I just wanted to welcome Professor Greenberg and to thank him for his excellent work with The Teaching Company.

Professor Greenberg - I have your course on Mozart - I have always wondered if Mozart were to be able to hear say Gershwin or the theme from “Dances with Wolves” or something like that - would he appreciate it or would it be totally foreign to him due to structure etc.?

How is music a language that communicates and transcends all languages across cultures, peoples, and times? How does music connect the humanity in spite of differences and barriers?

What about the chance of a course on jazz?

This question is for the TGC Representative: Will you provide digital version of Prof. Greenberg courses that right now are only available as DVD/CD ?

What are your recommendations for an adult who wants to learn to play the piano regarding musical literature, CDs, teaching DVDs, and finding an instructor who's prepared to teach an adult? I want an emphasis on musicality from the beginning, not just how to get around on the keyboard.

I have wondered why you don't have a better, more in-tune piano with you as you record your lectures!!

My question concerns a particular chord that he has referenced in more than one course; the I6/4 chord. I understand the concept of adding tones to the basic triad (Maj7, 6th, 13th) or altering a pitch (dom7, sus4, Aug, Dim, b9th). Would a I6/4 be, for example in the key of C, [C E F G A], [C F G A], the suspended 4th of the 6th chord [A D E], or am I totally off the mark in trying to decipher this chord?

A critic once described Duke Ellington as "the Delius of jazz". Can you clarify and share your thoughts?

Can you be cloned so we can have more lectures?

Can you recommend any pieces by other contemporary composers? Would love an introduction to what I guess would be called contemporary music, including maybe George Crumb, Philip Glass, Zbigniew Preisner, Larry Polansky, and Richard Einhorn. (I'd love to find some others to listen to—gotta keep stretching the ears!) But would The Great Courses venture into what may be a limited audience?

Professor Greenberg, Even after listening to your course on Bach (which I loved), I still do not “get” the Variations Goldberg. Nor do I get the differences between his chorals. For example “Ach mein herzliebes Jesulein!” at the end of the first part of the Christmas Oratorio. The main melody is used often, in the Matthews passion and other cantatas; but to me it always sound the same. I recognized late in my life (also born in 54) that I was not a musician :( but I'm not a music ignorant... I sang several major oratorios, among them the Christmas one, and could pretty much tell or guess most common pieces from the 18th/19th centuries. Since then listening to more than half of your classes has boosted my appreciation and knowledge several folds. Do you think that there is something intrinsically wrong with me, or is it that this kind of appreciation is only available to “real musicians”? Note that I have Beethoven's syndrome and that my hearing-aids may not help enough! Do you have an advice to help me “get” it?

George: I love the Beatles as much as the next guy (probably more), but let's not get carried away. I would attribute return to a more melodically oriented musical vocabulary in the concert music of the late 20th century to an inevitable (and thankful) rejection of earlier, modernist trends that essentially declared melody "dead". That musical modernism was, in turn, a reaction against the nationalism and mystic Romanticism that were perceived as being at the root of Fascism. So the pendulum constantly swings. For what it was worth, both Bach and Beethoven were accused by their contemporaries of writing "non-melodic" music.

Have enjoyed sharing 'notes' on your courses with Allan Pollack and Paul Hersch. Also, great performers and teachers. But, you're our very most favorite. We'll continue to consume every course you do.

Just a word to TGC: I suspect the audience tonight is more educated about music than the average person. I had five years of piano as a kid but don't know much about classical music except that I like it. I know even less about opera but got How to Listen to Great Opera and look forward to listening to the lectures. My point is, some of us desire the basic stuff that doesn't go real deep--as well as some of the deep stuff if we order it separately.

Totally ignorant of Brahms chamber music. Where to start?

what's a good starter piece for Eric Satie?

Thanks, just a general comment to note how much I have enjoyed the Haydn course. I look forward to checking out additional courses. Do you have a favorite one of yours? (sorry not sure if someone asked this already)

I have dearly enjoyed all your courses, esp those on Beethoven, and have learned a great deal from you. Thank you! I would love to see a course, even if a short one, focusing on and looking at piano quartets/quintets/trios as a survey. I would love for example to hear your take on the likes of beethovens ghost trio.

Would you consider a short course (perhaps a-la "Great Composers" style) on Handel? I've just discovered his keyboard suites and have fallen in love.

I'd like a course on Messiaen.

It seems a shame that 20th and 21st Century compositions are considered less "accessible" than earlier works. It's the music of our time. Even the Cleveland Orchestra is guilty of ignoring, to a great degree, composers of our time. I understand the economics of it because I have been in the arts all my life but listeners' affinity for the familiar is no excuse. What do think, Bob?

Did you come up with the idea of "Word Scores" yourself, or has someone else used this or a similar idea. I find them very enlightening, even though I am capable of reading music notation.

In your treatment of Bach, was there some particular reason you didn't launch into the Mass in b-minor? Isn't it considered to be a sort of Mt. Everest in musical composition...unmatched?

Anna asks if I will be giving any lecture in the New York area. None are presently scheduled, but I can assure you, if they pay me, I will come (bad grammar, but you get the sentiment).

A last praise before the end of the chat, sorry if it makes you unbearable when you go home tonight! What I find amazing with you is that you spoon feed me what I need to know at times; and yet I always feel respected as a student. In the fundamentals of music I love how you explain that you cannot explain things sequentially, that the topic is circular and we students will have to go through the class again in order to hope to understand.

Professor- any suggestions on how to get apprehensive teenagers to start exploring the world of music?

Thank you and keep up the GREAT work, Professor Greenberg!

Must check out, but wanted to thank Dr. G. and TGC before departing.

Many thanks for the countless hours of pure enjoyment your courses have brought to my life- you're simply the best