Robert Greenberg – Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas

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Robert Greenberg – Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas
Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas

Examine 32 piano sonatas with Great Courses favorite Professor Robert Greenberg as he combines music, anecdotes, and humor to highlight classic pieces.
LECTURE (24)
01:Beethoven and the Piano

Professor Greenberg introduces the course with a brief biography of Beethoven and the early history of the piano followed by a discussion of the recordings of Beethoven’s piano sonatas used throughout the course, performed by the distinguished pianist Claude Frank….
02:Homage to Mozart

This lecture explores the Classical style that Beethoven inherited from Haydn and Mozart, highlighting some of its more notable features. Then we look at Beethoven’s Piano Sonata no. 1 in F Minor, op. 2, no. 1, from 1795, as both an homage to Mozart and an example of Beethoven’s pianistic audacity….
03:The Grand Sonata, Part 1

Beethoven’s first four piano sonatas are four-movement works that are orchestral in scope, reflecting Beethoven’s concept of the piano as a major instrument. We look at the second of his opus 2 set-Sonata no. 2 in A-as an example of these “grand sonatas.”…
04:The Grand Sonata, Part 2

Continuing our study of Beethoven’s grand sonatas, we examine Sonata no. 3 in C, no. 3, op. 2, and Sonata no. 4 in E flat, op. 7. In both these works, we see Beethoven’s early artistic declaration that he was not interested in slavishly following the Classical tradition….
05:Meaning and Metaphor

In his three opus 10 sonatas, Beethoven continues his formula of composing a triad of starkly different works, ranging from darkly passionate to witty to grand. We look at the first of these pieces: Piano Sonata no. 5 in C Minor….
06:The Striking and Subversive, Op. 10 Continued

Piano Sonata no. 6 in F, op. 10, no. 2 remained a special favorite of Beethoven’s for many years after its composition. We examine the elements that make it seem so playful, before turning to the grander work that concludes the opus 10 set: Piano Sonata no. 7 in D….
07:The Pathetique and the Sublime

We focus on one of Beethoven’s most popular piano sonatas: no. 8 in C Minor, op. 13 (Pathetique). Professor Greenberg shows how time and popularity can trivialize even the most revolutionary creation, rendering us immune to what was once considered new and shocking….
08:The Opus 14 Sonatas

Beethoven’s music can be supple, light-hearted, quick-witted, and genuinely humorous, just as it can be heroic, magnificent, and spiritually profound. Beethoven’s lighter side is delightfully on display in his two opus 14 piano sonatas: no. 9 in E and no. 10 in G….
09:Motives, Bach and a Farewell to the 18th Century

We focus almost entirely on the first movement of Piano Sonata no. 11 in B flat, op. 22, to understand Beethoven’s developing compositional priorities and the influence of Bach on his music. Written in 1800, this work is in many ways Beethoven’s farewell to the 18th-century Viennese Classical style….
10:A Genre Redefined

From this point on, each of Beethoven’s piano sonatas is markedly different from what came before it. No. 12 in A flat, op. 26 (Funeral March) shows a remarkable degree of contrast between its movements and has, as its third movement, an anguished funeral march….
11:Sonata quasi una fantasia-The Moonlight

The most popular of all of Beethoven’s piano works is his Sonata No. 14 in C Sharp Minor, Op. 27, No. 2 (Moonlight). Imbued with tragic feeling, the Moonlight is almost impossible not to relate to the composer’s progressive hearing loss….
12:Lesser Siblings and a Pastoral Interlude

We study two underappreciated works: Sonata no. 13 in E flat, op. 27, no. 1 continues Beethoven’s assault on the Classical sonata template, while Sonata no. 15 in D, op. 28 (Pastoral) is a revolutionary work that elevates musical pastoral cliches to a high art….
13:The Tempest

While the groundbreaking Third Symphony was Beethoven’s public declaration of his “new path” as a composer, the piano sonatas were, collectively, his workshop for getting there-none more so than Sonata no. 17 in D Minor, op. 31, no. 2 (Tempest)….
14:A Quartet of Sonatas

We explore the other two opus 31 sonatas: no. 16 in G (which literally saved the life of pianist Claude Frank) and no. 18 in E flat. We also look at the opus 49 pair: no. 19 in G Minor and no. 20 in G; both were published against Beethoven’s wishes and have since become favorites of young players….
15:The Waldstein and the Heroic Style

Piano Sonata no. 21 in C, op. 53 (Waldstein) is like no other music written by Beethoven or anyone else. We study this remarkable piece-from its unrelenting opening theme to its breathtaking prestissimo (“as fast as possible”) conclusion….
16:The Appassionata and the Heroic Style

Likened to Dante’s Inferno and Shakespeare’s King Lear, Sonata no. 23 in F Minor, op. 57 (Appassionata) is not only esteemed by audiences, it was also one of Beethoven’s favorites among his piano works. With the Waldstein, it is a quintessential example of Beethoven’s “heroic” style….
17:They Deserve Better, Part 1

We examine two Beethoven sonatas that deserve more attention than they are generally accorded: no. 22 in F, op. 54, and no. 24 in F sharp, op. 78. The former is an inspired, virtuosic, and genuinely experimental piece of music; the latter is one of the strangest and most adventurous works in the repertoire….
18:They Deserve Better, Part 2

Continuing our exploration of Beethoven’s often overlooked piano sonatas, we study no. 25 in G, op. 79, and no. 27 in E Minor, op. 90. The opening movement of op. 79 is a parody of Classically styled piano sonatas, while op. 90 opens with great pathos and tenderness….
19:The Farewell Sonata

Piano Sonata no. 26 in E flat, op. 81a (Les Adieux) was dedicated to the Archduke Rudolph, an aristocratic patron and friend of Beethoven’s who was fleeing Vienna ahead of Napoleon’s armies-hence, the Farewell Sonata. We look at the piece as a mirror of contemporary events and as program music….
20:Experiments in a Dark Time

Piano Sonata no. 28 in A, op. 101, is unique among Beethoven’s 32 in that he had someone else’s hands and spirit in mind when he composed it-namely his brilliant student Baroness Dorothea von Ertmann. It is also one of Beethoven’s most rigorous and experimental works composed to that point in his life….
21:The Hammerklavier, Part 1

Piano Sonata no. 29 in B flat, op. 106 (Hammerklavier) was the groundbreaking work-the first masterpiece-of Beethoven’s late period. It is the most virtuosic keyboard music ever written to its time. In this lecture, we cover the first of its four movements….
22:The Hammerklavier, Part 2

We continue our study of the Hammerklavier, focusing on the paradoxical fourth movement fugue, composed seemingly without limits or limitations. The Hammerklavier has been called “monstrous and immeasurable,” a sonata like no other. With it, Beethoven opened the door to a new expressive world….
23:In a World of His Own

Beethoven’s last three piano sonatas owe much to his epic Missa Solemnis (“Solemn Mass”) which was also composed in the period 1820-1822. We explore the spiritual and compositional links to the Missa Solemnis, particularly as they relate to sonatas no. 30 in E, op. 109, and no. 31 in A flat, op. 110….
24:Reconciliation

Beethoven completed his final piano sonata, no. 32 in C Minor, op. 111, in 1822-five years before his death. Opus 111 seems obviously Beethoven’s valedictory statement for the genre; it ties up loose ends, yet it is so stunningly original that it caps, rather than continues, the composer’s run of 32 sonatas for piano….
 
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Overview

Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas provide a window into his personal musical development and highlight the piano as an evolving instrument. Professor Robert Greenberg combines analysis of extensive musical excerpts with historical anecdotes, metaphors, and humor to show what goes on inside a musical composition and how Beethoven often broke all former rules to achieve a new, powerful effect.
 
About

Robert Greenberg

For thousands of years cultures have celebrated themselves through their music. Let us always be willing and able to join that celebration by listening as carefully as we can to what, through music, we have to say to one another.
ALMA MATER

University of California, Berkeley
INSTITUTION

San Francisco Performances
Dr. Robert Greenberg is Music Historian-in-Residence with San Francisco Performances. A graduate of Princeton University, Professor Greenberg holds a Ph.D. in Music Composition from the University of California, Berkeley. He has seen his compositions-which include more than 45 works for a wide variety of instrumental and vocal ensembles-performed all over the world, including New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, England, Ireland, Greece, Italy, and the Netherlands.
He has served on the faculties of the University of California, Berkeley; California State University, Hayward; and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and has lectured for some of the most prestigious musical and arts organizations in the United States, including the San Francisco Symphony, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Van Cliburn Foundation, and the Chicago Symphony. For The Great Courses, he has recorded more than 500 lectures on a range of composers and classical music genres.
Professor Greenberg is a Steinway Artist. His many other honors include three Nicola de Lorenzo Composition Prizes and a Koussevitzky commission from the Library of Congress. He has been profiled in various major publications, including The Wall Street Journal; Inc. magazine; and the London Times.