Transcript Beethoven - La Salle University

Beethoven
And the Romantic Period
1820-1900
Classical Timeline
BAROQUE
ROMANTIC
CLASSICAL
1756
Mozart’s
birth
1732
Haydn’s
birth
1709
Piano
invented
1750
Bach’s
Death
1791
Mozart’s
death
1770
Beethoven’s
birth
1750
1600
1827
Beethoven’s
death
Haydn 1732-1809
Mozart 1756-1791
Beethoven 1770-1827
1825
Periods of Music History
• 1600-1900 Common Practice Period
• 1600-1750 Baroque (invention of opera
and beginning of Common Practice
Period to death of Bach)
• 1750-1825 Classical (death of Bach to
Beethoven's second period)
• 1820-1900 Romantic (Beethoven's
second period to twentieth century)
Ludwig van Beethoven
• 1770-1827
Ludwig van Beethoven
(1770 - 1827)
• Early Period (up to 1802). Follows the
language of Haydn - Classical style
Ludwig van Beethoven
(1770 - 1827)
• Middle Period (1802-1815) - Heroic
period, fiery music, dramatic, Symphony
No. 5
Ludwig van Beethoven
(1770 - 1827)
• Late Period (after 1815) - introspective,
very complex, intimate performing
forces (piano, string quartet)
Symphony No. 5 in C Minor,
Op. 67
• 1. Psychological Progression - Moves
from the key of C Minor to C Major
• 2. Driving Rhythm - Propells you
forward throughout the form
• 3. Motivic Consistency (Short Short
Short Long - - - – ) is found in each
movement
Symphony No. 5 in C Minor,
Op. 67
• First movement - modified Sonata
Allegro Form
• Compile a list of ways that the
traditional Sonata Allegro form was
changed by Beethoven. Why did he
make these changes?
Sonata - Allegro Form
Exposition
Development
Recapitulation
Coda
Themes broken
into fragments
Theme 1
Transition
modulates
(listen to the
descending
bass line)
Constant
modulation
Polyphonic texture
(Running
out
of
steam)
Theme 1
NO HOME KEY
home key
Pause
and change of mood
Theme 2
newkey
home key
closing section
This Is The End
The Exposition
is then repeated
Big
cadence
Transition
Theme 2
closing section
home key
no change of key
(no modulation)
Second Movement
• Theme and Variations - typically A A1
A2 A3 etc.
• Beethoven: A B A1 B1 A2 B2 etc.
Varying two themes.
• B theme is - - - –
Third Movement
• Typically Minuet and Trio: ABA
• Beethoven replaces the Minuet (moderate
triple meter dance) with SCHERZO, a much
faster triple meter dance (means ‘joke’ or
‘jest’)
• A (Minuet/Scherzo): a a b a1 b a1
• B (Trio): c c d c1 d c1
• A (Minuet/Scherzo):a a b a1
• Notice - no break as we move to the fourth
movement - attaca
Fourth Movement
• Typically a lighter form, easier to listen to
(usually Rondo)
• Beethoven brings back Sonata Allegro Form
for the final movement!!
• C Major - much brighter key (psychological
implications)
• Brings back ‘b’ theme from 3rd Movement
right before the recapitulation
Symphony No. 9
• “Ode to Joy” melody as theme of Fourth
Movement.
• Mentioned in 1793 as interested in
setting An de Freude to music.
• Symphony No. 9 premiered in 1825.
• Added voices to the orchestra.
Implications
• Voices in a symphony?
• Symphony - multi-movement work for
orchestra.
• Last symphony Beethoven composed.
Is this the direction he thought the
symphony would/should go?
Beethoven
•
•
•
•
•
•
1770-1827
Pianist as well as composer
Studied with Haydn
Lost his hearing
9 symphonies
Bridge between Classical and Romantic
periods
Heligenstadt Testament
• Note from Beethoven to his brothers.
• Believed to be his “suicide note”.
• Introduced revolutionary ideas that
interested and influenced later
composers.
Heligenstadt Testament
• Music is an Art
• Patience as a composer
• Reconciling the world after his death (medical
records of his diagnosis)
• Hasten to meet death
• Artist in isolation
• Suffering
• Forced to become a philosopher
Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven
• Considered among the list of
composers from the Viennese School
• Wrote string quartets, piano sonatas,
operas, and symphonies
• Knew each other
• How many symphonies did each
compose? 100+; 50+; 9
Absolute Pitch
Absolute Pitch
• The ability to identify a pitch (note) with
no other reference.
• Rare in most people.
• Rare in musicians! 10% have this
ability.
Relative Pitch
Relative Pitch
• The ability to identify a pitch (note) after
being given an initial reference pitch.
• The pitch is then identified in “relation”
to the reference pitch.
• A skill that is developed (and expected)
in musicians.
Romantic Period
• 1820-1900
• (Beethoven died in 1827, so is really a
“bridge” into the Romantic period)
Romantic Themes
• Themes of nostalgia
• Freedom (Revolutions and upheavals)
• Nature - Industrial Revolution forces masses
to move to cities. Nature is idealized.
• Fascination with the Macabre, Death
• Exoticism - not here and now, foreign
countries, distant times Importance of the
individual and freedom
• Dramatic - emotion and expression
Romantic Themes
Breakdown of Artistic Barriers
Nationalism - pride of larger conquering
nations vs. heritage of the smaller
countries that were being conquered
Endless Search for New Forms of
Expression - after Beethoven, what
more is there to do in composing a
[symphony, string quartet, sonata, etc.]
Romantic Harmony
• Chromaticism - notes other than the
standard notes in the scale that are
added in for “color”.
• Romantic harmony is more full, thick,
colorful, surprising, deep, etc. than
Classical harmony. Tonality (key) is
“stretched”.
Romantic Rhythm
• Rubato - modifying the tempo for
expressive purposes. Speeding up or
slowing down. “Robbed time”
Romantic Miniatures
• Small scale (short works played by 1 or
2 performers)
• 1. Piano character piece - short piece
for piano solo that is not developed. It
just introduces a mood, idea, theme, or
“character”.
Romantic Miniatures
• 2. Lied - a Song - only voice with piano
accompaniment
• Schubert’s Erlkönig (Erlking)
Large-scale Romantic works
• Wagner Ring Cycle (4 operas
performed on 4 consecutive nights)
• Verdi & Puccini Operas
• Orchestral works
• Large-scale - long works using many
performers on a grand scale.
Symphonic Poem
• One-movement programmatic work for
orchestra
• Composed as an “alternative” to
Beethoven’s symphonic works!
Symphonic Poem
• The Moldau by Bedrich Smetana
• pp. 228-229
• Symphonic Poem about a river in Czech
Republic (then Bohemia)
Romantic Opera
• Italian vs. German
Italian Opera
• Melody (I) predominant and beautiful
• Role of voice (I) main melody
• Role of orchestra (I) secondary
accompaniment
• Libretto and source(I) pre-existing source
w/librettist
• Subject matter and characters(I) realistic,
human characters, believable
• Language(I) Italian
• Aria and Recitative(I) yes
• Name (I) Opera
• Performed in (I) traditional theatre
German Music Drama
• Melody - polyphonic, and of secondary importance
• Role of voice - another instrument
• Role of orchestra - symphonic w/polyphony &
voice “Leitmotif” are musical clues that are played
to provide additional insight to the drama on stage.
• Libretto and source - creates his own story and
libretto
• Subject matter and characters - fantasy, nonhuman characters - supernatural elements, gods,
etc. unbelievable
• Language - German
• Distinction between Aria and Recitative -no endless melody
• Name - Music Drama