This opening lecture introduces themes, concepts, and terminology that will be followed and used throughout the series, including: concert music, classical music, popular music, and Western music. We will see how music is a “mirror” of historical change on various levels. The course will focus on representative works in relation to their historical contexts and will endeavor to build listening skills and a musical vocabulary designed to increase musical knowledge and appreciation. Using Ludwig van Beethoven as an example, the “composer” is discussed, not as idiot savant or Godhead, but as a human being who has chosen music as the conduit for the expression of his or her thoughts, feelings, and worldview.