Study Guide TERMS

Question 1

developing (or continuous) variation (not to be confused with thematic transformation
or simple theme and var.)

Answer 1

A musical idea is gradually transformed and developed through subtle alterations to its melodic, harmonic, or rhythmic elements, creating a sense of continuous variation throughout a piece

Question 2

development

Answer 2

Musical idea is transformed, tonal fluctuation, main idea reinstated different, can modulate all over the place

Question 3

episode

Answer 3

A contrasting section of music

Question 4

exposition

Answer 4

The first presentation of the theme in a musical work

Question 5

idée fixe

Answer 5

Fixed idea
Music definition: Recurring theme or character that serves as structural foundation of work
Psychological definition: preoccupation of mind believed to be firmly resistant to any attempt to modify it, a fixation

Question 6

leitmotif

Answer 6

Short recurring musical phrase that represents a specific person, place, or idea

Question 7

minuet (or scherzo) and trio

Answer 7

Two contrasting musical themes, minutes are written in triple time; often the third movement of a symphony or string quartet

Question 8

periodic/strophic phrasing

Answer 8

a structure that uses balanced antecedent and consequent phrases to create a sense of question and answer

Question 9

recapitulation

Answer 9

Theme from exposition is reinstated

Question 10

rondo

Answer 10

ABACA etc…

Question 11

sonata-allegro form

Answer 11

Precursor for this was rounded binary;

Has three parts
First section: Exposition has principal and subsidiary parts
Second Section: Development
Third section: Recapitulation

Question 12

thematic transformation

Answer 12

A musical technique that involves altering a theme, or leitmotif, to change its character while keeping its essential identity. Like a cycle that changes organically

Question 13

aesthetic/s

Answer 13

Emotion, listening, performance, composition, nature, commerce
Philosophical idea: Artistic experience of art, deals with the nature of beauty (defining theories of beauty)

Question 14

the Enlightenment

Answer 14

The age of reason, an intellectual movement of the century

Question 15

Heiligenstadt Testament

Answer 15

A letter by Beethoven intended to be read by his brothers after his death (he contemplated suicide). In it, he describes in moving terms how he suffered when he realized that his deafness was incurable.

Question 16

Kalevala

Answer 16

Finnish epic (type of poem about heroes) compiled of ballads, lyrical songs, and incantations that were a part of lyrical tradition

Question 17

the sublime

Answer 17

“It’s not beautiful because it’s pretty; It’s beautiful because it’s true”

Question 18

bel canto

Answer 18

A style of Italian opera known as bel canto, or “beautiful singing.” The term refers to singing characterized by seemingly effortless technique, an equally beautiful tone throughout the singer’s entire range, as well as agility, flexibility, and control

Question 19

ballade

Answer 19

Longer narrative songs. Long narrative strophic poem

Question 20

Galant

Answer 20

An appearance of simplicity (usually strophic melody, slow harmonic rhythm)

Question 21

lied/-er

Answer 21

Art song with German words

Question 22

Má Vlast

Answer 22

Piece by Czech composer, Smetana
“My fatherland”
6 symphonic poems

Question 23

music drama

Answer 23

Nineteenth-century GENRE created by Richard Wagner in which drama and music become so interdependent as to express a kind of absolute oneness

Question 24

nationalism

Answer 24

Promotion of ethnic or region or national identity

Question 25

New German School

Answer 25

Wagner and Listz
More chromaticism
Less tonality and more ambiguous chords

Question 26

operetta

Answer 26

Nineteenth-century kind of light OPERA with spoken dialogue, originating in OPERA BOUFFE

Question 27

Post-Romantic/-ism

Answer 27

Musical style that emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It’s characterized by a blend of late romantic and early modernist musical languages, and is often described as a transitional style

Question 28

program/-atic

Answer 28

Music that has a story or non musical narrative that is communicated to the listener through a title or program notes

Question 29

song/lieder cycle

Answer 29

All the songs are to be performed in order as movements of a multi movement vocal work

Question 30

tone/symphonic poem

Answer 30

A single movement work that tells a story or evokes a non musical idea

Question 31

verismo

Answer 31

(Italian, “realism”) Nineteenth-century operatic trend that presents everyday people in familiar situations, often depicting sordid or brutal events.

Question 32

sturm und drang

Answer 32

Storm and Stress

Question 33

Bayreuth

Answer 33

A city in Germany where the first festival was held there in 1876, during which the complete Ring cycle was launched, and the second in 1882, with performances of Wagner’s last opera, Parsifal. Wagner’s grave is there

Question 34

Esterhaza

Question 35

La Scala

Answer 35

Milan’s opera house, where many of Verdi’s operas were first produced. It was built in the late eighteenth century by the Empress Maria Theresa

Question 36

Mannheim

Answer 36

refers to both the orchestral techniques pioneered by the court orchestra of the Elector Palatine in Mannheim in the latter half of the 18th century and the group of composers of the early classical period, who composed for the orchestra of Mannheim.
“Orchestra of generals”

Question 37

Beethoven

Answer 37

German composer and pianist; his music transitioned from the Classical period to the Romantic era

Question 38

Bellini

Answer 38

Vincenzo Bellini (1801–1835) was a younger contemporary of Rossini who came to prominence after the elder had retired from opera composition. Bellini preferred dramas of passion with fast, gripping action.

Question 39

Berlioz

Answer 39

French Romantic composer; a radically original composer but also a well-known music critic and one of the first people to have a career as an orchestral conductor. He is especially remembered for his achievement in writing symphonies, operas, and choral works, which was remarkable for the time considering that he was neither a concert pianist nor a ranking performer on any instrument

Question 40

Brahms

Answer 40

Successor of Beethoven, a Hungarian composer

Question 41

H. T. Burleigh

Answer 41

American singer known for his baritone voice. In addition to that he was also an arranger and composer

Question 42

Burney

Answer 42

a keen eighteenth-century music observer and author

Question 43

Da Ponte

Answer 43

Italian Librettist
Poet for the imperial court theater who later came to America and became a professor of Italian in NY

Question 44

Dvorak

Answer 44

Czech composer
National conservatory

Question 45

Elgar

Answer 45

Edward Elgar: English composer who got internationally recognized; Wrote oratorios

Question 46

Fisk University Jubilee Singers

Answer 46

Founded at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, the group consisted of black student musicians who performed spirituals and other songs in four-part harmony

Question 47

Floristan & Eusebius

Answer 47

Robert Schumann’s two alter egos to represent the contrasting sides of his personality
Florestan: Passionate, impulsive, and exuberant

Eusebius: Thoughtful, reflective, and moody
Strophic
Schumann’s first piano sonata was titled Florestan and Eusebius.

Question 48

Foster

Answer 48

He is known as the father of american music

Question 49

Gluck

Answer 49

Classical German composer who is known for writing French and Italian opera

Question 50

Gottschalk

Answer 50

American composer and pianist
Ethnicity - Creole

Question 51

Hanslick

Answer 51

Austrian
Music critic
Historian
Chief music critic of the Neue Freie Presse

Question 52

Haydn

Answer 52

Considered as the father of the modern symphony

Question 53

Joplin

Answer 53

American composer and pianist; did ragtime

Question 54

Liszt

Answer 54

Hungarian composer, tone poet

Question 55

Mahler

Answer 55

leading Austro-German composer of symphonies after Brahms and Bruckner, and one of the great masters of the song for voice and orchestra

Question 56

The Mighty Handful/Five

Answer 56

Five prominent 19th century composers who worked together to create a nationalistic style of music
Mily Balakirev (the leader), César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Borodin
Russian composers

Question 57

Mozart

Answer 57

Was a child prodigy; prolific and influential composer of the Classical period

Question 58

Paganini

Answer 58

Italian Composer and virtuosic violinist

Question 59

Puccini

Answer 59

Italian opera composer, often juxtaposed different styles and harmonic worlds to suggest his diverse characters

Question 60

Rachmaninoff

Answer 60

1873-1943, primarily made his living as a pianist. Cultivated a passionate, melodious idiom and sought to appeal to audiences who are enamored of the classics by offering something new and individual yet steeped in tradition.

Question 61

Schubert

Answer 61

Austrian composer; first great master of the Romantic Lied, Schubert also made substantial contributions to symphonic, solo-piano, and chamber-music repertoires

Question 62

Smetana

Answer 62

A Czech nationalist composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his people’s aspirations to a cultural and political “revival”

Question 63

Richard Strauss

Answer 63

German composer and conductor best known for his tone poems and operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt

Question 64

Verdi

Answer 64

Italian composer best known for his operas

Question 65

Wagner

Answer 65

19th Century composer that dominated German opera. He created the music drama and coined the term Gesamtkunstwerk