AND YET, IT’S MUSIC: (UN)POPULAR CLASSICS OF THE 20TH CENTURY. History of music course

A striking paradox hangs over 20th-century art (and indeed 21st-century art too): the 20th century is the most unpopular and yet the most popular of all centuries. However, the lack of understanding surrounding contemporary creative processes in music is not unique to these last two centuries, but rather a historical phenomenon. Contemporary music was ‘contemporary’ in each of the stylistic periods that are now regarded as golden ages of music. Whether it was Monteverdi’s dissonances in the 16th century, Bach’s asymmetries in the 18th, the ‘Beethovenian ugliness’ of The Great Fugue or Berlioz’s extravagance in the Symphonie fantastique, the fact remains that the quest for originality in musical composition has never been straightforward.

The aim of this course is to spark an interest in and fascination with 20th-century music and to facilitate a deeper engagement with and understanding of its many forms—from academic music to popular expressions, such as oral tradition, jazz or rock—as well as the points at which they converge or overlap.

We will do so through an accessible approach that allows us to reflect on how concepts such as beauty, melodiousness, pleasantness and consonance have varied throughout history. We will highlight the creative paths pursued by 20th-century composers, driven in their work by a spirit of exploration, creativity and transcendence—human impulses common to every contemporary moment.

PROGRAMME

21 JANUARY. When is something ‘modern’?

28 JANUARY. Expansion/contraction

4 FEBRUARY. The emancipation of music

11 FEBRUARY. On the ‘primitive’

18 FEBRUARY. The city, machine culture and contraptions

25 FEBRUARY. 12

4 MARCH. Exotic places

11 MARCH. Order/chance

18 MARCH. Synthesised sound

1 APRIL. The art of repetition (led by Valentín Benavides)

8 APRIL. The past futures of jazz (led by Iván Iglesias)

15 APRIL. Échotopies (led by Xulia Feixoo)

22 APRIL. And that’s that?

BEATRIZ BUSTO MIRAMONTES (Santiago de Compostela, 1979) is a music teacher, musicologist and anthropologist. For over fifteen years she taught music at a range of educational institutions, working with pupils in pre-school, primary and secondary education, as well as adults at the Santiago Municipal School of Music. She is currently a lecturer and researcher in Sociocultural Anthropology at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Santiago de Compostela. She is the author of the books Un país “a la gallega”. Galiza no NO-DO franquista [A ‘Galician-Style’ Country: Galicia under Franco’s NO-DO], which won the Follas Novas do Libro Galego Prize, and Pandereteiras de Mens [The Traditional Tambourine-Playing Women of Mens]. She regularly takes part in conferences, lectures, interviews and professional judging panels, combining her vocation for teaching with research and public engagement around oral music and the processes of folklorisation in Galicia.

VALENTÍN BENAVIDES GARCÍA (León, 1974) is a composer, choir director and musicologist. He is a permanent lecturer at the University of Valladolid and researches the creative processes of contemporary Spanish composers.

IVÁN IGLESIAS (Lalín, 1979) is a musicologist and jazz saxophonist. He is a professor at the University of Valladolid and researches jazz, popular music and cultural policy during the Franco dictatorship.

XULIA FEIXOO MARTÍNEZ (Vigo, 1987) is an ethnomusicologist, percussionist and researcher. She is an associate lecturer at the University of Valladolid and conducts research into the oral musical tradition in Galicia and the ‘foliada’— a traditional Galician music and dance gathering—as a contemporary sociocultural phenomenon.

TARGET AUDIENCE

The course is open to anyone with an interest in the history of music and contemporary culture.

REGISTRATION

Applications will be accepted from 29 September 2026 to 19 January 2027. Those interested may send an email to cgac.educacion@xunta.gal, which must include the following details: surname, first name, ID number, area of interest, occupation or studies, an email address and a contact telephone number. Once their application has been accepted, applicants will receive information on how to make the payment.

CERTIFICATION

The CGAC will issue a certificate of attainment to all participants who attend at least 70% of the course sessions.