Composer Facts
The three big composers studied during the Classical Era?
Beethoven, Haydn, and Mozart
Composer
Title
Genre
Franz Schubert, Erlkonig, Lied
Rondo or 'Arch Rondo' Form
A - B - A - C - A
The four groupings of instruments in a Classical era string orchestra
strings, percussion, woodwinds, brass
Apollo and Dionysus
God of sun, reason, music, and logic
Vs. the god of theatre, nocturnal, libations
Where Haydn worked for a large part of his life
Esterhazy Estate
Composer
Title
Name of Opera
Type of Singing
Mozart, Porgi Amor, Le Nozze di Figaro, Aria
The Classical era timeline
1750-1827
Alberti bass
arpeggiated chordal accompaniment
Instructor’s two main points about Beethoven
1. His music stands the test of time because his music represents a fine balance between the “head” and “heart.”
2. Much like Rembrandt left mysterious clues and codes in his paintings, each piece of Beethoven has at least one moment of pure mystery that he seems to have left for future generations to decode…to solve
The lifespan of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
1756-1791
Composer
Title
Movement
Haydn, String Quartet no.61 in G minor, no. 4 Vivace Assai
The reason we listen and study only three composers for an entire era of music
THIS ERA OF MUSIC WAS FOCUSED ON THE ARCHITECTURE OF MUSIC. THE SIMPLE BINARY FORMS OF THE PREVIOUS ERA WERE EXPANDED INTO COMPLEX MUSICAL FORMS LIKE SONATA AND RONDO FORM HAYDN, MOZART, AND BEETHOVEN WERE NOT OVERWHELMED BY THESE FORMS BUT RATHER MASTERED AND BENT THEM TO THEIR WILL. THEY WERE ABLE TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES WITHIN THE DEMANDING NATURE OF THESE NEW MORE COMPLEX FORMS.
Empfindsamkeit
A sensitivity to the expression and transmission of varying human emotions. Musically this is expressed often with an Alberti-type chordal arpeggio pattern with a singing fluid melody above.
In these three significant ways, the music of Beethoven signifies a fundamental shift in the music world
1.The composer evades the commercial aspect of his music
2.The music aspires to spiritual and philosophical dimension
3.The syntax and grammar of the music reaches a complexity that challenges the receptive capacity of the general audience
The lifespan of Ludwig Von Beethoven
1770-1827
Composer
Title
Movement
Mozart, Piano Concerto no.1 in G major, movement 1
Sonata Form
Exposition: Theme One - Bridge - Theme Two - Codetta
Development
Recapitulation: Theme One - Bridge - Theme Two in Tonic key - Codetta
Lied
German word for song, a classical style based on a poem set to music
Notes on the Enlightenment
PREVIOUS TO THIS AGE WAS THE ABSOLUTE RULE OF MONARCHY AND THE CHURCH
THE ENLIGHTENMENT USHERED IN A NEW AGE WHERE THE DISSEMINATION OF KNOWLEDGE—- AND WITH IT, OF FREEDOM AND INDIVIDUAL EMPOWERMENT—- BECAME THE GREAT MISSION OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT
-THE INDIVIDUAL WAS NOT BEHOLDEN TO THE CHURCH OR MONARCHY AND COULD REASON FOR THEMSELF
The lifespan of Franz Joseph Haydn
1732-1809
Composer
Genre
Title
Movement
Beethoven, Solo Piano, Sonata Pathetique, no. 3 rondo allegro
The reason Franz Schubert was important to the classical era
He was a bridge between the classical and romantic era
The note Beethoven wrote to his brother to tell him he was planning to kill himself because he was going deaf
The Heiligenstadt Testament of 1802
Neoclassical Architecture and it's similarities to Classical music
A style of architecture that started becoming popular in the mid 1700's based on classical roman architecture. It carries many of the same characteristics as Classical music such as clarity, expressive grace, noble simplicity, and balance.