Era represented and how Beethoven
and future composers broke with that tradition.
Not a classical sound!
Teacher Ed. about Romantic Music in History
To understand the world of Romantic music, one must have a grounding
in what the Classical Era represented and how Beethoven
and future composers broke with that tradition.
Joseph Haydn- an illustration of Ideas in Classical Music
In Classical music, the goal was simplicity. Music was meant to be a background to the elegant lifestyles the upperclass led. This occured, because most composers who made a living were on the payrolls of the monarchs and the rich, known as a patronage system. Men such as Joseph Haydn (HI-din) were in the service of Prince Esterhazy. Haydn was his court composer and given excellent facilities to play in and compose. He was however constrained by what the prince wanted to hear, or what the prince needed for the next extravagant party. This was true of most composers of his time if they were lucky enough to have a standing job for a wealthy person. Even so, his 23 piece string orchestra was able to play works of Haydn's such as the "Surprise Symphony."
Ludwig von Beethoven- catapult into the Romantic Era
A contemporary of Haydn's was Ludwig von Beethoven, of Bonn, Germany. Beethoven's music is what catapulted the musical world into the 19 century and the Romantic Era. He was very individualistic and a rebel of sorts. By the age of 16, he had already played for Mozart and was recognized as gifted. He was even a student of Joseph Haydn, but their relationship ended when he did not give Haydn credit for being his teacher.
Beethoven's life can be separated into three distinct times for purposes of understanding his music. These are the early period from 1770-1800, the middle period from 1800-1815, and the mature period from 1815-1827. Most of his music was written in the middle period.
In Beethoven's early period, he used Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadaus Mozart as models. He was one of the first to break out of the patronage system that Haydn and others worked under. He felt a king limited his artistic ability, and sent music to a publisher to be bought and then printed. This was a new innovation and is one of the hallmarks of the Romantic Era.
The middle period was when Beethoven was most prolific in his writing.
One of his most famous symphonies, "Eroica Symphony," was dedicated
to Napoleon. It is unique in that it sounds different than any other symphony
written until his time. It was a technological leap for the time, as large
as our first electronic music.
The classical era was known for very distinct forms that the music followed. Beethoven broke these forms, and pushed the Eroica and other symphonies to double the length of usual symponies. His themes or primary ideas in the piece modulated, or changed, mid theme, before they had come to traditional conclusions. This was different than any of his predessasors too. He would repeat themes throughout movements or sections of pieces. Again, this was unheard of.
Out of this was born the idea of progrommatic music, where the movements were treated as part of a larger work or picture. An example would be Beethoven's 6th Symphony Pastorale, which described different scenes in nature.
As Beethoven grew older, he developed many problems. One was his deafness. He also was continually fighting over custody for his nephew Karl. This helped move him into what we know as his mature period. Music in this period was intellectual and introverted, and very dissonant (not sweet sounding). Not much of Beethoven's music is played from this period in modern times.
Continued in Feelings, Nothing more...
go directly to the 2nd part of this section, Feelings, Nothing more...