April 3 Exam Flashcards
Besides composing, how else did Robert Schumann combine his interest in literature and music?
- “Neue Zeitshrift fur Musik” (New Jornal for Music)
- Musical criticism journal
What kind of piece is Schumann’s Carnaval?
It is a collection of more than 20 small piano pieces, each bearing a title of a person or event at an imaginary masked ball during carnival season.
Who are Florestan and Eusebius?
Schumann’s pieces
They are the names that he gave to the impetuous and dreamy sides of his personality.
Florestan: more outgoing, loves music
Eusebius: Gentle nature, tender, contemplative
How do Schumann’s symphonies compare with earlier symphonic works, especially those by Beethoven, Schubert, and Berlioz?
4 movements (Intro/Slow/Scherzo/Fast)
Story told through instrumentation
(“Spring” fluttering flutes/triangle)
What contributions did Clara Schumann make to musical life during the Romantic period?
- She played her husband, Robert Schumann’s pieces when he couldn’t
- Wrote character pieces for piano, chamber music
What elements of Carl Maria von Weber’s “Der Freischuts” connect it with the older tradition of Singspiel?
- Melodrama (Instead of singing, characters are still speaking while orchestra is going in background)
Which elements mark Carl Maria von Weber’s “Der Freischuts” as an example of early romantic opera?
More mythological/ darker themes in Wolf’s Glen scene
How did Richard Wagner’s participation in the political uprisings of 1848 - 49 affect his musical career?
- He was a revolutionary and was expelled from Germany, sending him to Zurich and Paris which influenced his musical style
What are the key aesthetic ideas that Wagner developed around the middle of the century, which he later realized in his operas?
- Gesamtkunstwerk: the idea that music should be a “total work of art” and that he has to involve himself in every aspect of the opera
- continuous music
- leitmotive
What is “The Ring of the Nibelung”?
A monumental cycle of four operas composed by Wagner
- Das Rheingold (The Rhinegold)
- Die Walkure (The Valkyrie)
- Siegfried
- Gooterdammerung (Twilight of the Gods)
Characters based on German and Norse legends
How did the working conditions in Italian opera theatres shape the compositional approach of Gioachino Rossini?
There was a demand for rapid production. He only had about 3 weeks to compose an opera because of how fast they moved in and out of popularity in Italy
What is a cabaletta and how does it fit into the typical Rossini aria?
Cabaletta: second part of double aria that is fast and full of vocal fireworks
What was the Risorgimento, and how was Giuseppe Verdi linked to this movement?
Risorgimento: means resurgence/ musical and political movement contributing to Italian Nationalism. All of Italy was brought into a single nation under the leadership of King Victor Emmanuel II
- Verdi’s operas were used
- VIVA VERDI: Praise for opera and praise for the King at the time (Vittorio Emanuel Re D’Italia)
Where did Verdi turn for the subject matter of his two late operas?
Turned to Shakespearean drama rather than comic opera
- Otello
- Falstaff
How does the musical style and texture of Verdi’s late operas compare with earlier Italian operas by Rossini and others?
Verdi composes a more interesting cantabile section called the belcanto and also includes nationalism
How did the birth of nationalism shape the life and music of Franz Liszt?
Nationalism presented love for one’s region and its people, culture, and language
What did Heinrich Heine mean by the term Lisztomania?
Emotional effect Franz Liszt had on his audience, obsession
What are the major genres associated with Liszt, both in his earlier works for solo piano and his later works for orchestra?
- Character pieces
- Symphonic poems
- Programmatic symphonies
What was the New German School?
Describes advancements in European music, following Wagner’s term “Music of the Future”
What sort of relationship did Brahms have with both of the Schumanns, Robert and Clara?
- Robert Schumann and Brahms were acquaintances
- Brahms fell in love with Clara, Rob’s girl
What does the idea of absolute music tells us about Brahm’s artistic principles, and how do these principles compare with figures such as Berlioz, Liszt, and Wagner?
- Music should speak for itself
- Doesn’t need a story to show emotion
What are the other major genres in which Brahms composed?
- Chamber music
- Instrumental symphonies
What is the historical significance of Brahm’s contemporaries, Anton Bruckner and Antonin Dvorak?
Bruckner: Appropriated by the Nazis, Hitler featured his music in Nazi ceremonies
Dvorak: Czech nationalism, wanted to become immersed in Czech culture
Besides Modest Mussorgsky, which Russian composers were members of the kuchka, and what artistic principles united them?
- Mily Balakiriv
- Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
- Cesar Cui
- Alexander Borodin
Represent Russian Nationalism in their music
What is distinctive about Mussorgsky’s approach toward text setting?
- His songs did not contain tune
- Only text as if it were spoken
How did Tchaikovsky’s musical training differ from members of the kuchka?
- He was determined to be a professional musician, appointed to the faculty of Moscow’s new conservatory
- Traveled between Europe and Russia to study music in depth.
What are some musical characteristics of Tchaikovsky’s ballets such as “The Nutcracker”?
- Wrote music to align with 46 sections suggested by choreographer, Marius Pepita
How did Gustav Mahler make a living, and when did he find time to compose?
- Conductor
- Composed in the summer months
What are some stylistic features of Mahler’s songs?
- Composed in literary form
- Poetry gets listener’s attention (as well as music)
- Song Cycles
What are some stylistic features of Mahler’s symphonies?
- Expanded/Diverse orchestration
- Programmatic
How did Mahler feel about attaching programmatic meaning to his symphonies?
If he can express an experience in words, he shouldn’t try to put it in music
With whom did Alma Mahler study, and in what genres did she compose?
- Alexander Zemlinsky
- Piano pieces and songs
Which composers did Elgar most admire?
- Johannes Brahms
- Richard Wagner
What is La Scala, where is it located?
Teatro alla Scala is an opera house located in Milan
What is verismo opera?
- Operas centered on Realism
- Short and musically condensed
- Single act
- about low class violent people
- Verismo: Italian for “realism”
What is impressionism?
Impressionism: Evocation of mood and atmosphere, understatement, passivity, and appeal to the senses.
What were some of Debussy’s musical influences outside of France?
- Russia: The Mighty Five
- Italy
- Bayreuth
- Gamelan - Heard in Java, Indonesia
What are some types of scales found in Debussy’s music?
- Pentatonic
- Whole tone
- Octatonic
How did Debussy’s use of the orchestra differ from most German composers of the time?
Used whole tone scale, octatonic scale and pentatonic scale
What city was Richard Strauss from?
Munich, Germany
What was the principle genre in which Richard Strauss composed early in his career?
Tone poems
In what city did Strauss conduct the Royal Opera from 1898 to 1918?
Berlin, Germany
Why is Strauss’s opera “Salome” considered one of the most significant musical works from the early years of the twentieth century?
As it gained popularity, younger composers used the features of Salome over past romantic features, starting a new music period
What was the Ballets Russes and who was the impresario who established it?
- Russian Ballet
- Sergei Diaghilev
Who was the choreographer and lead dancer for the premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” in 1913?
Vaslav Nijinsky
Where was “The Rite of Spring” premiered and how was it received?
- Theatre des Champs - Elysees in Paris
- It was received poorly because it wasn’t traditional French music, but instead a foreign atonal ballet
What are the main stylistic features of “The Rite of Spring”?
Story: Pagan rituals in Russia
Musically: Changing scales, time signatures, polychords
How did Stravinsky’s musical style change after 1920, exemplified by works such as his Octet?
Shifted his focus towards Neoclassisicm
- Composer
- Title and/or where it is from
- Genre/Form
- Clara Schumann
- “Liebst du um Schonheit (If You Love for Beauty)
- Song (Lied) in modified strophic form
- Composer
- Title and/or where it is from
- Genre/Form
- Franz Liszt
- Hungarian Rhapsody No. 15
- Rhapsody for piano
- Composer
- Title and/or where it is from
- Genre/Form
- Johannes Brahms
- Symphony No. 3
- First movement in sonata form (Allegro con brio)
- Composer
- Title and/or where it is from
- Genre/Form
- Anton Bruckner
- “Christus factus est”
- Motet
- Composer
- Title and/or where it is from
- Genre/Form
- Modest Mussorgsky
- “Within Four Walls” from Sunless
- Song from a song cycle
- Composer
- Title and/or where it is from
- Genre/Form
- Peter Tchaikovsky
- The Nutcracker
- Excerpt from a ballet score (Act 1, scene 8, in the pine forest)
- Composer
- Title and/or where it is from
- Genre/Form
- Gustav Mahler
- “Um Mitternacht” (At Midnight)
- Orchestral Song, through composed
- Composer
- Title and/or where it is from
- Genre/Form
- Alma Mahler
- “Die Stille Stadt” (The Quiet City)
- Song (Lied), through composed
- Composer
- Title and/or where it is from
- Genre/Form
- Edward Elgar
- “Enigma” Variations
- Ninth Variation (Nimrod) from a set of variations o an original theme for orchestra
- Composer
- Title and/or where it is from
- Genre/Form
- Claude Debussy
- “Reflets dans l’eau” (Reflections in the Water)
- Character piece for piano
- Composer
- Title and/or where it is from
- Genre/Form
- Claude Debussy
- “Nuages” (Clouds)
- Symphonic poem
- Composer
- Title and/or where it is from
- Genre/Form
- Igor Stravinsky
- “The Rite of Spring”
- Excerpt from a ballet score (Dance of the Earth)
- Composer
- Title and/or where it is from
- Genre/Form
- Maurice Ravel
- “Le tombeau de Couperin”
- Rigaudon (Baroque dance) from a piano suite
- Composer
- Title and/or where it is from
- Genre/Form
- Igor Stravinsky
- Octet
- First movement, “Sinfonia”, from a chamber piece for winds
Carl Maria von Weber’s “Der Freischutz” (1821)
- German Opera
- Max seeks to win the hand of Agathe and to prove his worthiness, he makes a pact with devilish figure Caspar who promises him magic bullets that will guarantee he wins a shooting contest.
- But the bullets were guided by evil spirits
- Max works to redeem himself throughout the opera
Richard Wagner, “Das Rheingold” (1854)
- Story starts with the theft of the Rhinegold by Alberich who turns it into a ring that grants ultimate power
- Wotan needs to pay off the giants Fasolt so he plans to use the gold ring.
- Alberich curses the ring, bring doom to anyone who has it.
- Towards the end, the giants demand the promised payment and end up taking Freia, Wotan’s wife
Gioachino Rossini “The Barber of Seville” (1816)
- Opera Buffa
- Count Almaviva tries to win the heart of Rosina who is kept under close watch by her guardian Dr. Bartolo.
- Almaviva uses the help of Figaro, the town barber and jack of all trades.
- The opera features hilarious misunderstandings, mistaken identities, and comic antics
Giuseppe Verdi “Otello” (1887)
- Based on Shakespeare’s play “Othello”
- Otello and his wife Desdemona and the deceitful Lago.
- Lago plants evidence on Desdemona that makes Otello think that she has been unfaithful
- Otello goes mad, killing Desdemona and then himself when he realizes she was innocent.
Giacomo Puccini, “Madama Butterfly” (1904)
- Set in Japan
- Tells story of young Cio-Cio-San and Ltnt. B.F. Pinkerton
- They enter a temporary marriage, but he planned to leave her once he returned to America
-CCS remained faithful until 3 years later when Pinkerton returns with his new American wife, Kate - In the end, CCS gave birth to a child and when Kate and Pinkerton try to take the child away from her, she ends up taking her own life, choosing honor over disgrace.
Richard Strauss, “Salome” (1905)
- Revolves around the story of Princess Salome, stepdaughter of King Herod
- She becomes infatuated with Jokanaan
- She eventually asks for Jokanaan’s head on a silver platter, she kisses his corpse’s lips.
- King Herod was disgusted so he ordered Salome’s execution
