Post by Rabbit on Mar 1, 2016 11:51:19 GMT
Everyone knows about Beethoven and going deaf, but not exactly why he's so famous!!
He's a kind of link between the Classical Period of Mozart and Haydn, to what is known as the Romantic Period.
The Baroque period was dominated by the idea of polyphony. Weaving lines in music with slightly less regard for harmony.
The Classical period was dominated by rules and how to structure music.
The Romantic period was more free and composers wanted to lose the rules of the Classical period!!
The easiest way to get into Beethoven is to track his 9 symphonies.
No. 1 - Classical sounding with a smallish orchestra but breaks some of the established Classical rules. For instance, it is supposed to be in the key of C and it starts in the wrong key!! To us, that is really nothing, but in those days, he was breaking the sacred rules of Classical music. Instead of a minuet, light hearted type of third movement, he introduced what is called a 'scherzo' which means 'joke'. So light hearted, it was funny and then a real joke as the last movement introduction starts with a kind of stuttering before getting going.
This symphony is basically Classical in the way that it is built but breaks a few of the rules along the way, so he certainly got the attention of his audience.
Composers were breaking away from the idea of patronage and were starting to work as 'self-employed', which meant that they could be free to compose as they liked, but it was them that took a chance if it was a flop!! There was no patron to please any longer.
No. 3
This was a symphony with a name given to it. That was new. It was called the 'Eroica' or 'Heroic' symphony and was dedicated to Napoleon until he attacked Bonn which annoyed Beethoven. This affected what he wrote in the symphony.
The opening has a tune in the 'cellos that kind of doesn't finish. It tails off. It is 'heroic' in nature until the second movement, where he wrote a funeral march. (Thanks to Napoleon's attack)
This is kind of programme music without a story. It's giving out his emotions more than a Classical composer would have done, using a bigger orchestra. It's a very long symphony and Beethoven was starting to have problems with his hearing. It contains what many Classical composers would have called dissonance or notes that are 'ugly' and out of key!!
The effect of a bigger orchestra is that the dynamics are much wider. They can play very quietly with just one instrument, or go very loud with the lot of them!! This symphony is starting to sound more modern.....
No. 5
Very large orchestra. Piccolo, trombones, double bassoon, clarinets etc. It is forceful and the whole thing is based on 4 notes. The themes are developed from a 4 note idea or motif.
This music is quite a long way from the Classical sound, although it still follows the format of the symphony. Almost an exercise in the development of ideas and themes from short motifs.
No. 6
By now, Beethoven's hearing was shot. He had drink problems and family problems. No wife and felt quite lonely I guess. He would stroll around, writing ideas down in a notepad from what he heard. He wrote down birdsong and sounds from nature. This symphony is a 'programme' symphony, detailing his walks in the countryside. He named it the 'Pastoral' and contains lots of what is called 'tone painting' .... it would fit with an image of what he was describing in his music. Things like birds, and a storm at one point.
Symphony no 7 is getting more modern sounding .... lovely slow movement.
No. 9
The one that everyone knows. The Ode to Joy. In fact, he didn't have a great deal to be joyful about. His hearing was totally gone. He had a sponging nephew who he always gave in to. He was lonely and had been turned down. He had liver problems from drinking.
This symphony is massive. Huge orchestra. At times, they scream. Thunderous. Very modern sounding and a huge choir in the last movement. The first time ever in a symphony.
Beethoven himself never heard it, except inside his head. (Yes, we can hear music inside our heads!!!) He took a bow at the end of the first performance abd there were reports of him crying. He had watched the players moving and translated their movements into sound in his head. He took his last bow because he was dead not long after with his shrunken liver.
Some people love Beethoven because they think it's kind of 'compulsory' and follow the crowd. Others because they just like the sound. If you have an understanding of what he did to the world of western music, you can't help but have a great respect for someone who had a very tough time and wrote music that kind of went against the commonly held view of what music was.
We are very bad at accepting modern composers even now. Beethoven was a very modern composer and he had to fight for acceptance in his time. He stuck to his guns and changed the whole face of music as a result.
He's a kind of link between the Classical Period of Mozart and Haydn, to what is known as the Romantic Period.
The Baroque period was dominated by the idea of polyphony. Weaving lines in music with slightly less regard for harmony.
The Classical period was dominated by rules and how to structure music.
The Romantic period was more free and composers wanted to lose the rules of the Classical period!!
The easiest way to get into Beethoven is to track his 9 symphonies.
No. 1 - Classical sounding with a smallish orchestra but breaks some of the established Classical rules. For instance, it is supposed to be in the key of C and it starts in the wrong key!! To us, that is really nothing, but in those days, he was breaking the sacred rules of Classical music. Instead of a minuet, light hearted type of third movement, he introduced what is called a 'scherzo' which means 'joke'. So light hearted, it was funny and then a real joke as the last movement introduction starts with a kind of stuttering before getting going.
This symphony is basically Classical in the way that it is built but breaks a few of the rules along the way, so he certainly got the attention of his audience.
Composers were breaking away from the idea of patronage and were starting to work as 'self-employed', which meant that they could be free to compose as they liked, but it was them that took a chance if it was a flop!! There was no patron to please any longer.
No. 3
This was a symphony with a name given to it. That was new. It was called the 'Eroica' or 'Heroic' symphony and was dedicated to Napoleon until he attacked Bonn which annoyed Beethoven. This affected what he wrote in the symphony.
The opening has a tune in the 'cellos that kind of doesn't finish. It tails off. It is 'heroic' in nature until the second movement, where he wrote a funeral march. (Thanks to Napoleon's attack)
This is kind of programme music without a story. It's giving out his emotions more than a Classical composer would have done, using a bigger orchestra. It's a very long symphony and Beethoven was starting to have problems with his hearing. It contains what many Classical composers would have called dissonance or notes that are 'ugly' and out of key!!
The effect of a bigger orchestra is that the dynamics are much wider. They can play very quietly with just one instrument, or go very loud with the lot of them!! This symphony is starting to sound more modern.....
No. 5
Very large orchestra. Piccolo, trombones, double bassoon, clarinets etc. It is forceful and the whole thing is based on 4 notes. The themes are developed from a 4 note idea or motif.
This music is quite a long way from the Classical sound, although it still follows the format of the symphony. Almost an exercise in the development of ideas and themes from short motifs.
No. 6
By now, Beethoven's hearing was shot. He had drink problems and family problems. No wife and felt quite lonely I guess. He would stroll around, writing ideas down in a notepad from what he heard. He wrote down birdsong and sounds from nature. This symphony is a 'programme' symphony, detailing his walks in the countryside. He named it the 'Pastoral' and contains lots of what is called 'tone painting' .... it would fit with an image of what he was describing in his music. Things like birds, and a storm at one point.
Symphony no 7 is getting more modern sounding .... lovely slow movement.
No. 9
The one that everyone knows. The Ode to Joy. In fact, he didn't have a great deal to be joyful about. His hearing was totally gone. He had a sponging nephew who he always gave in to. He was lonely and had been turned down. He had liver problems from drinking.
This symphony is massive. Huge orchestra. At times, they scream. Thunderous. Very modern sounding and a huge choir in the last movement. The first time ever in a symphony.
Beethoven himself never heard it, except inside his head. (Yes, we can hear music inside our heads!!!) He took a bow at the end of the first performance abd there were reports of him crying. He had watched the players moving and translated their movements into sound in his head. He took his last bow because he was dead not long after with his shrunken liver.
Some people love Beethoven because they think it's kind of 'compulsory' and follow the crowd. Others because they just like the sound. If you have an understanding of what he did to the world of western music, you can't help but have a great respect for someone who had a very tough time and wrote music that kind of went against the commonly held view of what music was.
We are very bad at accepting modern composers even now. Beethoven was a very modern composer and he had to fight for acceptance in his time. He stuck to his guns and changed the whole face of music as a result.