5.0
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Jonathan Biss

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Exploring Beethoven's Piano Sonatas Part 5

Curtis Institute of Music

About this Course

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Welcome to Exploring Beethoven's Piano Sonatas Part 5! You’re joining thousands of learners currently enrolled in the course. I'm excited to have you in the class and look forward to your contributions to the learning community.
To begin, I recommend taking a few minutes to explore the course site. Review the material we’ll cover each week, and preview the assignments you’ll need to complete to pass the course. Click Discussions to see forums where you can discuss the course material with fellow students taking the class.

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Good luck as you get started, and I hope you enjoy the course!

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Shareable Certificate

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Intermediate Level

Approx. 7 hours to complete

English

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Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Intermediate Level

Approx. 7 hours to complete

English

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Instructor

Instructor rating

5/5 (18 Ratings)

Jonathan Biss

Neubauer Family Chair in Piano Studies

Performance Faculty

82,096 Learners

6 Courses

Offered by

Curtis Institute of Music

The Curtis Institute of Music educates and trains exceptionally gifted young musicians to engage a local and global community through the highest level of artistry. A tuition-free policy ensures that talent and artistic promise are the only considerations for admission. With a small student body of about 175, Curtis ensures that each young musician receives an education of unparalleled quality, distinguished by personalized attention from a celebrated faculty and a “learn by doing” philosophy. Curtis students hone their craft through more than 200 orchestra, opera, and solo and chamber music offerings each year in Philadelphia and around the world.

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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Week1

Week 1

1 hour to complete

Welcome to Class

WELCOME TO CLASS! We are thrilled that you have joined us for Part 5 of Exploring Beethoven's Piano Sonatas course, taught by Jonathan Biss, Chair of Piano Studies at the Curtis Institute of Music. Jonathan is recognized as a world-renown concert artist and musical thinker. This course is Part 5 of the existing series called Exploring Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas. As with all sections of this course, Part 5 contains new and separate sets of lectures. Specifically, we will dive into Beethoven's Piano Sonata Op. 27, No. 1; Sonata Op. 31, No. 1; Hammerklavier, Op. 106, to which there are two dedicated lectures for this monumental work. It is important to remind you that it is not necessary to have taken the previous Exploring Beethoven's Piano Sonatas courses, in order to enroll in this one. We think you will be perfectly comfortable to start learning with Part 5 if you wish and continue backwards. Between these courses, there exists a large amount of additional resources and learning that might be helpful as you embark on Part 5. And of course, we strongly encourage you to take Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4, if you have not yet. In the meantime, have a terrific time taking this class and Part 5 of Exploring Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas.

1 hour to complete

3 readings

Week2

Week 2

1 hour to complete

Op. 27, No. 1

1 hour to complete

9 videos (Total 59 min)

9 videos

The “Moonlight’s” Unjustly Neglected Sibling2mBridging the Gap Between Fantasy and Sonata6m1st Movement: Unusual Form; Unusual Harmonic Stability7m1st Movement: A Joyous Disturbance of the Peace8m2nd Movement: A Scherzo of Extreme Economy and Drama6m2nd and 3rd Movements: A Magical “attacca” Transition5m3rd Movement: Less a Movement than a Setting of the Stage4m4th Movement: The Rondo the Sonata Has Been Heading Towards11m4th Movement: Further Blurring the Lines Between the Movements6m

1 practice exercise

Final Quiz – Op. 27, No. 1 Quiz30m

Week3

Week 3

2 hours to complete

Op. 31, No. 1

2 hours to complete

11 videos (Total 73 min)

11 videos

Humor and Harmonic Innovation2m1st Movement: Playing Poor Coordination for Laughs5m1st Movement: A Radical Move to the Mediant6m1st Movement: Obsessing Over his own Joke…5m1st Movement: …And Milking it for All It’s Worth5m2nd Movement: An Affectionate Wink at Italian Opera3m2nd Movement: Embellishment as Parody8m2nd Movement: From Parody to Profundity12m3rd Movement: Rondo as Riddle6m3rd Movement: Inspiring Schubert6m3rd Movement: A Coda filled with Surprise8m

1 practice exercise

Final Quiz – Op. 31, No. 1 Quiz30m

Week4

Week 4

2 hours to complete

Op. 106: Hammerklavier (Part 1)

2 hours to complete

11 videos (Total 60 min)

11 videos

A Work of Astonishing, Unprecedented Scope5mPutting the “Hammer” in “Hammerklavier”2mA Massive Work Unified by Two Motivic Fixations5m1st Movement: An Exposition that Establishes the Work’s Scope and its Principal Concerns10m1st Movement: A Fugal Development and a Return that Breaks Every Rule7m1st Movement: The Work’s B/B flat Conflict, Front and Center5m1st Movement: A Titanic Coda for a Titanic Movement5m2nd Movement: A Compact, At Times Riotous Scherzo2m2nd Movement: The Thirds Fixation, at its Most Concise4m2nd Movement: A Trio that Moves from Mysterious to Maniacal…7m2nd Movement: …and a Coda that is Yet More Maniacal4m

1 practice exercise

Final Quiz – Op. 106 Part 1 Quiz30m

Reviews

5.0

11 reviews

5 stars
95.34%
4 stars
4.65%

TOP REVIEWS FROM EXPLORING BEETHOVEN'S PIANO SONATAS PART 5

by JSDec 26, 2019

Wow! stretched to 5 courses! It's amazing to watch this instructor. He's super knowledgeable and very likeable. And Beethoven's music is great.

by VSFeb 14, 2020

This is an excellent course and Jonathan Biss is a superb instructor!

by KGNov 11, 2020

Again an enthusiastic and highly motivating exploration into Beethoven's sonatas.

by PJDec 19, 2020

fantastic like the previous four parts - strongly recommended to anyone interested in classical music!

View all reviews

Frequently Asked Questions

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Exploring Beethoven's Piano Sonatas Part 5

Exploring Beethoven's Piano Sonatas Part 5

About this Course