Music History III Exam 1 - People

Giacomo Puccini

Italy, late Romantic, Italian opera, diverse characters and settings, blended Verdi’s melodies and Wagner’s leitmotives

Georges Bizet

France, late Romantic, known for Carmen, “authentic” elements in his music = exoticism, gritty realism

Pyotr Il’ych Tchaikovsky

Russia, late Romantic, most prominent composer of 19th century, first Russian composer to have international acclaim, internationalist composer, sought to reconcile internationalist vs. nationalist debate, cosmopolitan style with Russian folk elements

Modest Mussorgsky

Russia, late Romantic, one of Mighty 5, Russian nationalist philosophy, works inspired by Russian folklore and history

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Russia, late Romantic, Mighty 5, nationalist Russian philosophy, orchestration genius, fairy-tale/folk subjects, diatonic scales = everyday, whole-tone/octatonic scales = fantasy, programmatic orchestra works

Anton Bruckner

Austria, late Romantic, blended Wagner and church music, organ virtuoso, super Wagner-inspired, also Beethoven-inspired

Hugo Wolf

Austria, late Romantic, German lied!!!, very Wagnerian (fusion of words and music and intertwining music with other art forms), music has a lot of tonal/chordal ambiguity, highly chromatic works paved way for atonality!

Cesar Franck

Belgian (but educated in Paris), late Romantic, organ professor at Conservatoire, instrumental music and oratorios, blended eras in composition (counterpoint, Classical and Baroque forms, thematic transformation/unity, Wagnerian harmony), cosmopolitan and universal

Gabriel Faure

France, late Romantic, French national tradition, music that’s not trying to “convince you” of anything, lyricism over drama, more reserved and simple, order and refinement, master of French melodies (art songs!)

Antonin Dvorak

Bohemia (Czech), wanted to create uniquely Czech national style, but wrote in international style over time (influenced by Beethoven and Brahms), ended up in NYC, became interested in Native American and African American music (pentatonic melodies, syncopation, drones, etc)