October 5, 2001

At Rice U., a Journey Through 20th-Century Music

"There's this precious moment when it's just you and the piece," says Anthony K. Brandt, an assistant professor of music at Rice University. "I'd rather dwell on that moment," he says, than on, say, a textbook. So, at the beginning of each semester in his "Twentieth-Century Analysis" course, Mr. Brandt gives each of his students a mystery piece of music. Without telling them the composer, he asks them to listen to it and write down their impressions. At the end of the course, which Mr. Brandt