Robert Greenberg
Author
Series
Beethoven's Piano Sonatas volume 12
Language
English
Description
Study two underappreciated works. Sonata no. 13 in E flat, op. 27, no. 1 continues Beethoven's assault on the Classical sonata template, while Sonata no. 15 in D, op. 28 (Pastoral) is a revolutionary work that elevates musical pastoral clichs to a high art.
Author
Series
Beethoven's Piano Sonatas volume 8
Language
English
Description
Beethoven's music can be supple, light-hearted, quick-witted, and genuinely humorous, just as it can be heroic, magnificent, and spiritually profound. Beethoven's lighter side is delightfully on display in his two opus 14 piano sonatas: no. 9 in E and no. 10 in G.
Author
Series
Great Music of the 20th Century volume 19
Language
English
Description
The cultural environment of California produced some of the most original musical thinkers of the 20th century. First encounter Henry Cowell and Lou Harrison, composers of astonishing eclecticism whose works incorporated non-Western musical forms. Also meet John Cage and Morton Feldman, whose "indeterminate" music introduced new conceptions of unpredictability and a non-directional sense of time.
Author
Series
Great Music of the 20th Century volume 20
Language
English
Description
In approaching minimalism, trace the development of rock 'n' roll, and its integral impact on both American musical culture and 20th-century concert music. Grasp the musical ethos of minimalism - its rhythmic pulse, cyclical patterning and melodies, and hypnotic drive - through the groundbreaking works of the "triumvirate" of the style: Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass.
Author
Series
Great Music of the 20th Century volume 14
Language
English
Description
Following the horrors of World War II, note how many composers sought to create music that was purged of the past, based in intellectual and scientific rigor. Investigate Ultraserialism, a compositional system in which nearly every musical element is organized "serially," as musical pitch is in the 12-Tone Method. Experience American Ultraserialism in the brilliant works of Milton Babbitt.
Author
Series
Beethoven's Piano Sonatas volume 17
Language
English
Description
Examine two Beethoven sonatas that deserve more attention than they are generally accorded: no. 22 in F, op. 54, and no. 24 in F sharp, op. 78. The former is an inspired, virtuosic, and genuinely experimental piece of music; the latter is one of the strangest and most adventurous works in the repertoire.
Author
Series
Great Music of the 20th Century volume 17
Language
English
Description
Delve into the singular aesthetic philosophy behind Stravinsky's neoclassic music, in which he describes his compositional process as purely formal and objective. Learn about Stravinsky's relocation to the United States, and how in his seventies he turned to writing 12-tone music. Grasp how his last major work, Requiem Canticles, functions as a musical retrospective of his career.
Author
Series
Beethoven's Piano Sonatas volume 19
Language
English
Description
Piano Sonata no. 26 in E flat, op. 81a (Les Adieux) was dedicated to the Archduke Rudolph, an aristocratic patron and friend of Beethoven's who was fleeing Vienna ahead of Napoleon's armies, hence its name: the Farewell Sonata. We look at the piece as a mirror of contemporary events and as program music.
Author
Series
Great Music of the 20th Century volume 4
Language
English
Description
In the first of two lectures on this giant of 20th-century music, trace the early life of Stravinsky, the environment in which he grew to maturity, and his musical education and influences. Follow Stravinsky's relationship with the impresario Sergei Diaghilev, their legendary partnership in the ballets The Firebird and Petrushka, and grasp the striking musical originality of those works.
Author
Series
Great Music of the 20th Century volume 23
Language
English
Description
The 20th century ended with a trend toward "pluralism" - the practice of employing a range of different musical languages within a single work or movement. Witness the incredible range of this musical inclusivity and synthesis in composers ranging from the Americans Joseph Schwantner, Martin Bresnick, Aaron Jay Kernis, and Jennifer Higdon to the British composer Thomas Adès.
Author
Series
Beethoven's Piano Sonatas volume 4
Language
English
Description
Continuing your study of Beethoven's grand sonatas, examine Sonata no. 3 in C, no. 3, op. 2, and Sonata no. 4 in E flat, op. 7. In both these works, we see Beethoven's early artistic declaration that he was not interested in slavishly following the Classical tradition.
Author
Series
Great Music of the 20th Century volume 6
Language
English
Description
Schoenberg was both substantially misunderstood as a composer, and one of the greatest influences on 20th-century music. Learn about the enormous enmity and dissent that greeted his compositions, as they challenged tradition and offended musical conservatism. Trace his early life and music, his vision as a composer, and the achievements of his most "popular" work, Transfigured Night.
Author
Series
Beethoven's Piano Sonatas volume 1
Language
English
Description
Professor Greenberg begins with a brief biography of Beethoven and the early history of the piano, followed by a discussion of the recordings of Beethoven's piano sonatas used throughout the series, performed by the distinguished pianist Claude Frank.
Author
Series
Beethoven's Piano Sonatas volume 11
Language
English
Description
The most popular of all of Beethoven's piano works is his Sonata No. 14 in C Sharp Minor, Op. 27, No. 2 (Moonlight). Imbued with tragic feeling, the Moonlight is almost impossible not to relate to the composer's progressive hearing loss.
Author
Series
Great Music of the 20th Century volume 7
Language
English
Description
Learn about Schoenberg's friendship with Gustav Mahler, who defended Schoenberg's groundbreaking compositions. Study Schoenberg's remarkable metamorphosis in which he sought to free melody from the limits of functional tonality, as exemplified in his Six Little Pieces for Piano. Examine events in Schoenberg's personal life that may help explain his final break with musical tradition.
Author
Series
Beethoven's Piano Sonatas volume 16
Language
English
Description
Likened to Dante's Inferno and Shakespeare's King Lear, Sonata no. 23 in F Minor, op. 57 (Appassionata) is not only esteemed by audiences, it was also one of Beethoven's favorites among his piano works. With the Waldstein, it is a quintessential example of Beethoven's "heroic" style.
Author
Series
Great Music of the 20th Century volume 2
Language
English
Description
Examine historical and social factors that influenced 20th-century composers' abandonment of tradition and obsession with originality. Then learn about the influence of 19th-century German art on the French, and the new French nationalism in music that followed the Franco-Prussian War. Take a first look at Claude Debussy, whose revolutionary music created a new musical syntax.
Author
Series
Beethoven's Piano Sonatas volume 13
Language
English
Description
While the groundbreaking Third Symphony was Beethoven's public declaration of his "new path" as a composer, the piano sonatas were, collectively, his workshop for getting there. None more so than Sonata no. 17 in D Minor, op. 31, no. 2 (Tempest).
Author
Series
Great Music of the 20th Century volume 24
Language
English
Description
Finally, as a firsthand, contemporary account of one composer's life in music, Professor Greenberg discusses his own professional journey. Trace his performing arts family background, his musical education, career path, and the finding of his voice as a composer. Hear a range of his acclaimed works, highlighting his string quartets, song cycles, and concerti.
Author
Series
Great Music of the 20th Century volume 15
Language
English
Description
Learn how the advent of musical synthesizers and the tape recorder gave rise to both electronic music (using sounds created electronically) and musique concrète (manipulating real sounds with a tape recorder). Witness how Ultraserialism developed within Europe, leading paradoxically to hyper-complex music which in performance sounded random - a fatal problem for listener comprehension.