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Janser- Thesis THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY SCHREYER HONORS COLLEGE SCHOOL OF MUSIC A FATHER’S ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPOSITIONAL TECHNIQUE: A STUDY OF TWO CONCERTOS EMILY JANSER Spring 2011 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a baccalaureate degree in Music Education with honors in Music Reviewed and approved* by the following: Marie Sumner Lott Assistant Professor, Musicology Thesis Supervisor Joanne Rutkowski Professor, Music Education Honors Adviser * Signatures are on file in the Schreyer Honors College. Abstract This thesis investigates paternal influence in the compositional techniques of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) and Richard Strauss (1864-1949). Although the two composers lived a century apart, similarities in their relationship with their fathers, Leopold Mozart and Franz Strauss are apparent. In Part One, research demonstrates paternal involvement in both composers’ upbringing and education. Part Two of this thesis will analyze two concertos, one by each composer: Wolfgang Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Major, K. 207 (1773) and Richard Strauss’s Horn Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major, Op. 11 (1883). In each concerto, similarities between the compositional techniques of the composer and his respective father show the extent of paternal influence in composition. Finally, comparisons examine the similarities and differences between the two father-son relationships. Through the investigation of these relationships, we may acquire a clearer understanding of their music, making performance and listening more meaningful and personable. i Table of Contents Page Abstract ........................................................................................................................... i Table of Contents............................................................................................................ ii Introduction.....................................................................................................................1 Part One: Historical Information.....................................................................................4 Leopold Mozart’s Role in his son Wolfgang’s Education .....................................4 Franz Strauss’s Role in his son Richard’s Education...........................................12 Part Two: Comparison of Two Concertos .....................................................................19 Conclusion.....................................................................................................................39 References.....................................................................................................................41 Academic Vita ii Introduction As a musician and a future music educator, I have always been fascinated by music history, including musical conventions and trends, music’s function within society, the interaction between music and other arts, and the unique lives many composers lead. These components are directly related to the study and performance of a piece of music. Understanding the motivation and inspiration behind a composer’s work ultimately guides the performer and listener to a more meaningful musical experience. For that reason, I have chosen to explore the lives and compositional techniques of the Austro-German composers, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Richard Strauss. I selected these two composers for two reasons. First, I have always been drawn to the ways that Mozart and Strauss exemplify the musical style of their respective eras. Second, as a horn player, I am intimately familiar with their works for my instrument and I feel compelled to learn more about them and their music, which has contributed so much to the French horn’s repertoire. In addition to my personal preferences, I first noticed a similarity between the two father-son relationships in a music history course. Two letters I found in my research revealed further similarities between both composers and prompted this thesis topic. The first letter, written from Mozart’s father Leopold, concerns Wolfgang’s travels in Europe, October 1777, and serves as an example of Leopold’s management in his son’s life. Leopold writes: Immediately after your arrival in Munich, you should try to find a copyist and that you should do this wherever you stay any length of time. For you must really endeavor to get ahead with your composition, and that you can do if you have in readiness copies of symphonies and divertimenti to present to a Prince or to some other patron…Your main object, however, should now be to have something 1 ready for Prince Taxis…Further, the Abbot of Kaysersheim would certainly reward you well for your music; and there you would have the no small advantage of not having to pay anything for food, drink and the rest, in respect of which landlords’ bills usually make heavy inroads on one’s purse. Now you understand me. These steps are necessary and are to your interest. All complements, visits and so forth are only incidental and should not be taken seriously. For you must not lose sight of your main object, which is to make money. All your endeavors should thus be directed to earning money, and you should be very careful to spend as little as possible…Thank God we are well; and I should be even better, if I were one of those light-hearted fathers who can forget their wives and children in three weeks. That I could not do in a hundred years, nay, even during my lifetime.1 This letter demonstrates the dynamic of Leopold and Wolfgang’s relationship. Leopold was very involved in his son’s life and decisions, and he wanted Wolfgang to succeed in his work. The following letter reveals a similar dynamic of Franz Strauss’s relationship with his son Richard. Franz was also very concerned with the success of his son, and he frequently voiced his opinion towards Richard’s decisions as well. The letter displays Franz’s reaction to his son’s tales of his social encounters in Berlin, 1884. Franz writes: It gives me great pleasure to hear that you are moving in such good social circles, it will be of extraordinary benefit to you in your general development; nothing else gives such refinement to the mind and the sensibilities as association with cultivated men and women of refinement and nice feeling. What is an artist without a refined mind and warm sensibility?...Don’t give offence, your tongue is liable to run away with you, so think before you speak.2 The two letters are a testament to the paternal involvement in both the lives of Wolfgang and Richard. As observed from the letters above, both fathers maintained a strong grip on their sons’ life decisions, and both fathers were concerned with their sons’ 1 Anderson, Emily, The Letters of Mozart and His Family. (New York, W.W.Norton and Co., 1985), 319-321. 2 Schuh, William, Richard Strauss: a chronicle of the early years. (New York, Cambridge University Press, 1976), 76. 2 education. Leopold and Franz’s apparent role in their sons’ education and life leads to the question of influence in terms of musical development and compositional technique. Leopold Mozart and Franz Strauss worked closely with their sons. In addition, Leopold and Franz held positions as professional musicians, Leopold as a violinist in the Salzburg court orchestra, and Franz as principal horn of the Munich court orchestra. As virtuosic composers, both musicians influenced their son’s development and compositional styles by demonstrating musicianship and instrumental skills at home. The fathers oversaw their sons’ compositions and exposed them to musical culture in their respective centuries. Because both fathers were themselves composers and musicians, their contribution in their sons’ musical education affected each young man’s success. Accordingly, this thesis investigates Leopold Mozart and Franz Strauss’s role in the compositional technique of a concerto by each son. First, Leopold and Franz’s education will be examined in terms of its relation to the upbringing of their sons. Second, an analysis of compositional technique in specific concertos will be illustrated. The concerto selections intentionally retrieved from the first concerto written for the respective instrument of each father, Wolfgang’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Major, K. 207,and Richard’s Horn Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major, Op.11, demonstrate the extent of paternal influence on compositional technique. 3 Part One: Historical Information Leopold Mozart’s Role in his son Wolfgang’s Education In January of 1756, Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, better known today as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, was born in a small room at 9 Getreidegasse in Salzburg, Austria. His mother, Anna Maria Pertl Mozart, and his father Leopold, prided themselves in their two musically talented children. Mozart and his older sister, Nannerl, demonstrated advanced musical abilities at a young age. Wolfgang achieved impressive musical success, unusual for his age. Robert L. Marshall, the author “Mozart Speaks,” as well as many other Mozart publications, remarks: He was described as “a wonderchild,” “a prodigy of nature,” “an extraordinary phenomenon.” His talent was similarly characterized as “incredible,” “unheard of,” “a veritable miracle,” “surpassing all understanding or imagination,” an “extraordinary gift” bestowed by God. The numerous eyewitness accounts of Mozart’s public appearances leave no doubt that he was already an accomplished performer and composer by the age of seven3 Although Wolfgang possessed innate talent,
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