music

MOZART

He was born in Salzburg, Austria in 1756

● He died in Vienna, Austria in 1791

● He died at age 35.

● He died very poor and was buried in an unmarked grave.

● He was a child prodigy.

● He was sickly for much of his life.

● He began playing harpsichord at age 4.

● He also played the violin.

● He began composing at age 5.

● His father, Leopold, had him tour around Europe with his

sister, Maria Anna, playing concerts.

● He married a woman named Constanze and they had

two sons.

● He had trouble managing money.

● He wrote hundreds of works, including 41 symphonies,

many operas, concertos and solo works.

● He was short, friendly, outgoing, immature, playful, and

childish.

● He was able to compose music on the first try, without

any drafts. He could compose quickly because he didn’t

make mistakes.

Singspiel: Singing and spoken dialogue (translates to

sing/play) It was an early German form of opera in the 18th

century.

Important works: (please study these using the links

provided)

● Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (means: “A little night

music”)

● Don Giovanni (He composed the overture the

morning it premiered!)

● Symphony No. 40 (One of only two of his 41

symphonies composed in a minor key)

● Queen of the Night Aria from “The Magic Flute”

BEETHOVEN

● He was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770

● He died in Vienna, Austria in 1827

● He died at age 56.

● He played the piano and the violin.

● He had a very strict father.

● Beginning in his twenties, he lost his hearing gradually until

he was completely deaf.

● He had a bad temper.

● He composed 9 symphonies.

● He poured cold water on his head to stay awake.

● He cut off the legs of one of his pianos so that he could put

his head against the piano and feel the vibrations.

● He demanded exactly 60 coffee beans in his coffee.

● He was poor.

● He was unlucky in love.

● He was terrible at math.

● He dropped out of school at age 11.

● 20,000 people attended his funeral!

● Rather than composing for the harpsichord, he wanted to focus

his efforts on the instrument no one had yet written for, the

piano.

The instrument, the piano, was originally called the pianoforte,

which means “Soft-Loud”. The name “piano” is just a shorter

version of pianoforte. “Pianoforte” or “Soft-loud” refers to the ability

of the piano to produce a wider range of volumes between very soft

and very loud, unlike the instrument the piano was developed from,

the harpsichord.

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Important works: (please study these using the links provided)

● Moonlight Sonata

(Full title: Piano Sonata No. 14, Opus 27, No. 2 in

C# minor)

It was given the title “Moonlight Sonata” because after he died, a

music critic said it sounded like the moonlight over Lake Lucerne.

It was written for Giulietta Guicciardi, who he loved, but she did

not love him back. He wanted to marry her but she turned him

down.

● Für Elise

Für Therese? Possibly written for a woman he loved

named Therese but was transcribed as “Elise” due to his

poor handwriting.

Possibly written for another woman named Elisabeth

whom he was said to have feelings for.

● Symphony No. 5

The above sheet music is known as the “Fate” theme and

represents fate knocking at the door.