Late Classical Ludwig van Beethoven o German composer, piano virtuoso o Overlaps classical and romantic period o Came

e from musical family o Abusive alcoholic father o Beethoven was rejected by Mozart and later haydn Beethovens three periods o Early Period (1794-1802) least remarkable o Middle Period (1802-1816) Heroic period o Late Period (1816-1827) hard to understand Beethovens musical style, what makes him a transitional composer o Expanded sonata and symphony, longer symphonies than Haydn and Mozart o Personal feelings are portrayed in heroic period o Transitional because he spanned classical and romantic periods Features of beethovens eroica symphony similar to classical era symphonies of Mozart and haydn o Sonata Form o Opening is similar to Mozarts overture in Bastien und Bastienne Features of beethovens eroica symphony that expand upon the idea of the symphony o Very long movements, first movement was longer than entire symphonies o hammerstrokes Beethovens major instruments o Piano, organ, harpsichord Formal innovations (sonata form) found in beethovens works Beethovens relationship to his patrons o Gave them dedications o Wrote in his diary that they were princely rabble o Held the notion that individual accomplishments mattered more than inherited privileges Heiligenstadt testament o Letter to beethovens brothers o Talks of hearing loss, isolation, and suicide o Written between 1799 and 1802, unknown whether or not the letter was ever sent Romantic Era Vincenzo Bellini o Sicilian composer from southern Italy o Known for flowing melodic lines o Died young for similar reasons as Schubert o 10 operas, all serious, all hits Hector berlioz

o Born son of surgeon in france o Moved to paris to study medicine, decided to pursue music despite having shown little aptitude in the field. His parents disowned him o He felt satisfied with his own way and did not care of rules or traditions o Attended the Paris Conservatoire o Attempted to win the Prix de Rome 5 times before winning o Couldnt make a living from composing alone, worked as a musical journalist also o Large works, mammoth in scope, sparse in output o Flamboyant compositions o Believed that instrumental music benefited from telling a story Frederic chopin o Born in Poland to polish mother and French father o Talented pianist o Performed for wealthy and powerful in Warsaw o Moved to Vienna to continue piano o Viennese loved polish based works and saw them as novel o Moved to Paris where he found highly literate and accomplished friends, while seeking out very wealthy music lovers to support his art o Had a condition that would make him bed-ridden for weeks at a time o Became a hypochondriac towards adulthood o Specialized in piano, almost all works include piano as the only instrument or central instrument o Was his own master and a perfectionist o Mostly single movement compositions of short durations o Favorite genres: nocturne, polonaise, mazurka, impromptu, ballade, etude, waltz, prelude o Played in private salons, taught piano to wealthy women Franz Schubert o Very short life, died at 31 o Son of Austrian school teacher o Educated at imperial singing school, sang in chorus of St. Stephens Cathedral in Vienna o Learned to play several instruments, thorough knowledge of music theory and composition o Became a teacher like his father, supplemented income as a composer by performing o Excelled at the genre of art song o His most famous symphony, the unfinished, was never performed during his lifetime o Compostions: Masses, string quartets, solo piano music, concertos, art song Franz liszt o Most technically gifted pianist of his age

o Flamboyant on stage personality, sensation was so singular and forceful that women would faint o Allowed patrons and supporters to sit on stage if they supported financially to be closer, but also to model appropriate level of awe o Performed all over Europe, became associated with the phrase music of the future o Distanced himself from revivalists of older works o Piano compostions were showy and technical o Some were programmatic, others moved in ethereal realms of pure emotion o Abruptly began creating orchestras in the 1840s, also flamboyant o Conducted Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestra o Favored new music, shunned practices of Mendelssohn Robert schummann o Most influential composer of mid-century o Madness ran in his fathers side of the family o Collapsed into incurable mental illness, placed in an asylum in 1853 o Studied piano with Friedrich Wiech, father of Clara Wieck o Destroyed performance career by injuring his hand with a device he made to strengthen his fingers o Started journalism and composing after the injury o Co-founded paper Neue Zeitschrift fur Musik (Still published today) o Favored piano, composed large number of solo piano music during the last half of the 1830s and early 1840s Clara schummann o Daughter of Friedrich Wieck o One of europes most celebrated pianists, she was better than Schumann o Eventually married Schumann o Career faltered after marriage for a time o Eight children Felix Mendelssohn o German composer, pianist, organist o Second generation romantic composer o Participated in the revival of Bachs music in 1830s and 1840s o Loved older music, felt concerts should serve educational function, lectured on stage before works of Bach and Handel were performed o Conducted the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the oldest symphony in continuous operation in the history of the west o Favored antique genres such as the oratorio and the use of sonata form Johannes brahms o Composer and pianist, protg to schumann o Visited Robert schumann in asylum and reported to clara o Became good lifelong friends with clara schumann

o Favored instrumental music without a definite subject o Worked as choral conductor o Maintained links between romanticism and its origins in the music of the classical period o Instrumental genres: sonata, rondo, theme and variations, binary, ternary, symphony, concerto, solo piano music, instrumental chamber music o Vocal genres: art song, works for chorus o His best pieces relate back to initial melody through some sort of imaginative variation Richard wagner o Devoted almost exclusively to opera o Attended Leipzig university, started conducting operas, then later composing o Committed to fusion of music with other arts, most usually literature o Did not consider his works operas, but music dramas o Music dramas were seamless, with endless melody with nearly no stops or pauses Gioachino Rossini o Popularized the style of bel canto opera o 1820s: fame took him to paris where he managed the Theatre Italienne o 1830: Rossini retired at the height of his fame o his music never fell out of favor, due to retiring before tastes changed o first famous composition written at age 21 o Comic operas are his best-loved today o Code Rossini- comprised of all the successful structures, formulas, and practices associated with his career as a bel canto composer o Formal change for the aria: two tempo aria o Opens with a scena, a section of recitative that advances the action followed by the tempo primo, which features a move from tonic to the dominant. Transitional scena (sometimes), next is tempo di mezzo (middle tempo). Ends with a rousing cabaletta (rhythmic movement following a cantabile section Lied (lieder) o German term for art song o One voice with piano o Usually a musical setting of a poem or text Bel canto style singing/ bel canto opera o Italian phrase that means beautiful singing o Emphasized the singer, orchestra is less important, especially during the aria o Characterized by long melismas before cadence points Ostinato o Continually repeated phrase or rhythm

Program music o Instrumental music that tells a story, associated with an extra musical idea or story Nocturne o Genre developed by Irishman John Field o Goal centers on evocation of moods and feelings associated with the night o No formal plan Leitmotifs o Musical motives that Wagner would associate with a person, place, or thing within the drama. Leitmotifs were his means of connecting the music to the drama Music drama o Wagners version of opera Linear chromatic harmony o Constant use of pitches outside the tonic scale, often moving by half step, creates a yearning sensation in the music Gesantkunstwerk o Fusing all the arts at their highest perfection, so that the whole of this would be greater than the sum of its parts. Banda o Placing instruments on stage, favorite device of Rossini o Italian composers searched for any excuse to place instrumentalists on stage Idee fixe o Fixed idea, or obsession o Used for a recurring theme, which carries programmatic meaning Strophic form o Structure in which the same music is repeated with every stanza The ring of the Nibelung o Wagners most ambitious project o Comprised a series of four music dramas, performed over the course of an entire week to give the singers time to rest between the works o Story: covers the twilight of the old german gods and dawn of the world dominated by men. Story of the idle gods, the coming of the hero, and the destruction of the old order o Gotterdammerung (twilight of the gods) Music of the future (transitionalism vs music of the future) o Music of the future: Berlioz, Liszt, Wagner o Traditionalism: Brahms, schumann, mendelsson Developing variations Differences between romantic sensibility and classical sensibility o Classical sensibility- Favors formal clarity and emotional restraint o Romantic sensibility- Strives for singular and unfettered creativity that plunges into the realms of idealism and fantasy

Performance changes in opera and symphony concerts by the audience and performers o Seats fixed to floor and oriented toward the stage o Food and drink, even conversation are strictly forbidden o Lights were dimmed or turned out over the audience Leipzig gewandhaus orchestra and its conductors o Conductors: Franz Liszt, Felix Mendelssohn Importance of pre concert talk/lecture