The String Quartets of Beethoven

By: Robert Greenberg, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Robert Greenberg

In his 16 quartets for two violins, viola, and cello, Beethoven created a Mount Everest for string players and some of the most sublime, unforgettable music ever written. In this musically rich 24-lecture series, Professor Greenberg guides you in a deep encounter with these majestic works of art, offering you the rare opportunity to grasp the musical riches and spiritual greatness of the quartets in a clear and accessible way.

You'll uncover the musical underpinnings of the luminous beauty, emotional depth, and dramatic scope that make these quartets legendary; examine the inner workings of one of history's most innovative minds; learn the "ritual template" of the Classical string quartet; and probe the seminal innovations of Haydn and Mozart within the template, as they set the stage for the explosive arrival of Beethoven.

The heart of this series is a movement-by-movement exploration of the individual Beethoven quartets, revealing the arc of the composer's fierce independence and imagination as he brings to the string quartet an expressive, formal, and narrative range undreamed of by earlier musicians. You'll delve deeply into the musical innovations that underlie Beethoven's creativity in these works, including "motivic" development, originality, and contextual use of form.

Each of these lectures is a rare and life-enriching opportunity to know the scope of Beethoven's genius, his most unforgettable music, and the profound humanity and beauty that live through them.

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

©2009 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2009 The Great Courses

Great Read

I did not know there'd was so much detail about music study and Beethoven. I recommend it.

A piece of art about a piece of art

Robert Greenberg is one of the best music communicators, having the capacity to make music available to all levels of musical theory knowledge

Greenberg is always worth the listen!

I have enjoyed several Greenberg courses. I didn't know much about music, and while I don't typically retain a lot from these courses, as I don't have the background to attach the information to, I still really enjoy listening. Greenberg is humorous and high energy, plus it's lovely to hear the relevant music with explanations! I own several of his courses, and have listened to others with Audible Plus. I find Beethoven may not be my favorite composer, but now I know a lot more about him and his music and his time! Hooray!

The String Quartets of Beethoven

Wonderful as always. Enjoy the generous cuts of music, the academic insite and references, as well as his marvelous sense of humor.

Detailed; semi-technical; historical context

Greenberg sprinkles his usual silly jokes throughout, and of course follows the constricting Great Courses format with its fake applause, etc., but *unlike* other Greenberg courses this one is supported by excellent performances and sound reproduction -- and there is a lot of music.

(From the accompanying PDF download:
All of the musical examples from the Beethoven and Mozart string quartets incorporated in this lecture series are performed by the Alexander String Quartet. Many are drawn from the quartet’s recordings for the FoghornClassics label.)

My Audible purchase includes a helpful 157-page PDF download, dated 2009, including a good bibliography.