An initial inquiry into the post-Renaissance emergence and development of polyphonic music in Europe, including a sampling of works from the Baroque (Bach), Classical (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven), Romantic (Liszt, Chopin, Schumann), or Romantic-Nationalist (Berlioz, Wagner, Verdi) styles or periods. Based on a combination of readings and lectures on the overall historical context surrounding each composer's individual lifetime and output, with intensive listenings and musical analysis of the compositions concerned. Intended to develop a sense of music appreciation covering both the social, political, cultural, religious, and literary backgrounds or connections of great music, as well as its internal conditions and requirements (vis-à-vis notation, instruments, orchestras, performance skills and methods of composition).