Episode Details

The hammerblow introduction to Beethoven's 'Eroica' Symphony and the iconic four-note opening motif of the 5th Symphony, the unresolved start of Wagner's Tristan and Isolde, the sensuously meandering melody that begins Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, and the identical fanfare that opens both Monteverdi's opera Orfeo and his 1610 Vespers.

Uploaded 10-06-26

This lecture looks at how composers of all periods have risen to the challenge of how to write a memorable musical opening sentence.

A lecture by Jeremy Summerly, Visiting Professor of Music History 19 September 2019

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/musical-openings

Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.

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