Music as a Mirror of History

By: Robert Greenberg, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Robert Greenberg

Length: 18 hrs and 16 mins

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 Janáček, 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.

©2016 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2016 The Great Courses

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 wouldn’t 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. This is not a book, per se, but a series of twenty-four lectures. Each lecture is entirely self-contained.

Any additional comments?

This course was interesting, and accomplished its purpose: "we’ll explore the ways in whichhistory inspired the creation of certain musical works—and how thoseworks interpreted and memorialized the history that inspired them" (p. 2 in the notes). Greenberg is clearly in his element(s) as he combines history and music in a most interesting interdisciplinary fashion.

I had purchased this course thinking that Greenberg would major a bit more on music as a mirror of philosophy -- that is, how music reflects the way of thinking that a composer embraces in the context of his larger culture, and how philosophical underpinnings contribute toward the music of a particular time and place differing from the music of another time and place. In actuality, Greenberg's "How to Listen to and Understand Great Music" seemed to give more attention to that particular point than this course, which instead emphasizes the way that particular historical events influence particular composers and musical compositions. This is by no means a failing of the course; I was incorrect in my expectations, in that the course is "Music as a Mirror OF HISTORY", not "of Philosophy". Greenberg definitively demonstrates that many musical compositions are historically rooted, and often (as Greenberg emphasizes in the course) motivated by war (see p. 9 in the notes).

I learned a good deal of history in this course. Greenberg is working with historical vignettes, of course, but often "goes deep" in giving a quite extensive historical context -- not just the historical context of the time a piece was written, but the historical backdrop that brought things to where they were when a piece was written. Among the bits and pieces I picked up that were interesting to me: I didn't know that "Columbia" (from Christopher Columbus) was used as the poetic name for the United States; I was unaware of Beethoven's love-hate attitude (if I could put it that way) toward Napoleon, the history of La Marseillaise, the financial severity of the Great Depression, and the difficulty non-Russians have in understanding the Russian mind. Musically, I heard Chopin's Revolutionary Etude with new ears (long familiarity had dulled its impact) and now understand a bit better just what an "etude" is; I was thrilled to discover Copland's Third Symphony; I gained a more accurate understanding of the circumstances behind Handel's Water Music; I finally can put some content to Wagner's The Ring. I'm motivated to do some research on the following, among other things: the antisemitism of Richard Wagner, and just how late in United States history that antisemitic laws were still on the books; the connections between Wagner's The Ring and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings; the history of Paris and of New Orleans; the African influence upon American music; Eleanor Roosevelt's role in encouraging musical progress during the Depression; Haydn as a Roman Catholic; the devastation of Poland by the Nazi regime; Dvorak as a "ringer" brought to the United States by Jeannette Meyer Thurber to found a distinctive American school of music. I was intrigued by Greenberg's discussion of the musical technique known as "pastiche," and would love to explore its intersection with the notion of intertextuality in literary works. I'm also motivated to listen to a number of the works which were excerpted or referred to in the course, such as Copland's Symphony No. 3 and Gorecki's Symphony No. 3. I list all of the above items to gesture at the broad reach of this course.

Greenberg is always an engaging lecturer. That said, the sometimes-lengthy sections of historical context did at times become a bit tedious and hard to follow. But Greenberg does an outstanding job in making a potentially dull subject much less dull.

The course notes accompanying the audio are excellent. The bibliography in the course notes is quite impressive, and even more remarkable is the extent to which Greenberg engages his sources. The bibliography is not just there for show.

I am a parent who is interested in providing musical education for my children. For others like me, who might consider supplementing their children's education with this course, I will note that this course does have a few instances of vulgarity (generally in quoted material) and sexual innuendo. The intended audience appears to be college and above.

Prof. Greenberg could read a grocery list...

Any additional comments?

... and I would buy it. Though this was more history and less music than I expected, it is delightful. His portrayal of Verdi alone is worth the price of admission. I'm learning a lot of things I never knew before (about 3/4 through the series), and certainly hearing some composers I'd never heard of. As so often happens with many of my Audible purchases, this one is sending me running to Amazon to buy more books and music so I can explore more. And I certainly want to complete my Greenberg library. Fiendishly clever marketing? ;-)

Understanding "unapproachable" Music by context

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

Mr. Greenberg, as usual, delivers his course with enthusiasm for the topic, insight, the right amount of distance to the subject - and love for just any kind of music.
By putting the works into their respective historical context, he introduces yet another aspect of "understanding" (and through that, hopefully, appreciating) music that may otherwise seem "too strange". Like in his "history of music" course, where he takes the "student" by the hand and explains how to disect a composition, if one wants to "get it", here Mr. Greenberg shows the political, social and religious events that led composers to their works.

What I personally like is that Mr. Greenberg keeps a professional distance. He isn't afraid to point out that some compositions aren't great, just because a great name has been stuck to them.
(On the other hand, he does waste quite some time to praise achievements by Americans, that have nothing to do with music OR history, to some length - where some of those listed may well be argued about whether they actually were American-first ... but that's nit-picking ;-) )

Any additional comments?

The music "excerpts" in this course are very short and sometimes don't give an expression of the whole work. Introducing the works as such isn't the goal of this course, rather it is about a tour through various historic events or times and showing a way of approaching music that most of us, likely, aren't listening to every day.
If you are not interested in history, in the development of our "modern world" or in an artist's (composer's) way of dealing with personal experience, this course is not for you. If you are looking for "great music", this course is not for you. If you are looking for education in world-history, this course is not for you.

This course is for you, if you want to add a new perspective to the way you get into contact with music that you think you don't like.

I Was Wrong

In my initial review a couple years ago, I rated this three stars overall. I've since listened to the lectures three times and have come to appreciate the frankness of Professor Greenberg and his ability to brilliantly lecture on important historical moments using his extensive knowledge of music as the structure. It took me two years, but I'll be darned if it didn't really grow on me. He gets it in a way I may not have been ready for. This is really good.

Decent But A Bit Distracted

An interesting course that highlighted several composers I was unaware of, and even one or two unknown (to me) works from composers that I had heard of. Having said that, I was disappointed that the course started in the Tudor period and raced quickly on. The good and bad thing about the course is that it assumes you know nothing about the period relevant to the lecture at hand. This sometimes unfortunately leads to some lectures that are 80% history, 20% music. Though delivered with an informed verve, a number of the lessons just seem to wander down off topic sidebars and lack a coherent narrative thread. It was great to get some context for some faves and to be introduced to some new compelling pieces and composers, I'd have to say the other 'great courses' by Professor Greenberg I've heard so far are more organized and enjoyable.

Very interesting

I'm a fan of both the great lectures and of Mr. Goldberg. In this series of lectures, he weaves fascinating backdrops of world history in with great compositional works. This is probably more interesting for a history buff than a music enthusiast. I happen to be both. I enjoyed every minute of this.

LITTLE MUSIC, MUCH MARXISM

The lecturer is more anxious to push a Marxist view of history
than to teach music. It is an excuse for a Marxist polemic
on history.

fabulous!

Professor Robert Greenberg can be an acquired taste but once acquired he is humorous and enthusiastic with subject matter that needs that approach or it might be depressing. Will definitely listen to more of his work!

Outstanding

A sweeping overview of Western history that covers the last 400 years. The relationship and historical context of each musical selection and it's composer to their time and place is clearly and convincingly demonstrated, using primary historical sources and first-rate musical examples. The result is a powerful perspective and commentary on the last several centuries of Western Civilization, and is particularly relevant today in 2016. Great course!

Fascinating!

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

Highly recommended to anyone who loves to know the historical context in which music was written.

Any additional comments?

Professor Greenberg embraces teaching as a performance art and it is one of the reasons I love his courses. He said at the beginning that this was as much about history as music - I would respectfully disagree and say it was more about history than music. Initially that disappointed me, but I grew to appreciate the historical context described so much that I wouldn't have had it any other way! I learned about a composer new to me, Górecki, and so loved the excerpts of his Symphony of Sorrowful Songs that I purchased it. But I wouldn't have fallen so in love with it, had I not known the history to which it responded and the poem on which it was based.

Too much history, not enough music

I greatly enjoyed Professor Greenberg's previous courses for the Great Courses, and particularly The Symphony, which I recently finished. Having read the summary, I was also looking forward to this. Unfortunately, there is too much history, and not enough analysis of classical music and how this was influenced by historical events and trends. This was not what I expected. I would instead recommend the audiobooks by James Naughtie or Howard Goodall.

Another fantastic course from the incredible Dr G

Having listened to a couple of Dr Greenberg's other courses on music one of which referenced this one I was intrigued to hear more. This fantastic recording tells the story of music from ancient Greek times through to the Romans and then the chanting of monks and then the explosion of creativity during the renaissance and beyond. In each chapter the historical backdrop of world events is compared with the lives of the composers so you get really get what was going on around them and what motivated them to produce their works. Fame and fortune as well as artistic motivations even for the greats artists of each era, some things never change.
What strikes the listener, well me anyway, is the extent to which certain composers could be in / out of favour so quickly and how historical events can shape the mood and sound of the music produced.
It is an ambitious project to tie together world history with music history. Dr Greenberg is probably the only person who could possibly do this properly and this is a resounding success. I love it.

Outstanding!

This is a beautifully constructed course that takes pride of place on my Audible bookshelf.
The lectures are delivered with passion and gusto and set the scene for key historic events, context and respective pieces from around the world.
Highly recommended indeed!

Very informative

A sort of History 101 with some period music. Not quite what I expected but Greenberg is always entertaining.

Absolutely captivating

Totally hooked on Professor Bob's courses. Enlightening, entertaining and beautifully structured. Can not recommend this highly enough. Also I recommend his Wagner course.

Thoughly Enjoyable listening experience

I am thoroughly enjoying this audiobook. The narration is engaging, interesting and wonderful to listen to. The voice quality and intonation is good, and so is the way the topic is spoken about. Even my teenage boys ears perked up while this was playing in my car.

Matchless

put simply, there is nothing like it. More of that later. OK, so some might say, not enough music. I totally understand why Greenberg did that: if you want LOTS of music a GOOD amount of history, you only need to look at his other very numerous courses. I already have all his other courses so to me this courses is simply PERFECT. This is really a course about music in the context of history. Some says, get the courses by Goodall or Naughtie. I would say, get these ALSO, not INSTEAD. For one reasons: Greenberg is simply the best. His lectures are huge, far longer than anything I have seen, plus, and this is important, they come all with top notch reference books, and these aren't your half baked little introduction manuals. I simply cannot believe I can get these huge and beautiful courses for the price of a cheap monthly membership. Four stars for this course? are you kidding? this deserves SEVEN stars. I can only hope Greenberg keeps them coming. Again, these courses are matchless. No question.

Really excellent

I found this whole lecture series fascinating. I found the moving between the micro stories about the composer's and the macro geo/political narratives thought provoking and often very moving. Thank you

Fascinating

Really informative and stimulating lectures presented with warmth and humour. Can't recommend this series highly enough.

Wonderful experience.

This super interesting journey through history is served with great enthusiasm, knowledge and humor.