The String Quartets of Beethoven

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.

Genres: Music, Audiobook, Nonfiction

Audio CD

Published January 1, 2009

About the author

Robert M. Greenberg is an American composer, pianist and musicologist. He has composed more than 50 works for a variety of instruments and voices, and has recorded a number of lecture series on music history and music appreciation for The Teaching Company.

Greenberg earned a B.A. in music, magna cum laude, from Princeton University and received a Ph.D. in music composition from the University of California, Berkeley. He has served on the faculties of UC Berkeley, Californiz State University, East Bay, and the San Franciso Conservatory of Music, where he was chairman of the Department of Music History and Literature as well as Director of the Adult Extension Division. Dr. Greenberg is currently Music Historian-in-residence with San Francisco Performances.

Reviews

[Tamminh · Rating 5 out of 5]

As expected from Professor Greenberg: Another educational and entertaining course about music composition!

[John Mcdonnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you only get to listen to one batch of Greenberg lectures, do the Bach. But if you get two, Beethoven's string quartets are arguably the greatest music of all time and Greenberg will show you how to get into them.

BTW if you just want to listen on your own IMO op 74 "harp" is the best starting point, where it's conventional enough to grok but is still wildly innovative. The one I think of as grandest is op 132 in A Minor "Heiliger Dankgesang" and the wildest is op 135 where he starts just inventing new genres. But starting with op 59 Razumovsky they're all desert island music.

Oh and before you get going it might be a good idea to listen to Haydn's op 76 for a while just to be really anchored on the starting point and those are also desert island music in their own right.

[Sasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Бетховен крутой, но это мы еще из предыдущих лекций поняли.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy Robert Greenberg, but in this work on Beethoven's string quartets he regretably was way over my head.

[Jb · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most advanced excerpts in this one because Greenberg worked with a quartet and broke down some parts with them.