How to Listen to and Understand Great Music, 3rd Edition

By: Robert Greenberg, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Robert Greenberg

Length: 36 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

Great music is a language unto its own, a means of communication of unmatched beauty and genius. And it has an undeniable power to move us in ways that enrich our lives - provided it is understood.

If you have ever longed to appreciate great concert music, to learn its glorious language and share in its sublime pleasures, the way is now open to you, through this series of 48 wonderful lectures designed to make music accessible to everyone who yearns to know it, regardless of prior training or knowledge. It's a lecture series that will enable you to first grasp music's forms, techniques, and terms - the grammatical elements that make you fluent in its language - and then use that newfound fluency to finally hear and understand what the greatest composers in history are actually saying to us.

And as you learn the gifts given us by nearly every major composer, you'll come to know there is one we share with each of them - a common humanity that lets us finally understand that these were simply people speaking to us, sharing their passion and wanting desperately to be heard. Using digitally recorded musical passages to illustrate his points, Professor Greenberg will take you inside magnificent compositions by Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Verdi, Wagner, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, and more. Even if you have listened to many of these illustrative pieces throughout your life - as so many of us have - you will never hear them the same way again after experiencing these lectures.

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

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

©2006 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2006 The Great Courses

super entertaining

this is the best course I've listened to in terms of delivery and energy. awesome.

Well done

I learned a lot from the professor. Taking time to learn about a totally new field has been well worth it.
Among the many things I learned is that opera as a genre is not for me. Over the years I hope to learn more about many areas of music. I now have a deep respect for those who write and play music. this book is well worth your time and a credit.
There is a lot to recommend this course including the most engaging storyteller I have ever had the pleasure of listening to.
Enjoy I know I did .

incredible. Robert Greenberg is a genius

absolutely loved it and learnt so much. I'm going to replay it immediately. You won't be disappointed.

Masterpiece

This was the best audible book I ever listened to. It's one of those books I plan to listen to again. I feel like it made me a better person. I can't say enough about it and have been sending the link to this to all my friends. Everyone I know has had the same reaction.

Utterly excellent!

If you could sum up How to Listen to and Understand Great Music, 3rd Edition in three words, what would they be?

thorough, rich, insightful!

What did you like best about this story?

Robert Greenberg has an incredible amount of information, which he conveys so clearly and with so much conviction it's hard to believe. His passion and sense of humor add to the entertainment of learning just how far music has come.

Have you listened to any of Professor Robert Greenberg’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

First and won't be the last!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Literally impossible. It made for weeks and weeks of enjoyment.

Any additional comments?

My sincere thanks for the inspiration and information!!

Loved this course!!

So interesting, so great to listen to, I really learned a lot. I highly recommend

This was very educational.

What did you love best about How to Listen to and Understand Great Music, 3rd Edition?

I loved the historical background, the music analysis, and the exposure to great works by many composers from various periods.

What does Professor Robert Greenberg bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Professor Greenberg is a talented educator and composer in his own right. I trust his expertise and rely on his judgement. He is humorous too, so lectures are never dry. He does a fine job putting things into historical perspective.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

This course includes 48 lectures. I listened to all of them over the course of a couple weeks while at work. It was very engaging.

Any additional comments?

I am currently re-listening to some of the lectures.

Happily made it to the end

Great listen. Really enjoyed Robert Greenberg’s passion. Hip hop and heavy metal were strangely absent. I was ok with that.

Learned a lot about music...professor annoyingly sexist

Dated, misogynistic comments spoiled this otherwise interesting book. Doesn’t Greenberg’s university have inservice training on gender and teaching?

Interesting, Engaging, Entertaining & Funny

If you like music, choose this one! Heck even if you dont like music choose this one!