NATIONALISM
ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS OF CONVEYING NATIONALISM IN MUSIC WOULD BE TO INCLUDE ONE OF THESE, “A SONG ORIGINATING IN TRADITIONAL POPULAR CULTURE.”
FOLKSONG
HE’S AT THE TOP OF THE LIST WHEN IT COMES TO VIRTUOSITY.
FRANZ LISZT
POPULAR, WEALTHY, AND CONTROVERSIAL, THIS ITALIAN OPERA COMPOSER KNEW HOW TO PLEASE HIS AUDIENCE.
GIUSEPPE VERDI
TCHAIKOVSKY CALLS THIS NATION HOME.
RUSSIA
IF YOU’RE GOING TO PLAY ON OF THESE APPROPRIATELY NAMED PIANO PIECES BY CHOPIN, HE’D PREFER YOU WAIT UNTIL DARK.
NOCTURNE
HIS “NEW WORLD SYMPHONY” WAS INSPIRED BY AFRICAN AMERICAN, AND NATIVE AMERICAN FOLK MUSIC.
ANTONIN DVORAK
HIS VARIOUS CREATIONS FOR THE PIANO, BOTH MINIATURES AND MORE SUBSTANTIAL WORKS, ARE HIS GREATEST CONTRIBUTION TO MUSIC HISTORY.
ROBERT SCHUMANN
GEORGE BIZET IS BEST KNOWN FOR THIS INCREDIBLY FAMOUS OPERA, WHICH RECOUNTS THE STORY OF A FEARLESS, BEAUTIFUL, AND SEDUCTIVE GYPSY.
CARMEN
HIS MENTAL INSTABILITY LED HIM TO JUMP INTO THE RHINE RIVER.
ROBERT SCHUMANN
MUSIC WITH A DESCRIPTIVE TITLE OR STORY? NO THANKS! I PREFER MUSIC FOR MUSIC’S SAKE, ALSO CALLED THIS TYPE OF MUSIC.
ABSOLUTE MUSIC
ARTISTS, WRITERS, POETS, AND COMPOSERS WERE STIRRED UP BY THESE TWO CATEGORIES OF SOCIAL UNREST.
REVOLUTIONS AND WARS
THIS COMPOSER IS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE GREAT MASTER COMPOSERS OF THE ERA, DESPITE THE FACT THAT HE WROTE ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE PIANO.
FREDERIC CHOPIN
THE PLOT OF THIS COMPOSER’S “RING CYCLE” HAS A DWARF, A MAGIC RING, AND GIANTS. MAYBE PETER JACKSON SHOULD DIRECT THE FILM ADAPTATION…
RICHARD WAGNER
THIS IMPRESSIVE LADY COMPOSED MUSIC, PERFORMED PIANO ALL OVER EUROPE, AND RAISED 8 KIDS. IMPRESSIVE!
CLARA SCHUMANN
SUGGESTIVE OF FOREIGN LANDS AND INFLUENCES, THIS APPROACH TO MUSIC WAS VERY POPULAR IN THE ROMANTIC ERA.
EXOTICISM
HIS OPERAS BECAME A SYMBOL FOR ITALIAN INDEPENDENCE.
GIUSEPPE VERDI
TWO PEOPLE PLAYING ONE PIANO AT THE SAME TIME IS KNOWN AS THIS.
PIANO FOUR HANDS
KNOWN MORE FOR HIS BALLETS AND SYMPHONIES, THIS COSMOPOLITAN COMPOSER ALSO WROTE EIGHT OPERAS.
TCHAIKOVSKY
THIS FRIEND OF LISZT ENJOYED THE SALON MORE THAN THE CONCERT STAGE.
FREDERIC CHOPIN
WAGNER LIKED TO USE THESE, SHORT MUSICAL IDEAS ASSOCIATED WITH A PERSON OR IDEA.
LEITMOTIF
“SCHOOLS” OF COMPOSERS CONSCIOUSLY DECLARED THEIR MUSICAL INDEPENDENCE AND ESTABLISHED NATIONAL STYLES AFTER THIS 19TH CENTURY DATE.
1860
THIS WORD, MEANING “WELL CONCEIVED AND EXPRESSING THE UNIQUE QUALITIES OF AN INSTRUMENT,” DESCRIBES HOW CHOPIN WROTE FOR THE PIANO.
IDIOMATICALLY
THIS “CITY OF LIGHTS” THE GEOGRAPHICAL SETTING FOR PUCCINI’S “LA BOHEME.”
PARIS
ALMOST EVERYONE WROTE ART SONGS IN THE ROMANTIC ERA, BUT HIS ARE AMONG THE FIRST AND BEST.
FRANZ SCHUBERT
THIS “HOLDING BACK AND PRESSING FORWARD” WAS A MAJOR COMPONENT OF ROMANTIC PERFORMANCE TECHNIQUE.
RUBATO