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The Symphony
Course Lecture Titles
Let's Take It From the Top!
The Concerto and the Orchestra
The Pre-Classical Symphony
Mannheim
Classical Masters
Franz Joseph Haydn, Part 1
Franz Joseph Haydn, Part 2
Mozart
Beethoven
Schubert
Berlioz and the Symphonie fantastique
Mendelssohn and Schumann
Franck, Saint-Saens, and the Symphony in France
Nationalism and the Symphony
Brahms, Bruckner, and the Viennese Symphony
Gustav Mahler
Nielsen and Sibelius
The Symphony in Russia
Charles Ives
Aaron Copland and Samuel Barber
Roy Harris and William Schuman
The Twentieth-Century British Symphony
Olivier Messiaen and Turangalila!
Dmitri Shostakovich and His Tenth Symphony
Let's Take It From the Top!
The Concerto and the Orchestra
The Pre-Classical Symphony
Mannheim
Classical Masters
Franz Joseph Haydn, Part 1
Franz Joseph Haydn, Part 2
Mozart
Beethoven
Schubert
Berlioz and the Symphonie fantastique
Mendelssohn and Schumann
Franck, Saint-Saens, and the Symphony in France
Nationalism and the Symphony
Brahms, Bruckner, and the Viennese Symphony
Gustav Mahler
Nielsen and Sibelius
The Symphony in Russia
Charles Ives
Aaron Copland and Samuel Barber
Roy Harris and William Schuman
The Twentieth-Century British Symphony
Olivier Messiaen and Turangalila!
Dmitri Shostakovich and His Tenth Symphony
24 pages, Audio CD
First published January 1, 2004
10 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
About the author
Robert Greenberg
156 books217 followersRobert 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 9, 2017
I'm a big fan of Robert Greenberg's lectures on music. Glinda and I are watching How to Listen to and Understand Great Music, and I've finished his series on J. S. Bach, and -- my personal favorite -- Music as a Mirror of History. As with the latter, this course on symphonies shows us that Professor Greenberg is not just astonishingly well-versed in music, but that he has a remarkable ability to contextualize that music, allowing the listener to understand the influences that helped to create, in this case, individual pieces of work, but in the case of the more general surveys, the entire oeuvre of the composers he covers. A good example, for me anyway, is how Shostakovich, who has never been a big favorite of mine, is put into the context of the composer's life in Soviet Russia, under Stalin (an unenviable position for any artist) and has now become both accessible to me, and someone I actively want to listen to.
I never listen to a Greenberg course without finding that there is some composer or piece of music that now speaks to me where before he/it felt like so much noise. In this survey I came to a greater understanding of Bruckner, a composer I'd sorta enjoyed, but never cared enough to explore more deeply, and discovered that I actually like the music of Charles Ives, Roy Harris, and Samuel Barber. Sadly, even Robert Greenberg hasn't been able to make Hector Berlioz remotely interesting to me. *yawn*
If there is a weakness it grows out of the limitations of the course. There are simply too many symphonies and too many symphonic composers to cover in-depth in any such course. So much has to be edited out, or reduced to a mere mention that it's frustrating to think about how much more we could be learning if there was simply more time. If I could offer a suggestion to the good professor, I would say, please give us a lecture series on more contemporary composers. I want to learn about (just off the top of my head) Henry Cowell, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Joseph Becker, and David Diamond, as well as William Grant Still, and yes, more Shostakovich please! More insight into their work and influences would be appreciated.
If you love classical music, but feel you want to understand more about it, and come to a deeper appreciation of the forces which shape it, you can't do much better than listen to Professor Greenberg.
I never listen to a Greenberg course without finding that there is some composer or piece of music that now speaks to me where before he/it felt like so much noise. In this survey I came to a greater understanding of Bruckner, a composer I'd sorta enjoyed, but never cared enough to explore more deeply, and discovered that I actually like the music of Charles Ives, Roy Harris, and Samuel Barber. Sadly, even Robert Greenberg hasn't been able to make Hector Berlioz remotely interesting to me. *yawn*
If there is a weakness it grows out of the limitations of the course. There are simply too many symphonies and too many symphonic composers to cover in-depth in any such course. So much has to be edited out, or reduced to a mere mention that it's frustrating to think about how much more we could be learning if there was simply more time. If I could offer a suggestion to the good professor, I would say, please give us a lecture series on more contemporary composers. I want to learn about (just off the top of my head) Henry Cowell, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Joseph Becker, and David Diamond, as well as William Grant Still, and yes, more Shostakovich please! More insight into their work and influences would be appreciated.
If you love classical music, but feel you want to understand more about it, and come to a deeper appreciation of the forces which shape it, you can't do much better than listen to Professor Greenberg.
October 28, 2018
This was not as good as I expected it to be. I did expect a more detailed analysis of each symphony than each song received in
How to Listen to and Understand Great Music
since this audiobook was focused on a narrow topic. That wasn't the case. In addition, this course wasn't as engaging and as well done as
How to Listen to and Understand Great Music
. I found myself taking a long break in the middle of it, which is unlike my usual way a listening to The Great Courses audiobooks.
June 11, 2011
This is a great Teaching Company course introducing Symphonic masterworks by that masterly instructor of all things musical, Robert Greenberg. This course both instructs and delights through its thoughtful choice of musical selections and with enlightening (and often funny) vignettes of the various composers. From pre-Haydn symphonies to the European greats to Finnish, Russian, and even 20th century composers, this course’s Symphonic cup runneth over. Highly recommended.
February 25, 2022
A not to be missed course if you are a fan of classical music. I learned a great deal about "the symphony" and the many great composers he highlights in the course. Where was teachers like Robert Greenberg when I took my music classes in college. He has a uniquely humorous manner of making even the most technical aspects of the symphony extremely understandable
May 26, 2024
In the Great Course Lecture Series, "The Symphony," veteran music educator Robert Greenberg surveys the most substantial instrumental music genre from its birth up to the 1970s. The lectures focus on notable symphony composers over several hundred years.
The course begins by retracing the symphony’s roots from early opera preludes and other orchestral works. It then focuses on two composers, Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who elevated the symphony to an independent genre and established its form traditions. The course then moves on to Beethoven for his revolutionary approaches. In the context of Beethoven’s impact, more German and French composers are reviewed.
The course takes us into the Romantic era and beyond, focusing on several Western countries and regions, examining nation-specific musical traditions manifested in symphonic works. It progresses to the modern era, ending with Dmitri Shostakovich, the "last greatest composer of the Soviet Union."
Most of the lectures follow the same format: a few words about the greater context lead to a brief biography and some anecdotes about the featured composer, followed by a sweeping overview of his symphonic works. The lecture then focuses on one or two symphonies, sampling some parts of the music with commentaries. The lectures are both engaging and informative, motivating the audience to explore more.
"The Symphony" is not a beginner’s course. It uses many music terms without introduction and expects users to grasp points by listening to the music samples without detailed guides. For example, when played together, the listener is supposed to be able to tell when the theme exposition transitions to a modulating bridge. Furthermore, the course does not explicitly explain the musical eras—Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Modern, etc. While the lectures present individual composers, a good understanding of the broader musical traditions at the time would be very helpful in appreciating the creativity and contributions of these composers.
The course also focuses on musical techniques and highlights individual treatments, such as the relationship between the two themes, the extent and approach of development sections, and the unique characteristics of harmonies. With a few exceptions, it does not discuss the emotional impact of the entire symphonies, nor does it highlight the differences in techniques by playing different composers back-to-back. In that sense, the course is more useful as a music technique demonstration rather than a music appreciation guide.
As the author repeatedly reminds us, surveying the immense works of symphonies in 24 lectures is difficult. "The Symphony" manages to present a complete picture while limiting its scope. For readers striving for a better understanding and appreciation of this great musical genre, other courses on the same topic, including the "Masters" series offered by the same author, which delve deeper into an individual composer in each course, would be very helpful.
The course begins by retracing the symphony’s roots from early opera preludes and other orchestral works. It then focuses on two composers, Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who elevated the symphony to an independent genre and established its form traditions. The course then moves on to Beethoven for his revolutionary approaches. In the context of Beethoven’s impact, more German and French composers are reviewed.
The course takes us into the Romantic era and beyond, focusing on several Western countries and regions, examining nation-specific musical traditions manifested in symphonic works. It progresses to the modern era, ending with Dmitri Shostakovich, the "last greatest composer of the Soviet Union."
Most of the lectures follow the same format: a few words about the greater context lead to a brief biography and some anecdotes about the featured composer, followed by a sweeping overview of his symphonic works. The lecture then focuses on one or two symphonies, sampling some parts of the music with commentaries. The lectures are both engaging and informative, motivating the audience to explore more.
"The Symphony" is not a beginner’s course. It uses many music terms without introduction and expects users to grasp points by listening to the music samples without detailed guides. For example, when played together, the listener is supposed to be able to tell when the theme exposition transitions to a modulating bridge. Furthermore, the course does not explicitly explain the musical eras—Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Modern, etc. While the lectures present individual composers, a good understanding of the broader musical traditions at the time would be very helpful in appreciating the creativity and contributions of these composers.
The course also focuses on musical techniques and highlights individual treatments, such as the relationship between the two themes, the extent and approach of development sections, and the unique characteristics of harmonies. With a few exceptions, it does not discuss the emotional impact of the entire symphonies, nor does it highlight the differences in techniques by playing different composers back-to-back. In that sense, the course is more useful as a music technique demonstration rather than a music appreciation guide.
As the author repeatedly reminds us, surveying the immense works of symphonies in 24 lectures is difficult. "The Symphony" manages to present a complete picture while limiting its scope. For readers striving for a better understanding and appreciation of this great musical genre, other courses on the same topic, including the "Masters" series offered by the same author, which delve deeper into an individual composer in each course, would be very helpful.
July 11, 2020
Not quite what I expected. I thought this GC series might focus more on the mechanics of symphony as a form with comparisons and contrasts. Instead it is more of a review of great symphonic works, especially those that aren't on the "greatest hits" list. (Yes, Virginia, Copeland really did write something besides "Appalachian Spring." ) It's still quite good, I just had to mentally adjust my expectations once I realized were were back into the GC's more recent "edutainment" mode.
And this educate versus entertain things, I have finally figured out, is why I seem to prefer Dr. Greenberg's (or, as someone on GR has affectionately dubbed him, "Shouty") earlier courses. When he was still with the San Francisco Conservatory, his lectures were in full professor mode. He was still entertaining and enthusiastic, but there was also a certain excitement back then for teaching the audience (and GC used live audiences back in the 90s) the "how and why" of compositional choices and in coaching them/us in how to hear music rather than just listen to it. In these later GCs, he seems to be more in entertainment mode, more consciously trying to be amusing. I think he also has "dumbed down" the material a little, repeating things more and not going into as much detail on the details of how pieces work as they do. I've noticed this in other GC presenters, too. Maybe GC told them to dial it back or maybe it's due to not having that live audience there against whom to gauge response. Either way, you can't go wrong with a Greenberg GC, but I definitely prefer the challenge of his older (SFC days) sets.
As for this particular set, I had to binge watch it since it was a library loan (not available through the GC streaming service nor, apparently, through Amazon). It's a lot to watch in five days. I admit skipping a couple of the lectures to get to back to the library on time, but they were covered in some of his other courses. Ideally, I think The Symphony should be watched before some of the Great Masters and Concert Masterworks courses. Naturally, I did it bass-ackwards. Oh well.
And this educate versus entertain things, I have finally figured out, is why I seem to prefer Dr. Greenberg's (or, as someone on GR has affectionately dubbed him, "Shouty") earlier courses. When he was still with the San Francisco Conservatory, his lectures were in full professor mode. He was still entertaining and enthusiastic, but there was also a certain excitement back then for teaching the audience (and GC used live audiences back in the 90s) the "how and why" of compositional choices and in coaching them/us in how to hear music rather than just listen to it. In these later GCs, he seems to be more in entertainment mode, more consciously trying to be amusing. I think he also has "dumbed down" the material a little, repeating things more and not going into as much detail on the details of how pieces work as they do. I've noticed this in other GC presenters, too. Maybe GC told them to dial it back or maybe it's due to not having that live audience there against whom to gauge response. Either way, you can't go wrong with a Greenberg GC, but I definitely prefer the challenge of his older (SFC days) sets.
As for this particular set, I had to binge watch it since it was a library loan (not available through the GC streaming service nor, apparently, through Amazon). It's a lot to watch in five days. I admit skipping a couple of the lectures to get to back to the library on time, but they were covered in some of his other courses. Ideally, I think The Symphony should be watched before some of the Great Masters and Concert Masterworks courses. Naturally, I did it bass-ackwards. Oh well.
April 29, 2020
Good fun as always from Professor Greenberg. Lots of biography, analysis and decent recording extracts. Can't say it has converted me into a symphony lover, but that would have been a big ask. If anything I still can't stand Beethoven, but I suppose I like Vaughan-Williams a bit more. Maybe even Brahms. It goes without saying that the music itself was all down hill after the Haydn lectures, but it was well presented. The early proto-symphony lectures were the best; I didn't know, for example, that the symphony form grew out of opera overtures.
Why no fifth star? Just intuition.
Why no fifth star? Just intuition.
November 23, 2017
One of his best, provided exposure to music I would not otherwise have selected or "understood". Greenberg has an amazing ability to draw connections between musical pieces, and to provide the background needed to "enjoy" these symphonies.
May 14, 2017
Passionate instruction and commentary on 500 years of Western orchestral music titled or known as a symph0ny.
April 18, 2023
Greenberg is a gifted instructor who brings the subject to life. Makes me want to spend all day listening to symphonies...
January 22, 2017
Context: I came in with an adequate grounding in "The (frequently overplayed) Repertoire," having played in youth orchestra and taken piano lessons through HS, and a grasp of elementary music theory.
It didn't really expand my music-theoretical horizons a lot, but it helped me appreciate how the symphony - and orchestral music more generally - originated in opera. Greenberg enjoys himself and helps the various composers really come alive as people. More importantly, Greenberg did a masterful job introducing me to new works (Copland 2!) and showing me new depths to familiar pieces (Dvorak 7, e.g.).
Perhaps the strongest recommendation is this - Greenberg's course inspired me to discover a lot of the hidden gems of classical music, giving me the courage to travel far beyond "The Repertoire." I love the warhorses as much as anyone, but there's a lot of great music out there. Recommended to all fans of classical music, particularly public radio DJs.
It didn't really expand my music-theoretical horizons a lot, but it helped me appreciate how the symphony - and orchestral music more generally - originated in opera. Greenberg enjoys himself and helps the various composers really come alive as people. More importantly, Greenberg did a masterful job introducing me to new works (Copland 2!) and showing me new depths to familiar pieces (Dvorak 7, e.g.).
Perhaps the strongest recommendation is this - Greenberg's course inspired me to discover a lot of the hidden gems of classical music, giving me the courage to travel far beyond "The Repertoire." I love the warhorses as much as anyone, but there's a lot of great music out there. Recommended to all fans of classical music, particularly public radio DJs.
February 5, 2013
Greenberg is the greatest. Funny, wonderful anecdotes.
December 16, 2016
Thoroughly enjoyable and educational --- just like Prof. Greenberg's other lecture sets.
October 17, 2024
I enjoy these great course books as it gives me the opportunity to look at subjects I might not otherwise dig into. Worth the time investment to read.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews