The Chamber Music of Mozart (The Great Courses)
What made Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart perhaps the most complete "musical package" in history-a man who created more masterpieces of virtually every musical genre of his day than any other composer before or since? There is perhaps no better way to explore this question than by studying his chamber music. Nowhere is Mozart's maturity and mastery more apparent than in the chamber music he wrote during the last 10 years of his life.Hear, Study, and Enjoy "A Blessing of Inconceivable Richness"This is an opportunity to study and enjoy a variety of chamber works drawn primarily from Mozart's "golden years" in Vienna, 1781-1791. The centerpiece of the course is the set of six Haydn string quartets that Mozart dedicated to his friend, the great Joseph Haydn. Across the span of the course, you will explore works that represent the three types of chamber music that Mozart composed:Any chamber group consisting, in whole or in part, of a string quartet: two violins, a viola, and a cello.The "piano plus" combination: works for keyboard and some other instrument or instruments.Everything else: combinations that employ neither a string quartet nor a piano.You will learn the basic language that all 18th-century composers used to write their music. In addition, you will explore the subtleties of Mozart's technique as a composer: his ability to make art artless-music that is enormously complex and sophisticated but sounds effortless-and to know how and when to bend or break the rules of composition to create music that at times confused or even disturbed his audiences but would endure forever.Finally, this course is a delightful blend of music analysis and appreciation, and biographical narration. Professor Greenberg covers significant aspects of Mozart's life, from birth to death. You will shake your head in disbelief at Mozart's unique musical talent.