Our relationship to Beethoven is a deep and paradoxical one. For many musicians, he represents a kind of holy grail: His music has an intensity, rigor, and profundity which keep us in its thrall, and it is perhaps unequalled in the interpretive, technical, and even spiritual challenges it poses to performers. At the same time, Beethoven’s music is casually familiar to millions of people who do not attend concerts or consider themselves musically inclined. Two hundred years after his death, he is everywhere in the culture, yet still represents its summit. This course takes an inside-out look at the 32 piano sonatas from the point of view of a performer. Each lecture will focus on one sonata and an aspect of Beethoven’s music exemplified by it. (These might include: the relationship between Beethoven the pianist and Beethoven the composer; the critical role improvisation plays in his highly structured music; his mixing of extremely refined music with rougher elements; and the often surprising ways in which the events of his life influenced his compositional process and the character of the music he was writing.) The course will feature some analysis and historical background, but its perspective is that of a player, not a musicologist. Its main aim is to explore and demystify the work of the performer, even while embracing the eternal mystery of Beethoven’s music itself. This season's Curtis courses are sponsored by Linda Richardson in loving memory of her husband, Dr. Paul Richardson. The Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation supports Curtis's lifelong learning initiatives.
SR
In depth analysis in a field that I was not familiar with. I recommend it to everyone whether they have an interest or not.
SB
Absolutely loved this course! Jonathan is amazing and he has inspired me so very much. I can hardly wait for his next series.
JM
loved it...I learned so very much. The professor was tremendous and his playing was thrilling. I would take more courses from this instructor.
PC
This course and the other two with Johnathan Biss have greatly expanded my appreciation and understanding of Beethoven's sonatas
EF
Excellent course that is accessible and easy to understand. A wonderful combination of music history and listening.
EP
Wonderful journey getting to know these sonatas with a very enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide. Thank you for this.
AS
Very interesting historical background and a paced, clear presentation of the musical techniques employed by the pianists. Very enjoyable if you are a classical music lover.
M
This course and Mr. Biss' immense knowledge of Beethoven's sonatas and that era has given me a new interest in classical music. I can understand and speak about it more confidently than ever!
RS
Enjoyable and enlightening. I found prof. Bliss' straight forward lecture style very concise and his insight and passion for the material clear.
II
Amazing course! I can now understand Beethoven's Sonatas in a much deeper level, as well as how performance and innovation evolved throughout time.
MD
Great course for a beginner like me. It's an introduction and exploration of the adventurous world of music and musicians; passionately delivered by the expert, Mr Biss.
KJ
This is, out of all the courses/studies I have done in my whole life, my favourite of all time. Mr Biss is a a wonderful lecturer.
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Excellent coverage of the essentials. Provided me with a lot of understanding that I didn't find elsewhere. I would recommend this to anyone interested in knowing about the sonatas.
I highly recommend this course to anyone that wants to look DEEPER into music. Believe me, after you are done with this course. You will see classical music completely different.
I have taken many courses by now, however this course brings to mind the fantastic "A brief history of time". Both go above and beyond my wildest dreams, leaving my expectations so far as to be unable to recall them.
I learned not only about Beethoven the composer; but developed a greater appreciation for him and his music, for his predecessors and those who followed his footsteps, the sonata form and many other forms, and perhaps more important to ponder about the nature of music itself and it's relevance in our life. His presentation of the musical question, quotation, program music, and the notion of "jokes" exposed and explained a musical paradigm far broader than affective or cerebral qualities.
It stems from these observations that there is a very rich and capable language with its own strengths and weaknesses. In this case, the history of Beethoven's sonatas is then a very close look at a critical point in the life of this language that binds multiple stages into a consistent whole.
This subjects quasi universal nature, spans multiple cultures and allows us to look into snapshots of the experience of life. And this presentation has provided me with the necessary training to be aware of this and also to slowly delve further into this subject. And I find this in itself to be a very significant reason why to study music in the first place.
My deepest thanks to all who made this great work possible
Wither music?
Most certainly :)
I am only halfway through this course and it is already a favorite out of the handful of courses I've successfully completed through Coursera. Jonathan Biss's passion for the subject matter brought me from an infatuation with Beethoven to a full-on heed over heels love. I am a vocalist, I was classically trained as a child (lately a lot more bluesy) but do not have a strong background in theory. Most of what I know is through an innate understanding of harmony, structure, etc. This is whetting my appetite for musical structure and thoroughly illustrating that musical analysis is so very exciting. There really aren't words for how much I love this course. It has really brought me joy.
I am about three-quarters of the way through this course and I am completely enamoured with Beethoven in ways that were impossible before taking this course. I love the depth that Professor Biss imparts without ever getting pedantic or overwhelming. I have now listened to all 32 sonatas, some several times more over the past several weeks and I feel so fortunate that I can love this music in a deeper, more passionate way because of the understanding I have gleaned from this class. Highly recommended for all musicians and music-lovers.
A fascinating course for any classical musician, or keen listener of classical music. Jonathan Biss' passion for his subject, his rich language and his emotion-laden playing combine to engage the participant, so that one is left with not just a better intellectual understanding of Beethoven's Piano Sonatas, but also, a much greater appreciation of the pieces themselves and the man who wrote them. Thank you to Coursera, Jonathan Biss and the Curtis Institute of Music for making this course available.
Jonathan Biss presented a brilliant and in-depth understanding of Beethoven's Sonatas. I appreciated his extraordinary artistry as a concert pianist.
I have been working on many of these pieces for the last three years and found the course truly assisted in my own ability to play the Sonatas capturing Beethoven's insights into the technical, philosophical and spiritual dimensions of these Sonatas. I am ready and waiting for is next course offering!
Warren Stone
This course presents a totally interesting view of the Beethoven Sonatas, zeroing in on a few of them since an exhaustive view would take so many more hours to present. Jonathan Biss is a wonderful pianist and lecturer and the course is fascinating. It has helped me tremendously in both my enjoyment of the importance and variety of the sonatas and in re-evaluating my own performances. Thank you so much for this insight, Jonathan Biss - it is invaluable.
I'm not a musician and have little knowledge of classical music, but I figured that an on-line course would be a great way to gain some understanding of this type of music. Mr. Biss made the course both enjoyable and educational. While I wasn't able to comprehend all of the concepts, it wasn't for lack of a clear explanation and demonstration. Somehow, I managed to pass all of the quizzes and came away with an appreciation of Beethoven's music.
Love love love this course!!!
Jonathan Biss is very well-acquainted with Beethoven's sonatas. His explanations are beautiful and I love how thorough he is! He goes through the fine, minute details of Beethoven's sonatas without sacrificing the zoomed-out view of Beethoven's life and influences as well.
Besides that, Biss is an extraordinary pianist and clearly loves and admires Beethoven's sonatas. I hope he'll keep on adding to this course!
In discussing modulation in classical music, one of my classmates said that Beethoven's piano sonatas are bizarre in their styles compared with those Romantic composers like Liszt and Chopin. I don't agree with him, but I don't have enough knowledge to analyze Beethoven's work. The course titled "Exploring Beethoven's Piano Sonatas" provides such a high-level overview of Beethoven's Piano music, I should say Thank you to the instructor!
For a Beethoven fan (or dare I say geek) this is an absolute joy. I'm 'only' a listener, but passionate enough to take on this wonderful journey through these piano sonatas with Jonathan Biss, he's just awesome and makes me want to come back over and over again ... for more. Please keep adding.
Thank you for this opportunity to learn more about Beethoven and his music.
This is a great course! I Highly recommend it to anyone like me struggling to find meaning in musical harmony in general. The interest in sonatas is a great side effect! And the way Mr. Biss emphasizes and explained the passages, this is just extraordinary. I am looking forward to any new courses from this great teacher!
MORE, MORE, MORE Please
Please make another MOOC, I am dying to hear from you again, Mr. Biss. Thank you for making this learning experience so enjoyable. Your playing is wonderful, and your explanations are clear and concise, making this course a real pleasure to take. Great job, and please do it again!
I signed up for this because I took a longer class on classical music and loved Beethoven week. This course did not disappoint: instructor's knowledge is comprehensive and his ability to just sit down and play any bit of Beethoven at whim is impressive. Truly enjoyed by me.
This course and Mr. Biss' immense knowledge of Beethoven's sonatas and that era has given me a new interest in classical music. I can understand and speak about it more confidently than ever!
Fascinating trip through the marvellous Beethoven sonatas.
Although I love them since many years, I'm very happy to see that It's always possible to progress.
Many thanks Jonathan.
A spa for your ears, and your mind~
I was definitely one of those Mr. Biss mentioned in his lecture who held unjust bias against Beethoven's melodic writing skills, partially due to the fact that I was largely exposed to the latter's symphonic works and those piano made popular by pop culture prior to Mr. Biss. Thus with reservation I enrolled in this course.
And what a delight it has been!! Mr. Biss is passionate, articulate and an stellar pianist, especially with slow movements(his Opus 109. put me in a trance the first time I heard it). I've learned to appreciate Beethoven's music as well as himself as an idealist dreamer, once having let go of my preconceived idea of what beautiful music should be(my musicical twin-flame was and still is Mozart). I've discovered some of the most breathtakingly pretty melodies in the world thanks to Mr. Biss. Beethoven's music in comparison to other composers is that it's too human: passion, discontentment, fury, love, loneliness, yearning and struggle. I feel like I've been invited to a private club of people that is my own kind.
Thank you, Mr. Biss. You truly made a great difference in my life. ☆ﾟ.+:｡ﾟラブ(oゝω･o)ラブﾟ.+:｡ﾟ☆
Jonathan Biss discusses these cornerstones of the piano repertoire with such incredible depth of knowledge, vast understanding of the historical context, incredible insight into the compositional process, and, most importantly, an unending passion and heartfelt love for this music. I not only feel like I learned more than I ever could have discovered on my own, I feel a deeper love for these sonatas than I did before, and feel incredibly inspired by Jonathan's own passion for Beethoven and his piano music. Anyone even remotely interested in piano music, or Beethoven, or classical music, or really any music, MUST take this course.
I thought I knew some of these sonatas well from repeated listening and studying them as a piano student. But Mr. Biss opened the doors to them much more widely - his insight and his performances and his explanations were incredibly enlightening for me. He's also such an engaging instructor - I felt so much like he was talking to me personally that at times I started responding back to him on the screen! This is an absolutely amazing course and I feel privileged to have been able to take it from Mr. Biss. (Now off to buy his recording of the complete sonatas.)