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Title: Music as a Mirror of History
Author: The Great Courses
Narrator: Professor Robert Greenberg
Format: Original Recording
Length: 18 hrs and 22 mins
Language: English
Release date: 07-22-16
Publisher: The Great Courses
Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 469 votes
Genres: Arts & Entertainment, Music
Publisher's Summary:
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 Janáek, 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.
Members Reviews:
Unique interdisciplinary music-history treatment
What did you love best about Music as a Mirror of History?
Greenberg's obvious command of both history and music, and the extensive research that informs his expertise. The interdisciplinary nature of the course is unique.
What other book might you compare Music as a Mirror of History to and why?
I'd suggest that Greenberg's "How to Listen to and Understand Great Music" (which I've listened through three times over the years) is somewhat similar, with that title emphasizing music and bringing in history, and "Music as a Mirror" emphasizing history and bringing in music.
What does Professor Robert Greenberg bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you just read the book?
This question may be better suited for actual audiobooks rather than Great Courses. That said, a helpful pdf booklet does accompany this course, and while Greenberg seems to follow it closely (I looked at the booklet only after finishing the course), he adds plenty of vintage Greenberg comments and metaphors, and additional musical and historical material which isn't in the notes.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No, but this is not a criticism.
