Concert Masterworks

By: Robert Greenberg, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Robert Greenberg

Length: 24 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Have you ever thought about the creative process that boiled inside geniuses like Mozart, Beethoven, Dvorák, Strauss, Brahms, Mendelssohn, or Liszt - or any composer, for that matter?

What goes through a composer's mind when a musical composition is being set to paper? Are those magical weeks or months spent in an agonizing creative blur of ideas first tried and then discarded, or is it a matter of pure inspiration? Does the composer hear the music in his head before even picking up a pen, or does the music in fact begin on that blank sheet of staff paper? Most important, can lay listeners like us, untrained in music's technicalities, learn how to open our ears to a composer's creative intentions?

Happily, the answer is a resounding "yes!" And in this series of 32 lectures, a professional composer and accomplished teacher will give you a new level of sophistication as a music listener - using as his teaching tools some of the most memorable works in all of music, by geniuses whose work has not only withstood time, but transcended it.

Through listening to these lectures, you'll gain a new grasp of the intricacies of musical purpose, structure, and narrative content that you will then be able to hear in any piece of music. And though this is a demanding course, with a deeper look into musical structure than untrained listeners are likely to have experienced, it is not an intimidating one. Professor Greenberg vividly positions each composition and its composer in the social and musical fabric of its period, so you can understand the music in its proper societal and artistic context and feel its emotional power in the same way as did its original audiences.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©1995 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)1995 The Great Courses

Very Engaging Course

I have taken several of Dr. Greenberg’s courses and have enjoyed them all! Concert Masterworks provides a fantastic overview of many of classical music’s most beloved pieces. It also allows Robert Greenberg to flex his muscle as a composer and music historian. I love that Audible is offering Great Courses!

Superb!

A wonderful introduction to the world of music composition. like all of Robert Greenberg's courses, clear, unpretentious and very entertaining.

A great way to add to your concertgoing experience

This is the best credit I've spent in a long time. Rather than just providing technical details and historical context, Professor Greenberg explains exactly what another composer would be listening for in each of these works. The result is eye-opening, even for someone who regularly attends orchestral concerts.

If you've listened to Professor Greenberg's "30 Greatest Orchestral Works" in the same series, Concert Masterworks is deeper and more engaging in every way.

Great series

This has been well reviewed by others and it is a great series. The only negative is the lack of the supplemental material which could easily be provided but is not. Why the publisher has denied purchasers this material is a mystery. It is technically very easy and would cost nothing.

Down the rabbit hole with Dr. G!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

My first attempt to break into the world of really enjoying music came when my husband bought. The Concert Masterworks. Until then, I knew my favorite music was Bach’s and Mozart came second and Beethoven and Vivaldi and Teleman were in there somewhere. I was pretty much a Baroque girl. When I listened to the first two lectures, I realized I was missing a lot. So, I got the How to Listen and Understand Great Music. Loved it. Listened until I got to the Classical Period and went back and did Bach and the High Baroque. Then on with the Classical Period--which I have not finished yet because I did Great Masters: Mozart and am about to start The Concerto. And then, either The Chamber Music of Mozart or The Symphony. I am enjoying Dr. Greenberg’s expertise and attitude so much that I keep diving down new rabbit holes!

Really great course, loved it and learned so much!

Would you listen to Concert Masterworks again? Why?

Yes, it was very well presented, very informative and really interesting.

Who was your favorite character and why?

There weren't really any characters, but I enjoyed all the pieces that were chosen.

What about Professor Robert Greenberg’s performance did you like?

Prof. Greenberg was great, he really knows his material and he made the listening very entertaining.

Any additional comments?

It would be even better if they included the word scores with the audiobook.

His loud mouth bloviating becomes so tiresome.

At first the author is funny and just irreverent. But after several chapters he just appears to be silly, crude, egotistical, and downright offensive. It's just not funny anymore.

Really loved this. Prof. Greenberg Always great.

fascinating, yet accessible and detailed exploration of some amazing masterpieces with helpful background and humor.

Pretty Wonderful 😎

I will call this lecture series an extraordinary musical journey, an intense labor of love by Professor Greenberg.

Educational and entertaining

I sound like a broken record in my reviews of Professor Greenberg’s many lecture series. Can I help it if all the ones I’ve heard have been educational and entertaining?
For example, I never would have thought that I would have been able to appreciate Liszt’s Totentanz given its topic. But Professor Greenberg again has taught me well. Thank you.