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World of Music - “Music History” – European “classical” music – Part 2
Classic Period (mid 1700’s – early 1800’s; 1750-1820)
Clear, recognizable melodies
Understandable musical forms (binary, ternary, rondo, sonata, theme & variations)
Some Musical Styles:
Multi-movement works – 3 or 4 sections – fast, slow, (minuet), fast)
Symphonies – string or full orchestra
3 or 4 “movements” – sections that can stand alone
1. fast; 2. slow; (3. dance-like); 4. fast
String quartets (2 violins, viola & cello) and other “chamber music”
– same structure as symphonies
Concertos for solo instrument & orchestra - same structure as symphonies
Sonatas for piano solo or piano & solo instrument
Suites & Serenades
Operas – Grand & comic opera; generally based on stories from popular literature
Sacred music styles continue
Instruments
**Piano becomes widely used – harpsichord & organ less popular
Strings still very important
Increased use of woodwind, brass & percussion
Invention/adoption of clarinet
Composers
Franz Joseph Haydn – Austria – “Papa Haydn” – “Father of Symphony”
(wrote over 100)
lived to be pretty old, taught both Mozart & Beethoven
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Austria – was a child prodigy –
began playing, performing & writing music when still preschool-age; wrote TONS
of music, mostly be imagining the finished work in head, then just writing it down;
died at age 35; music for all instruments, symphonies, operas
Ludwig van Beethoven – Germany/Austria –
first became famous as a pianist; piano music compositions are very famous;
9 symphonies; TONS of piano music, 1 opera
Later music more like “Romantic Style”
Romantic Period (early 1800’s – about 1900; 1820 – 1900)
All about expressing emotion, stretching & changing rules for musical style & harmonies
Lots of musical experimentation.
Some Musical Styles:
Symphonies - more flexible form, many MUCH LONGER
Other Orchestral music – tone poems, overtures, many that reflect a story
(programme music)
Concertos, Sonatas & Chamber music still around
Piano Music – Sonatas, many descriptive songs (programme music)
Art Songs – Single songs or set of songs (song cycles) intended to be solo showpieces
or poetry set to music
Operas – Much “heavier” theatrical sounding music, the “Ring” opera (fat ladies/horns)
Instruments
Piano
Full orchestra
Technical advances (valves) on brass instruments make them more adaptable
Unusual groupings of instruments
Very expressive vocal music
Composers
*Ludwig van Beethoven (later music) – especially 9th symphony
(using singers for symphony)
Johannes Brahms – symphonies, string quartet
Robert Schumann – piano music, songs
Felix Mendelssohn - piano & symphonic music
Franz Schubert – best known for song cycles
Peter I. Tchaikovsky – ballet music, 1812 overture
Sergei Prokofiev – symphonies, ballets, Peter & the Wolf
Frederic Chopin – best known for piano music
Franz Liszt – virtuostic piano music
Richard Wagner – huge operas
20th Century (about 1900 - )
All about redefining what’s “correct”- melodically, harmonically, stylistically
Mixing rhythms & keys simultaneously, influence of jazz
Some Musical Styles:
Symphonies, sonatas, concertos & opera still created in new styles
Programme music still created
Film & TV music become important
Impressionism – much like in visual art, melody creates a blurry “picture” with lots of
interesting blended harmonies
Neo-Classical Music – using musical forms from classic period, with a huge twist on
musical harmonies
Serialism/Atonal music – Heavy use of “dissonance” by using all 12 notes of the octave,
not just 8 or so.
Aleatory Music – chance music – players gets to decide which notes/when to play
based on options composer presents
Minimalism – use of only a few notes and repeated patterns
Experimental music – may not use traditional music/instruments at all, or may use them
in non-standard ways (aka “prepared piano”)
Electronic music – using electronically created sounds, sometimes live musicians
playing with prerecorded electronic soundtracks
Instruments
Traditional symphonic instruments
Electronic instruments
“Found” instruments (furniture, car parts, etc)
Composers
Claude Debussy – impressionism – piano & orchestra
Maurice Ravel – piano & orchestra; arranged many piano pieces for orchestra
Igor Stravinsky – orchestra & ballet music
John Cage – experimental music
Edgard Varese – electronic music
Arnold Schoenberg – atonal/serial music
Philip Glass - minimalism
George Gershwin – influence of musical theater & jazz on neoclassical music
Aaron Copland – neo classical, “programme” music, ballet, movies, TV
Leonard Bernstein – West Side Story
John Williams – movie music – Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, etc.