Romantic Period Composers Flashcards

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1
Q

Beethoven (1770-1827)

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Beethoven is perhaps the single most famous composer in all of music history. Beethoven not only created significant music, but his life also represented the evolution from Classical to Romantic values. In one person, we can see the transition from the rules and proper expectations of Classical Period, into the more flamboyant and emotionally expressive Romantic Period.

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2
Q

Beethoven lost his hearing over the course of his life

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By the end of his life he was deaf. Many people speculate that he had tinnitusLinks to an external site. - a ringing in the ears. In this condition the ringing sensation can get so loud, that other sounds are drown out. There are lots of myths and rumors about how Beethoven lost his hearingLinks to an external site., but most of the research seems to guess at any conclusions. One conclusion seems constant - the fact that a deaf person could write such profound and emotional music is amazing.

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3
Q

Early works from Beethoven fit more into the Classical Style Period

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Beethoven met Mozart, and studied with Haydn. Beethoven sought to become the next great German composer, following the traditions of Haydn and Mozart. Listening to some early works gives a good feel for the Classical Period tradition Beethoven was following.

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4
Q

With the onset of losing his hearing, Beethoven’s music takes a change

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The polite craftiness of the Classical Period gives way to a new urgency and explosive expression in his music. This is where the Romantic Period really starts to take off in music. There is much more drama, expression, and unpredictability.

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5
Q

Towards the end of his life

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Beethoven’s music continues to become more emotional, and defy music traditions from the Classical Period. Beethoven expands forms, uses much more dissonant harmonies, and more abstract melodies. This is truly the emotional freedom, and personal expression that Romantic Period composers valued and strove to achieve.

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6
Q

Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828)

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Schubert is an admired composer, and was very productive in his short life. His symphonies, chamber music, and art songs are staples of modern concert repertoire.

In his lifetime, Schubert lived in the shadow of Beethoven. Beethoven was a huge public success. Schubert was not. He had a following, but lacked concert success and music publishing support. Although his friends helped him find a following for his music, by the end of his life he was very sick and poor. It was only after he died that his musical creativity and genius became widely admired.

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7
Q

Schubert composed symphonies, operas, and chamber music

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He is probably most famous for composing art songs (in German, lied). These songs used Romantic poetry, and were composed for voice and piano. Schubert composed over 600 art song! These works showcase Romantic values - nature, the unexplainable supernatural, love, and tragedy. They often are genius examples of : the marriage of text in music, melody, harmony, and piano writing. The elements of music are almost always applied in ways that highlight the text and topic of the song.

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8
Q

Der Erlkonig (The Elf King)

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Probably Schubert’s most famous art song. Composed when he was just 18 years old, this song tells the bizarre and tragic tale of a father racing on horseback through the night to find help for his sick child.

Similar to Beethoven, Schubert’s music moves out of Classical Period traditions, and lays the foundation for the emotional expression of later Romantics.

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9
Q

Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)

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Hector Berlioz was a rebellious and ambitious French composer. He was famous for trying out lots of new instruments, writing works for VERY large orchestras, and exploring exotic and taboo topics in programmatic music.

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10
Q

Probably his most famous and successful composition is Symphonie fantastique (the Fantastic Symphony)

A

Symphonie fantastique is a programmatic piece of music. It tells a specific story, but only through the sounds of the orchestra. There is no singing, or narration. To know this story, you have to do a little homework. It was premiered in 1830, just four years after Beethoven’s famous Symphony No. 9.

The story of this music is essentially about a horrible drug trip! A very taboo and questionable subject for concert music in the early 1800s. Essentially each of the five movements describes the visions of the subject, as he hallucinates from smoking too much opium.

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11
Q

A couple key elements in this composition:

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  • There is a musical motive used to represent the “beloved one.” This melody keeps coming back, in all five movements. This ties all of the ideas together, and helps unify the exotic story. It is often referred to as the “idee fixe” - a fixed idea in the composition. This use of a motive, and transforming it across a larger composition was inspiring for composers and listeners.
  • Berlioz used many new instruments: valved trumpets, a very high pitched e-flat clarinet, two tubas, and lots of unusual percussion instruments. The massive orchestra for this composition was absolutely radical for 1830 music.
  • Berlioz used some interesting special effects. He has the strings play with the wood of the bow in the 5th movement. Unusual, and a really unique timbre.
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12
Q

Berlioz was not admired by everyone

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His over-the-top style, and use of such large orchestras brought a lot of criticism. Many viewed him as an arrogant, disrespectful, radical young composer.

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13
Q

To this day Symphonie fantastique is one of the most performed and admired pieces for orchestra

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This music helped open the doors of expression, orchestration, and individualism that Romantics sought. This music was undeniably ahead of its time.

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14
Q

Felix Mendelssohn

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1809-1847

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15
Q

Niccolò Paganini

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1782-1840

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16
Q

Carl Maria von Weber

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1786-1826

17
Q

Gioachino Rossini

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1792-1868

18
Q

Robert Schumann

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1810-1856

19
Q

Frédéric Chopin

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1810-1849

20
Q

Richard Wagner (1813 - 1893)

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For many people, Wagner was the ultimate Romantic composer. He expanded form, wrote highly emotive music, and pushed dissonance in harmonies beyond what anyone had done before him. Wagner was mainly an opera composer. His operas are considered some of the most elaborate, sophisticated, and grandiose in all of opera history.

21
Q

What made his operas so special?

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Wagner operas are LONG. They typically are 3 or 4 hour events (including intermissions).

Wagner uses musical motives to represent characters, feelings, objects, and actions in the plot. Wagner cleverly brings back these motives, and is able to weave a musical fabric that ties the plot, drama, and music elements together. It is a very sophisticated collaboration of all the elements of music with all the elements in stage production. Often these motives are called leitmotifs - a term usually associated with Wagner’s music.

22
Q

Wagner’s harmonies are very creative

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He had a way of including dissonances and harsh sounds that elevate the drama and beauty of the opera. One example of a unique chord in the overture for the opera Tristan and Isolde. The first dissonant chord was so unusual and unique - it is now called the “Tristan chord.”

23
Q

Wagner liked to use very large orchestras

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The sound can be massive, powerful, and uncomparable. It is such a wall of resonance, and really has to be experienced live to understand the power. Recordings are nice, but cannot immitate the fell of a live, large, Wagnerian orchestra!

24
Q

Wagner and his music are also HIGHLY controversial

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Wagner was very anti-Semitic. Some of the struggle and conflict in his operas can be interpreted as anti-Jewish, or anti-minority. Wagner was definitely proud of his Germanic heritage, and was a Austro-German nationalist. In his lifetime, Wagner was very arrogant, defiant, and politically aggressive about his pro-German, anti-Jew, arian superiority views. Far after his death, in the 1930s and 40s - Wagner’s ideas and music were held in high esteem by Adolf Hitler. This association with extreme and offensive views has only added to the controversy of Wagner’s music. In fact - the Israel Philharmonic, to this day, will rarely perform the music of Wagner.

25
Q

Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897)

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Unlike Wagner, Brahms in many ways was very traditional. He composed mainly chamber music, choral works, concertos, and orchestral concert music. He did not compose any operas.

While Brahms was composing, other composers were focusing on programmatic music - tone poems, operas, etc. But Brahms decided to focus on absolute music, and traditional forms.

Brahms was seemingly very conservative compared to some obvious extroverted Romantics (Wagner, Berlioz). Brahms tended to use an orchestra that was more like Beethoven’s, and wrote in traditional, absolute music forms (symphonies, sonatas).

26
Q

Brahms was a perfectionist

A

He was known to revise and rewrite his music a lot. He was also know for destroying early works, ones that he thought were not good enough to be published or performed.

27
Q

Brahms was very expressive and revolutionary

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His rhythmic creativity, and use of syncopation is subtle, but profound. His use of dissonance, and unusual harmonies is very creative. The manner that Brahms wrote for traditional instruments, and combined them into the orchestra texture was thoughtful, crafty, and poetic.

Brahms composed four symphonies. They are all considered masterworks.

28
Q

It is well speculated that Brahms was in love with his composition teacher’s wife

A

Brahms studied composing with Robert Schumann. Robert’s wife, Clara was also a musician. We know that Brahms loved Clara. We also know that Brahms was highly influenced by Clara. She was a famous pianist and composer. Her opinions and advise helped Brahms develop his compositions.

29
Q

Peter Tchaikovsky

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(He composed the Nutcracker ballet)

30
Q

Gustav Mahler

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1860-1911

31
Q

Antonin Dvorak

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1841-1904

32
Q

Edvard Grieg

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1843-1907

33
Q

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

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1844-1908

34
Q

Edward Elgar

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1857-1934

35
Q

Giacomo Puccini

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(Very popular Italian opera composer)

1858-1924

36
Q

Richard Strauss

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1864-1949

37
Q

Jean Sibelius

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1865-1957

38
Q

Ralph Vaughan Williams

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1872-1958