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Music as a Mirror of History

Series: Great Courses
4.6
(49)
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Episodes
24
Rating
TVPG
Year
2016
Language
English
Publisher
The Great Courses

About

Uncover the fascinating and surprising connections between famous music and historical events, led by celebrated composer and music historian Professor Robert Greenberg. In Music as a Mirror of History, music lovers and history enthusiasts alike will be enthralled by this exploration of how momentous compositions have responded to-and inspired-pivotal points in the history of the world.

Related Subjects

Episodes

1 to 3 of 24

1. Music and History, Madrigals and Maps

45m

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Grasp how Thomas Morley's madrigals in praise of Queen Elizabeth I engaged with English national self-perception and myth, and how Leon Janáček and Frédéric Chopin responded to political events in key works. Take account of how magnified emotions stirred by human conflicts feed artistic creation, and how artists have managed to convert the most terrible of human experiences into transcendent art.

2. Handel: Water Music (1714)

45m

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Trace the extraordinary circumstances in which the German prince George Ludwig of Brunswick-Lüneberg became King George I of England. Then discover how music and history intersected in the remarkable career of George Frederick Handel and how it led to the creation of numerous musical masterpieces, including the composer's iconic Water Music, written for a state procession in 1717.

3. Mozart: The Abduction from the Harem (1782)

45m

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Learn how political events in Europe shaped Mozart's music and personal circumstances. Investigate the threat posed to Europe by the Ottoman Empire and observe the paradoxical Turkish vogue in European art and fashion. Study the Turkish elements of Mozart's opera The Abduction from the Harem, and see how the fallout from Austria's war with the Ottomans contributed to Mozart's decline and death.

Extended Details

  • Closed CaptionsEnglish