Hillsdale College Launches New Online Course ‘The History of Classical Music: Chopin Through Gershwin’
The course explores how Romantic, modern, and American composers honored the tradition of classical music while broadening its horizons.
HILLSDALE, Mich. — Hillsdale College is launching a new online course, “The History of Classical Music: Chopin Through Gershwin.” The course, which is being released December 15-19, explores how Romantic, modern, and American composers honored the tradition of classical music while broadening its horizons.
“Classical music has the power to uplift our souls, connect us to the past, and express the depth and breadth of human experience in a language deeper than words,” said Jeremiah Regan, executive director of online learning. “Whether they are new to classical music or have studied it deeply, viewers will gain a new appreciation for its beauty as well as its power both to express and to shape the human story.”
“To really love this music is really to love humanity.”
Building on Hillsdale’s online course “Classical Music: Pythagoras to Beethoven,” this course covers new eras of classical music, including the romantic works of Chopin and Lizst, the operas of Verdi and Wagner, and the American jazz and musical theater of Gershwin and Ellington. Hyperion Knight, a distinguished fellow at Hillsdale College, explores the works, lives, and times of great composers, while demonstrating the beauty of their works on the piano.
“Classical music of the Romantic Era takes your breath away,” Knight said. “By the 19th century, we have big, powerful pianos; huge orchestras; and a whole world of expressions available to us in all these wonderful composers. To really love this music is really to love humanity.”
The course consists of four lectures followed by a concert featuring works discussed in the course:
- The Early Romantics
- The High Romantics
- The Late Romantics and Early Moderns
- The Americans
- Concert
To watch the trailer and register for the course, click here. For photos from the course, click here. For photos of Hillsdale College, click here. For a high-resolution copy of the Hillsdale College clocktower logo, click here.
About Hillsdale College Online Courses
Hillsdale College’s free, not-for-credit online courses feature lectures from the College’s faculty members across various disciplines, including politics, history, economics, religion, and literature. More than 2.1 million students have enrolled in an online course with Hillsdale College. For more information on Hillsdale College’s online courses, visit online.hillsdale.edu.