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| Reviewed: |
Jun 23, 2008 by Music |
| Overview: |
This is an online presentation of six lectures by composer and conductor Daniel Barenboim. The lectures form BBCs 2006 Reith Lectures Series, are the first to address music, and focus on the interplay between music and society.
Barenboim takes a shot at age-long questions on musics communication, intellectual, and emotional import, and makes insightful speculations on the origins of music in general and of its impact on us in particular.
Similarly to the BBC Orchestra Guide site (http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=228537), this resource is part of the BBCs cutting-edge, rich, informative, and well-designed online presence.
The Reith Lectures Series were inaugurated in 1948 in honor of John Reith, the corporation's first director-general. Lectures span a wide variety of topics and are given by major figures in each field. The Reith Lectures Series site includes transcripts of all lectures since 1999. Selected transcripts (typed and audio) of lectures given between 1948 and 1998 are included in the Historic Lectures section (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/reith/historic_audio/reith_historic.shtml). The introduction of the first ever Reith lecture (1948, Bertrand Russell) includes a good outline of the ethos behind the series.
The content of the 2006 Barenboim lectures has been reviewed (and critiqued) extensively elsewhere. Here are some sample reviews/critiques
a) Downie, G. 2006 (Weekly Worker, 622)
http://www.cpgb.org.uk/worker/622/reith%20lectures.htm
b) Anderson, C. 2006 (Classical Source.com)
http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_features.php?id=3314 ,
c) Zettel 2006 (BBC Collective website)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A10792569
d) Peter Cresswell, 2006 (Not PC blog)
http://pc.blogspot.com/2006/05/in-beginning-was-sound-barenboims.html
Having witnessed one of these lectures (The neglected sense) first hand in Chicago, I share the excitement and some of the concerns of the above reviewers.
The wonderful thing about this site is that it makes all Reith lectures available to everyone to enjoy, learn from, and critique, so I will leave it up to Barenboims words to do their work. |
| Learning Goals: |
The Reith lectures expose site visitors to the ideas and personalities of some of the most important thinkers of our times. The site has historical and instructional significance and can be incorporated to a large variety of courses mainly as a reference resource or a discussion motivator. |
| Target Student Population: |
All Reith lectures have both mass and expert appeal. The Barenboim lectures can function as coffee-table reading/listening, class discussion teasers, or course assigned readings (assuming the instructor has come up with graded assignments/tasks that guide students in their reading of the lectures). |
| Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills: |
The site is very well and efficiently designed, requiring no previous knowledge on the topic, and no special computer and web-browsing skills. |
| Type of Material: |
Lecture series by Daniel Barenboim. Online typed and audio transcripts, including a printable version.
The first lecture in the series is also available on video (link broken) |
| Recommended Uses: |
There is a large number of music appreciation & criticism, ethnomusicology, music perception & cognition, music & society, etc. courses that devote time to questions similar to the ones addressed in the Barenboim lectures. |
| Technical Requirements: |
Latest I.E. or Firefox browser with the Real Player and Windows Media Player plug-ins. |
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| Strengths: |
Reading/listening to this lecture series can motivate students to enter into thoughtful discussions about musics place in our life, providing an intellectually rich and stimulating discussion context. The Q & A portions of the lectures include commentary by a number of music experts from a variety of fields and expose students to thinkers and ideas that they may otherwise not have access to (e.g. by A. Damasio, B. Gjerdingen, S. Trehub, P. Levine, L. Parsons, etc.). In addition, even lesser known participants help propel the discussion into areas such as music and politics, music and power, acculturation, etc., contributing to the intellectually stimulating character of the lectures.
(See also the content reviews listed under general description.) |
| Concerns: |
These lectures make use of the speakers extensive knowledge and experience on the field but include more speculations than compelling and supported arguments. The cognitive import of arts in general and music in particular is an important topic that is, unfortunately, too often addressed through unsupported speculations that have limited appeal to non believers.
(See also the content reviews listed under general description.) |
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Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool |
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| Strengths: |
(See the strengths under Content Quality, above) |
| Concerns: |
(See the concerns under Content Quality, above) |
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Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty |
| Rating: |
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| Strengths: |
As is the case with most BBC online offerings, this is a well designed and easy to use resource. |
| Concerns: |
The video link to the first of the six Barenboim lectures does not work. |
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