How to Listen to and Understand Great Music, 3rd Edition

Prof. Greenberg clearly is a master/expert of concert (not “classical” as he correctly teaches) music and has the knowledge, experience, and expertise to offer such a monumental course. It is an excellent survey voyage of concert music from its beginnings in the medieval period to modern concert music as evidenced by Stravinsky and Schönberg. All of the major musical periods are covered, with examples from a few of the major composers of the period, and, limited by time and space, snippets of examples from particular periods (although sometimes whole compositions are presented). He defines classical music for what it really is, rather than the popular misuse of the term “classical”….a misleading misnomer usually meant to refer to “concert” music (i.e., in actuality classical music is one aspect of concert music, usually dated from 1750 [the end of The Baroque period] to the death of Beethoven [and the beginning of the Romantic period]) in 1827. Obviously some major composers and pieces are omitted, as one can only cover so much in the time allotted. I would assume that many of these omitted masterpieces are covered in the myriad other courses Prof. Greenberg offers for The Teaching Company. In spite of the fact that I have been a fan and student of concert music for most of my life, I learned a lot from this course. But I think that the course could be improved upon by Dr. Greenberg’s changing some aspects of his pedagogic style.Prof. Greenberg has certain instructional habits that I think detract from a more successful presentation of this material. In general there is too much narrative and not enough music. One can easily get the idea that Prof. Greenberg is enamored by the sound of his own voice. Obviously some talk is necessary, but Prof. Greenberg sometimes goes on longer than is required. He tends to, with unnecessary length, act out dialogue from operas and cantatas, or from quoted letters and/or other literary sources, in a sometimes unnaturally high, sometimes strangely inflected voice (especially when a female is speaking in the text). He injects too much humor (not all of which is funny), too many aspects of popular culture, too many Yiddishisms, and numerous personal details about himself into his presentation. He unnecessarily reads long pieces of text when that very text is present in the accompanying course syllabus (which is excellent), available for students to read themselves, thereby wasting time. He presents too many dates and unnecessary details…. many repetitive details about a particular composer’s life. He quotes widely from musicological sources and from writings of the composers themselves—reading their (sometimes very long) comments verbatim—when simply summing them up would be sufficient and would free up time for more music. When doing this he uses the names (mainly German and Italian) of many people who are tangential to the topic being discussed, which comes across as pedantic and potentially confusing. Many of these quotes are repetitious, again taking up time when more music would be desired. If the course were 150 rather than 36 hours long, all that would be fine. But it is necessary to carefully select what is included in the spoken narrative, and I believe Prof. Greenberg’s balance is off. Although dissection of the music into understandable details and musical structures is a good thing, I feel that his micro-analysis of the music can sometimes detract from the sheer pleasure of listening to it. His general mood is hyper-energetic, with pressured speech, which I felt detracted from the pedagogic value. A calmer, more straight-forward presentation, with less humor and irrelevant tidbits of information, would have been better. Sure, he offers his own opinions about the value of a particular composition, but he is an expert, and such opinions are welcomed. Even when his opinion isn’t shared by this student (e.g., his love of Schönberg’s Pierrot Lunaire, which I loathed) it is useful to have the opinion of an expert.On the positive side he includes details and nomenclature pertaining to concert music which I didn’t know and which contribute to my understanding of the music. His breadth of knowledge is impressive. His WordScore Guides to many of the compositions discussed are excellent, allowing the student to better understand the subtleties of the music. Sometimes he narrates explanations along with the music, which I found to be very helpful. He offers examples of the points he is making on the piano, which was also very beneficial. His great enthusiasm for the subject matter cuts two ways. On one hand it could be infectious and motivating, and, therefore welcomed; on the other hand it could feel as if he is talking at rather than to you. Prof. Greenberg’s placing the music in historic perspective is valuable (e.g., his allusions to the Enlightenment, the Reformation, the Counter-Reformation, and the pivotal year of 1848), but repetitious. How many times do we have to hear that Romantic music comes from the need of individuals to express themselves? I believe that certain compositions were overused to demonstrate musical points (like Mozart’s 'Eine Kleine Nachtmusik' and Symphony #40, and Beethoven’s 5th symphony).I guess that undertaking such a difficult project would always have its challenges. Although I learned a lot from this course, Prof. Greenberg’s style was, for me, a distraction. Nevertheless, I plan to take his other courses, as I think, despite my criticisms, that they would be worthwhile. I have already taken the “30 Most Important Concert Compositions” course, and I am now just beginning the “Understanding the Fundamentals of Music” course. So if 3 stars is good, and 4 stars very good, and 5 stars excellent, I would give this course 3 stars, but would nevertheless recommend it for people interested in learning about concert music.

Filled with wonder information going back before the early Greeks and describes the development of classical music in a way that is easy to listen to and incredibly informative. The professor is very organized and truly knows his material. With time he becomes part of your family, sharing old stories about the wisdoms and controversies of the times. I enjoyed it so much, that I have purchased it for others including my brother who is now a retired music professor. I plan to listen to it again.

I bought these books as a companion to the Audible Great Courses lectures of the same name. It is just what I needed, since the audio lectures often refer to items contained in the text, notably the "word score guides," which are great. Professor Greenberg's approach to his subject is funny, wide-ranging, and in-depth. The opposite of stuffy! We enjoyed them so much that we are working are way through the whole series.

The description said this book was the guidebook covering all lectures. What was sent was a book covering half the lectures.

Complete set in perfect condition at an excellent price. I just wish it had more music, less history.

I got this for my dad for Christmas and he loved it. He's always wanted to "understand" classical music and this is the most comprehensive guide you can get. It's totally worth the investment. He tells me all about the baroque era now, which is great I guess... :)

I am on lecture 20 of 48. So far I greatly appreciate the cds. They are in excellent condition, and the information had been invaluable.

LOVE this. Intense, detailed and what I need. Not sure it's all for HS but I can take what I need to design my curriculum.