Great Masters: Beethoven- His Life and Music (The Teaching Company: The Great Courses)

After listening to “How to Listen to and Understand Great Music, 3rd Edition” by Greenberg, I couldn’t wait for more, and took on Bach and the High Baroque next, followed by this one - a much shorter course - on Beethoven.

I must admit, while I did get a much better appreciation of

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Beethoven’s genius, I was appalled over all that I learned about his character. Certainly he had been subjected to horrific abuse as a child, but grew up to be an abuser himself with respect to his nephew Karl, and a very unpleasant man besides that.

Nevertheless, Beethoven’s works rank amongst the most performed and beloved of the classical music repertoire, and this is in spite of the fact that he began to go deaf at around age 28. By the time he was 44 or 45, he was totally deaf. Yet, he composed his magnificent Symphony No. 9 in D Minor when he was 52.

Greenberg tells us a great deal about Beethoven’s life, and we get at least a sampling of his music. I suspect my next course will Greenberg will be “The Symphonies of Beethoven” so that I can hear his more in-depth treatment of these great works.

Evaluation: Greenberg adds verve and interest to his subject matter. I always learn so much from his courses, and he always leaves me wanting to take additional courses!

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