Beethoven's Piano Sonatas

By: Robert Greenberg, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Robert Greenberg

Length: 18 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

A revolutionary man living in a revolutionary time, Beethoven used the piano as his personal musical laboratory. The piano sonata became, more than any other genre of music, a place where he could experiment with harmony, motivic development, the contextual use of form, and, most important, his developing view of music as a self-expressive art. Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas include some of his most popular works as well as some of his most experimental. More than any other of his amazing works, Beethoven's piano sonatas are his personal testament, expressed in his own voice.

These 24 marvelous lectures touch on every one of these fascinating pieces, approaching them chronologically, from the terse and powerful first sonata of 1795 to the revolutionary Hammerklavier Sonata of 1818 and the radical last three sonatas of 1820-1822.

The sonatas are not simply compositions for the piano but are about the developing technology of the piano itself, an evolving instrument that Beethoven pushed to its limits and then beyond, ultimately writing music for an idealized piano that didn't come into existence until 40 years after his death.

Because Beethoven died 50 years before the invention of sound recording, we will never hear his voice or the sound of his playing. Instead, Professor Greenberg plays you hundreds of excerpts of Maestro Claude Frank's recordings over the span of the course. Truly, Beethoven's piano music is his voice, emerging from his mind through his fingers to our ears and hearts.

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.

©2005 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2005 The Great Courses

Entertaining and educational.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Some of this was over my non-musical head, but the delivery was very entertaining and I am inspired to learn more.

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

Greenberg is very good.

Any additional comments?

This course would have been better with the written materials. However, I got by without them and for one credit, it's a heck of a deal.

Beethoven like you never thought of him!

I so enjoyed this Book. The narration was excellent and there was never a dull moment. Yes, I did learn a lot and look forward to listening to all 32 sonatas and reviewing my notes from the course. I will definitely be listening to parts of the book several times as I attempt to play my favorite Beethoven sonatas. Thank you, Professort Greenberg, for this excellent course! I'm looking forward to listening to your course on Beethoven's life and then his symphonies.

Excellent Course

Again an excellent course from Dr Greenberg. Thank you for sharing your vast knowledge of music.

Amazing per ALWAYS

I cannot recommend Robert Greenberg enough. If you have even the slightest interest in music - even if it's just a general sense of appreciation and not for the topic of his/said lecture series you're considering, you'll enjoy this scholar's personality, specialized perspectives, ability to tie his broader knowledge base to the topic, contemporary references both for us and for the subjects' time periods, energy, personal insight as an academic and a composer (overlap is significant within his course subjects with university and state posts full of political intrigue and power politics as well as an artist's perspective [as we know it or evidence suggests] paired with his own experiences and so forth) and his sheer enthusiasm for the topics he teaches. If you don't like this guy's courses ya' might be a stick in the mud (or seriously just NOT into the topics or history ... I suppose it can happen! Ha.). Check him out.

i can't say how to express my emotion enough

very very truly good, grateful. so that i love classic music with a incredible professor of passion totally. thank you good friend. thank you. God bless you. thank you 😊

Beethoven Piano Sonatas

This book is a treasure trove of profound insights mixed with humorous commentary which in no way diminishes the quality of those insights. The author reveals the inner workings of Beethoven’s musical technique and creativity in a manner that can be understood by the professional musician and those who simply appreciate music and wants to discover more about it.

Informative discussion of amazing music

I have listened to several of the Great Courses musical courses, and this is my favorite (so far). Professor Greenberg explains that the Sonatas were Beethoven's laboratory where he explored a lot of his ideas. The music is fantastic, but with 32 sonatas the attention paid to each really helps them come alive and stand apart from each other. In other courses Greenberg talked about the influence that Beethoven had on the composers that came after him, but listening to the later sonatas you can really hear the starting point of a lot of ideas they developed.

A fun journey through Beethoven's Sonatas!

The lecturer is knowledgeable and has a very entertaining speaking style. A fascinating study of Beethoven's works and life as it pertains to his composing. I really enjoyed this!

Style and delivery

What made the experience of listening to Beethoven's Piano Sonatas the most enjoyable?

The music and Professor Greenberg's analyses.

Any additional comments?

Professor Greenberg gets in the way of his own material by interjecting asides and cracking jokes which triviializes the lectures.

Listen to B's sonatas and learn about B

A loving review of Beethoven's 32 sonatas and how they reflect how he developed his musical genius.