Where do I go from Beethoven's symphonies?

Sheesh, I had the lecture packet on the desk next to me, I should have checked the spelling. Anyway, if you want to buy them you can usually find the cheap on eBay or wait until they go on sale. I think over the holidays the How to Listen to…series was on sale for something like 70% off. They all eventually go on crazy sale like that.

Thank you, sir! Amazon has a whole section dedicated to the lectures in several different formats and price ranges.

I’m thinking of calling the Fine Arts Dept. at UWG and asking if they have the set (there are 80???!!!) and let me come over there and watch them when they aren’t in use. As popular as they seem to be, I’d be surprised if the Department doesn’t have them.

Also NAF1138, I didn’t mean to come off sounding so critical about the spelling, sorry!

Quasi

Oh, no worries. I can’t spell for beans, so my reaction was more of an eye roll at myself for not checking when I know I mess those things up and all I would have had to do was turn my head to the right.

There are a number of Mozart works that are notable for their influence on Beethoven. The operas ‘Don Giovanni’ and ‘The Magic Flute’ were luminescent masterpieces, in Beethoven’s estimation.

I really only discovered the Mozart piano sonatas this past year. What crystalline wonders they are, though. I would say that whatever Mozart may lack in terms of sheer power when compared to Beethoven, the grace and dexterity of his musical ideas more than makes up for them. Mozart is to Beethoven as Odysseus is to Achilles. By all means, listen to them both and see if you agree with me or not.

I was just thinking of recommending Mozart’s Overtures. It seems to me that a lot of the “drama” in Beethoven’s symphonies grows out of his appreciation for Opera of the era. Of course Fidelio is pretty great in that regard too, but nothing comes close to Mozart (for me) when you are talking Opera music. Opera, at least overtures, sort of generally might be something the OP would want to look into.