Module Six  

The material which follows will serve as the framework of our lectures and discussions 
for Module Six. This material is presented in a format which will enable you 
to easily printout a copy which you might choose to do as we begin the Module, 
however, you certainly will want to refer to the Module Six notes as you complete TVI
[Test Six] which is a "virtual" experience

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Module VI - Listening Emphasis

Schubert: Erlkonig "The Earl King"
Chopin: Polonaise in A Flat major, Op. 53
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique, 4th movement "March to the Scaffold"
Brahms: A German Requiem, 4th movement
Smetana: The Moldau from My Vlas [My Fatherland]
Wagner: Die Walkure, Act III Finale

The Romantic Era: 1825-1900

Romantic Period

The Transition 1800-1825 [as we've discussed - late Mr. Beethoven]
The Rise of Romanticism 1825-1850
The Mature Romantic Era 1850-1900

Contrast & Comparison of Musical Traits: 

     Classical            Romantic
     balance                individuality
     moderation          subjectivity
     control                 emotionalism

Romantic Art in all forms began to express what might be, rather than what is !!!

Contrast & Comparison of the Artist: 

     Classical           Romantic
     servant               prophet
     hired hand          seer
     patronage           confessor

In the Romantic era, everything seemed to get bigger, expansion was pivotal !!!

In the world at large: 
.....Fulton developed steam boat
.....first steam locomotive was invented
.....Faraday discovered principles of electricity
.....colonization was rampant
.....industry was on the rise
.....rise of the middle class [move from agrarian to urban society]

"Romantic" came to be any artistic work which exhibited bravado and grandness: 
only requirement was that the work must have great aspirations + emotion. 
The revolutions of France and America encouraged the individual to break out of the pack, throw off the yoke a repressive, conventional society

Significant 19th Century Geo-Political Events
(that also greatly influenced the arts in general and music in particular)
Imperial Russia -  The Romanov Dynasty
Re-Unification of Germany - Bismark
British Empire - Queen Victoria

General Influences
.....traditional view of religion declined
.....exaltation of the artist grew
.....the glorification of the individual
.....the need of something in which to live in "awe" 
.....rise of the importance of nature
.....mythology [elves, gnomes, giants, etc.] Grimm's Fairy Tales and stories of E. A. Poe.

Mr. Bach wrote music as a "Gift back to the Giver"; 
Romantic composers saw their compositions [art] as a sanctified object, 
and themselves as high priest.

General Romantic Traits:
.....individuality
.....subjectivity
.....emotionalism
.....grandeur
.....expansiveness

"more was indeed more"
music as a sanctified object/composers as high priests
music must have great aspirations and emotion
expansion of all forms
interest in folklore and mythology

Program Music
.....Music that tells a specific story
.....Tonally and with sounds paints a picture

Art Songs
.....song with artistic pretensions beyond popular/folk song
.....great improvement of the piano w/pedals
.....interest in German lyric poetry
.....generally relatively short composition
.....soloist with accompaniment
.....topics: love, lost love, death, passions, et al

Three types of Art Songs
.....strophic
.....through composed
.....modified-strophic songs

An Overview

Romantic Era Composers of Note
F. Schubert, R. Schumann, F. Liszt, 
F. Mendelssohn, H. Berlioz, F. Chopin

Super-Heroes of the Romantic Era
Mr. Brahms & Mr. Wagner

Rise of Nationalistic Opera and Opera Giants
C. M. V. Weber, G. Rossini, G. Verdi

Russian & Slavic Composers of Note
M. Mussorgsky, P. Tchaikovsky, B, Smetana, A. Dvorak

Romantic Composers of Note

Franz Schubert [1797-1828] [click for pic] - Thumbnail Biographical Sketch
.....Born in Vienna
.....12th child of a poor school teacher
.....very short [army rejected him]
.....always poor, lived like a Bohemian, always on borrowed money
.....loved carefree evenings
.....extremely prolific
.....possessed a great singing voice
.....believed that the melody was most important element of music
.....the tune was supreme
.....Schubert had a bizarre personality
.....lack of confidence because he was not a flashy performer
.....disliked regular jobs/routines
.....known mostly for art songs

To encapsulate: Austrian, Singer, Art Songs

Robert Schumann [1810-1856]  [click for pic] - Thumbnail Biographical Sketch
.....best known for his piano pieces/art songs
.....son of an author/book seller
.....completed studies in law and philosophy
.....decided to become a piano virtuoso
.....over zeal caused the crippling of his fingers [finger stretching]
.....turned him to composition
.....married Clara Wieck, daughter of his piano teacher
.....subject to exhaustion and depressive fits
.....constant worry about Clara and her fidelity
.....threw himself into the Rhine
.....had to be placed in an asylum
.....eminent German composer
.....importance as editor and publisher of the "Gazette"

To encapsulate: German, Pianist, Editor of The Gazette, Clara

Franz Liszt [1811-1886] - Thumbnail Biographical Sketch
.....born in Hungary
.....incredible talent considered by many - greatest pianist of all time
.....bon vivant
.....salon artist
.....died at Bayreuth
.....Wagner married his illegitimate daughter Cosima
.....Les Preludes for orchestra

To encapsulate: Hungarian, Pianist, Salon Music, Cosima

Felix Mendelssohn [1809-1846]
.....German, Jewish faith, wealthy family of bankers, Bach-Revival
Reformation Symphony

To encapsulate: German, Reformation Symphony, Bach Revival

Hector Berlioz [1803- 1869] 
.....French, studied medicine, stormy grandeur, orchestration text
Requiem and Symphonie Fantastique

To encapsulate: French, Symphonie Fantastique, Text on Orchestration

Frederic Chopin [1810-1849]
.....Polish, very poor, piano music
Piano Preludes and Nocturnes

To encapsulate: Polish, Pianist, Nocturnes - Preludes - Polonaises

Topic: Virtuosos 
.....[Paganini-violin; Liszt and Chopin-piano]

Virtuoso: Spectacular, traveling musical soloist whose performances awed and fascinated large audiences. Speed and brilliance were the key words, it was a time when pyrotechnical skills were often valued over innate musicianship. Because of the advent of the railroad system these incredible performers were able to travel throughout Europe and eventually came to have a status like that of matinee idols or rock stars.

Paganini [1782-1840]: The first and foremost of the virtuosos on the violin. Essentially took themes from Schumann, Liszt, Brahms, etc. and crafted amazing themes and variations based upon these melodies. Paganini dazzled his audiences with rapid fingering and astounding bow work. He performed concerts throughout Europe displaying such fantastic talent and gripping stage presence that he was said to have received his talent from the devil. To capitalize on this theme, he started to dress all in black to emphasize the legend. to this day, a virtuoso in most any walk of life may be likened to Paganini. As with many of our friends from the Romantic era, his personal life was in shambles as womanizing and gambling had lost him several fortunes. Such was the notoriety surrounding Paganini, that at the point of his death he was reported to have been buried alive.

Super-Heroes of the Romantic Era

Mr. Johannes Brahms: 1833-1897 [Click for Pic] Thumbnail Biographical Sketch
.....born in 1833 in Hamburg [Germany]
.....father was a double bass player
.....gave first piano recital at age 15
.....at this time he was already composing
.....studied with various teachers until age 20
.....at 20 met Robert Schumann
.....Schumann proclaimed him the "New Messiah of Music" [in the Gazette]
.....was embarrassed and helped by Schumann's predictions
.....settled into a well-ordered life as a bachelor
.....remained active as a pianist, composer and CONDUCTOR
.....one of the first since Beethoven to take conducting very seriously
.....died in Vienna in 1897 of cancer

Other Traits/Interesting Factoids Concerning Mr. Brahms
sturdy, substantive quality of his music
most truly German composer since Bach
"Old School" of German composers - traditionalist
his life and relationship with Clara Schumann
works - rich in melody and very solid
over-flowing with mellowness and humanity
always delivering, however, a message of epic proportions
compassion

Further information on Brahms:
.....ongoing intellectual wars between old and new style
.....Very Anti-Wagner
.....comparison with other mega-stars {Bach and Beethoven} similarities/differences

Primary Works of Brahms
.....Symphonies #1, #2, #3, #4
.....Academic Festival Overture
.....German Requiem
.....Numerous Piano Works
.....Assorted Vocal, String Works

Mr. Richard Wagner (1813-1883) [click for pic] - Thumbnail Biographical Sketch
.....born in 1813 in Leipzig [Germany]
.....father was a policeman
.....very bright student in school
.....very interested and great natural ability in studying languages
.....during school years wrote dramas of his own
.....at age 18 began serious study of music
.....by age 21 was composing operas, conducting, etc.
.....married an actress at age 23 [not a happy union]
.....went to Riga to conduct performances for wife
.....in Riga decided to be a dramatic composer
.....went to Paris to gain information and learn about operas
.....in Paris was disdained/poor and unhappy
.....composed Rienzi/went back to Germany
.....Relationship with Ludwig II "The Mad King of Bavaria"
.....gained acceptance as a major composer
.....became conductor of Dresden orchestra/opera
.....Began writing the "Ring Cycle"
.....forced to leave Germany for political reasons
.....returned by invitation of the King of Bavaria
.....at 57 married Cosima illegitimate daughter of F. Liszt]
.....development and construction of Bayreuth [Opera House]
.....started musical wars with Hans Von Bulow
.....interest in mythology
.....Wagner was "new German"
.....died in Venice in 1883

use of leit motifs - short melodies used to identify/associated with primary characters in his operas - rather like a "theme song" for each

Operatic Works of Wagner: Rienzi, Tannhauser, Meistersinger, Flying Dutchman, Lohengrin

The "Ring Cycle": The Rhine Gold, The Valkyries, Siegfried, Twilight of the Gods

Late Opera: Parsifal [completed by Humperdink]

Rise of Nationalistic Opera and Opera Giants

Carl Maria von Weber [1786-1826] [click for pic] - Thumbnail Biographical Sketch
.....son of an impresario
.....ninth child in the family
.....taught the rudiments of music early by his father
.....father was Mozart's uncle by marriage
.....wanted to make his sons all into virtuosos [ala Mozart]
.....at 12 was a choirmaster and had his first compositions published
.....at 19 had already had composed four operas
.....became a conductor
.....interest in the supernatural
.....at age 20 began to compose Der Freischutz [opera]
.....foundation of German - Lyric Romantic Opera

Der Freischutz is a story very much like that of Goethe's Faust: 
a man has sold his soul to the devil in return for earthly favors. 
In this case the earthly favors were silver bullets with magical powers 
which would enable him to win a marksmanship contest and with the contest, 
the hand of the lady which he loves. As usual, the devil is cheated in the end; 
the hero is redeemed by the pure love of his lady. 
The opera is permeated with supernatural horror and mystery.

In addition to Der Freischutz, Weber composed Oberon [which never had the great universal appeal of Freischutz]

G. Rossini [1792-1868] - Thumbnail Biographical Sketch
.....born in Pesaro Italy
.....son of the town trumpeter [also slaughter house inspector]
.....early in life apprenticed to a blacksmith
.....greatly gifted however in music
.....picked up rudiments where and when he could
.....sang in churches
.....at age 15 composed a cantata
.....at age 17 composed first opera [which was successful]
.....immediately began composing next 38 operas
.....retired at the height of his career
.....at the time of retirement he was 37
.....stress from last opera "William Tell" had been too much
.....spent remainder of life living well in Paris
.....home became a haven for the intellects and artists of Paris
.....Rossini's power lay in his wit, his sheer energy, his keenness of mind
.....ability to measure the popular appetite

Rossini Operas: Barber of Seville, William Tell, La Gazza Ladra

G. Verdi: 1813-1901
.....Nationalistic Italian Opera Composer
.....retired first at 58
.....then came back in 16 years to write to more great operas

Verdi Operas: Rigoletto, Il Travatore, Aida, La Traviata and Falstaff [written at 80]
Other Well-known Work: Verdi Requiem

Russian and Slavic Composers of Note

M. Mussorgsky 1839-1881 - Thumbnail Biographical Sketch
.....born and died in Russia
.....son of a wealthy land owner
.....began career as officer of the Guard
.....practicing amateur musician
.....at age 22 met others from Russian school of composition
.....resigned from military
.....though largely self-taught, very influential musician
.....considered by many greatest composer Russia ever produced
.....suffered neglect and hard ship
.....died in poverty
.....did not compose a great deal

Best Known Composition - Pictures at an Exhibition [Great Gate of Kiev]

P. Tchaikovsky 1840-1893 [click for pic] - Thumbnail Biographical Sketch
.....born and died in Russia
.....son of a mining engineer
.....showed no amazing gifts for music as a child
.....was steered towards also being an engineer
.....graduated from law school
.....became a government clerk
.....at age 23 devoted life solely to music
.....within ten years became ranking composer of Russian music
.....had large following not only in Russia but also outside of country
.....many compositions in all forms

Best-Known Works: Symphonies, Ballets [Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, Nut Cracker]
                                  1812 Overture and Piano Concertos

A. Dvorak: 1841-1904 - Thumbnail Biographical Sketch
.....Bohemian
.....son of an inn keeper
.....played violin at father's inn
.....attended organ school in Prague
.....at 18 joined the concert band of Prague [a wise choice]
.....married at 32 [happy]
.....won Austrian state prize for composition
.....journeyed to England many times
.....came to America once and stayed for three years
.....1902 head of the Prague Conservatory
.....second only to Smetana as Czech greatest composer
.....high spirited music, virile

Best Known Work: New World Symphony 
                                [many other chamber works, symphonies, concerti, etc.]

B. Smetana: 1824-1884 - Thumbnail Biographical Sketch
.....Bohemian
.....son of a brewer
.....at 5 played the piano and violin
.....attended German school in Prague
.....later taught at German School
.....at 30 already well-known as composer
.....became conductor of Prague opera and orchestra
.....died in insane asylum
.....drinking, overwork and deafness led him there
.....music is intensely national
.....reminds one of the streams, meadows and forests of Bohemia
.....pleasant and humorous

Best Known Work: "My Vlas" Tone Poem Moldau

Time for TVI [Test Six]
a "virtual" experience