DOCSLIB.ORG

Tonal Enigmas: a Study of Problematic Openings and Endings

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Tonal Enigmas: a Study of Problematic Openings and Endings TONAL ENIGMAS: A STUDY OF PROBLEMATIC OPENINGS AND ENDINGS Xiao Yun Thesis Prepared for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS August 201 8 APPROVED: Timothy L. Jackson, Major Professor Stephen Slottow, Committee Member Diego Cubero, Committee Member Frank M. Heidlberger, Chair of the Division of Music History, Theory, and Ethnomusicology John W. Richmond, Dean of College of Music Victor Prybutok, Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School Yun, Xiao. Tonal Enigmas: A Study of Problematic Openings and Endings. Master of Arts (Music), August 2018, 109 pp., 49 musical examples, bibliography, 23 titles. When talking about tonal music, we sometimes tend to take for granted the idea that the tonic should always be clearly established either at the beginning or the end. However, there are composers who sometimes deviate from the normal path by creating different types of riddles or tonal enigmas in their works. Some of these riddles can be solved later on as the piece progresses; yet others may need to be explained with the help of some external references. This thesis examines three such examples, each of which poses its unique enigma. The second movement of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 1 presents a dualism between Ab and F (paralleled by their dominants Eb and C); Brahms’s Alto Rhapsody involves an enormous auxiliary cadence spanning 2/3 of the piece and a seemingly plagal cadence which turns out to be authentic with the V suppressed; and eventually, Grieg’s setting of Dereinst, dereinst, Gedanke mein provides a paradoxical ending which may be understood as incorporating the composer’s attitude towards the text. Copyright 2018 By Xiao Yun ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Words cannot express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to my major professor Dr. Timothy Jackson for his continuous tutelage not only during this thesis writing process but also over the past three years in general. He has always supported me in developing my own understanding and analysis of music while providing insightful comments. This thesis would not be possible without his guidance in the preparation stage and hours of careful revisions during the writing process. My appreciation is extended to Drs. Stephen Slottow and Diego Cubero for providing all the detailed feedbacks both in my preparation stage and in the defense. Their discerning questions always help me to think more in depth from different perspectives and come up with more comprehensive interpretations. Furthermore, I am also thankful to my friends Sammy Gardner and Yuting Luo for their support and encouragement during the tough moments of the writing process. Last but not least, I would like to thank my parents for their unconditional love and care. Although they may not understand anything I presented in this paper, their mental support always means so much to me and has been of crucial help for me to overcome the difficult times. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................................................. iii LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES ................................................................................................. v CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................ 4 CHAPTER 3. ANTON BRUCKNER’S SYMPHONY NO. 1, 2ND MOVEMENT ....................... 7 CHAPTER 4. BRAHMS’S ALTO RHAPSODY OP. 53 ............................................................... 19 4.1 Background Overview and Pre-Analytical Observations ..................................... 19 4.2 The Introduction, mm. 1-17 .................................................................................. 23 4.3 The A Section, mm. 18-47 .................................................................................... 31 4.4 The B Section, mm. 48-117 .................................................................................. 33 4.5 The C Section, mm. 115-end ................................................................................ 40 CHAPTER 5. EDVARD GRIEG’S DEREINST, GEDANKE MEIN, OP 48, NO. 2 ................... 58 CHAPTER 6. CONCLUSION...................................................................................................... 67 APPENDIX A. FULL SCORE OF BRUCKNER’S SYMPHONY NO. 1, 2ND MOVEMENT .. 68 APPENDIX B. FULL SCORE OF BRAHMS’S ALTO RHAPSODY, OP. 53 ............................ 85 APPENDIX C. FULL SCORE OF EDVARD GRIEG’S DEREINST, GEDANKE MEIN. OP. 48, NO. 2 ........................................................................................................................................... 105 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................... 108 iv LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES Page Ex. 3-1. Bruckner Symphony No. 1, 2nd movement, measures 1-7. ............................................... 8 Ex. 3-2. Foreground sketch of mm. 1-7 with Af as the tonic. ......................................................... 9 Ex. 3-3. Foreground sketch of mm. 1-7 with F as the tonic. .......................................................... 9 Ex. 3-4. Foreground sketch of mm. 1-16. ..................................................................................... 10 Ex. 3-5. Opening of the development section. .............................................................................. 12 Ex. 3-6. Middleground sketch reading C in m. 60 as part of the bass arpeggio (Af-C-Ef). ......... 12 Ex. 3-7. Middleground sketch reading C in m.60 as V of F minor. ............................................. 13 Ex. 3-8. Foreground sketch of mm. 60-81. ................................................................................... 14 Ex. 3-9. Foreground sketch of mm. 98-134. ................................................................................. 15 Ex. 3-10. Lindberg’s reading of the secondary key in the first movement. .................................. 16 Ex. 3-11. Deeper-level middleground sketch of the exposition and the development. ................ 17 Ex. 3-12. Background sketch of the exposition and the development. ......................................... 17 Ex. 4-1. Initial motives in mm. 1-2 in Forte’s analysis of the Alto Rhapsody. ............................. 24 Ex. 4-2. Forte’s reading: the alpha motive (B-Ef/Ds-G) in the middleground (both top and bass line) in mm. 128-141..................................................................................................................... 25 Ex. 4-3. Forte’s reading: both the alpha and beta motives in the middleground in mm. 48-53. .. 25 Ex. 4-4. Foreground sketch of Brahms Alto Rhapsody mm. 1-5. ................................................. 26 Ex. 4-5. A step-by-step graphic explanation of the interlocking unfolding in mm.1-3. ............... 26 Ex. 4-6. Two levels of middleground sketch of mm. 1-16. .......................................................... 28 Ex. 4-7. Foreground sketch of mm. 1-16. ..................................................................................... 29 Ex. 4-8. An alternative reading of mm. 1-16. ............................................................................... 30 Ex. 4-9. Two levels of middleground sketch for the A section. ................................................... 32 Ex. 4-10. Same o7 chord approaching the cadential 6/4 in the introduction and the A section. ... 33 v Ex. 4-11. Foreground sketch of mm. 48-64. ................................................................................. 35 Ex. 4-12. Foreground sketch of mm. 64-83. ................................................................................. 35 Ex. 4-13. Middleground sketch of mm. 1-83. ............................................................................... 37 Ex. 4-14. Foreground sketch of mm. 83-99. ................................................................................. 38 Ex. 4-15. Foreground sketch of mm. 99-117. ............................................................................... 38 Ex. 4-16. Middleground sketch of mm. 1-117. ............................................................................. 39 Ex. 4-17. Deep middleground sketch of mm. 1-117 ..................................................................... 39 Ex. 4-18. Foreground sketch of mm. 116-132. ............................................................................. 41 Ex. 4-19. Two levels of middleground sketches of mm. 116-132. ............................................... 42 Ex. 4-20. Another possible reading of mm. 116-132. ................................................................... 42 Ex. 4-21. Foreground sketch of mm. 132-145. ............................................................................. 43 Ex. 4-22. Two levels of middleground sketches of mm. 132-145. ............................................... 44 Ex. 4-23. Foreground sketch of mm. 146-161. ............................................................................. 45 Ex. 4-24. Two levels of middleground sketch of mm. 146-161. .................................................. 45 Ex. 4-25. Foreground sketch of mm. 161-173. ............................................................................. 46 Ex. 4-26. Two levels of middleground sketch of mm. 161-173. .................................................. 47 Ex. 4-27. Graf’s reading of Beethoven’s
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Brahms and the Changing Piano
    The Aesthetics of Textural Ambiguity: Brahms and the Changing Piano Augustus Arnone The thought beneath so slight a film Is more distinctly seen As laces just reveal the surge Or Mists the Apennine -Emily Dickinson Introduction In recent years, a number of performance practice scholars writing on Brahms's piano music have commented on the prominence of low-lying melodic lines, thickly-written accompaniments, and often dense saturation of the lower register.! For such writers these textural features constitute proof that Brahms could not have intended performance on the modern piano. Firms such as Steinway, Bechstein, and Chickering were manufacturing pianos by the early 1860s, roughly the midpoint of Brahms's life, that already exhibited most of the important design innovations that distinguish modern pianos from earlier ones, and these firms enjoyed enormous success across Europe.2 Performance practice scholars have argued that the increased power and sustain of these pianos create irreparable problems of balance and clarity in much of Brahms's music, implying that he was writing for the lighter and more transparent instruments that predate the modern piano, many of which were still manufactured up until the end of the century. The view that low-lying melodies and densely packed textures in the lower register present an undesirable muddiness on the modern piano was already being elaborated towards the end of the nineteenth century. During the last decades of Brahms's life, several treatises appeared elucidating the fundamental principles of what they proclaimed to be the "modern school of pianoforte playing." Three treatises in particular, those by Hans Schmitt (1893), Aleksandr Nikitich Bukhovtsev (1897), and Adolph Christiani (c.
    [Show full text]
  • Brahms Symphony 2 Gardiner
    Brahms Symphony 2 Gardiner 1 Johannes Brahms 1833-1897 1 Alto Rhapsody Op.53 (1869) 12:57 Franz Schubert 1797-1828 2 Gesang der Geister über den Wassern D714 (1821) 12:18 3 Gruppe aus dem Tartarus D583 (1817, arr. Brahms 1871) 2:20 4 An Schwager Kronos D369 (1816, arr. Brahms 1871) 2:28 Symphony No.2 in D major Op.73 (1877) 5 I Allegro non troppo 19:42 6 II Adagio non troppo – L’istesso tempo, ma grazioso 9:28 7 III Allegretto grazioso (quasi andantino) – Presto ma non assai – Tempo I 5:06 8 IV Allegro con spirito 9:05 73:59 Nathalie Stutzmann contralto Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique The Monteverdi Choir John Eliot Gardiner Recorded live at the Salle Pleyel, Paris, November 2007 2 Brahms: Roots and memory John Eliot Gardiner To me Brahms’ large-scale music is brimful of vigour, drama and a driving passion. ‘Fuego y cristal’ was how Jorge Luis Borges once described it. How best to release all that fire and crystal, then? One way is to set his symphonies in the context of his own superb and often neglected choral music, and that of the old masters he particularly cherished (Schütz and Bach especially) and of recent heroes of his (Mendelssohn, Schubert and Schumann). This way we are able to gain a new perspective on his symphonic compositions, drawing attention to the intrinsic vocality at the heart of his writing for orchestra. Composing such substantial choral works as the Schicksalslied, the Alto Rhapsody, Nänie and the German Requiem gave Brahms invaluable experience of orchestral writing years before he brought his first symphony to fruition: they were the vessels for some of his most profound thoughts, revealing at times an almost desperate urge to communicate things of import.
    [Show full text]
  • Crane Chorus Crane Symphony Orchestra
    JOHANNES BRAHMS A German Requiem JOSEPH FLUMMERFELT, Conductor 2015 Dorothy Albrecht Gregory Visiting Conductor* with the Crane Chorus and the Crane Symphony Orchestra NICOLE CABELL, soprano CRAIG VERM, baritone Saturday, May 2, 2015 at 7:30 pm Hosmer Hall at SUNY Potsdam *The partnership of the Dorothy Albrecht The Lougheed-Kofoed Festival of the Gregory Visiting Conductor Fund, established Arts is made possible by the generosity by Dorothy Albrecht Gregory ’61, and the and artistic vision of Kathryn (Kofoed) Adeline Maltzan Crane Chorus Performance ’54 and Donald Lougheed (Hon. ’54). Tour Fund, established by Dr. Gary C. Jaquay ’67, brings distinguished conductors to The Crane Media Sponsor School of Music for festival performances by the Crane Chorus and Crane Symphony Orchestra, and funds travel for major performances to venues outside of Potsdam. Welcome to the concluding performance of the fourth Lougheed-Kofoed Festival of the Arts, whose scope embracing all the arts, in a continuation of our campus’ historic Spring Festival of the Arts, is generously supported by the visionary gifts of Kathy Kofoed Lougheed ’54 and her husband Don Lougheed (Hon.) ’54. The featured choral-orchestral work on this evening’s program, Johannes Brahms’ beloved German Requiem, had been among those performed most frequently in the Spring Festival, having been featured on nine separate occasions, and having been conducted by some of the iconic figures in the Festival’s history. Helen Hosmer herself conducted it just two years after the beginning of this venerable series, in 1934; and in 1939 her friend and colleague Nadia Boulanger conducted the work.
    [Show full text]
  • Unknown Brahms.’ We Hear None of His Celebrated Overtures, Concertos Or Symphonies
    PROGRAM NOTES November 19 and 20, 2016 This weekend’s program might well be called ‘Unknown Brahms.’ We hear none of his celebrated overtures, concertos or symphonies. With the exception of the opening work, all the pieces are rarities on concert programs. Spanning Brahms’s youth through his early maturity, the music the Wichita Symphony performs this weekend broadens our knowledge and appreciation of this German Romantic genius. Hungarian Dance No. 6 Johannes Brahms Born in Hamburg, Germany May 7, 1833 in Hamburg, Germany Died April 3, 1897 in Vienna, Austria Last performed March 28/29, 1992 We don’t think of Brahms as a composer of pure entertainment music. He had as much gravitas as any 19th-century master and is widely regarded as a great champion of absolute music, music in its purest, most abstract form. Yet Brahms loved to quaff a stein or two of beer with friends and, within his circle, was treasured for his droll sense of humor. His Hungarian Dances are perhaps the finest examples of this side of his character: music for relaxation and diversion, intended to give pleasure to both performer and listener. Their music is familiar and beloved - better known to the general public than many of Brahms’s concert works. Thus it comes as a surprise to many listeners to learn that Brahms specifically denied authorship of their melodies. He looked upon these dances as arrangements, yet his own personality is so evident in them that they beg for consideration as original compositions. But if we deem them to be authentic Brahms, do we categorize them as music for one-piano four-hands, solo piano, or orchestra? Versions for all three exist in Brahms's hand.
    [Show full text]
  • Kansas State University Orchestra Programs 1990—2018 Updated January 13, 2018 David Littrell, Conductor
    Kansas State University Orchestra Programs 1990—2018 updated January 13, 2018 David Littrell, conductor 1990-1991 October 16, 1990 Tragic Overture, Op. 81 Brahms Oboe Concerto R. Strauss Dr. Sara Funkhouser, oboe Symphony No. 4 in C Minor (“Tragic”) Schubert December 11, 1990 Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C Major, BWV 1066 JS Bach “Vedrai, carino” from Don Giovanni Mozart Dayna Snook, mezzo-soprano Scaramouche Suite, 2nd & 3rd mvts. Milhaud Christopher Goins, alto saxophone “Son vergin vezzosa” from I Puritani Bellini Ai-ze Wang, soprano Symphony No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 10 Shostakovich April 4-5-6, 1991 The Magic Flute (Opera) Mozart April 23, 1991 Overture to Ruy Blas Mendelssohn Symphony No. 101 in D Major (“Clock”) Haydn Symphony No. 5 in Eb Major, Op. 82 Sibelius 1991-1992 October 1, 1991 Overture to Il Signor Bruschino Rossini Concerto Grosso for Four String Orchestras Vaughan Williams assisting musicians: Manhattan public school string students Symphony No. 2 in B Minor Borodin repeat performance October 2, 1991 at Concordia KS October 24-25-26, 1991 West Side Story Bernstein December 9, 1991 In Memoriam, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Sinfonia concertante in Eb Major, K. 364 Mozart Cora Cooper, violin Melinda Scherer Bootz, viola Requiem, K. 626 Mozart John Alldis, guest conductor soloists: Lori Zoll, Juli Borst, Rob Fann, Andy Stuckey KSU Concert Choir March 3, 1992 Overture to Der Freischütz von Weber “Faites-lui mes aveux” from Faust Gounod Juli Borst, mezzo-soprano “Ah, per sempre” from I Puritani Bellini Andy Stuckey, baritone Concerto in D Haydn Lisa Leuthold, horn Symphony No.
    [Show full text]
  • Brahms Alto Rhapsody, Op.53 Schicksalslied, Op.54 Mahler Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen Mildred Miller
    Brahms Alto Rhapsody, Op.53 Schicksalslied, Op.54 Mahler Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen Mildred Miller (mez-sop) The Occidental College Concert Choir Columbia Symphony Orchestra Speakers Corner 180gm LP: MS 6488 Performance: 4 These performances - which date from June, July and December 1960 and January 1961 – form part of Bruno Walter’s Indian summer with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra and feature two composers he was particularly associated with. The programme opens with the glorious Brahms Alto Rhapsody, whose second section is graced by one of the composer’s greatest melodies and from the opening bars where the lower strings dig-in and the instrumental lines are beautifully balanced it is obvious that this is going to be a fine performance. When Mildred Miller – who was only 35 in June 1960 – enters you hear a rich, fruity voice, whose tone has more than a hint of the contralto about it, which she uses to solemnly intone the text and her intonation is good, but nowhere does she equal Janet Baker with Adrian Boult (HMV), but then again, nor does anyone else. Schicksalslied (Song of Destiny) is an interesting work, which receives an eloquent, beautifully balanced, flowing performance and as in the Rhapsody, the singing of The Occidental College Concert Choir (where do Americans get these names from?) is well- focused and projected. As you might expect from one of the great Mahler conductors, Walter is alive to every change of mood in the multi-faceted Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (it comes as a surprise to learn from Erik Ryding and Rebecca Pechefsky’s discography that this is his only recording of the work) where his use of orchestral rubato and effortless changes of tempo are completely natural.
    [Show full text]
  • Love Songs Featuring Johannes Brahms’S
    LOve Songs Featuring Johannes Brahms’s Liebeslieder & Neue Liebeslieder Wednesday, February 14, 2018 Valentine’s Day Resonance at SOMA Towers Bellevue, Washington Dr. Gary D. Cannon Artistic Director PROGRAM Love Songs February 14, 2018 Liebeslieder Walzer, op.52 Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) 1. Rede, Mädchen, allzu liebes 2. An Gesteine rauscht die Flut 3. O die Frauen 4. Wie des Abends schöne Röte 5. Die grüne Hopfenranke 6. Ein kleiner, hübsche Vogel nahm den Flug 7. Wohl schön bewandt 8. Wenn so lind dein Augen mir 9. Am Donaustrande, da steht ein Haus 10. O wie sanft die Quelle 11. Nein, est ist nicht auszukommen 12. Schlosser auf, und mache Schlösser 13. Vöglein durchrauscht die Luft 14. Sieh, wie ist die Welle klar 15. Nachtigall, sie singt so schön 16. Ein dunkeler Schacht ist Liebe 17. Nicht wandle, mein Licht dort auβen 18. Es bebet das Gesträuche Love and Humor Tell me the truth about love Benjamin Britten (1913–1976) Amor William Bolcom (b.1938) Love in the Dictionary Celius Dougherty (1902–1986) Melissa Plagemann, mezzo-soprano Jay C. Rozendaal, piano Lost Love Après un rêve Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) Beatriz’s Song William Walton (1902–1983) I hear an army Samuel Barber (1910–1981) Gary D. Cannon, tenor Christina Siemens, piano ~intermission~ Love Songs Faithful Love Sì, tra i ceppi George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) Through Love’s Eyes Donald M. Skirvin world premiere performance J. Scott Kovacs, bass-baritone Jay C. Rozendaal, piano Love and Dreams Oh! quand je dors Franz Liszt (1811–1886) En drøm Edvard Grieg (1843–1907) Var det en dröm Jean Sibelius (1865–1957) Maria Männistö, soprano Christina Siemens, piano Neue Liebeslieder Walzer, op.65 Johannes Brahms 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Hölderlin, Schicksalslied and the Process of Recollection
    Nineteenth-Century Music Review http://journals.cambridge.org/NCM Additional services for Nineteenth-Century Music Review: Email alerts: Click here Subscriptions: Click here Commercial reprints: Click here Terms of use : Click here Brahms's Ascending Circle: Hölderlin, Schicksalslied and the Process of Recollection Nicole Grimes Nineteenth-Century Music Review / Volume 11 / Issue 01 / June 2014, pp 57 - 92 DOI: 10.1017/S1479409814000159, Published online: 05 August 2014 Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S1479409814000159 How to cite this article: Nicole Grimes (2014). Brahms's Ascending Circle: Hölderlin, Schicksalslied and the Process of Recollection. Nineteenth-Century Music Review, 11, pp 57-92 doi:10.1017/S1479409814000159 Request Permissions : Click here Downloaded from http://journals.cambridge.org/NCM, IP address: 137.43.146.71 on 05 Aug 2014 Nineteenth-Century Music Review, 11 (2014), pp 57–92. r Cambridge University Press, 2014 doi:10.1017/S1479409814000159 Brahms’s Ascending Circle: Ho¨lderlin, Schicksalslied and the Process of Recollection Nicole Grimes University College Dublin Email: [email protected] The ending to Brahms’s Schicksalslied confounds scholars for two reasons: his setting of Ho¨lderlin’s ostensibly despairing poem ends with an orchestral section that evokes comfort and reconciliation, and the postlude transposes the material of the introduction down to C major, ending in a key other than its opening. This represents ‘a rare instance of a composer not merely placing an arbitrary interpretation on words but explicitly contradicting a poet’s statement’ (Petersen, 1983). Daverio (1993) and Reynolds (2012) hold similar views, seeing Ho¨lderlin’s poem as if divorced from the novel Hyperion.
    [Show full text]
  • Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)
    Dace Kļava • Aldis Liepiņš Latvian Radio Choir Sigvards Kļava 1 JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833–1897) Drei Quartette, Op. 64 1 No. 1 An die Heimat (To my homeland) 4:43 2 No. 2 Der Abend (The evening) 3:49 Vier Quartette, Op. 92 3 No. 1 O schöne Nacht! (O charming night!) 2:59 4 No. 2 Spätherbst (Late autumn) 1:28 5 No. 3 Abendlied (Evening song) 2:45 6 No. 4 Warum? (Why?) 2:22 Liebeslieder-Walzer, Op. 52 7 No. 1 Rede, Mädchen, allzu liebes (Tell me, maiden) 1:12 8 No. 2 Am Gesteine rauscht die Flut (O’er the rocks the tide roars on) 0:43 9 No. 3 O die Frauen (O the ladies) 1:20 10 No. 4 Wie des Abends schöne Röte (As the evening’s radiant sunset) 0:50 11 No. 5 Die grüne Hopfenranke (The green and trailing hopvine) 1:39 12 No. 6 Ein kleiner, hübscher Vogel nahm (A little, pretty bird) 2:20 13 No. 8 Wenn so lind dein Augen mir (When your eyes so softly gaze) 1:40 14 No. 9 Am Donaustrande (By Danube’s waters) 1:27 15 No. 10 O wie sanft die Quelle (See, how clear the ripples) 0:53 16 No. 11 Nein, est ist nicht auszukommen (No, there is no putting up) 0:58 17 No. 13 Vögelein durchrauscht die Luft (Little bird wings through air) 0:39 18 No. 14 Sieh, wie ist die Welle klar (See, how clear the ripples) 1:39 2 19 No. 15 Nachtigall, sie singt so schön (Nightingale, she sings so fine) 0:58 20 No.
    [Show full text]
  • Brahms F Estival Concert
    THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN GERMANTOWN Brahms F estival Concert Johannes Brahms: Schicksalslied & Geistliches Lied Robert Schumann: Requiem & Widmung Clara Schumann: Sechs Lieder Sunday at 4 PM | March 17, 2019 Germantown Oratorio Choir F. Anthony Thurman music director Gayle Martin piano & Ted W. Barr organ 35 WEST CHELTEN AVENUE | PHILADELPHIA www.fpcgermantown.org 215-843-8811 Welcome! Thank you for your attendance at this husband’s works for publication. Although her Brahms Festival Concert by the Germantown compositional opportunities were limited while Oratorio Choir. Founded in 1910 as a commu- Robert’s flourished, the similarities of musical nity outreach program of The First Presbyterian style between her writing and his might make one Church in Germantown, the choir performs wonder who composed what. This is clearly evi- seasonally and rehearses weekly October–Decem- dent in Clara’s Sechs Lieder compared to Robert’s ber, and January–March. Members of the choir, Lieder. representing a wide diversity of age, socioeco- Robert Schumann’s Requiem, composed in nomic, racial, and educational backgrounds, are 1852, was his final work. Unlike the Brahms drawn from throughout the Delaware Valley. The Requiem, which focuses on faith in the Resur- semi-professional choir unites volunteers and rection as opposed to fear of the Last Judgment, professional musicians working side by side to- Schumann followed the Catholic liturgy for a ward a common goal of musical excellence while Mass for the dead. Schumann must have com- promoting classical music to an under-served posed the work for himself, as he attempted community. suicide in 1854 and spent the last two years of his Today’s concert program is organized life in a mental asylum.
    [Show full text]
  • PDF Download Johannes Brahms
    JOHANNES BRAHMS PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Mike Venezia | 32 pages | 01 Sep 1999 | Scholastic US | 9780516264677 | English | New York, NY, United States Johannes Brahms PDF Book Monday 19 October Tuesday 7 July View all similar artists. Brahms, for the most part, enjoyed steady success in Vienna. Saturday 25 April With the Requiem , which is still considered one of the most significant works of 19th-century choral music , Brahms moved into the front rank of German composers. Brahms looked both backward and forward; his output was often bold in its exploration of harmony and rhythm. Category Portal. Over the next several years, Brahms held several different posts, including conductor of a women's choir in Hamburg, which he was appointed to in In , following the death of his mother, he finished "A German Requiem," a composition based on Biblical texts and often cited as one of the most important pieces of choral music created in the 19th century. He ensured that the orchestra was staffed only by professionals, and conducted a repertoire which ran from Bach to the nineteenth century composers who were not of the 'New German School'; these included Beethoven, Franz Schubert , Mendelssohn, Schumann, Joachim, Ferdinand Hiller , Max Bruch and himself notably his large scale choral works, the German Requiem , the Alto Rhapsody , and the patriotic Triumphlied , Op. Saturday 10 October Saturday 11 July German composer and pianist. Thursday 3 September For other uses, see Brahms disambiguation. The commendation of Brahms by Breslau as "the leader in the art of serious music in Germany today" led to a bilious comment from Wagner in his essay "On Poetry and Composition": "I know of some famous composers who in their concert masquerades don the disguise of a street-singer one day, the hallelujah periwig of Handel the next, the dress of a Jewish Czardas -fiddler another time, and then again the guise of a highly respectable symphony dressed up as Number Ten" referring to Brahms's First Symphony as a putative tenth symphony of Beethoven.
    [Show full text]
  • Brahms - Beethoven - Mozart Performed March 26, 2000
    Brahms - Beethoven - Mozart Performed March 26, 2000 The Alto Rhapsody is intimately tied to Brahms' complicated relationship with the Schumann family. Robert Schumann had been an early and important supporter of the young Brahms and the Schumanns served as a kind of surrogate family to him. When Schumann attempted suicide in 1854 and had himself institutionalized, the 21-year old Brahms helped support the family financially and even took over running the household at one time while Clara Schumann prepared to resume her career as a pianist. At some point during this period Brahms had fallen deeply in love with Clara. It is not known to what extent Clara returned his feelings, but after Schumann died in 1856 she made it clear to Brahms that they could not have the life together that he envisioned. They nevertheless maintained a close if somewhat curious relationship. Clara clearly had proprietary feelings toward Brahms, for she actively discouraged his few serious relationships with other women. Brahms was content to maintain his intimacy with the Schumann family, and Clara remained a close friend and confidant. It was some years later that Brahms fixed his affections on Clara's oldest daughter Julie. Characteristically, he never explicitly made his feelings clear to Julie (or to Clara), and Julie at least was totally unaware of his infatuation. When Julie announced her engagement to an Italian nobleman in 1869 Brahms was devastated, and he wrote the Alto Rhapsody in response. He took a section of Goethe's poem Hartzreise im Winter ("Winter Journey in the Hartz Mountains") which describes the poet's meeting with a young man who withdrew from the world following an unhappy love affair.
    [Show full text]