M125 Part 1

IX. William tell

a. 1810s: Rossini reaching the height of his career i. Starting to write pieces for Paris ii. 1816: Barber of Seville, becomes iii. 1829: William Tell, last opera

VI. Carl Maria von Weber

a. Austrian composer b. Cousin of Mozart's wife c. Significant composer at beginning of romantic era d. Playing piano and composing e. Anticipates Felix Mendelssohn f. Midsummer Night's Dream

XXII. Felix Mendelssohn

a. Born in 1809 b. Grandfather was important philosopher c. 1826: Incidental Music for "A Midsummer Night's Dream" d. Moses Mendelssohn: Enlightenment philosopher e. Brought up in an upper-class bourgeoisie family f. Died 1847 g. Child prodigy h. Acquainted with Goethe, knew him well i. Goethe didn't like Beethoven 5 i. Shakespeare had become part of German canon j. 1829: Revived St. Matthew's the Passion by Bach i. Made Bach the composer he is known as today k. German nationalism l. Cultural investment of literary/music figures m. His music was put down under Nazi Germany n. 1830: Went to Scotland (exotic) i. Wrote overture "The Hebrides" ii. Also known as "Fingal's Cave" iii. Pitch differs according to context iv. Flat 6=deceptive cadence v. Neopolitan: Major flat 2 vi. Visual connection and literary reference

I. Louis XVI

a. Budget issues because he gave money for American revolution b. Wanted to raise taxes but not give anything in return c. Overthrown and arrested d. Prussia declared war on france to defend absolute monarchy e. Spent too much money on American Revolution f. 1793: Louis is executed

II. Don Giovanni

a. Character created by Mozart b. Aristocratic man trying to seduce a woman c. Known for seducing this girl and other women hate him d. Goes to hell e. Both seria and buffa character f. Wants to seduce a girl so he starts a party to distract her fiancé

XX. Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864).

a. Contemporary of Mendelssohn b. Jewish composer c. Originally named Jakob Liebmann Meyer Beer, Meyerbeer was born into a wealthy Jewish family on September 5, 1791, in Tasdorf, near Berlin, Germany. d. Studied in Italy e. Italianized Jacob to Giacomo German opera composer f. Giacomo Meyerbeer wrote spectacular romantic operas that became popular in Paris. His best-known works includeRobert le Diable, Le Prophète, andL'Africaine. XXI.

Beethoven

a. Deaf prodigy b. Ancestry wasn't particularly German (Beethoven is Flemish but is French speaking Belgium) c. Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany. His father, who was a singer, was his first teacher. After a while, even though he was still only a boy, Ludwig became a traveling performer, and soon, he was supporting his family d. In his early twenties, Beethoven moved to Vienna, where he spent the rest of his life. Beethoven was one of the first composers to make a living without being employed by the church or a member of the nobility. At first, he was known as a brilliant pianist. But when he was around 30 years old, Beethoven started going deaf. Even though he could no longer hear well enough to play the piano, Beethoven composed some of his best music after he was deaf! e. Lots of aristocratic and bourgeoisie friends f. Hayden gave him composition lessons g. Musician grandfather and father h. 1801 he realizes he is going deaf i. withdrew from society and became more eccentric j. "tone poet" k. 1809: Napoleon is besieging Vienna

XI. Franz Schubert

a. Franz Schubert was born in Vienna, Austria. In addition to playing several instruments, Franz also sang very well. When he was 10, he was accepted at the Imperial and Royal Seminary, which trained boys for the Court Chapel Choir. That choir still exists today as the Vienna Boys' Choir. Schubert wrote his first symphonies for his school orchestra, and for friends of the family who used to get together to play -- the whole Schubert family was very musical. Schubert also wrote piano, choral, and chamber music, but he is probably most famous for composing over 600 songs. b. Romantic composer c. Born in 1797 d. Born, grew up, died in Vienna (1828) i. Died of typhus or syphilis e. Born to modest i. Mom was upper servant ii. Father was schoolmaster f. Extremely gifted g. By age 7, singled out for musical talent as singer i. Found by Antonio Salieri h. Significant training i. Known for music in sociability j. Famous songwriter, but also wrote larger pieces k. 1797-1828 l. Schubertiade: Schubert and friends would get together and sing song cycles i. Couldn't get through Winterriese ii. Tendency not only to explore harmony based on 3rd relationships but also modal borrowing iii. Major key but borrows from minor key

VII. Napoleon

a. From Corsica, an island in the Mediterranean b. Minor Italian c. Fluent in French d. Appointed to elite military in paris e. First council of republic/unnamed dictator of france

XIV. Chopin 1810-1849

a. Frédéric Chopin was one of the greatest pianists of his day. Chopin was born in a town just outside of Warsaw, Poland. His mother introduced him to the piano; by the time he was six, Chopin played extremely well and was starting to compose. He gave his first concert at the age of eight. b. When Chopin was 20, he left Poland to seek fame and fortune in other European cities. When Chopin got to Paris, he decided to stay. c. There's a story that when Chopin left his native country, his friends gave him some Polish soil, which he carried around with him for the rest of his life. That's probably not true, but Chopin did continue to be passionatly patriotic about Poland, even though he never went back there. d. Chopin was never healthy, and he was only thirty-nine when he died of tuberculosis. When he was buried -- in France -- a special box of earth was brought from Poland to sprinkle on his grave. But Chopin's heart is in Poland -- literally. His heart was put in an urn and taken to the Church of the Holy Cross in Warsaw. e. Polish composer, pianist f. Made his way to Paris g. Significant force in piano culture h. 2 sets of etudes i. Embodiment of romantic fragment ii. Op. 10 and Op. 25 i. Goes through all the different keys j. Models arpeggio off of well-tempered clavier k. Affective moods are explored l. Op. 10 no. 5: Played all on black keys m. Exploring the virtuosity and affective moods n. Direct correlation to pieces of music o. Op. 25 no. 7: Slow etude that tries to emphasize bel canto style

XIII. Anton Walter

a. Mozart and Beethoven had one too b. Anton Walter (Vienna, 1782)→piano with no pedals c. Greater hammer depth, better dynamic range d. No pedal i. Pedaling: Lifts the dampers off the strings e. Reproductions are only available today

XIX. Paganini

a. Nicolò Paganini was a famous violinist and composer born in Genoa, Italy in 1782. He worked as a freelance musician and touring virtuoso for much of his adult career, but retired in 1834 due to chronic illness. He was born with Marfan syndrome. He revived some forgotten techniques of showmanship on the violin which helped make him a successful virtuoso. Many of his playing techniques are still taught today. Though he was clearly a solo artist, Paganini did write some string concertos. His famous works include Violin Concertos 1 & 2. b. Paganini-famous for technical skills and showmanship he added for the performance i. He used old and frayed strings, so if one snapped he would refinger everything=the adapting skills shows virtuism c. When he was painted he was painted weirdly, just like castrati, to show that hes magical d. His song: very sectional piece.each section in defined by a cluster of technical issues happening, theres piccicato, i. Showmanship is important ii. The problem with it is hat its eas for people to criticize it as being merely technical and showing off iii. This was because of snobbery, its meant for an audience, crowd, ticket buying public. Not for a priate salon e. With paginini it's a leel of display, violin octaves, harmonics, to show off individual skill of the instrument. This si not serious music because it does not have the depth we see in other things with romantic fragments f. The Devil's Laughter and The Hunt

V. Friedrich Schiller

a. Poet, playwright, novelist b. Nov. 10, 1759, Marbach, Württemberg [Germany]—died May 9, 1805, Weimar, Saxe-Weimar) c. leading German dramatist, poet, and literary theorist, best remembered for such dramas as Die Räuber (1781; The Robbers), the Wallensteintrilogy (1800-01), Maria Stuart (1801), and Wilhelm Tell (1804).

XII. Robert Schumann

a. Robert Schumann's father was an author and book dealer in Zwickau, the German town where Schumann was born. Robert grew up with books all around him, so he fell in love with books and writing. Robert also fell in love with music. As a kid, he took piano, flute and cello lessons, and also started composing. b. When he was a teenager, Schumann still wasn't sure whether he wanted to be a writer or a composer when he grew up. But after heading off to the University of Leipzig to study law, he knew he didn't want to be a lawyer. In Leipzig, Schumann took piano lessons with a teacher named Friedrich Wieck, whose star pupil was his daughter Clara. In spite of the fact that she was nine years younger than he was, Robert Schumann and Clara Wieck fell in love. Clara's father absolutely refused to let them get married. It took years -- and a court battle with Clara's father -- before Robert and Clara Schumann could finally get married. c. The whole year following their wedding, Schumann was so in love that he couldn't stop composing songs. That became known as Schumann's Year of Song. Schumann then went off on a couple of other year-long binges. The next year, he worked on three out of his four numbered symphonies, and the following year was Schumann's year for chamber music — pieces written for small groups of instruments. d. Even though a hand injury kept Schumann from becoming a concert pianist, there was still a famous pianist in the house -- his wife Clara. She gave the first performance of many of his pieces, including his piano concerto. When the Schumanns' daughter Marie turned seven, her father gave her a small album of piano pieces that he'd written for her. Later, he added to it, and published it as the Album for the Young — 18 pieces for little kids, and 25 more for older ones e. Nonconformist f. As important of a writer of criticism and musical discourse as a composer g. Family wanted him to go into law h. Decided to devote himself to music i. Studied piano, ruined his right hand j. Went towards composition k. Strong literary bend l. Editor of New Journal of Music (1834) m. 1840: Fell in love with piano teacher's daughter n. Wrote 400 songs in a year o. 1854: Has a psychotic break, institutionalized

VIII. Rossini

a. Romantic Period b. Gioachino Rossini, the most popular opera composer of his day, was born in Pesaro, Italy. Like many composers, Rossini learned about music from his parents. Gioachino's father played the horn and the trumpet, and his mother was an opera singer. When Gioachino was a little boy, he learned to play the piano and to sing. c. In Rossini's day, the opening of a new opera was as exciting as the opening of a new movie is for us. Rossini wrote his first opera when he was 18 years old. His most famous opera is The Barber of Seville. And after composing the opera William Tell in 1829, when he was 37, Rossini stopped writing operas. d. After that, Rossini didn't compose again for years. When he was much older, he wrote some music for the church, and he wrote a lot of small pieces to entertain his friends. Because those pieces were not very serious, he jokingly referred to them as "Sins of Old Age." e. Important as Beethoven in the end of 19th c. f. Considered composer of comic opera g. Dad was horn player h. Mom was prima donna singer i. The barber of Seville j. Moved to Bologna, better for music i. Known for its food k. 1806: Conservatory i. Unhappy with the old fashioned ways of his teachers ii. Strict counterpoint isn't the best method l. 1810: First completed commission from Venetian opera house i. 1 act opera because German composer dropped out ii. 5 of 9 operas Rossini wrote in this period were for this theater

ohann Wolfgang von Goethe (Geurtah)

a. Umlaut b. Worked in everything c. Prolific writer (Shakespeare plus of German Literature) d. Shakespeare is made part of German canon

XVI. Clara Schumman

a. We're chauvinistic and shes suppressed form composition and prominence. b. She was extremely talented pianist and composer c. Robert didn't want ther to compose, he wanted her to play his stuff, also she had domestic duties d. As a solo pianist she'd perform Roberts music on the stage e. Robert himself couldn't play the piaoo at this point because he broke a finger. He had her play all of the music i. When Schumann wrote diechsteliebe he wrote it for clara. ii. Much of his early music is for his love for clara iii. The axample that best highlights this is the fantasy opus 17 in c major

XV. Lizst

a. While Franz Liszt was a composer, conductor, critic and teacher, he was best known as a pianist. He was the first of the virtuoso performers. When Liszt walked onto the stage, he took over the hall, amazing the audience with his incredible technique and his awesome presence. He was a true showman and the man who invented the solo recital. Although some were annoyed by his personality, Liszt was one of the greatest pianists the world has ever known. b. As a composer, Liszt, of course, wrote music primarily for the piano. He also transcribed popular orchestral works for this instrument. Many of his pieces are tremendously difficult and few pianists can perform them properly. Later in his life, he started writing music for the orchestra and composed wonderful melodies. c. Liszt also wrote music criticism and was known as a conductor and teacher. He trained many of the performers of his time in his tradition. d. Because of his ego and attitude, Liszt was always a controversial figure. However, he is recognized as one of the dominant personalities of 19th century Romantic music.

X. Berlioz

b. Louis-Hector Berlioz was not a child prodigy, did not start serious study of music until he was an adult, and, unlike most other composers, never learned to play the piano or any other instrument. At his father's wish, he enrolled in medical school instead. While in Paris studying for this degree, however, he became very interested in opera and started taking composition lessons. Furious, his father cut off all financial support. Still, through hard work, various musical successes and study at the Paris Conservatory, Berlioz achieved his ambition to be a composer. c. Berlioz was noted for his orchestral writing and is credited with creating the modern orchestra. His ideas were quite grand; his Requiem uses an orchestra of 190, four additional brass and percussion ensembles, and a 210-voice chorus! Berlioz' new style of musical composition led directly to the Romantic era. d. Although he wrote several major musical works, Berlioz was better known in his lifetime as a music critic than as a composer. He also conducted most performances of his own works, not trusting this responsibility to anyone else. e. Anti-beethoven f. Not some piano virtuoso, he played guitar and some flute g. Significant in expanding knowledge of experimentation h. timbre i. Almost "anti-beethoven" j. Beethoven exhausted the heroic style k. Elements of humor l. Draws upon the idea of having a symphony that you know exactly what is happening with each movement m. Beethoven expanded the orchestra n. Episode in the life of an artist: a fantastic symphony in 5 movements o. Our legacy of Shakespeare comes out of the 19th century, out of romantic love of Shakespeare p. Harriot Smithson: anglo-irish actress who played Ophelia in hamlet and berlioz had seen hamlet and was infatuated with her i. She didn't speak French q. When berlioz was going to see these plays, he was essentiall listening to the words of the English language in a musical way