And the Romantic Period 1820-1900 Beethoven And the Romantic Period 1820-1900

Classical Timeline

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?

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, non-human characters - supernatural elements, gods, etc. unbelievable Language - German Distinction between Aria and Recitative -no - endless melody Name - Music Drama Performed in specially redesigned theatre