Music Zoom: Beethoven's Symphonies

Beethoven’s Symphonic Vision: An Evolution Story
Three Zoom Sessions
Thur., Sept. 12, 19, 26, 2024, 6:30-8:30 pm MT

Beethoven did not invent the symphony. Both Mozart and Haydn had gotten there before him. However, Beethoven was the first to prove that a symphony could be far more than just instrumentalists on the stage and many dots on the page. A symphony could express the composer’s view of the world: triumph, tragedy and all the emotions in between. Culmination of that notion came with his Symphony No. 9, premiering in Vienna on May 7, 1824, and containing so famously the Ode to Joy. Two hundred years on, music historian Betsy Schwarm offers a three-week online course exploring Beethoven’s symphonic vision, not just for the Symphony No. 9, but also for the evolutionary process that his 25-year journey brought to that which we think of as a “symphony.” How did he move onward from the symphonies of Mozart and Haydn? How did he anticipate the grand works that would come with later generations? In what new directions did other composers take Beethoven’s ideas? Schwarm examines these ideas, comparing one master’s works to those of another. The course includes one optional online concert outside of class in which Schwarm allows students to share impressions. How did Beethoven change the musical world and how does he still make a difference today? Find out here!

Classical radio host, music professor, pre-performance speaker and author of ten books, Betsy Schwarm takes a user-friendly approach to her classes. No music reading required, just an active interest in how listeners can get the most from listening opportunities.