The 23 Greatest Solo Piano Works

Overview

Course No. 7320

Explore the greatest solo works ever written for the greatest instrument ever created in this exciting and fun course by famed musicologist Robert Greenberg. The piano is the most popular solo concert instrument in Western music and has inspired many masterpieces in the concert repertoire. This course includes 24 enthralling lectures that take you through over 200 years of piano music, from Bach to visionary modernists like Scriabin and Prokofiev, highlighting key works and dissecting their musical substance.

Video Lectures

1. Piano Starts Here!
   • Reflect on the life of concert pianists and trace the evolution of the piano.
   • Duration: 50 min

2. J. S. Bach-The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book One
   • Explore Bach’s influential work and the aesthetics of the High Baroque.
   • Duration: 49 min

3. J. S. Bach-Goldberg Variations
   • Examine the complexity and structure of this iconic masterpiece.
   • Duration: 50 min

4. Mozart-Piano Sonata in C Minor, K. 457
   • Study Mozart’s expressive scope and the development of the piano sonata.
   • Duration: 46 min

5. Beethoven-The Appassionata Sonata
   • Investigate the dramatic narrative within Beethoven’s Appassionata Sonata.
   • Duration: 48 min

6. Beethoven-Diabelli Variations, Op. 120
   • Grasp the extraordinary variations and their thematic development.
   • Duration: 51 min

7. Schubert-Piano Sonata No. 21 in B-flat Major
   • Discover thematic melodies and emotional depth in Schubert’s work.
   • Duration: 48 min

8. Chopin-Preludes, Op. 28
   • Explore Chopin’s intimate miniatures and their emotional nuances.
   • Duration: 49 min

9. Chopin-Ballade in G Minor, Op. 23
   • Analyze the architecture and thematic structure of Chopin’s Ballade.
   • Duration: 48 min

10. Schumann-Kreisleriana
    • Delve into Schumann’s episodic pieces and their expressive themes.
    • Duration: 51 min

11. Liszt-Years of Pilgrimage
    • Examine Liszt’s virtuosity and creativity in this remarkable work.
    • Duration: 46 min

12. Liszt-Sonata in B Minor
    • Analyze the structure and metaphorical meaning of Liszt’s sonata.
    • Duration: 49 min

13. Brahms-Handel Variations, Op. 24
    • Discover Brahms’s connection to the musical past through his variations.
    • Duration: 47 min

14. Brahms-Six Pieces for Piano, Op. 118
    • Explore Brahms’s synthesis of 18th-century formal procedures and Romantic expressiveness.
    • Duration: 49 min

• Mussorgsky-Pictures at an Exhibition
  • Experience Mussorgsky’s unique musical language inspired by visual art.
  • Duration: 50 min

16. Debussy- “The Sunken Cathedral”
    • Investigate Debussy’s innovative approaches and evocative soundscapes.
    • Duration: 45 min

17. Debussy-Preludes, Book One
    • Delve into Debussy’s storytelling and textural innovations in his Preludes.
    • Duration: 49 min

18. Albeniz-Iberia
    • Explore the influence of Andalusian folk music on Albeniz’s composition.
    • Duration: 49 min

• Ravel-Valses nobles et sentimentales
  • Analyze the emotional range and harmonic textures of Ravel’s waltzes.
  • Duration: 50 min

20. Scriabin-Piano Sonata No. 5
    • Follow Scriabin’s tonal and nontonal coexistence in his creative narrative.
    • Duration: 47 min

21. Rachmaninoff-Etudes-tableaux
    • Examine the programmatic content and pianistic challenges in Rachmaninoff’s works.
    • Duration: 50 min

22. Prokofiev-Piano Sonata No. 7
    • Discover Prokofiev’s expressive themes in the context of his life experiences.
    • Duration: 50 min

23. Copland-Piano Variations
    • Trace American musical influences in Copland’s innovative composition.
    • Duration: 48 min

• The A-List
  • Conclude with a survey of works by great composers for amateur pianists.
  • Duration: 52 min