Composers: Musical Style Flashcards
Name 3 neo-classical style elements used by Ravel.
- lean textures- contrapuntal writing- traditional forms
Name 5 specific musical styles that Liszt favoured (rhythm, harmony etc.)
- enjoyed thematic transformation- harmonic language often chromatic and progressive- favoured mediant relationships instead of the circle of fifths- used augmented triads and other altered chords- late works such as Nuages Gris foreshadow impressionism
Who’s first two piano concertos were premiered and published while still a student?
Prokofiev
How did Ravel’s friendship with gifted soloists affect his music? Give an example.
- resulted in highly virtuosic works - ex. “Gaspard de la nuit” (one of the most difficult pieces in the piano repertoire) was premiered by Ricardo Vines
Name the 4 periods and dates of Wagner’s music.
- Early years (1833-1842)- Dresden (1843-1849)- Years of Exile (1849-1863)- Munich, Bayreuth, and Final Years (1864-1883)
Who had great demand as a conductor and championed both historical and contemporary works?
Mendelssohn
Expressionist elements are evident in which Bartok opera?
Bluebeard’s Castle
The 4 principle characteristics (identified by Prokofiev himself) are:
- classical elements- lyrical elements- motoric elements- search for innovation
When did Bartok start composing, and what type of music was his earlier works?
- 1890s- dance pieces such as waltzes, Landler, and polka - some early piano works were programmatic
Who employed contrapuntal textures and neo-classical forms fugue, sonata, rondo, and cyclic structure? What is an example of a work that shows this?
- Bartok- Sonatina
Who co founded the “New Journal of Music” and with who?
- Schumann- Friedrich Wieck
Describe Messiaen’s inspiration from non-Western musical sources. Give examples.
- structural, harmonic, and particularly rhythmic elements were drawn principally from non-Western sources- influenced by his studies of ancient Greek poetry and Hindu music- drew from South American/Peruvian folk music (ex. “Harawi”)- used traditional songs and birdsongs of Japan (ex. “Sept haikai”)
Who developed the twelve tone method and what is it?
- Schoenberg- a method of composition used to organize atonal music - based on a fixed order of the twelve chromatic pitches forming a tone row - a.k.a dodecaphonic music
Who’s enthusiasm for composition grew after hearing a performance of Richard Strauss’ symphonic poem: “Also sprach Zarathustra”?
Bartok
How did Prokofiev show Russian nationalism? Give an example.
- through quotations of hymns and folk songs- “Alexander Nevsky”
Ravel’s rich orchestral writing was influenced by who?
- Debussy- Russian composers such as Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Igor Stravinsky
Who developed Klangfarbenmelodie?
Schoenberg
Brahms toured with a famous Hungarian violinist, who introduced him to another violinist. Who are these people?
- Eduard Remenyi- Joseph Joachim
Who used abrupt modulations, unexpected harmonic progressions, and brilliant virtuosity in his piano sonatas and concertos?
Prokofiev
Who’s stirring arias and choruses convey nationalism?
Verdi
What are the 3 new romantic idioms for Mendelssohn?
- concert overture- incidental music- short lyric piano pieces
Describe Messiaen’s inspiration from nature, especially birdsong. Give an example.
- birdsongs were researched and transcribed - ex. “Abime des oiseaux” (Abyss of Birds) from “Quatuor pour la fin du temps”
Name 4 of Brahms’ characteristic rhythmic elements
- cross rhythms- syncopations- hemiola - augmentation (particularly at cadence points)
Who feared the number 13?
Schoenberg
Who was inspired by British Isles, Austria, Italy, and landscapes and regional songs and dances?
Mendelssohn
In which works did Ravel use the poetry of French symbolists?
in his art songs (melody) and song cycles
Humour, and gentle (even naive) charm is evident in some of who’s works? Give an example.
- Ravel- “L’infant et les sortilèges”
How did Handel’s music affect Mendelssohn’s style?
gleaned a variety of choral techniques from Handel’s oratorios
Who used classical style elements in the Romantic era and pulled from different composers?
Mendelssohn
Describe Schoenberg’s music in his American period (1933-1951).
- greater stylistic diversity, with occasional returns to tonal composition- employed a more liberal approach to twelve-tone composition- more connected to his Jewish faith; many works have religious themes- “A survivor from Warsaw”
German nationalism was evident in who’s folk song, settings, and dances?
Brahms
How did Schumann embody the spirit of Romanticism?
- intensely subjective viewpoint- heightened emotionalism- underlying sense of pitifulness
What innovations did Liszt make as a teacher?
- developed the master class format - welcomed any capable student- occasionally offered instruction free of charge
Name 3 contemporaries that Schoenberg was influenced by.
- Wagner- Mahler- Strauss
Who was a pianist, composer, educator, and ethnomusicologist?
Bartok
Who was inspired by Igor Stravinsky’s music and Vaslav Nijinsky’s choreography at a performance of “Les Ballets Russes” in Budapest?
Bartok
How did Bach’s music affect Mendelssohn’s style?
close study of Bach’s music led to a love of counterpoint and part-writing
Describe Schoenberg’s music in his expressionist period (1908-1917).
- marked by rejection of tonality- disjunct melodies often span a wide range- polyphonic procedures masked by dissonance- “Pierrot lunaire”
Name 4 musical characteristics of Bartok.
- rhythmic complexities- folk elements- traditional forms- dissonant harmony
Give an example of one of Prokofiev’s works where he used polytonality.
“Sarcasms, No. 2”
What were Messiaen’s 3 significant sources of inspiration?
- spirituality- non-Western musical sources- nature, especially birdsong
Who had moderate use of chromaticism?
Schumann
Who was Wagner especially influenced by? What works in particular?
- Beethoven- Symphony No. 9 and Fidelio (opera)- influence was apparent in Wagner’s earliest compositions
How did Mozart and the Viennese classical style affect Mendelssohn’s style?
inherited a preference for balanced and symmetrical phrases, and clarity of texture
Verdi had 3 periods of musical output. Briefly describe each.
First period: represents gradual evolution within Italian opera tradition (Oberto, Rigoletto, Il trovatore, La Traviata)Second period: demonstrates influences from French grand opera… longer works, larger casts, grandiose orchestration (La forza del destino, Don Carlos, Aida, Messa da Requiem)Third period: composed Otello and Falstaff in the twilight of his career
Schumann’s strongest inspirations were literary. Who did these include?
- Jean Paul (Papillons)- E.T.A Hoffman (Kreisleriana)
Schumann admired the music of his contemporaries, including who?
- Schubert- Chopin- Mendelssohn- Berlioz
Describe Wagner’s output in his Years of Exile period (1849-1863).
- In Zurich, his creative focus shifted to literary works- articulated his artistic philosophy in influential essays (“Art and Revolution”, “Artwork of the Future”, and Opera and Drama)
Elements of Hungarian folk and gypsy music were evident in who’s Hungarian rhapsodies and Hungarian fantasy?
Liszt
What was significant about the year the Brahms started working on Ein deutsehes Requiem? Where did it premiere?
- it was the year that his mother died- Leipzig
Who’s writing is not always idiomatic, which makes it challenging?
Brahms
Define tone row.
- fixed order of the twelve chromatic pitches - basis of a twelve tone composition- undergoes manipulations including: transposition, inversion, retrograde, and retrograde-inversion
Who used ancient greek dramatic practice? Define this.
- Wagner- construction of long protracted scenes with one character confronting another
Who captured the spirit of Romanticism while maintaining respect for Classical tradition?
Mendelssohn
Who’s music was influenced by the Catholic church?
Liszt
Who took a scientific approach to collecting, studying, and assimilating folk music sources into art music?
Bartok
Name 2 of Brahms’ musical influences.
- Bach- Beethoven
American audiences were thrilled by Prokofiev’s performances, but critics descried his piano playing as “___, ___, and ___”.
“Savage, steely, and mechanic”
Who used ‘nonretrogradable’ rhythms (also called rhythmic palindromes - rhythmic patterns that read the same forward and backward)?
Messiaen
What was Verdi’s first major success?
- opera called “Oberto” in Milan - resulted in commission for three new operas
Who employed a sophisticated chromatic harmony? Give an example.
- Wagner- the Tristan chord
Name 3 romantic features (other than programmatic elements) of Mendelssohn’s style
- memorable melodies- unexpected modulations- virtuosic writing
Mendelssohn was encouraged to emulate the proven models of who?
Bach, Handel, Haydn, and Mozart
Who presented a historic piano recital, the first of its kind, in London in 1840? What were concerts like prior to this?
- Liszt- concerts before involved many performers and ensembles
Who was a impressionist, and musical style reflected exoticism, neo-classicism, and American jazz and blues?
Ravel
Who had a natural affinity for Spanish music because of his mother’s Basque heritage? Give an example of a work that show Spanish influence.
- Ravel- ex. “Rapsodie espagnole”, “Bolero”, “L’ here espagnole” (opera)
The death of who’s mother was a crushing blow, and slowed his creative output?
Ravel
Mendelssohn made structural innovations such as linking movements. Who was this inspired by?
Beethoven
Who moved away from symmetrical phrases? What did he do instead?
- Wagner- more continuous melodic flow referred to as “endless melody”
Who wrote many pedagogical works, including six volumes of instructional piano solos? What was this work called?
- Bartok- Mikrokosmos
Who was fond of palindromic (mirror) forms, and formal structure was influenced by mathematical principles such as the Fibonacci series?
Bartok
What incident marked the beginning of Bartok’s lifelong interest in researching and annotating folk music at the source?
he was captivated when he overheard a maid singing authentic Hungarian folk songs at a resort
Who often projected an impish, scherzo-like quality through the use of crisp rhythms, clipped staccatos, and colourful orchestration?
Prokofiev