize,” Kivy says.
The ancient Greek philosophers wrote about different aspects of the emotions connected with music and music as an art, Kivy says. “But when I started writing about the philosophy of music in the 1970s it was an uninhabited niche. Colleagues started referring to me as the music philosopher.”
Kivy is the author of 12 books – eight about music – and the editor of four others. One of his books, “The Corded Shell: Reflections on Musical Expression,” received the Deems Taylor Award in from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
For Kivy, the three-credit course blends two passions. He has enjoyed music since childhood and once aspired to a career in the performing arts; he studied music history as a graduate student at Yale University. After opting for a career in higher education, he still considered music an important life interest. Today, he plays the oboe and performs regularly with a classical musical group at his summer home in Cape Cod, Mass.
Kivy was delighted when Richard Chrisman, associate professor of music with the Mason Gross School of the Arts and graduate director of music programs, asked him to teach the class. Kivy teaches an aesthetics course in the philosophy department, long popular with music students, and Chrisman wanted to offer an in-depth music course that students could include in their music education. “It’s a win-win situation for us,” Chrisman says.
Kivy says he’s received a great deal of encouragement from the faculty in the music department and expects to teach the course again next semester. He sees his class filling a growing need for music scholarship, even for students primarily interested in learning the skills involved in becoming a professional musician.
“Aspiring performing artists are very interested in their craft, but music is more than just a skill. There is a real need to offer courses that show students a wider knowledge,” Kivy says. He’s noticed a growing trend toward blending the craft of performance with a scholarly approach to the foundations of music.
“I’ve also seen impressive academic work from musicians who might be expected to focus just on performance skills,” he says. “I recently received an excellent paper from a student who is a percussionist.”
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