Robert Greenberg
Author
Series
William Shatner's Brown Bag Wine Tasting volume 17
Language
English
Description
Music historian Robert Greenberg reveals the true inspiration for Beethoven's symphonies over a glass of mystery wine. William and Robert discuss how time and experience gradually lead to a greater appreciation for, and understanding of, classical music.
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 16
Language
English
Description
Trace Schoenberg's period of great creative output and professional flowering in the late 1920s - years which coincided with the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party in Germany. Following Schoenberg's self-exile to the United States, take note of his efforts on behalf of European Jews, and study two war-inspired masterworks; his Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte and A Survivor from Warsaw.
Author
Series
Beethoven's Piano Sonatas volume 23
Language
English
Description
Beethoven's last three piano sonatas owe much to his epic Missa Solemnis ("Solemn Mass") which was also composed in the period 1820-1822. Explore the spiritual and compositional links to the Missa Solemnis, particularly as they relate to sonatas no. 30 in E, op. 109, and no. 31 in A flat, op. 110.
Author
Series
Great Music of the 20th Century volume 9
Language
English
Description
The 1920s saw both an explosion of new compositional languages and a conservative backlash against modernism. Follow the fortunes of Stravinsky, as he created a new ballet score for Diaghilev, incorporating themes from the Baroque composer Pergolesi. In Pulcinella, see how Stravinsky's ingenious treatment of the score created a neo-Classic musical hybrid of astonishing modernist sensibility.
Author
Series
Great Music of the 20th Century volume 18
Language
English
Description
Discover the music of visionary composers who turned away from Serialism and Ultraserialism, beginning with Hans Werner Henze and Luigi Nono. Assess the place of postwar Ultraserialism, and the factors that led many to reject it. Explore the extraordinary Stochastic or "sound mass" music of Iannis Xenakis, and how his innovations prefigured and influenced the phenomenal works of György Ligeti.
Author
Series
Beethoven's Piano Sonatas volume 22
Language
English
Description
Continue your study of the Hammerklavier, focusing on the paradoxical fourth movement fugue, composed seemingly without limits or limitations. The Hammerklavier has been called "monstrous and immeasurable," a sonata like no other. With it, Beethoven opened the door to a new expressive world.
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 7
Language
English
Description
Focus on one of Beethoven's most popular piano sonatas: no. 8 in C Minor, op. 13 (Pathetique). Professor Greenberg shows how time and popularity can trivialize even the most revolutionary creation, rendering us immune to what was once considered new and shocking.
Author
Series
Beethoven's Piano Sonatas volume 21
Language
English
Description
Piano Sonata no. 29 in B flat, op. 106 (Hammerklavier) was the groundbreaking work (and the first masterpiece) of Beethoven's late period. It is the most virtuosic keyboard music ever written to its time. In this episode, we cover the first of its four movements.
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
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
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 1
Language
English
Description
Look first at the goals of this course, as it will explore the principal trends in 20th-century concert music, and the historical issues and events that shaped them. As background, delve into the history of musical notation as it gave rise to composed music, and take account of the upheavals, political and social catastrophes, and paradigm shifts that affected music in the 20th century.
Author
Series
Beethoven's Piano Sonatas volume 15
Language
English
Description
Piano Sonata no. 21 in C, op. 53 (Waldstein) is like no other music written by Beethoven or anyone else. We study this remarkable piece, from its unrelenting opening theme to its breathtaking prestissimo ("as fast as possible") conclusion.
Author
Series
Great Music of the 20th Century volume 22
Language
English
Description
Postmodernism in music represented both a return to the musical values of Romanticism and an amalgam of diverse musical influences. Investigate the music of George Rochberg and David del Tredici, both of whom embraced musical styles from the past. Then explore "pastiche" - direct quotation from earlier works - in the phenomenal music of Luciano Berio, Peter Maxwell Davies, and George Crumb.
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 18
Language
English
Description
Continuing your exploration of Beethoven's often overlooked piano sonatas, study no. 25 in G, op. 79, and no. 27 in E Minor, op. 90. The opening movement of op. 79 is a parody of Classically styled piano sonatas, while op. 90 opens with great pathos and tenderness.
Author
Series
Beethoven's Piano Sonatas volume 20
Language
English
Description
Piano Sonata no. 28 in A, op. 101, is unique among Beethoven's 32 in that he had someone else's hands and spirit in mind when he composed it: namely his brilliant student Baroness Dorothea von Ertmann. It is also one of Beethoven's most rigorous and experimental works composed to that point in his life.
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.