The Great Courses
Author
Series
Great Music of the 20th Century volume 16
Language
English
Description
Trace Schoenberg's period of great creative output and professional flowering in the late 1920s - years which coincided with the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party in Germany. Following Schoenberg's self-exile to the United States, take note of his efforts on behalf of European Jews, and study two war-inspired masterworks; his Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte and A Survivor from Warsaw.
Author
Series
US Constitution through History volume 10
Language
English
Description
Although Abraham Lincoln was not elected as an abolitionist president, the era's tension between North and South boiled over into the Civil War shortly after his election. Here, reflect on the many constitutional questions posed by the war, from the right of habeas corpus to the legality (or illegality) of secession.
Author
Series
Great Music of the 20th Century volume 19
Language
English
Description
The cultural environment of California produced some of the most original musical thinkers of the 20th century. First encounter Henry Cowell and Lou Harrison, composers of astonishing eclecticism whose works incorporated non-Western musical forms. Also meet John Cage and Morton Feldman, whose "indeterminate" music introduced new conceptions of unpredictability and a non-directional sense of time.
Author
Series
US Constitution through History volume 2
Language
English
Description
When war broke out between England and the American colonies, the Continental Congress drafted the Articles of Confederation, a loose framework by which the colonies could be governed as a nation-state. Reflect on the origins of this system, as well as its inability to deal with economic, military, and diplomatic crises of the day.
Author
Series
Great Music of the 20th Century volume 7
Language
English
Description
Learn about Schoenberg's friendship with Gustav Mahler, who defended Schoenberg's groundbreaking compositions. Study Schoenberg's remarkable metamorphosis in which he sought to free melody from the limits of functional tonality, as exemplified in his Six Little Pieces for Piano. Examine events in Schoenberg's personal life that may help explain his final break with musical tradition.
Author
Series
Great Music of the 20th Century volume 11
Language
English
Description
Learn about Bartók's early life and career as a pianist, and the imprint of Hungarian nationalism on his composing. Follow his remarkable travels, collecting and preserving indigenous folk music across Central and Eastern Europe. Witness these musical influences in some of his greatest compositions, and note how his works represent a musical synthesis of nearly global scope.
Author
Series
Great Music of the 20th Century volume 3
Language
English
Description
Investigate the qualities of Debussy's music that connect it to French art and poetry as well as to the sensuality of the French language. Learn how his landmark work, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, began musical modernism. Study the wealth of compositional innovations in his piano Prelude #10, and note how his impact on 20th-century music mirrors Beethoven's in the 19th century.
Author
Series
US Constitution through History volume 16
Language
English
Description
The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw disruptive economic and social transformations. The anxieties of this age inspired major political reform movements—including new constitutional amendments dealing with the federal income tax, the election of senators, and women's voting rights.
Author
Series
US Constitution through History volume 20
Language
English
Description
The landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education legally ended segregation, but it did not provide a blueprint for desegregation in American schools. For that, a nationwide civil rights movement was needed, culminating in the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964.
Author
Series
US Constitution through History volume 4
Language
English
Description
After the Philadelphia Convention approved the new Constitution, at least nine states needed to ratify it. Travel the new nation in the late 18th century to see how different states viewed a new federal government—and why so many states ultimately voted to ratify the Constitution.
Author
Series
US Constitution through History volume 3
Language
English
Description
While America's original Articles of Confederation were an imperfect system, transforming the system with a new Constitution was a heavy lift. Delve into the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 to witness the high-stakes debates about a new national system of government.
Author
Series
US Constitution through History volume 22
Language
English
Description
In another swing of the pendulum, the progressive movement of civil rights and women's equality in the mid-20th century gave way to religious revival and a conservative backlash in the 1980s. Dive into the Reagan era and the new battle for control over the Supreme Court.
Author
Series
Great Music of the 20th Century volume 2
Language
English
Description
Examine historical and social factors that influenced 20th-century composers' abandonment of tradition and obsession with originality. Then learn about the influence of 19th-century German art on the French, and the new French nationalism in music that followed the Franco-Prussian War. Take a first look at Claude Debussy, whose revolutionary music created a new musical syntax.
Author
Series
Great Music of the 20th Century volume 4
Language
English
Description
In the first of two lectures on this giant of 20th-century music, trace the early life of Stravinsky, the environment in which he grew to maturity, and his musical education and influences. Follow Stravinsky's relationship with the impresario Sergei Diaghilev, their legendary partnership in the ballets The Firebird and Petrushka, and grasp the striking musical originality of those works.
Author
Series
Great Music of the 20th Century volume 13
Language
English
Description
The composers under discussion here were nonconformists whose works stand virtually as separate genres of music. Begin with celebrated individualist Charles Ives, and his programmatic masterwork, Three Places in New England. Then contemplate the alternate tonal system of Harry Partch, the mega-polyphony of Elliott Carter, and the unique music scored for player pianos by Conlon Nancarrow.
Author
Series
US Constitution through History volume 15
Language
English
Description
African Americans had made gains during Reconstruction, but that era came to an end when white Southerners seized control of state governments. Here, shift your attention to the myriad state laws that enacted formal racial segregation and disenfranchised African American voters. Then, reflect on discrimination faced by American immigrants and women.
Author
Series
Great Music of the 20th Century volume 23
Language
English
Description
The 20th century ended with a trend toward "pluralism" - the practice of employing a range of different musical languages within a single work or movement. Witness the incredible range of this musical inclusivity and synthesis in composers ranging from the Americans Joseph Schwantner, Martin Bresnick, Aaron Jay Kernis, and Jennifer Higdon to the British composer Thomas Adès.
Author
Series
US Constitution through History volume 14
Language
English
Description
In this final lecture on constitutional changes during Reconstruction, consider the new role of the federal government in securing rights for all citizens. Find out how the realities of Reconstruction fell short of its promises, thanks in large part to corrupt politicians, as well as a national economic depression in 1873.
Author
Series
US Constitution through History volume 19
Language
English
Description
The legal transformations of the New Deal brought about remarkable constitutional change, as well as new protections for everyday Americans. But with Jim Crow laws still on the books in many states, not everyone benefitted from the New Deal. Delve into many post-World War II-era civil rights cases that broke the back of Jim Crow.
Author
Series
Great Music of the 20th Century volume 6
Language
English
Description
Schoenberg was both substantially misunderstood as a composer, and one of the greatest influences on 20th-century music. Learn about the enormous enmity and dissent that greeted his compositions, as they challenged tradition and offended musical conservatism. Trace his early life and music, his vision as a composer, and the achievements of his most "popular" work, Transfigured Night.