Lectures For Lifelong Learners!

We begin with famous storms in music (Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, and Wagner’s Walkure) and then discuss the different qualities of music that make some music so memorable. We listen for the highly textured finale of Mozart’s famous “Jupiter” Symphony, the vast open space in the finale of Verdi’s Aida, the haunting repetition in Ravel’s Bolero, and the Habanera from Bizet’s Carmen. Indulge in the music that novelists have found the most pleasurable moments in Western art music—Chopin’s Nocturne in F# and the Adagietto from Mahler’s Fifth. We end with two symphonic masterpieces that have transfixed generations of listeners—Beethoven’s Fifth and Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony.