Chapter 2 - notes PDF

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Chapter 2 F.J. Haydn o Born 1732-1809 in Austria o Instrument: singer/harpsichord/violin o Occupation: court musician o Haydn is from the classical time period (1750-1820)  The Classical Era  Faith in the power of reason  Undermining of traditional authority  Age of enlightenment  Rise of the middle class worker  Visual art  Moved away from ornate Baroque style  Music and visual arts stress balance and structure  Haydn’s life  At 8, served as a choirboy in Vienna at the Cathedral of St. Stephen  When his voice changed he was dismissed and struggled on his own  At 29 (and for the next 30 years) he entered the service of the Esterhazys- most powerful of the Hungarian noble families  He wrote 104 symphonies and 68 string quartets  Nicknamed “the father of the symphony” and “the father of the string quartet”  He met and influenced both Mozart & Beethoven  Hayden’s skull was stolen after his death and not returned until 1954. Classical Music Characteristics o Melody: symmetrical, very catchy and simple o Harmony: functional o Rhythm: steady tempos, varied rhythm patterns compared to Baroque o Texture:  Homophonic; clear texture  Balance of contrasting moods  Gradual dynamics (NOT terraced)  No basso continuo  Clarinet and piano now used  Tympani is still the only percussion instrument  Orchestra is larger than the Baroque time period  Orchestra uses pairs of common instruments. o The Symphony  A generic term for any large scale, multi-movement piece for orchestra.  The Classical Symphony:  4 movements: o Fast o Slow o Medium (3/4 time; minuet)

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o Fast  Great artistic layout for conveying musical ideas Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart o Born 1756-1791 in Salzburg, Austria o From the classical time period o Child prodigy- toured Europe from age 6-7 o Father was Leopold Mozart, also a court musician o Court musician (organist) at the court in Salzburg which was ruled by an archbishop who didn’t like him. o 1781- quit his court position and became freelance musician o 1782- married o 1791- died from illness while composing his Requiem Mass (Mass for the dead). o First musician to achieve musical independence o Died penniless- buried in unmarked grave o Supreme in all forms of music o Musical genius: finest keyboardist in Europe, had perfect pitch, photographic memory o Arrogant, tactless, but good friends with Haydn. Classical Music forms o Binary= A-B o Ternary=A-B-A o Minuet (& Trio)- a ternary, dance-like movement in a waltz-like ¾ time. o Scherzo- a ternary, dance-like movement in a fast ¾ time. It is so fast it feels like there is one beat per measure. o Sonata form- a large ternary form. Exposition- Development- Recapitulation o Motive- small musical idea taken from a melody or theme o Modulation- to change keys in music Beethoven o Born 1770-1827 in Germnay/Austria o Instrument: piano/organ/violin o Occupation: composer/musician o Beethoven is from the classical period. o Born in bonn, Germany o Father was a court musician  Wanted to exploit Beethoven as a child prodigy like Mozart  He was an alcoholic who beat Ludwig to make him practice o 1786 visited Vienna to meet Mozart o Returned to Bonn because of his mothers death. o 1792- Haydn invites him to study with him in Vienna o Also studied music theory with Salieri o Known as a virtuoso improviser at the keyboard o 1800 progressively becomes deaf- virtually deaf by 1817 o Heiligenstadt Testament (1802)

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o In 1812, Beethoven wrote a long love letter to a woman he only identified as “immortal beloved”. o Dies in vienna in 1827. 20,000 people attended his funeral o Was never married. o Beethoven looked upon himself as an artist. Held himself to a higher class standard comparted to Haydn and Mozart. o Info about the 6th Symphony  5 movements instead of 4  Movements have titles  Music trying to depict a story/mood  3rd movement connected to the 4th o Info about the 5th symphony  Oboe solo in recapitulation of 1st movement.  Use of trombone  Theme from 3rd movement shows up in 4th movement. o Info about the 9th symphony  A choir in the middle of a symphony  Vocal solos in a symphony  Re-occurring themes in last movement Hector Berlioz- symphonic comparison o Born 1803-1869 in France o Program music- instrumental music intended by the composer, to depict a story, poem, feeling or idea o Absolute music- instrumental music which exists simply as music, and is not in any way illustrative. o Married in 1833 to Henrietta Smithson- not happy – later separated o Later 1853 marries lover after High School; dies- marriage is too unhappy. o Wrote “treatise on instrumentation” the first book of its kind on orchestration Romanticism o Classical is objective- romantic is subjective o Views the world in terms of his own personal feelings. o Subjects: love, the occult, supernatural o Transfer the power from the Aristocracy to the middle class o Rise of personal freedoms: religion, economic, political o Rebellion against conventional form and emphasis placed on the individual expression. o The thematic unity between movements. Use of thematic transformation within pieces.  Program music  Music that depicts a story, event, mood, or feeling  Absolute music- the opposite of program music. There is no story, or mental picure behind the music. Music for music’s sake.  Tone poem or symphonic poem- large, one-movement program piece of music for orchestra. o Melody- increased expressiveness through wide dynamics

 Odd and extended length to sound free Harmony- larger harmonic sounds than the classical period More dissonant harmonies used Rhythm- melodies sound more improvised by free rhythms given to music Tempos change within a movement Texture- orchestra grows in size  Use of all instrument family members o New orchestral effects used Chopin and Liszt o Frederic Chopin- born 1810-1849 in Poland  Instrument: piano  Occupation: composer/ musician  Born near Warsaw, Poland  1831 he arrives in Paris and concentrates on his composing  Known as a virtuoso piano player  Famous for his piano music  Dies in Paris I n1849 of tuberculosis o Liszt’s life  Born in hungary in 1811  Was a child prodigy at the piano  Piano virtuoso  Had a “rock star” status (including having liaisons with married women in society)  1865 (rome) he became an Abbe of the Third order of St. Francis of Assisi Peter Ilyich Tchiakovsky o Born in 1840-1893 in Russia o Instrument: piano o Occupation: composer/ musician o From the romantic time period o Born in Vorkinsk, Russia o 1866-1878 became a professor at the Conservatory of Moscow. o Tried to marry a student of the Conservatory. Marriage lasted 9 weeks he was homosexual. (struggled immensely) o After finishing his 6th symphony in St. Petersburg he carelessly drank a glass of unboiled water. o 1893- he died of cholera within a week at age 53 o Known for his tone poems, symphonies and ballets (nutcracker, swan lake) Test review o Binary (A-B), Ternary (A-B-A) o Be able to identify/ interpret terms used in opera music and know the story behind the opera Don Giovanni by Mozart, and La Boheme by Puccini o Be able to identify which musical term or concept is being demonstrated by music from random 30- second listening examples pf 8 major classical and romantic pieces of music. o Cite and recognize characteristics of classical and romantic music o o o o o

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o Compare and contrast the music and lives of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven o Listening test  Mozart: Symphony No. 40-I Mozart: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik-III- Minuet  Haydn: Symphony No. 94-II- Theme & Variation  Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique-IV Chopin: Prelude in E minor- Character Piece  Chopin: Nocturne in E Flat Major- Character Piece  Schubert: Erlkonig- Art Song  Beethoven: String Quartet- Allegro- Rondo  Beethoven Symphony No. 5-I Beethoven: Symphony No. 6-III & IV Beethoven: Symphony No. 9-II Brahms: Symphony No. 3-III- Minuet  Mozart: Don Giovanni- Act 1: introduction – Aria/Recitative  Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture- Tone Poem  Liszt: Transcendental Etude No. 10- Character Piece  Puccini: La Boheme- Act 1: excerpt- Aria/ Recitative...