Music as a Mirror of History
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Music as a Mirror of History
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Narrated by:
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Robert Greenberg
About this listen
In the worlds of painting and literature, it's easy to see where history and art intersect. In Picasso's Guernica or Tolstoy's War and Peace, it's evident how works of art mirror and participate in the life of their times, sometimes even playing roles in historical events. But what about music?
In Music as a Mirror of History, Great Courses favorite Professor Greenberg of San Francisco Performances returns with a fascinating and provocative premise: Despite the abstractness and the universality of music - and our habit of listening to it divorced from any historical context - music is a mirror of the historical setting in which it was created. Music carries a rich spectrum of social, cultural, historical, and philosophical information, all grounded in the life and experience of the composer - if you're aware of what you're listening to. In these 24 lectures, you'll explore how composers convey such explicit information, evoking specific states of mind and giving voice to communal emotions, all colored by their own personal experiences. Music lovers and history enthusiasts alike will be enthralled by this exploration of how momentous compositions have responded to - and inspired - pivotal events.
Ranging widely across the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, you witness historical moments such as the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, the Austrian-Ottoman conflict, the Hungarian nationalist movement, the movement for Italian unification, the economic ascent of the US, the Stalinist regime in the USSR, and World Wars I and II. Across the arc of the course, you'll see how these events were felt and expressed in the music of Mozart, Beethoven, Berlioz, Brahms, Verdi, Wagner, and many others, including modern masters such as Janáček, Górecki, and Crumb, and you'll hear superlative musical excerpts in each lecture. Join us for an unparalleled look into the power and scope of musical art.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2016 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2016 The Great CoursesListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about Music as a Mirror of History
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Criticaldad
- 23-07-21
Very informative
A sort of History 101 with some period music. Not quite what I expected but Greenberg is always entertaining.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Yeh C.
- 17-10-17
Wonderful storytelling of events related to music
Professor Greenberg is a wonderful lecturer and tells the sorry of the music as related to historical events. This is more a history course than music theory, but wonderful nonetheless
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- TimP
- 26-09-17
Entertaining and educational
My favourite course so far ! Something new to learn in every lecture, and great insights into the genesis of each of the pieces considered.
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- BlueStraggler
- 22-06-18
Thoughly Enjoyable listening experience
I am thoroughly enjoying this audiobook. The narration is engaging, interesting and wonderful to listen to. The voice quality and intonation is good, and so is the way the topic is spoken about. Even my teenage boys ears perked up while this was playing in my car.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 18-10-17
informative and interesting
brilliant narration, adds great context for 24 pieces of music, (almost) all new to me. strongly recommend.
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- Bob
- 24-09-21
Really excellent
I found this whole lecture series fascinating. I found the moving between the micro stories about the composer's and the macro geo/political narratives thought provoking and often very moving. Thank you
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- A Serwaa
- 19-01-21
Fascinating
Really informative and stimulating lectures presented with warmth and humour. Can't recommend this series highly enough.
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- Thomas
- 09-12-20
Wonderful experience.
This super interesting journey through history is served with great enthusiasm, knowledge and humor.
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- David Diaz Pardo
- 12-09-24
Substance and tone
A wonderfully informative and entertaining walk through history, cultural, political and musical, firmly grounding the latter in the former. Greenberg shows us how it all comes together with delightful wit. I've learnt so much!
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- Adisha
- 28-08-16
Outstanding!
This is a beautifully constructed course that takes pride of place on my Audible bookshelf.
The lectures are delivered with passion and gusto and set the scene for key historic events, context and respective pieces from around the world.
Highly recommended indeed!
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2 people found this helpful