Instructor: Dr. Michael Roeder
Fee: $75 members | $95 non-members

Wednesdays October 7, 14, 21, 28, November 4, and 18 at 10:00a.m. to 12:00p.m.

Beethoven’s nine symphonies hung over the 19th century like an inspiring, far-reaching legacy, yet they also were an encumbrance to composers who wished to follow in Beethoven’s footsteps. Brahms knew any symphonic work he would create would inevitably be compared to the works of Beethoven; that is the main reason he postponed finishing his first symphony until he was 43. Brahms’s 1st is in several ways influenced by works of the earlier symphonic master, as we will discover. While Brahms maintained his more classical-era approach even using a smaller orchestra than some contemporaries, Mahler expanded the orchestra in amazing ways and used the various instruments in brilliant and effective new ways and even, like Beethoven in his 9th, adds vocal forces and words to some of his symphonies to expand the breadth of communicative power of his music.

Our short course will open with a concise introduction to the history of the symphony up to and including Beethoven. Then we will explore selected works by our two composers. For Brahms, our focus will be on symphonies 1,2, and 4. For Mahler, we will examine symphonies 1,4, and 2.

As always, our study will be enhanced by excellent audio- and video-recorded performances.

About the instructor: Our instructor, Michael, is a musicologist with over 5 decades of teaching experience whose love of music and communicating with his students earned him several teaching awards including a 3M Teaching Fellowship awarded to Canada’s top university teachers. He is the author of A History of the Concerto, considered the foremost book on this subject