Chapter 25 Important Events of the Romantic Era and Representative Composers

Transcription

1 Chapter 25 Important Events of the Romantic Era and Representative Composers Illustration 1: "Keelmen Heaving in Coals by Moonlight", J. M. W. Turner (1835)

2 SOME IMPORTANT EVENTS OF THE ROMANTIC ERA Telegraph invented Photography begins Revolutions throughout Europe Marx - Communist Manifesto Telephone invented Internal combustion engine Franco Prussian War Vatican Council and Papal Infallibility Pasteur discovers inoculation against rabies Statue of Liberty Eiffel tower X - Rays Wireless telegraphy Invention of the "talking machine" by Thomas Edison Sigmund Freud investigates the subconscious The first powered human flight REPRESENTATIVE COMPOSERS AND MUSIC OF THE ROMANTIC ERA LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN ( ) Beethoven's musical talents became apparent at a very young age. By the time he turned eleven, he had composed three piano sonatas. His father took the young Beethoven on tour, hoping he would be another Mozart. To make him look even more of a prodigy, Beethoven s father shaved a few years off his son s age. An interesting consequence of this is that for much of his life, Beethoven was never really sure how old he actually was. Along with Bach, Beethoven is ranked by most historians to be one of the most important composers of all time. Part of his greatness lies in his ability to transmit and symbolize and express the human spirit and at a high emotional level through his compositions.

3 His music represents the peak of the Classical style and the foundation of the Romantic style of composition, but in many ways, it stands alone from either movement. To quote himself, "There is only one Beethoven". His music contains great emotional expression, masterful style and form, and superb use and expansion of the instrumentation of the symphony orchestra. In his ninth symphony, he used a chorus to help achieve the expressions of his emotions and ideas, the first time this was ever done. In the final twenty years of his life, he became totally deaf. Amazingly, this didn't stop his composition--the music written during this period is considered to be his finest and most profound. When he died, he was paid homage by the musical world of Europe. He composed nine symphonies, numerous overtures, piano concerti, sonatas, masses, chamber music, one violin concerto, and one opera, Fidelio. His second setting of the five parts of the Latin ordinary mass, (called the "Missa Solemnis" or Solemn Mass) was written when he was deaf. It achieves a spiritual height that few other compositions attain and is considered by many to be one of the greatest pieces of music ever composed. His musical influence extended through most of the 1800's and well beyond. RECOMMENDED MUSIC: Symphonies 3, 5, 6, 7, and 9; "Emperor" concerto; violin concerto; Moonlight, Pathetique, and Appassionata Piano Sonatas; Egmont, Leonore, and Coriolan Overtures; Missa Solemnis. HECTOR BERLIOZ ( ) Berlioz is one of the figures who helped point Romanticism toward its more radical directions. He started in the footsteps of his physician father, but strayed in the direction of music. Berlioz' artistic life began in Paris not long after the French Revolution. He grew up in an exciting and tempestuous cultural atmosphere influenced by Beethoven and Shakespeare and the personal influence of a young Shakespearean actress named Harriot Smithson. His courtship and disastrous marriage to Harriot provided inspiration for his most famous composition, "Symphonie Fantastique". Berlioz' other compositions include operas, symphonies, a powerful and theatrical setting of the Requiem Mass (one of the loudest classical compositions), and other compositions based on literary themes. He was very imaginative in his use of the orchestral instruments and expanded the art of orchestration to new heights. He is sometimes called the "father of the modern orchestra" because his orchestrations are so innovative and influential. RECOMMENDED MUSIC: Symphonie Fantastique; Harold In Italy; Requiem; Overtures

4 FELIX MENDELSSOHN ( ) Mendelssohn's background was rather atypical for a musician of the time. His family was quite wealthy, and financially, Felix never suffered. They were also very supportive of his musical career, giving him the finest of musical training and encouragement from his earliest years. As was Mozart, he was a child prodigy, both as a performer and composer. He composed a violin concerto at age 13. His overture to Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and his "Octet for Strings" are two masterpieces, composed when he was 16 years old. While his later pieces didn't quite continue the promise of his earlier compositions, there is a great deal of exuberance, charm, and wit present in them. Unfortunately the comparisons with Mozart don't end there. Mendelssohn never lived to see his 39th birthday, dying of a stroke, as did his younger sister who was also a musician and composer, one of the few women up to that time who was given the opportunity to do both. Mendelssohn's early death kept him from seeing some of the more radical developments of the Romantic era, some of the trends he helped begin. In comparison with other composers of the time, his music is lighter and more Classical in feeling, never capturing the great drama present in music found later in the century. He was important in the development of program music. Most of his well known compositions are program music--evoking a non-musical idea. His "Italian" and "Scottish" symphonies are excellent examples, as is his "Hebrides Overture". Some of his other major musical contributions include two piano concertos, chamber music, lieder, much excellent piano music, a later violin concerto, and an oratorio "Elijah". One of his important musical contributions was his almost single-handed revival of the music of J. S. Bach, bringing it to the public after a century of obscurity. RECOMMENDED COMPOSITIONS: "Italian" Symphony, "Scottish" Symphony; "Hebrides" Overture; Violin Concerto; Octet for Strings; Piano Concerti; Music from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" FRANZ SCHUBERT ( )

5 If there is anyone who typifies the idea of the Romantic Hero, Schubert certainly would be a leading contender. The brilliantly talented Austrian, following in the footsteps of Beethoven, plunged himself completely into his art so deeply that little else mattered, including steady employment. Many of his finest co mpositions were dashed off quickly and sold to a publisher for the price of a meal--and eventually sold hundreds of thousands of copies. To round out the stereotype of the "Romantic Hero", he died at age 31 just as his symphonic music was developing into something completely new. Older history books state that he died of typhoid fever, but it instead was syphilis-- unfortunately common in those days, this being prior to the discovery of antibiotics. In appearance, Schubert was short, stout, wore thick glasses, and often dressed haphazardly. However, deep inside seethed the fire of a true passionate Romantic, as bold and adventurous as any other artist of the time. While many of his larger works don t live up to the structural greatness of his idol Beethoven, his smaller compositions-- the songs for voice and piano are without equal in the entire musical literature. These songs, often called lieder were Schubert's musical settings of some of the finest poetry available at the time. In many respects, they were not much different from the typical songs a folk/rock composer would write in the creation of an album. Many of the poems dealt with love, loss, topics of the time, etc. (Unlike a modern songwriter, composers of that time would rarely write their own lyrics.) In a tragically short lifetime, he composed over six hundred of these songs, sometimes as fast as six of seven in a single morning. Schubert's melodies expressed the subtleties of the text in a way that no one else ever seemed to match. He composed a large amount of chamber music, numerous string quartets, piano sonatas and other piano music, several operas, and eight symphonies. His eighth symphony was never finished (earning it the nickname 'the Unfinished Symphony'), but has become one of the most popular pieces of music from that period. RECOMMENDED MUSIC: Symphony No. 8 (Unfinished), No. 9 (The Great), Improptus for Piano; Songs (including "Erlkonig"); Die Schone Mullerin. FREDERIC CHOPIN ( ) Chopin began studying piano at age four, and at the age of six became a published composer. Unlike many of the other Romantics, his work as a composer barely went beyond the piano. He composed two piano concertos (there is question that he even made the orchestrations), some songs, and a very few works for string and piano. For the solo piano, however, he was extraordinarily prolific. He composed dozens of Polonaises,

6 Mazurkas (two types of folk dances of his native Poland), Nocturnes, Etudes, and much other piano music. Without Chopin, the literature of the piano would be much poorer. His music is unmistakable and often very easy to recognize. The moods range from patriotic fervor to a very smooth lyricism to melancholy, often changing very quickly and smoothly. Chopin was instrumental in the development of pianistic style. In reality, the piano is a percussion instrument, unable to sustain a sound. It has been commented that creating a smooth musical line with a piano is like attempting to draw a line using only bright points of light. However, in Chopin's music, there is the illusion that he is making the piano sing in a silky unbroken line. Dying from tuberculosis in France, he was buried there with some earth from his beloved Poland scattered on his grave. RECOMMENDED COMPOSITIONS: Piano Concerti Nos. 1 and 2; Waltzes; Ballades; Scherzi; Nocturnes; Mazurkas NICCOLO PAGANINI ( ) Have you ever been to a concert where you were so stunned with the virtuosity of a performer that you were simply unable to imagine how he played the instrument that well? Take that concept a couple of steps further and back a couple of centuries and you find the remarkable story of Paganini. It's a bit hard to imagine, but he was so superlative of a violinist that the rumor began spreading that he had sold his soul to the Devil for his ability to play the violin. Audiences started avoiding his concerts out of fear (he also had a very intense, powerful appearance that contributed to the rumors). Paganini actually had to start taking out ads in newspapers telling audiences to not be afraid, that he had not sold his soul to the Devil, that he was only a very good musician. Twice during his lifetime, admirers donated priceless violins to him. Paganini's ability to play the violin was legendary in his own time and it made him a legend as well. Today, if an artist wants to show his technical ability, there are few things better to do that than by playing Paganini s music. Most of his musical output consisted of compositions for the violin that he wrote for his own concerts. In addition to prodigious talents, Paganini was also a showman. He was not above a few tricks, such as retuning the strings of his violin to achieve some effects that would have

7 been otherwise impossible. One other secret, by some accounts, was to practice as much as 15 hours a day. In addition to his ability to manipulate an audience, it turns out he was as good as his reputation suggested. Paganini would often begin a concert with a string frayed. When it broke, instead of stopping to restring the violin, he finished the composition on the remaining three strings, working around the broken string. His major compositions were six violin concertos and 24 caprices, short pieces for solo violin, each one concentrating on a particular technical aspect of the instrument. He also composed for guitar as well as a few other instruments. Inspiring many other musicians of the time, Paganini's influence was felt for many years. He helped to transform the concerto into an heroic medium for the virtuoso performer, one of the characteristics of Romantic music. RECOMMENDED COMPOSTIONS: Violin Concerti Nos. 1 and 2; Caprices for Solo Violin; Guitar Quintet ROBERT SCHUMANN ( ) Schumann is one of pivotal figures of the Romantic era. Yet one more candidate for the perfect "Romantic Hero", Schumann exhibited tremendous brilliance first as a pianist, and then as a composer. In spite of his success as a musician and a writer and support from his very talented wife Clara (who was also a composer), Schumann suffered from periodic depressions, eventually attempting suicide and dying in an asylum. While the cause or nature of his mental illness may never be known for certain, a very strong possibility is that he contracted syphilis as a young man (in an era before antibiotics), that seemingly went dormant (as often happened), but damaged his nervous system over his life and was fatal in its final stages. There were many sides to Schumann's versatile personality. Some of his music displays the dreamy Romantic; in others you can hear the conservative Classicist. As a writer and music critic he was responsible for shaping the musical thought of the time as well as introducing Brahms and Chopin to the general public. Along with Mendelssohn, he helped begin the revival of Bach's music. Schumann's compositions include four symphonies, over 400 songs that nearly rival Schubert's in quality, a piano concerto, much chamber music, etc. His major contribution

8 remains in his huge quantity of piano music. Schumann s hopes for a career as a concert pianist were shattered when an accident paralyzed one of the fingers of his right hand. The piano was always central in his creative output and his wife Clara performed it extensively before and after his death. Schumann's musical strengths lie in his ability to create short piano pieces, called "character pieces", that each convey different moods. Several sets of his piano music were supposedly written for children, but in reality they are a very clear glimpse into the innocent and pure worlds of fantasy that can be approached by anyone of any age. RECOMMENDED MUSIC: Piano Concerto; Symphony No. 1; Carnival; Kinderscenen; Cello Concerto; Songs. JOHANNES BRAHMS ( ) In the nineteenth century, musical thought split off in two opposite directions--oddly enough, both paths springing directly from the music of Beethoven. One movement had sprung from Beethoven's highly descriptive program music. This army was represented by the likes of Berlioz, Wagner, and Mahler. In the other camp were those who believed in the magnificent musical architectures and supreme logic of the Classical Era. There was an intense rivalry between each of the two factions, one side considering the other stodgy and antiquated, its counterpart hurling accusations of wild-eyed nonsense. Brahms became the champion of the Classical Cause. While his music still contains the expanded emotionalism, expanded use of forms and of the orchestra typical of the Romantic era, it still shows restraint and order. His first symphony was nicknamed "the tenth" by an enthusiastic public a reference to critics considering it to be the first worthy successor to Beethoven's ninth symphony. Among Brahms' orchestral works are four symphonies, two piano concertos, and a violin concerto that remains one of the most widely performed concertos to this day. He composed piano sonatas, string quartets, other chamber music, and many lieder. There is a better than even chance that at one point in your life you have been lulled to sleep by his "Lullaby". His "German Requiem" is a very beautiful meditation not on death, but on the peace of the afterlife and comfort for the living (unlike the traditional gloomy and bombastic Requiem text). The only major type of music that Brahms didn't compose was opera. Much of Brahms' music showed a sophistication in rhythm, an area that he experimented with a great deal.

9 RECOMMENDED MUSIC: Hungarian Rhapsodies; Symphony No. 1; Violin Sonata No. 1; Violin Concerto; Tragic Overture; Piano Concerti Nos. 1 and 2; Variations on a Theme of Haydn. PETER ILLICH TSCHAIKOVSKY ( ) Tschaikovsky was originally educated as a lawyer. He didn't decide to devote himself to music until the relatively late age of 23. He was eventually appointed to the position of professor in the Moscow University. Tchakovsky s music reveals his complex personality--light and exuberant, sad and moody, forceful and dynamic. He was influenced by folk music and many of his compositions contain the folk melodies of his native country. He composed orchestral music, ballets, operas and chamber music. Some of his most famous compositions are his first piano concerto, his sixth (and last) symphony, the Nutcracker ballet, Swan Lake, and the 1812 Overture. His music is popular due to its beautiful melodies, brilliant use of the orchestral instruments, and its style which is typical of the Romantic era of composition. He was supported for most of his life by a Russian countess whom he never met. Tradition holds that he died of cholera during a severe outbreak, but documentation has been presented suggesting that he committed suicide. Most historians conclude it was cholera, but the truth may not be known unless his body is exhumed. RECOMMENDED MUSIC: 1812 Overture, Symphonies No. 5 and 6; Piano Concerto No. 1; The Nutcracker; Swan Lake; Violin Concerto. RICHARD WAGNER ( ) Wagner was born in Leipzig, probably the son of a minor police official, although he was never really certain of that fact. Wagner's musical education was largely self-taught. He began composing operas at age 21, and unlike most operatic composers, Wagner wrote his own libretti (texts). After heading for Paris with a new heroic opera Rienzi and doing a lot of work as a writer and music arranger just to stay alive, Wagner headed back to Germany where some fortunate events saw his opera staged by the Dresden Opera. Swearing allegiance to his German fatherland, his music began to represent the strength and national pride in Germany. His music is so German in feeling that much of it was played in conjunction

10 with the powerful Nazi movement. His music often remains under a stigma because of this association that took place long after his death. Wagner dreamed of composing operas on a previously unheard of scale. His contempt for popular tastes and his controversial political stances soon earned him powerful enemies. During the revolution in Dresden in 1849, Wagner found that a warrant had been issued for his arrest. He fled to Zurich and began to write the libretti for what one of the largest dramatic epics in Western civilization's art--the four operas of "The Ring of the Nibelung". The Ring Cycle, as it is often known, consists of four operas lasting more than a combined total of 17 hours based on German/Norse mythology. This epic cycle was meant to be performed over a period of three days--the first opera as an afternoon prelude and the remaining three in the consecutive evenings. It includes a tremendously complicated plot and contains all the elements of greed, lust, revenge, hate, etc. and more importantly, a profound insight into human drama coupled with a deep symbolism psychological symbolism. An extremely important element of Wagner's music is his use of leitmotives--melodies associated with a particular character, idea, or object. This enabled his music to take on new horizons of expression. This technique is found in his later operas which include, "Tristan and Isolde", and "Parsifal"--a very unusual, almost religious opera loosely based on characters in Sir Thomas Mallory's La Morte D'Arthur. The movie Excalibur incorporated many elements of its plot as well as elements of the Ring cycle. As a person, Wagner was an amoral, incredibly selfish egotist who had no qualms about using his friends for all that they were worth, even stealing the wife of one of his greatest musical champions. He dreamed of (and eventually saw the completion of) an opera hall built exclusively for the staging of his gigantic operas (which are often called music dramas) in Bayreuth. In his own mind, he felt that he would change the course of music and be ranked as one of its greatest composers ever and turned out that he may have been right. RECOMMENDED COMPOSITIONS: The Ring Of the Nibelung (excerpts); Overtures to Tannhauser, The Flying Dutchman, and Die Meistersingers; Prelude and Love/Death from Tristan and Isolde. GUSTAV MAHLER ( )

11 Gustav Mahler is one of a limited club of musical figures who have achieved cult status rather than being known through general popularity. His talent as a composer is sometimes still hotly debated. Regardless of his stature as a composer, Mahler's reputation as a conductor is solidly established. He was one of the first international 'superstar' conductors; in addition to much work in various positions in Europe, he spent three years as music director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Mahler's reputation lay in his extraordinary performances of operas. Wherever he went his tenure as a conductor was often a stormy one, as his fiery personality regularly created musical enemies. While he was in New York, he contracted a streptococcus infection and was taken to Paris for new (and unsuccessful) treatment--this was before the discovery of penicillin. His death was caused by complications resulting from a heart condition from his strep infection. On his deathbed he became delirious, and in the middle of a pounding thunderstorm, he began conducting. His last word was "Mozart..." Mahler's life was one of tragedy. Many of his brothers and sisters died in childhood and this profoundly affected him and his later compositions. His music betrays a deep restlessness and sense of searching without finding. He was one of a generation of Jewish intellectuals who had lost their cultural and religious identification. Even after he was baptized Roman Catholic, he still felt the effects of a wave of anti-semitism in Vienna. A daughter died at a very young age leaving him grief stricken. Gustav Mahler was in the tradition of the Romantic artist who poured his emotions into his music. His compositions (mostly symphonies of gigantic musical proportions that are bursting at the seams with musical and literary ideas) reflect his personal tragedies, his restless pessimism, and the social frustration, decadence, and artistic upheaval of the the time. Mahler drew heavily from German folk poetry and ideas in his compositions which include nine symphonies and numerous songs for voice and orchestra. His second symphony is perhaps his most famous in its musical portrayal of death and resurrection-- a question that he was never able to satisfactorily answer in his own thoughts. One of his last completed compositions is "The Song of the Earth", a composition for two vocal soloists and orchestra set to a collection of ancient Oriental poetry. His questions on the meaning of life continues within this very large-scale composition--and remains unanswered. His compositions are controversial because of his use of different musical styles within them. Many early listeners were offended by his use of children's songs, low class melodies, or out and out folksong-style melodies found in his music. One example is his

12 use of "Frere Jacques" in the third movement of his first symphony--as a funeral march. On paper it sounds ludicrous, but in context it is very haunting. Like a few others, Mahler's music was ignored for several decades. His music was brought to the public's attention (where it has remained popular) by another superstar conductor/composer who also spent much time conducting the New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein. RECOMMENDED COMPOSITIONS: Symphonies 1, 2, 5, 8; Songs of a Wayfarer; Das Knaben Wunderhorn. ANTONIN DVORAK ( ) Dvorak s very large musical output covered operas, choral works, concerti, symphonies, songs and many chamber works. These compositions are a combination of the strict German Classical/Romantic musical language mixed with the rhythms and folksong-like melodies of his native Czechoslovakia. His life differed from a lot of the passionate Romantic artists in that it was a full and happy one. At his death, Dvorak was a highly revered national artistic treasure in Czechloslovakia. Dvorak visited the United States, teaching and composing. During the time he lived in a Czech colony at Spillville, Iowa, he composed a number of important musical compositions, including perhaps the most popular one to have ever been written in the U.S., specifically, his ninth symphony, usually referred to as the "New World Symphony". Dvorak was a musical prophet. One of his pupils in the U.S. was Harry T. Burleigh, a black singer and arranger. Through Burleigh's exposure, Dvorak came to the realization that American composers would find their musical identity when they got rid of European musical influences and derived their inspirations from Indian, cowboy, and black folk music--a direct parallel to what Dvorak had done with his own music. Although it took a long time for the American musical community to heed his advice, when they did, their music became incredibly rich, providing the world with new forms and sounds, among them, jazz. RECOMMENDED COMPOSITIONS: Symphonies No. 8 and 9; Cello Concerto; Slavonic Dances. FRANZ LISZT ( )

13 A virtuoso is a name given to a technically gifted performer who can play very difficult music, and usually does so with a lot of showmanship. The supreme example of the virtuoso of the late Romantic era would be the Hungarian pianist/composer Franz Liszt. As a very young man, he attended a concert by Paganini. Liszt was so dazzled, he resoved to become the Paganini of the keyboard. In an age where there were a lot of flashy and dynamic performers, Liszt managed to outdo them all. Stories of audiences going wild for rock stars, groupies throwing themselves at the feet of the performers could have been written about Liszt. There are numerous stories of women of nobility fighting to get a snuffbox, a handkerchief, or even one of his cigar butts left on the piano after his concerts. A history of his love affairs across Europe could stand up to the scandals of nearly any rock star alive today. Like Paganini, he was a showman who capitalized on his stage presence. Very handsome, instead of playing with his back to the audience, he turned it 90 degrees so the audience saw his profile. He also is thought to be the first person to play concerts from memory, thus adding to his legend. Never marrying, he nevertheless fathered three children by Countess Maria d'agoult who was married to someone else at the time. Liszt suddenly found himself father-inlaw to Wagner when one of his daughters deserted her husband and ran away with Wagner. Liszt was only two years older than his new son-in-law. In true Romantic tradition for living to excesses in all directions, at the end of his life Liszt took a vow of celibacy and entered a religious order. Liszt is credited with being the first musician to give a solo piano concert--one in which there was no orchestra or other musicians to accompany the pianist. His music and personality were magnetic enough to be able to pull this off and start a tradition that holds today. His music exemplifies the fire and flash of Romanticism, its quest to explore new boundaries at the expense of old ideas. He composed two symphonies, two very difficult piano concertos, numerous programmatic orchestral works called "tone poems", organ music, and songs, among other compositions. Compared to some of his contemporaries his music is quite radical, a lot of his ideas can be traced back to Beethoven, the founder of musical Romanticism. RECOMMENDED COMPOSITIONS: Piano Concerti Nos. 1 and 2; Totentanz; Les Preludes; Piano Sonata in B minor; Hungarian Rhapsodies.

14 GIACOMO PUCCINI ( ) While Puccini's lifespan and the style of some of his music would suggest that he be classified as a "modern" composer, his music is essentially Romantic. The vast majority of Puccini's operas are about real people--with real shortcomings, real loves, thrust into extremely dramatic situations. These stories are told through some of the most beautiful and expressive melodies ever written for voices. "La Boheme" focuses on a Bohemian artist named Rodolfo and his meeting with a girl named Mimi. The story traces their love affair to the tragic conclusion as Mimi dies of tuberculosis. "Tosca" is the story of a singer and her boyfriend caught up in a web of political intrigue and murder. "Madame Butterfly" is a tragic love story of an American serviceman and his Japanese lover. One of his operas, "The Girl of the Golden West" even takes place on the American frontier! RECOMMENDED COMPOSITIONS: Tosca; La Boheme; Madame Butterfly OTHER RECOMMENDED ROMANTIC COMPOSITIONS Carmen -- G. Bizet Polovtsian Dances -- A. Borodin Symphony No A. Bruckner Piano Concerto -- E. Grieg The Moldau -- B. Smetana Thus Spake Zarathustra -- R. Strauss Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks -- R. Strauss Romeo and Juliet -- P. Tschaikovsky Otello -- G. Verdi Material copyright 2016 by Gary Daum, all rights reserved. All photos and illustrations by Gary Daum unless otherwise noted. Unlimited use granted to current members of the Georgetown Prep community.