MUSIC FOR THE PIANO. 1. Go to our course website, 2. Click on the session you want to access

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1 MUSIC FOR THE PIANO Welcome to Music for the Piano. The cover illustration for this first session is a 1763 painting of the Austrian violinist Leopold Mozart, his seven-year-old son Wolfgang, and his twelve-year-old daughter, Nannerl. It reminds us that, until almost the end of the 18 th century, concerts were small, private affairs. There were no public performances or public music venues. Concerts were in private homes or other relatively small spaces controlled by private individuals. Neither were there professional pianists. Piano music in this era was for students and amateurs, in family or other social gatherings. USING COURSE MATERIALS The materials for this course consist of weekly lectures and lists of recommended listening to online musical performances. To access these materials: 1. Go to our course website, 2. Click on the session you want to access 3. Click on the lecture notes to read or print them 4. Click on the piece you want to listen to. Enlarge the screen using the icon on the far right at the

2 bottom of the screen. Adjust the volume using the next-to-left icon. Use the leftmost icon to play or stop the music. CHRISTOFORI FORTEPIANO PIC The piano, or fortepiano as it was called in the 18 th century, was invented around 1710 by the Italian harpsichord maker Bartolomeo Christofori. In 1730 a fortepiano is mentioned for the first time in an inventory of musical instrument of the Medici Family in Florence. Christofori s own name for his invention was gravicembalo col [or di] piano e forte, "harpsichord with soft and loud." The novel feature that allowed this instrument to play both loud and soft tones was that the keys were hit by small hammers rather than being plucked by small quills, as with the harpsichord, or by small metal blades called tangents, as with the clavichord. FORTEPIANO ACTION The series of levers, joints and strings that produce a sound on the piano are hidden, out of sight, underneath the piano strings. Together, these many small parts are called the action. (Talk about how the action works.) At the time, Christofori s invention did not seem very important. It did not change the history of music or render other keyboard instruments obsolete. For many years the fortepiano was originally somewhat

3 feeble in sound, hard to keep in tune, and undependable in producing consistent sounds. So as you might guess, it was not widely used. Other keyboard instruments, including the harpsichord and the clavichord, were superior to the fortepiano, having gone through their own period of development much earlier. But then, in the middle of the 18 th century the fortepiano was improved and, by about 1770, it became the keyboard instrument of choice. Thus, for most of the 18 th century, these three keyboard instruments were largely interchangeable. J S Bach s Preludes and Fugues, completed in 1722, were for the klavier, a word that meant any keyboard instrument. Bach is reported to have been shown an early Christofori instrument and expressed a strong dislike to it. But now I must qualify everything I have said about these developments by adding the words, in German- speaking and English-speaking countries. For in the 18 th century the musical cultures of France, Spain, Italy and Russia were quite different from those of Germany, Austria, and England. In those countries the harpsichord remained the keyboard instrument of choice for many years longer. So the early history of piano music is mostly about music in Germany and England. *DOMENICO ZIPOLI, GAVOTTE IN C MAJOR (BEFORE 1726)

4 As a prelude to today s session, let s listen to a Gavotte, probably written to be played on the harpsichord, but played here on a 1720 fortepiano built by Domenico Christofori, now in the Musical Instrument Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. WHY THE PIANO? This is the title of today s class. The specific questions that we will be looking at this morning are: Why did the fortepiano become the most popular instrument? Why did the sonata become the principal form of fortepiano music? What kinds of fortepiano music were created between 1770 and 1800? What did/does it sound like? COMPOSERS Today s session focuses on piano music written between 1770 and The leading composers of this period included:

5 In the older generation, the German Carl Philip Emanuel Bach, a son of J S Bach, whose keyboard music was on the cutting edge of the new classical style. In the middle generation, the prolific Austrian Franz Joseph Haydn, who by 1770 had already written forty keyboard sonatas, and his younger contemporary, the Italian Domenico Cimarosa. In the younger generation, the Austrian wunderkind Mozart, the Italian born virtuoso Muzio Clementi, now living in London and manufacturing pianos as well as touring throughout Europe as a virtuoso pianist; and his fellow Londoner-by-adoption, the more romantic Bohemian virtuoso Jan Dussek. And last but not least, the rising young German Ludwig van Beethoven, just beginning to write the most amazing fortepiano sonatas, one might say, like a young Franz Joseph Haydn on steroids. TYPES OF FORTEPIANO MUSIC One great reason for the rapid rise of the fortepiano was its versatility. It was useful as a solo instrument, as a chamber music instrument in combination with other instruments, and as a featured instrument in concerted music (concertos).

6 NEW TECHNOLOGY When the fortepiano was invented around 1710 it was a little-known, weak-sounding, unreliable instrument. By 1770, however, it had become the leading keyboard instrument in Europe. Two developments were largely responsible for this dramatic change. The first was a series of technical developments that improved the fortepiano s tuning, made its sound louder and more consistent throughout its range, and increased its durability as well: MODERN CONCERT GRAND Change from parallel to angled stringing Increase in the strength and durability of the piano case, the wooden box that enclosed it Increase in size and strength of strings Refinements in the instrument s action the way in which the hammers hit the strings; NEW MUSICAL STYLE The second and equally important change that made the fortepiano more popular was a change in the style of music itself.

7 Before 1750, the style of music we now call Baroque was based on the repetition of short figures or patterns of notes (examples). A single figure was introduced that the beginning of a piece and continued throughout to the very end. Music by J S Bach, Handel, Telemann and other 18 th century composers provide good examples of music of this type. Other aspects of music, such as dynamics (loudness) and texture (the number of notes sounding simultaneously) did not play a prominent part in musical expression. After 1750, the style of music we now call Classical was based on contrast, that is, by including figures, melodies, rhythms, and textures that differed from one another, within a single piece. Music by Haydn, CPE Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven depend for their expressive qualities on contrasts of every kind; contrasts of dynamics and texture play a very prominent in producing the effect intended by these composers. SONATA FORM The leading genre of piano music produced between 1770 and 1800 was the Sonata form. Haydn, not a pianist, wrote 62 piano sonatas; Mozart 20 in his much shorter life, and Beethoven 32. Sonatas depend for their expressive quality on the juxta-

8 position of contrasting themes, dynamics and textures. Chamber music with piano, and piano concertos, also used the principle of contrasting themes, dynamics, and textures. *MOZART: PIANO SONATA IN A MINOR, 1778 As young Mozart traveled about Europe seeking employment and patronage, he composed many sonatas and other fortepiano pieces to showcase his talents. Many of these sonatas were dazzling in their technical difficulty but somewhat superficial compared to Mozart s best compositions. The Sonata in A Minor is an exception. This sonata features contrasting themes and sudden changes from loud to soft and from thin to thick textures, which were the hallmark of the new classical style. Its stormy and dramatic mood reminds many of sonatas written by Beethoven 20 years later. Here is a performance by one of today s masters of the fortepiano, Ronald Brautigam. PIANO SOLOS, GENRES OF SOLO FORTEPIANO MUSIC

9 Sonatas: contrasting themes Variations: contrasting rhythms and textures using the same theme Dances: (Mazurkas, Waltzes): contrasting melodies Fantasies: all types of contrasts Toccatas: virtuosic pieces using all types of contrasts *C P E BACH: ANDANTINO GRAZIOSO, 1780 In contrast to the virtuosic piano music of Mozart and Clementi, the north German C P E Bach cultivated a quieter style of music called Empfindsamkeit sensitivity. Despite the lack of fireworks, there is still plenty of contrast here, in a performance on a 1785 fortepiano. *BEETHOVEN: PIANO SONATA IN C MINOR, 1798 Beginning in 1795 the young Beethoven began creating a series of piano sonatas that were more dramatic and expressive than sonatas by Haydn, Mozart and their contemporaries. The differences can be heard in the Sonata in C minor, often called

10 the Pathetique, because of the intense emotions it expresses. In this piece Beethoven uses the contrast of themes, textures and dynamics in a more intense way, and increases the contrast even further by making slow sections slower and fast sections faster, chords thicker, and changes of dynamics more sudden and more extreme, than 18 th century composers had done. CHAMBER MUSIC WITH PIANO, From the 1770s onward, composers created a new type of music based on an additional type of contrast: the contrast between the timbre or tone quality of the piano and various other instruments. Here are three excellent examples be leading composers of the day. *DUSSEK: PIANO QUINTET, 1799 The Bohemian Jan Ladislav Dussek was the third great keyboard virtuoso of the late 18 th century. Like Clementi, he was based in London, although frequent concert tours took him to every country in Europe. Dussek was a prolific composer of piano works, including sonatas, toccatas, chamber works, and keyboard concertos.

11 Dussek s robust, expressive style of writing for the keyboard includes rolled chords, sudden changes from loud to soft, and more complex writing for the left hand. The result is a richer, more romantic sounding music, more akin to Schubert than to Haydn and Mozart. In his Piano Quintet of 1799, the fortepiano is contrasted with the four stringed instruments, like a miniature concerto. CONCERTED MUSIC WITH PIANO, *HAYDN: CONCERTO IN D MAJOR, 1782 In the Haydn concerto the right hand of the fortepiano part dominates. You will notice that the instrument sounds really different in different registers of the keyboard: clear and bell-like in the high register; weaker and less clear in the middle, and somewhat thick and indistinct in the lower. The performer is Andreas Staier, playing a modern replica of a 1785 fortepiano built by Anton Walther in Both Mozart and Haydn owned and played Walther fortepianos. PREVIEW OF SESSION TWO

12 Next week we will consider piano music written between 1800 and 1830, and the further development of the piano as an instrument during those years. To prepare for that session please listen to an 1804 composition that demonstrates these changes: Beethoven s Piano Sonata in C Major, nicknamed the Waldstein after the benefactor to whom Beethoven dedicated it. We ll begin next week s class with a discussion of how the Waldstein sonata is similar to, and different from, piano music composed before Here s a preview, in a wonderful performance by Richard Brautigam, on an 1806 Erard fortepiano very similar to an instrument Beethoven owned and very much liked. * BEETHOVEN: SONATA IN C MAJOR ( WALDSTEIN ), 1804 Listen for these hallmarks of Beethoven s piano style: A greater use of the medium range of the keyboard Greater overall length - 27 minutes compared to 20 minutes for his earlier Pathetique sonata.

13 Greater extremes of mood feeling: not just sad but tragic; not just happy but joyous; not just fast but frenzied, etc. More contrast between themes - each theme has a distinctive rhythm and pattern of notes More contrast in dynamics the loud parts are louder, the soft parts softer, the contrast between loud and soft is greater More contrast between slow and fast: the slow parts are slower, the fast part faster, the contrast between fast and slow is greater More contrast in range the high notes are higher, the low notes lower, the contrast between high and low is greater More contrast in texture: the thin parts (one or a few notes sounding at a time) contrast with thick parts (many notes sounding at the same time).