Great Masters: Brahms-His Life and Music is a course that links the complexities of this enduring Western composer with his electrifying works through biographical information and musical commentary. Join award-winning composer and Professor Robert Greenberg on an examination of how Brahms found unique ways of combining the formal complexity of older Classical genres with the melodic inventiveness, harmonic sophistication, and expressive richness of the Romantic Age. Among the many aspects of Brahms's life and career you explore are why he took 21 years to complete his first symphony; how he single-handedly started a second "golden symphonic age" in music; and how he breathed new life into chamber music at the age of 40.
Great Masters: Brahms—His Life and Music
Explore how Brahms found unique ways of combining the formal complexity of older Classical genres with the melodic inventiveness, harmonic sophistication, and expressive richness of the Romantic Age.
Rated 5 out of
5
by
smb12321 from
One of the best (lectures and presenter)
What a surprise. I was expecting a rather stuffy recollection of Brahm's life but instead got a humorous, informative, incredibly researched lesson on the man, his music and the times. It appears he spoke without notes - either that or he was one of the best readers around.
The lecture is chronological and covers politics, religion, culture and the musical establishment of the time (and its many battles). The arrangement was near perfect as were the examples. This makes me want to try another of his lectures.
Date published: 2024-04-25
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Andaman from
Very good coverage
As well as being excellent value, this course comprehensively covers the man and his music, and does so in an accessible and entertaining way. I've enjoyed several of Prof Greenberg's courses, and have learned a great deal from all. I'm not a trained musician, but find the level suitable for my understanding, but also with enough pointers for further study at leisure. I'll be back!
Date published: 2024-02-14
Rated 5 out of
5
by
GianniMario from
Excellent. Thank you, Dr. Greenberg. Will be purchasing the music.
Date published: 2023-04-17
Rated 4 out of
5
by
The Dean from
Interesting; would like more about music
Interesting and well-presented. Would like more about his music, less biography.
Date published: 2022-08-05
Rated 5 out of
5
by
bsncelflt from
We knew next to nothing about Brahms!
We have had all of the Great Masters lectures for many years and enjoyed listening to them again while doing jigsaw puzzles during the pandemic. All are excellent! We learned so much & enjoy the music more. We gave several to our community orchestra conductor as an end of the year gift a few years back. He still thanks us personally. Highly recommend.
Date published: 2022-02-24
Rated 5 out of
5
by
leeniea from
Behold the last of the 3 B's
Professor Greenberg is a wonder. Brilliant, humorous, knowledgeable and a talented presenter. I've bought several of his lectures, and Brahms is one of the best.
Date published: 2021-12-26
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Joe15 from
Getting to know Brahms
As a lover of music by Brahms, I thoroughly enjoyed this DVD. Professor Greenberg does a great job in informing us what was going on in Brahms's early life as well as when he composed his masterpieces. He also demonstrates great enthusiasm for his subject. I am inspired to acquire more music by Brahms that I was previously unfamiliar with.
Date published: 2021-11-10
Rated 5 out of
5
by
yellowfish68 from
This course taught me so much that I never knew before. The professor taught the course in a way that way very interesting. By the end of the course I had learned to appreciate the life and the music of Brahms.
Date published: 2021-10-23
Overview
About
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.
You can find more music content from Robert Greenberg on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/RobertGreenbergMusic.
01: J.B., We Hardly Knew You!
Johannes Brahms tried to "shape" the future's memory of himself by destroying much of his own work and correspondence. Feelings of inferiority could have come from his humble origins. He was born in Hamburg's red-light district. By the time he was eight, his potential as a pianist was apparent. His teacher recognized Brahms's talent, and grounded him in the music of Bach, Haydn, Mozart, and others in the German/Austrian tradition.
48 min
02: The Brothels of Hamburg
One of the disturbing formative experiences of Brahms's childhood was his employment as a piano player in the bars and brothels of Hamburg. Brahms continued his lessons and came to appreciate the music of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven. Brahms met a Hungarian violinist named Eduard Rimenyi; they went on tour together. The contacts Brahms made on this tour would catapult him to fame only seven months after he left Hamburg.
45 min
03: The Schumanns
Clara and Robert Schumann were overwhelmed by Brahms's music, and Robert used his influence to have a number of works by Brahms published and himself wrote an article declaring Brahms to be the new messiah of German music. Robert Schumann died in July 1856, but even though he loved her, Brahms decided he could not marry Clara. They remained friends for the rest of their lives.
44 min
04: The Vagabond Years
From 1857 to 1862, Brahms took various appointments and traveled but refused to take on a long-term professional position. The 1859 premiere in Leipzig of the Piano Concerto in D Minor was disastrous. The years conducting choirs in Hamburg were the key to Brahms's musical maturity. By 1860, Brahms had developed his mature musical voice—Romantic melody and harmony objectively constrained by Classical formal structures.
45 min
05: Maturity
Although Brahms's mature compositional style was conservative, his melody, harmony, and expressive content were entirely contemporary. His successes in the early 1860s lifted his spirits and fattened his wallet. He traveled to Vienna and settled into the musical life there, but in 1864, his mother died, and Brahms grieved mightily. He began work on a piece that would stand as a memorial for the dead: A German Requiem, Brahms's longest work and an extraordinarily personal one.
45 min
06: Mastery
The years 1865 and 1866 were compositionally productive for Brahms, and in 1868, he triumphantly premiered A German Requiem, which would come to be the foundation of his compositional career. By the early 1870s, his position among German composers was considered equal to that of Liszt. His position as director of the Society of the Friends of Music in Vienna allowed him to study and conduct the music of his choosing and would ultimately bring him back to orchestral composition.
46 min
07: The Tramp of Giants
Brahms's Symphony no. 1 in C Minor ushered in a second golden age for the symphony that saw the composition of works by Dvorak, Mahler, and others. In 1877, Brahms completed his Second Symphony, the charming and lyric Pastoral Symphony. At this time in his life, Brahms was rich, famous, and was producing one genuine masterwork after another, including his monumental Piano Concerto no. 2 in B-flat Major.
47 min
08: Farewells
As Brahms entered his 50s, he was still healthy and maintained his creative powers. He produced a great deal of vocal music in the early 1880s, as well as his majestic Third Symphony. In 1885, his brilliant Fourth Symphony was triumphantly premiered. He also produced songs, sonatas, a trio, and a double concerto. But when Clara Schumann died in 1896, Brahms was devastated. His own health deteriorated, and he succumbed to cancer of the liver on April 3, 1897.
47 min
