GRMUS T644 — Beethoven: The Heroic Decade, 1800-1810

2 credits
Spring
Wayne Oquin

During the years of 1800-1810 Beethoven singlehandedly altered the history of Western music. In his so-called middle period, Beethoven’s vast creative output contained many of his most revered works: Symphonies Nos. 3 through 6; the Op. 59 (“Razumovsky”) String Quartets; Piano Sonatas Op. 27 (Quasi una fantasia) through Op. 81a (Les Adieux); and his opera Fidelio. This course will cover each of these works and others, analyzing the music, retracing Beethoven’s artistic development, and putting the works into their historical context. Frequently we will refer to facsimiles of the autograph manuscripts, critical editions, and analytical writings.