Exploring Piano Literature - The Piano Sonata

Overview

In this Exploring Piano Literature: The Piano Sonata course offered by Coursera in partnership with University of Michigan, learners will analyze important passages and components of the piano sonata repertoire, while gaining a solid knowledge of the sonata’s inner workings and a better sense of historical developments in the genre. Across the series, learners will dive into compositions by Scarlatti, CPE Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Chopin, Liszt, Scriabin, Medtner, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, and others.These courses were filmed at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, among other locations, to showcase the depth of the sonata repertoire and the instruments that contributed to its history.

Applied Learning Project

This course series provides a spectrum of opportunities for novice and seasoned piano literature enthusiasts. More advanced learners will perform a guided analysis of piano sonata movements, identifying the key component parts, and observing the kinds of motivic connections that unify the work and grant it a stature beyond the simple following of a recipe. Learners will participate in discussion forums to contribute their personal experiences and tastes to debate larger questions of style, history, and instrumentation in these celebrated works.

What You Will Learn:

• Identify specific historical time periods in which the popularity of sonatas increases or decreases and the reasons behind these trends. 

• Recognize the most influential pieces in the sonata repertoire.

• Identify sonata form