Richard Freedman - Understanding the fundamentals of classical m

Summary

As lovers of great music, it is important to fine-tune our listening skills in order to truly appreciate the richness and complexity of great concert works. Just as the musician practices for hours on end to develop the right tone, balance, and form, so too the concert-goer must endeavor to train their ear to grasp the subtleties that composers, conductors, and performers employ as they craft and present a piece.

Rather than simply complete a chronological survey of musical history, this course will focus on the development of solid listening skills. By learning to listen to music in new ways, we will grow to appreciate the drama and excitement at the heart of all great concert music. The process will help us to understand the building blocks of classical music, even as we appreciate its beauty. We'll begin by looking at the fundamentals of sound, line, time and texture. Once we have understood these basic concepts we will increase our listening capacity to include other important principles of musical works: for example, the ways in which they align with other compositions, tell stories, and use past models as a vehicle for new innovations. Finally, we'll explore the formal schemes you may hear in concert, such as theme and variation, rondo, sonata and fugue, as we come to understand how masterworks and master performances are constantly yielding up new riches, which is precisely why they endure in the concert repertory.