Music History II final

C.P.E. Bach

Key figure in transitioning from Baroque to Classical era, known for innovative keyboard compositions.

Giovanni Battista Sammartini

Composer of the first concert symphony, famous for the opera 'La Serva Padrona.'

J.C. Bach

Adopted the galant style, worked in London, known for operas and symphonies.

Joseph Haydn

Referred to as the 'Father of the symphony,' worked for Prince Esterhazy.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Child prodigy and freelance musician, began composing at age 5.

Ludwig van Beethoven

Transitional composer from Classical to Romantic, known for his three periods of composition.

Franz Schubert

Master of the Romantic Lied, studied under Salieri, prolific in various genres.

Robert Schumann

Composer and music critic, known for writing over 600 works including songs and piano pieces.

Clara Schumann

Child prodigy at piano, performed and composed extensively, known for her collections of leider and piano music.

Frederic Chopin

Romantic composer closely associated with the piano, known for innovative writing and concert works.

Richard Wagner

Proponent of total artwork, known for leitmotivs in his operas and the 'Ring Cycle.'

Giuseppe Verdi

Influential Italian opera composer known for works like 'Aida' and 'Otello.'

Johannes Brahms

Composer known for fusing classical and folk idioms, wrote many lieder and choral works.

Anton Bruckner

Composer who integrated Wagner's style into traditional symphony, focused on sacred texts.

Hugo Wolf

Adapted Wagner’s methods to German Lied, known for his piano and orchestral works.

Enlightenment

Philosophical movement emphasizing human knowledge and psychology.

Galant style

18th-century French style characterized by free, songlike, homophonic music.

Opera Buffa

Comic opera depicting ordinary people, with galant style arias, popular in the 18th century.

Sonata form

Structure consisting of exposition, development, and recapitulation, often with an introduction or coda.

Rondo Form

Musical form consisting of a main theme alternated with episodes (e.g., ABACA).

Masterclass

A lesson format where a teacher demonstrates techniques for students to observe.

idée fixe

A recurring melody representing a character or idea, notably used by Berlioz in 'Symphonie Fantastique.'

Lied (Lieder)

Art song typically for voice and piano, often with themes from nature.

Leitmotif

A musical theme associated with a specific character or idea, used extensively by Wagner.

Symphonic Poem

One-movement work that is programmatic, featuring contrasting sections.

Developing variation

a compositional technique in which musical ideas evolve through continuous transformation rather than simple repetition. The term was coined by Arnold Schoenberg

Johann Stamitz

composer for Mannheim orchestra

Johann Peter Salomon

Impresario/violinist who commissioned the London Symphonies by Haydn

Fanny Mendelssohn

studied piano and composition, her musical career was considered inappropriate for her wealth and class, had over 400 works

Fraz Liszt

most electrifying piano virtuosos of his era, and devised new playing techniques and textures for piano music. As a composer, he made innovations in form and harmony, and invented the symphonic poem. Invented the masterclass and was the first to play entirely from memory 

Hector Berlioz

 programmatic romanticism, taught himself harmony from textbooks, and began composing in his teens. Won the Prix de Rome in 1830 and was primarily a music critic, and acted as his own impresario

Enlightenment ideals

reason, nature, progress, and learning

Enlightenment assumptions about music

 pleasure, universal language, appeal to a wide audience, understood on first hearing and emotional expression

Empfindsamer Stil

German for “sensitive style,” surprising tunes of harmony, chromaticism, active rhythms, rhapsodically free, speech-like melody. Associated with fantasias, the slow movements of C.P.E. Bach

Intermezzo (opera)

two or three segments performed between acts of a serious opera

Ballad Opera

 an opera in the local language with dialogue interspersed with songs, new words to borrowed tunes, but over time, more original music

Singspiel

German for singing play, opera with spoken dialogue, musical numbers, and a comic plot, an important precursor of German-language musical theatre 

Reform Opera

an 18th-century movement in opera, largely led by Christoph Willibald Gluck, that sought to restore opera's role as a serious dramatic art form, emphasizing balance between music and text, and rejecting the excessive vocal ornamentation of the time

Esterházy

a powerful Hungarian noble family

4-movement symphony structure

fast/slow/minuet+trio/fast

3-movement sonata structure

fast/slow/fast

London Symphonies

composed by Haydn, commissioned by Johann Peter Salomon,12 in total

String Quartet

instrumentation and format: 2 violins, viola, and cello, primarily music for amateurs

Concerto

blend of sonata and ritornello forms

Beethoven’s first period

mastered the musical language, found a personal voice by incorporating innovative elements and expanding the symphonic structure.

Beethoven’s second period

developed style that achieved a new level of drama/expression that brought him popularity, crisis over gradual hearing loss

Beethoven’s third period

music became more introspective and more difficult for performers/listeners to comprehend; isolation because of deafness, family troubles, political/economic conditions

Beethoven’s lifetime annuity

given to stay in Vienna and was able to be free to follow his inspiration

romantic/romanticism

Focus on the individual, expression of self, and a search for original, expressive, or extreme experiences; characterized by emotional intensity and a break from classical traditions.

Neue Zeitschrift für Musik (New Journal for Music)

 founded by Robert Schumann for his music critics, it served as a platform for discussing contemporary music trends and was influential in shaping the music landscape of the 19th cent.

Mazurka/Polonaise

 stylized dances in triple meter (Chopin made piano pieces based on these dances)

 programmatic music

 recounts a narrative or sequence of events

absolute music

refers to nothing outside of itself

Song Without Words

48 short pieces grouped in 8 books of 6 by Felix Mendelssohn, and his best-known piano works

‘Music Drama’

a part of the total artwork, the vision of a new union, music, and dramatic text

Bayreuth

The theater that Wagner designed, specifically to put on his ring cycle, with a specific design for the orchestra, the stage, and the audience seating. Lots of stage effects, etc.

“Tristan” Chord

 A chord that Wagner gave to represent a character in his drama Tristan and Isolde. The opening motive of the character

Baron Gottfried van Sweiten

exposed Mozart to the music of J.S. Bach and Handel and encouraged his exploration of contrapuntal techniques and forms.

Schobert’s influence

Met in Paris, and Mozart arranged the sonatas into concertos that influenced his style, particularly in terms of form and orchestration.

J.C. Bach’s influence

Met Mozart in London, contrasting themes in concerto and sonata-form movements and tuneful themes that shaped Mozart’s compositional style.

The Italian style’s influence

Mozart had 3 trips here and studied counterpoint with Padre Martini in Bologna, influences of Sammartini and other symphonies such as lyrical melodies and operatic elements that shaped his own compositions.

Vienna’s influence on Mozart

the current styles: serenade, string quartet, and symphony emphasized forms and complexities in his music.