Chapter 15: Orchestral Music (1800-1850)

Question 1

By what year had the symphony established itself as the most prestigious of all intrumental genres?

Answer 1

1800.

Question 2

How did critics come to view symphonies?

Answer 2

Metaphorically as an expression of communal spirit.

Question 3

What does the title of Beethoven’s Eroica symphony evoke?

Answer 3

The ethical and political ideals associated with the French Revolution.

Question 4

What composer became the first to make symphoic use of the march?

Answer 4

Beethoven

Question 5

What is a march?

Answer 5

A military form in duple meter characterized by a strong, repetitive beat for keeping soldiers in orderly formation.

Question 6

What is a scherzo?

Answer 6

(Italian for “joke”)

Dance inspired movements, faster and longer than minuets;

Question 7

What is a fugato?

Answer 7

A passage that begins like a fugue but does not sustain itself after a series of initial entries.

Question 8

Who were some notable composers of symphonies from 1800-1850?

Answer 8

Beethoven, Berlioz, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Spohr.

Question 9

Describe concert overtures.

Answer 9

Emerged as a work of instrumental music in a single movement connected in some way with a known plot.

A single movement work that is associated with a drama, poem, place, event, or mood.