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The Early Romantic Style 1825 through 1865 Terminology Virtuoso • “One who excels in the technique of an art” Orchestration • “To arrange for an orchestra” Idiomatic • “Composing in a manner peculiar to the instrument being used” Gesamkunstwerk • “Total art work” The Early Romantic How Music changed between 1825-30 • Warning signs included – Paganini’s desire to make the difficult seem effortless • The effort to make the commonplace vitally significant – Listen to Weber’s Der Freischutz • The development of keyboard virtuosity – music of Mendelssohn, Chopin, Liszt The General Artistic Climate Music followed the lead of literature and the visual arts • By now, Goethe was an old man and Keats, Shelley and Byron were already dead • Sun rising through Vapour (JMW Turner (1775-1851) appeared in 1807 Next Musical style changed in • Russia, Poland, Bohemia, Hungary In 1829 Mendelssohn performs Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, beginning the rebirth of Bach and a rediscovery of the musical past The piano is now the pre-eminent instrument The “art” song becomes very popular Existing forms such as the sonata form and the song form expand, becoming nearly perfect Felix Mendelssohn 1809-1847 Kept a foot in the Classical and Romantic When Mendelsson was 16, he composed his Octet for Strings in E flat major, Op. 20 it was the one of the first works of its kind. The most gifted of the early Romantics Regarded as the most talented composer since Mozart Hector Berlioz 1803-1869 The model for the Romantic composer Brilliant orchestrator • Berlioz dreamed up previously unimagined sounds • Roman Carnival Overture Berlioz was not a “salon” composer • He composed virtually nothing for the piano Romantic Quiz 1 1. The Romantic style period • • • • 2. Total Art Work • • • • 1. Gesamkunstwerk 2. Gesundheit 3. Gesticulate 4. Gestapo 3. “Sun Rising Through Vapour” • • • • 1. 1600-1750 2. 1750-1825 3. 1825-1900 4. 1900-present 1. Manet 2. Monet 3. Turner 4. Shelly 4. Octet for Strings in E-flat Major, Op. 20 • • • • 1. Chopin 2. Schubert 3. Schumann 4. Berlioz The Piano was the Instrument which Defined the Romantic Period Between 1825-1865, the instrument of choice was the Piano Thousands of pieces were composed Chopin All of his piano pieces point to the future Only great virtuosos can really “play” his music without having problems For a while Frederic Chopin, the composer and pianist, wore a beard on only one side of his face. "It does not matter," he explained. "My audience sees only my right side.” • Piano Concerto No. 2 Franz Liszt Hungarian virtuoso A champion of the “New Music” A born innovator Bound music together more with the melody (horizontal) than with the harmony (vertical) Liszt redefined what the 10 fingers were capable of doing Liszt’s historical importance outweighs his matinee idol image • Transcendental Etude Robert Schumann Underestimated Schumann’s style influenced composers for the rest of the century • Myrthen, Op. 25 Giuseppe Verdi Verdi felt opera was as natural as living and breathing Verdi always had a good tune Verdi’s dramas were compelling • Macbeth - Sleepwalking Scene Richard Wagner With Wagner, opera was the ultimate form of expression Gesamkunstwerk Following the Munich premiere of Tristan und Isolde on June 10, 1865, the world of music would never be the same • Prelude to “Tristan” Timeline 1831 - US Slave Rebellion 1832 - Goethe dies 1833 - GB Factory Act limits children’s working hours to 12 hours per day; Mendelssohn composes the Italian Symphony 1834 - Samuel Taylor Coleridge dies 1835 - Bellini dies; Hans Christian Anderson publishes “Tales Told for Children” 1836 - Mexican troops storm the Alamo; Darwin’s ship, The Beagle, returns home; Pitman invents shorthand; Morse code is invented Timeline 1837 - Victoria is crowned 1839 - Daguerre and Fox Queen of England independently pioneer photography 1840 - postage stamps discovered 1845 - Irish potato blight; Wagner’s Tannhauser gets mixed reception 1848 - Marx publishes the Communist Manifesto; Mexico cedes California to US; Donizetti dies 1841 - Covered Wagons travel the Oregon Trail 1847 - Mendelssohn dies; Liberia founded introduced; Paganini dies 1846 - The planet Uranus is 1849 - Chopin dies; Speed of light measured; California gold rush Timeline 1850 - William Wordsworth dies; Balzac dies 1852 - Uncle Tom’s Cabin 1855 - Suez Canal begun 1856 - Pasteur discovers published bacteria; Robert Schumann dies 1859 - Tennyson publishes The Idylls of the King 1860 - Florence Nightingale sets up Nurse Training School 1861 - Civil War breaks out in the US 1862 - Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables is published 1863 - Battle of Gettysburg 1865 - Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland published; Edward Whymper climbs the Matterhorn; Abraham Lincoln assassinated Comparing Classical and Romantic Styles CLASSIC Balanced, tuneful melodies Homophonic textures Symphony, concertos, sonatas Aristocratic audience Contrasting tone color between sections The piano rises to prominence ROMANTIC Expansive melodies Increasing chromaticism Same, plus symphonic poems and small solo piano pieces Middle-class audience Experiments with new instruments New instruments, larger orchestras, the piano is predominant Romanticism in Music Results of the Industrial Revolution • cheaper instruments • technical advances Expanded educational opportunities The public concert hall • larger orchestras • more expressive timbres Rise of Nationalism Interest in exoticism Romanticism in Music Expansion of Musical Life • • • • schools ensembles printed scores music journals Musicians as teachers Women Musicians • Women could now receive training as – performers – Composers – the piano provided a socially accepted outlet • Many women became patrons Paganini and the violin Niccolo Paganini 1782-1840 the first modern violin virtuoso born in Genoa 10/ 27/ 1782 studied composition and violin age 8 composed a piano sonata age 9 played a recital of his own compositions age 14 - first tour of Italy Paganini 1805 - conductor of the Lucca Opera 1828 - first performances in Vienna, Paris and London composed in 1820 “24 Caprices” for unaccompanied violin performed by a 20th century virtuoso, Midori Franz Liszt 1811-1886 Composer, conductor, teacher, organizer of musical events born in Hungary, studied in Paris heard Paganini in 1831 a great pianist and a showman Countess Marie d’Agoult (Daniel Stern) • 3 children (Cosima became the wife of Wagner) “Music of the Future”Princess Carolyne SaynWittgenstein Abbe Liszt The Music of Franz Liszt Principal Works • • • • Orchestral Music, including 2 piano concertos piano music choral music opera and songs Thematic transformation the creator of modern piano technique Wild Hunt Transcendental Etude No. 8 • composed 1838 • A-B-A form • transcends the limitations of the keyboard Christofori’s original piano About 1720, Christofori finished his first real pianoforte (he actually developed the idea around 1700). He constructed a much stronger case than had been used for harpsichords, to withstand the increased strain of the heavier strings. The action in this pianoforte shows important improvement over his model of 1707. He added the escapement device, a back check, regulating the fall of the hammer, and connected an individual damper for each note direct with the hammer action, thus giving the performer a mechanism with which he could, through his touch produce a delicate pianissimo and also a strong fortissimo, impossible on either clavichord or harpsichord. Interesting Facts The average piano exerts a tension of 18 tons! There are 7500 parts in the action There are more than 10 million pianos in America Today there are more than 50 brands In the past 100 years there have been more than 5000 brands THE PIANO IN THE 19th CENTURY The piano became the instrument of choice • • • • • became the main instrument in the home very attractive to the amateur the virtuoso pianist the modern grand piano the piano recital Technical developments Short lyric piano piece • • • • • parallel to song new descriptive titles small forms - prelude, nocturne large forms - ballade, rhapsody dance forms - waltz, mazurka, polonaise 19th Century Piano Music Composers of the short piano piece • Schubert, Chopin, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Robert and Clara Schumann, Brahms • Mendelssohn: Songs Without Words Op. 62 No. 6 & 7 • Fortepiano by Graf, Vienna – Mendelssohn “Spring Song” Frederic Francois Chopin 1810-1849 The national composer of Poland Warsaw Conservatory Liszt, Berlioz, Victor Hugo, George Sand, Alxendre Dumas, Eugene Delacroiz • Daguerreotype of Chopin, 1849, once attributed to Nadar. Nineteenth-century collotype courtesy of Wurlitzer-Bruck, New York City. FREDERIC CHOPIN 1810 - 1849 1810 - Chopin born on March 1 in Zelazowa Wola of French-Polish parents. In October the family moves to Warsaw 1817 - Chopin has a Polonaise published 1820 - Italian soprano gives Chopin a gold watch after hearing him play 1825 - Chopin plays the aeolopantaleon for Tsar Alexander I AEOLOPANTALEON Aeolopantaleon • Invented by a cabinet maker, Dlugosz • Half aeolomelodikon and half piano • Aeolomelodikon – Invented by Jacob Hofman, a naturalist around 1825 – A type of organ with a keyboard and foot pedals – The foot pedals activated a pair of bellows and forced air through metal cylinders into large tin trumpets – The sound could be reedy, like a clarinet, of brassy – It could drown out a 50 piece orchestra FREDERIC CHOPIN 1810 - 1849 1827 - Chopin studies at the Warsaw Conservatory 1829 - Chopin makes his Vienna debut 1831 - Chopin settles in Paris 1834 - Chopin meets Mendelssohn 1835 - Chopin is impressed with Clara Wieck’s (Clara Schumann) playing 1838 - Chopin and George Sand (Aurore Dudevant) become lovers 1840 - Chopin’s health deteriorates CHOPIN 1810 - 1849 1844 - Chopin’s father dies 1846 - Chopin’s relationship with George Sand cools down 1848 - Chopin leaves Paris for England and Scotland 1849 - Chopin dies on October 17 in Paris Film: IMPROMPTU Chopin’s Music Modern Piano Style • creative life centered around the piano • created the feeling of sustaining the tone through ornaments • part of the standard repertory Principal Works Include • • • • 2 piano concertos piano solo music chamber music (all with piano) songs The Music Polonaise in A-flat, Op. 53 • • • • • composed in 1842 tempo rubato A-B-A form triple-meter Polish dance (A section) rapid descending octaves in the bass (B section) Prelude in E minor • • • • composed in 1839 from a set of 24 preludes inspired by WTC very simple, yet very expressive free form Romanticism in Music The Art Song Song structures • strophic • through composed • Song cycle Lied Composers of songs • • • • Schubert Schumann Brahms Wolf Poets • Goethe • Heine Born: Himmelpfortgrund, a suburb of Vienna, January 31,1797 Died: Vienna, November 19, 1828 Franz Schubert Schubert and the Lied Schubert • • • • Viennese gifted song composer bohemian life died young Genres • Lieder • symphonies • chamber music Schubert: “Erlkonig” Narrative poem by Goethe Through-composed Lied varied ranges in dialogue Composed in 1815 - Schubert was 18 Characters: • • • • • • • • Narrator, Father, Son, Father Erlking Son, Father Erlking Son, father Erlking Son Narrator Robert and Clara Schumann Robert Schumann 1810 - 1856 Robert studied with Friedrich Wieck, Clara’s father Established The New Journal for Music Suffered from an accident to his right hand Married Clara in 1840 Clara Schumann 1819 1896 One of the most distinguished musicians of the 19th century age 5 - studies piano age 9 - first public appearance Father opposes marriage Robert and Clara Schumann Robert Suffered a breakdown in 1844 1850 appointed Music Director at Dusseldorf Auditory hallucinations Tried to commit suicide Died at age 46 Clara 8 children more famous than her husband Leading performer of the music of Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, and Frederic Chopin Robert and Clara Schumann Robert Works include: • • • • • • • 300 songs 4 symphonies Chamber music Chamber music Piano music Opera Choral music Clara Accepted the 19th century view of women last public concert at age 72 Principal works • • • • solo piano music piano concerto chamber music songs Robert and Clara Schumann Robert “And if the Flowers Knew” • 1840 • Lied, from a song cycle Dichterliebe, “A Poet’s Love”, No. 8 • Modified Strophic • Poem by Heine Clara Scherzo, Op. 10 • 1838 - age 19 • typical of the Romantic Period, the composition is marked to be played “with passion” • Form: scherzo with 2 trios