Honors Thesis Archive

Author	Sean McCullough
Title	Hector Berlioz, The Musician and The Reader: How Genetic Criticism Augments Our Understanding
Department	Music
Advisor	Dr. Brandon Jones, Dr. David Schubert, Dr. Michael Mattison
Year	2015
Honors	Departmental Honors
Full Text	View Thesis (492 KB)
Abstract	During the romantic period, many musicians sought to break free from the stringent method of transmission that had been used for over two-hundred years, but critics and audience members often seemed reluctant to accept such change. Composers were ready to leave the realm of program music and concentrated more upon absolute music, music as an abstract, non-representational form. Hector Berlioz, a seminal musician, helped facilitate this shift, not only through his idiosyncratic orchestration, but also through his deep-seated obsession with literature—in particular, the works of William E. Shakespeare. Most critics, however, because of Berlioz’s liminal position within this transitional period for Western music, attempt to divorce the artist from his context. This essay will argue the contrary. The purpose of this essay is to purport the efficacy of genetic criticism—conceiving art as a product of its artist and the artist as a product of his or her context—in achieving a more complete understanding of both the meaning and the method of the music of Hector Berlioz.