Wagner-Rachmaninoff/Scriabin

Test MH2

Wagner dates

1813-1883

Big 3 contributions of Wagner

heavy chromaticism (leads to atonality)

Leitmotiv

large performing forces

Who is the composer?

Librettist - wrote their own lyrics

through composed melodies

inspired by Beethoven and Mozart

Leipzeig, Germany

received support from Patrons

married one of Liszt’s children

Wagner 1813-1883

What were the point of Wagner’s essays?

music is the servant of the drama

What are the names of Wagner’s essays?

Music of the future, opera and drama

What are Wagner’s opera contributions?

Rienzi 1842

Die Fliegender Hollander 1843

Der Ring des Nibelungen 1876

Tristan und Isolde 1857

Tristan und Isolde

1857

Wagner (1813-1883)

appearance of Tristan chord, duet, pantomime occurs

Wagner created what by doing what?

created the fourth wall by lighting up the stage and dimming the audience

Brahms dates

1833-1897

Who is the composer?

combined classical and romantic

music editor

remained a bachelor throughout his life

obsessed with Beethoven

took music from the past/present ONLY

created works in the classical traditions

Brahms

Brahms was mostly known for his what? How many did he compose?

Symphonies and 4 of them

What was Brahms composition style?

broken chord figurations, doubling the melody in octaves, 3rds/6ths

T or F: Brahms’ simple ideas developed into innovative textures

True

Symphony No. 4, Movement 4

1885

Brahms (1833-1897)

Tonal, ear-pleasing, developing variations

Variation in bass line from Baroque period

Chaconne

The variations presented in Brahms’ compositions are extensions of something we have heard before; later is called “developing variation’ created by ___

Schoenberg

Mahler dates

1860-1911

Who is the composer?

late romantic period

was Jewish, but converted to Catholicism

wanted to travel and conduct

famous conductor

leading composer of symphonies

themes from his songs appeared in his symphonies

Mahler 1860-1911

How many symphonies did Mahler compose

9

How many orchestral song cycles did Mahler compose

5

Name of Mahler’s 8th symphony

Symphony of a thousand

For Mahler, composing a symphony was like

“constructing a world”

Symphony 4, Mvmt 1

1900

Mahler 1860-1911

one hour, easy to follow, pizz. strings, child-like, simplistic

Nun will die sonn from Kindertotenlieder

1904

Mahler 1860-1911

ironic because the sun with rise but the melody line goes down, baritone, german text

Strauss dates

1864-1949

Who is the composer?

conductor

like literature

dominant figure in german music

Strauss

What three things was Strauss remembered for?

Opera, Lieder, tone poem

What is a tone poem?

program music, one movement

Don Quixote

1897

Strauss 1864-1949

tone poem, instruments represent characters, strings, prominent solos

Hugo Wolf dates

1860-1903

Who is the composer?

german

prominent Lieder composer

placed poet’s name above his own in compositions

chromatic saturation

Wolf 1860-1903

all 12 pitches of chromatic scale within a section of music

chromatic saturation

Lebe Wohl

1888

Wolf 1860-1903

chromatic saturation, soprano, german text

Giuseppi Verdi dates

1831-1901

Who is the composer?

not many extractable numbers

name means “Joe Green”

Verdi

What was the patriotic cry catch line for nationalism?

Viva Verdi

What was Verdi’s first successful opera?

Nabuko 1842

Va, Pensiero

1842 from Nabuko

Verdi 1831-1901

united through unison, Italian text, waltz like but in common time, memorable melody

Whose operas are these?

La Traviata 1853

Rigoletto 1851

Aida 1871

Verdi

Giacomo Pucchini dates

1858-1924

Blank + Blank = Pucchini

Verdi + Wagner = Pucchini

How was Pucchini like Verdi?

fluid scenes like Verdi, scenes flowed into each other

How was Pucchini like Wagner?

drama and leitmotiv like Wagner

The soprano in Pucchini operas dies in which act?

Two

What are 3 Big Pucchini Operas?

Madame Butterfly 1904

La Bonheme (Rent) 1896

Tosca 1900 (dies off a cliff)

O Mio Babbino Caro

from Gianni Schicchi

1918

Pucchini 1858-1924

catchy, short, memorable melody, appreciate the vocalism

Leoncavallo dates

1857-1919

Who is the composer?

rival of Pucchini

always trying to keep up with him

created Verismo

\

Leoncavallo

real life, real people, real drama, real time, poor people, two hours of real life

Verismo

Vesti la giubba from Pagliacci

1892

Leoncavallo

“the show must go on” from the clown

tenor, moving, emotional

Maguchaya Kuchka

mighty handful

What did Maguchaya Kuchka do?

went against the “professionalism of the conservatories”

tried to capture the soul of Russian music

parallel 4th/5ths, heterophony, lack of strong tonality

What is heterophony?

variation of one melodic line

Mighty Five

Balakirev

Borodin

Cui

Rimsky-Korsakov

Mussorgsky

(Bad Bologna Cries Red Mustard)

“leader of the pack”

the only professional of the Mighty Handfu;

Balakirev 1836-1910

chemist and doctor

women’s rights advocate

Borodin 1833-1887

music critic

mostly compared to art songs

Cui 1835-1918

Flight of the Bumblebee

18 when he joined the group

joined the Russian Navy

Rimsky-Korsakov 1844-1908

most original of the group

sad life; died of alcohol poisoning

essentially tonal

dissonances resolved in unconventional ways

wanted a uniquely russian music identity

composers stole/rearranged his works

post death famous

Mussorgsky 1839-1881

Night on Bald Mountain

1867

Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov

tone poem (1st Russian composer), strings, not performed until 1932

Dvorak dates

1841-1904

Who is the composer?

obsessed with trains

Czech

hired to create the Americana sound

Dvorak

How many symphonies did Dvorak compose?

9

How many concertos did Dvorak compose?

4

How many operas did Dvorak composer?

9

Whose prolific works are these?

Slavonic Dances

New World Symphony 1893

Rusalka (opera) 1901

Dvorak

What is the name of the opera, written by Dvorak, that has the same story as a famous disney animation?

Rusalka 1901

Dvorak said there were 3 things about Americana sound, what were they?

wide open spaces, Native American music, African American spirituals

New World Symphonies

1893

Dvorak

performed in Carnegie hall, 4 movements, big, fast, passionate

Opera Comique has ____ instead of recit.

dialogue

T or F: Opera Comique is funny

False

George Bizet dates

1838-1875

Who is the composer?

French

late romantic period

wrote an opera comique

died shortly after Carmen thinking it was a flop

Bizet

This opera was set in Spain, even though the composer was French

Tchaikovsky and Brahms loved it

themes of betrayal, murder, sexuality

4 acts

popular outside of France

Carmen

Habanera from Carmen

1875

Bizet 1838-1875

use of chorus, french text, spanish themes, modified strophic

Rachmaninoff dates

1873-1943

Who is the composer?

no interest in Russian culture

married first cousin

made his home in America an exact replica of the one at home

giant hands

Rachmaninoff

Rachmaninoff had some clear composition techniques, what are they?

Wide ranges, heavy handed, dotted rhythms, essentially tonal

Prelude in g minor

1901

Rachmaninoff 1873-1943

dynamic contract, AABA, dotted rhythms, heavy handed

Scriabin dates

1872-1915

Who is the composer?

post tonal

tiny hands

classmate of Rachmaninoff

dropped out of Moscow conservatory

Striabin 1872-1915

Scriabin’s compositional techniques

static, made his own harmonic vocabulary, little to no resolution

Gesamkunstwerk

all of the components that brings a work together

music, costumes, props, makeup, ensemble, lighting