Ludwig Van Beethoven (December 16, 1770 –March 26, 1827) Was Born in Bonn, Germany

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Ludwig Van Beethoven (December 16, 1770 –March 26, 1827) Was Born in Bonn, Germany Ludwig van Beethoven (December 16, 1770 –March 26, 1827) was born in Bonn, Germany. He came from a musical family (his father was a court singer, his grandfather was the former court music director) and began his musical training with his father. Beethoven would go on to study with several other prominent figures in Bonn, and eventually moved to Vienna to study piano under Haydn in 1792. As early as 1796, Beethoven's hearing began to suffer for still-undetermined reasons. By 1814, he was almost entirely deaf, but he continued composing and wrote some of his greatest works in his late period, such as his Ninth Symphony. Beethoven did not lead an easy life. Devastated by his failing hearing, he considered suicide, but decided to persevere through and for the sake of his art. His composition suffered through periods of bad health and personal strife. Contrary to popular belief, however, Beethoven's music was widely enjoyed during his lifetime. He had several aristocratic patrons in Vienna, such as Napoleon's brother Jerome Bonaparte, who supported him for most of his life. In 1827, Beethoven died after several months of sickness at the age of 56. The Piano Concerto No. 3 is one Beethoven's first pieces that clearly departed from the Classical style and began the transition into the Romantic period. In the words of pianist and scholar Charles Rosen, "Beethoven in C minor has come to symbolize his artistic character. In every case, it reveals Beethoven as Hero. C minor… does give him to us in his most extrovert form, where he seems to be most impatient of any compromise." The piece was his first piano concerto in a minor key, and he used varied textures and rich harmonies to reflect the stormy emotions for which he has a reputation today. Dedicated to Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia, the piece premiered in 1800 with Beethoven himself as the soloist. The first movement, Allegro con brio, uses the popular double exposition form, in which the orchestra introduces the main themes of the movement and the solo piano repeats the initial themes before moving on to the turbulent development section. The piece begins in C minor and modulates around E- flat major, G minor, coming full circle to finish in its original key. In contrast to the dynamic first movement, the Largo second movement is the epitome of peace and calm. Beginning with a piano solo in E-flat major, the movement goes on to develop extensively on the piano's original theme. The final Rondo – Allegro movement is in sonata-rondo form. It modulates through A-flat major and has a short thematic statement in E major before returning again to C minor for the restatement of the original theme. The piece ends joyously in a triumphant arrival in C major. .
Recommended publications
  • Magical Returns and the Interior Landscape of Chopin's Mazurkas
    Swarthmore College Works Music Faculty Works Music 2010 Magical Returns And The Interior Landscape Of Chopin's Mazurkas Barbara Ann Milewski Swarthmore College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://works.swarthmore.edu/fac-music Part of the Music Commons Recommended Citation Barbara Ann Milewski. (2010). "Magical Returns And The Interior Landscape Of Chopin's Mazurkas". The Sources Of Chopin's Style: Inspirations And Contexts. 71-80. https://works.swarthmore.edu/fac-music/71 This work is brought to you for free by Swarthmore College Libraries' Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Music Faculty Works by an authorized administrator of Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Barbara Milewski Magical Returns and the Interior Landscape of Chopin’s Mazurkas In 1880, the writer Marceli Antoni Szulc published an article in Poland’s leading music journal, Echo Muzyczne, in which he continued a discussion of Chopin’s compositions begun earlier in his 1873 mono­ graph titled Frydery\ Chopin i utwory jego muzyczne [Fryderyk Chopin and his Musical Works]. The discussion concerned conjure up musically ‘scenes’, ‘situations’ or ‘episodes’ that, according to Szulc, ‘reflected the state of the composer’s soul’. To illustrate his point, he turned to a select number of works, among them the A minor Mazurka, Op. 17 No. 4: Chopin did not like program music, and yet more than one of his composi­ tions, full of expressive character, could rightly be included in this category of music. Who, for example, does not know the No. 4 Mazurka of the Op. 17 set dedicated to Madame Lina Freppa.? It was already known in our country by the title ‘The Little Jew’ before the artist went abroad.
    [Show full text]
  • Rediscovering Frédéric Chopin's "Trois Nouvelles Études" Qiao-Shuang Xian Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected]
    Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2002 Rediscovering Frédéric Chopin's "Trois Nouvelles Études" Qiao-Shuang Xian Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Music Commons Recommended Citation Xian, Qiao-Shuang, "Rediscovering Frédéric Chopin's "Trois Nouvelles Études"" (2002). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 2432. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/2432 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. REDISCOVERING FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN’S TROIS NOUVELLES ÉTUDES A Monograph Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in The School of Music by Qiao-Shuang Xian B.M., Columbus State University, 1996 M.M., Louisiana State University, 1998 December 2002 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF EXAMPLES ………………………………………………………………………. iii LIST OF FIGURES …………………………………………………………………………… v ABSTRACT …………………………………………………………………………………… vi CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………….. 1 The Rise of Piano Methods …………………………………………………………….. 1 The Méthode des Méthodes de piano of 1840
    [Show full text]
  • Many of Us Are Familiar with Popular Major Chord Progressions Like I–IV–V–I
    Many of us are familiar with popular major chord progressions like I–IV–V–I. Now it’s time to delve into the exciting world of minor chords. Minor scales give flavor and emotion to a song, adding a level of musical depth that can make a mediocre song moving and distinct from others. Because so many of our favorite songs are in major keys, those that are in minor keys1 can stand out, and some musical styles like rock or ​ ​ jazz thrive on complex minor scales and harmonic wizardry. Minor chord progressions generally contain richer harmonic possibilities than the typical major progressions. Minor key songs frequently modulate to major and back to minor. Sometimes the same chord can appear as major and minor in the very same song! But this heady harmonic mix is nothing to be afraid of. By the end of this article, you’ll not only understand how minor chords are made, but you’ll know some common minor chord progressions, how to write them, and how to use them in your own music. With enough listening practice, you’ll be able to recognize minor chord progressions in songs almost instantly! Table of Contents: 1. A Tale of Two Tonalities 2. Major or Minor? 3. Chords in Minor Scales 4. The Top 3 Chords in Minor Progressions 5. Exercises in Minor 6. Writing Your Own Minor Chord Progressions 7. Your Minor Journey 1 https://www.musical-u.com/learn/the-ultimate-guide-to-minor-keys A Tale of Two Tonalities Western music is dominated by two tonalities: major and minor.
    [Show full text]
  • Beethoven, Bonn and Its Citizens
    Beethoven, Bonn and its citizens by Manfred van Rey The beginnings in Bonn If 'musically minded circles' had not formed a citizens' initiative early on to honour the city's most famous son, Bonn would not be proudly and joyfully preparing to celebrate his 250th birthday today. It was in Bonn's Church of St Remigius that Ludwig van Beethoven was baptized on 17 December 1770; it was here that he spent his childhood and youth, received his musical training and published his very first composition at the age of 12. Then the new Archbishop of Cologne, Elector Max Franz from the house of Habsburg, made him a salaried organist in his renowned court chapel in 1784, before dispatching him to Vienna for further studies in 1792. Two years later Bonn, the residential capital of the electoral domain of Cologne, was occupied by French troops. The musical life of its court came to an end, and its court chapel was disbanded. If the Bonn music publisher Nikolaus Simrock (formerly Beethoven’s colleague in the court chapel) had not issued several original editions and a great many reprints of Beethoven's works, and if Beethoven's friend Ferdinand Ries and his father Franz Anton had not performed concerts of his music in Bonn and Cologne, little would have been heard about Beethoven in Bonn even during his lifetime. The first person to familiarise Bonn audiences with Beethoven's music at a high artistic level was Heinrich Karl Breidenstein, the academic music director of Bonn's newly founded Friedrich Wilhelm University. To celebrate the anniversary of his baptism on 17 December 1826, he offered the Bonn première of the Fourth Symphony in his first concert, devoted entirely to Beethoven.
    [Show full text]
  • Pricing*, Pool and Payment** Due Dates January - December 2021 Mideast Marketing Area Federal Order No
    Pricing*, Pool and Payment** Due Dates January - December 2021 Mideast Marketing Area Federal Order No. 33 Class & Market Administrator Payment Dates for Producer Milk Component Final Pool Producer Advance Prices Payment Dates Final Payment Due Partial Payment Due Pool Month Prices Release Date Payrolls Due & Pricing Factors PSF, Admin., MS Cooperative Nonmember Cooperative Nonmember January February 3 * February 13 February 22 December 23, 2020 February 16 ** February 16 February 17 Janaury 25 January 26 February March 3 * March 13 March 22 January 21 * March 15 March 16 March 17 February 25 February 26 March March 31 * April 13 April 22 February 18 * April 15 April 16 April 19 ** March 25 March 26 April May 5 May 13 May 22 March 17 * May 17 ** May 17 ** May 17 April 26 ** April 26 May June 3 * June 13 June 22 April 21 * June 15 June 16 June 17 May 25 May 26 June June 30 * July 13 July 22 May 19 * July 15 July 16 July 19 ** June 25 June 28 ** July August 4 * August 13 August 22 June 23 August 16 ** August 16 August 17 July 26 ** July 26 August September 1 * September 13 September 22 July 21 * September 15 September 16 September 17 August 25 August 26 September September 29 * October 13 October 22 August 18 * October 15 October 18 ** October 18 ** September 27 ** September 27 ** October November 3 * November 13 November 22 September 22 * November 15 November 16 November 17 October 25 October 26 November December 1 * December 13 December 22 October 20 * December 15 December 16 December 17 November 26 ** November 26 December January 5, 2022 January 13, 2022 January 22, 2022 November 17 * January 18, 2022 ** January 18, 2022 ** January 18, 2022 ** December 27 ** December 27 ** * If the release date does not fall on the 5th (Class & Component Prices) or 23rd (Advance Prices & Pricing Factors), the most current release preceding will be used in the price calculation.
    [Show full text]
  • Paul Jacobs, Elliott Carter, and an Overview of Selected Stylistic Aspects of Night Fantasies
    University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Theses and Dissertations 2016 Paul Jacobs, Elliott aC rter, And An Overview Of Selected Stylistic Aspects Of Night Fantasies Alan Michael Rudell University of South Carolina Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd Part of the Music Performance Commons Recommended Citation Rudell, A. M.(2016). Paul Jacobs, Elliott aC rter, And An Overview Of Selected Stylistic Aspects Of Night Fantasies. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/3977 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you by Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PAUL JACOBS, ELLIOTT CARTER, AND AN OVERVIEW OF SELECTED STYLISTIC ASPECTS OF NIGHT FANTASIES by Alan Michael Rudell Bachelor of Music University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 2004 Master of Music University of South Carolina, 2009 _____________________________________________________ Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in Music Performance School of Music University of South Carolina 2016 Accepted by: Joseph Rackers, Major Professor Charles L. Fugo, Committee Member J. Daniel Jenkins, Committee Member Marina Lomazov, Committee Member Cheryl L. Addy, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School © Copyright by Alan Michael Rudell, 2016 All Rights Reserved. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to extend my thanks to the members of my committee, especially Joseph Rackers, who served as director, Charles L. Fugo, for his meticulous editing, J. Daniel Jenkins, who clarified certain issues pertaining to Carter’s style, and Marina Lomazov, for her unwavering support.
    [Show full text]
  • Ludwig Van BEETHOVEN
    BEETHOVEN Piano Pieces and Fragments Sergio Gallo, Piano Ludwig van BEE(1T77H0–1O827V) EN Piano Pieces and Fragments 1 ^ 13 Variations in A major on the Arietta ‘Es war einmal ein alter Mann’ Sketch in A major, Hess 60 (transcribed by A. Schmitz) (1818)* 0:31 & (‘Once Upon a Time there was an Old Man’) from Dittersdorf’s Theme with Variations in A major, Hess 72 (fragment) (1803) 2:42 Das rothe Käppchen (‘Red Riding Hood’), WoO 66 (1792) 13:10 * 2 Liedthema in G major, WoO 200, Hess 75 ‘O Hoffnung’ (1818) 0:22 Pastorella in C major, Bia. 622 (transcribed by F. Rovelli, b. 1979) (1815)* 0:23 ( Presto in G major, Bia. 277 (transcribed by A. Schmitz) (1793) 0:34 Ein Skizzenbuch aus den Jahren 1815 bis 1816 (Scheide-Skizzenbuch). Faksimile, Übertragung und Kommentar ) herausgegeben von Federica Rovelli gestützt auf Vorarbeiten von Dagmar von Busch-Weise, Bd. I: Faksimile, 4 Bagatelles, WoO 213: No. 2 in G major (transcribed by A. Schmitz) (1793) 0:29 ¡ Bd. II: Transkription, Bd. III: Kommentar, Verlag Beethoven-Haus (Beethoven, Skizzen und Entwürfe), Bonn. Piano Étude in B flat major, Hess 58 (c. 1800) 0:41 ™ 12 Piano Miniatures from the Sketchbooks (ed. J. van der Zanden, b. 1954) Piano Étude in C major, Hess 59 (c. 1800) 0:25 £ (Raptus Editions) (excerpts) (date unknown) 4:27 3 String Quintet in C major, WoO 62, Hess 41 No. 3. Klavierstück: Alla marcia in C major [Kafka Miscellany, f. 119v, 2–5] 0:25 4 I. Andante maestoso, ‘Letzter musikalischer Gedanke’ (‘Last musical idea’) No.
    [Show full text]
  • PROGRAM NOTES Ludwig Van Beethoven Overture to Fidelio
    PROGRAM NOTES by Phillip Huscher Ludwig van Beethoven Born December 16, 1770, Bonn, Germany. Died March 26, 1827, Vienna, Austria. Overture to Fidelio Beethoven began to compose Fidelio in 1804, and he completed the score the following year. The first performance was given on November 20, 1805, at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna. Beethoven revised the score in preparation for a revival that opened there on March 29, 1806. For a new production in 1814, he made substantial revisions and wrote the overture performed at these concerts. The overture wasn’t ready in time for the premiere on May 23, 1814, in Vienna’s Kärntnertor Theater, but it was played at the second performance. The overture calls for an orchestra consisting of two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, two trombones, timpani, and strings. Performance time is approximately six minutes. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s first subscription concert performances of Beethoven’s Overture to Fidelio were given at the Auditorium Theatre on December 14 and 15, 1894, with Theodore Thomas conducting. Our most recent subscription concert performances of the overture (and the complete opera) were given at Orchestra Hall on May 26, 28, and 31, 1998, with Daniel Barenboim conducting. The Orchestra first performed this overture at the Ravinia Festival on July 16, 1938, with Willem van Hoogstraten conducting, and most recently on July 30, 2008, with Sir Andrew Davis conducting. Nothing else in Beethoven’s career caused as much effort and heartbreak as the composition of his only opera, which took ten years, inspired four different overtures, and underwent two major revisions and a name change before convincing Beethoven that he was not a man of the theater.
    [Show full text]
  • The Devil's Interval by Jerry Tachoir
    Sound Enhanced Hear the music example in the Members Only section of the PAS Web site at www.pas.org The Devil’s Interval BY JERRY TACHOIR he natural progression from consonance to dissonance and ii7 chords. In other words, Dm7 to G7 can now be A-flat m7 to resolution helps make music interesting and satisfying. G7, and both can resolve to either a C or a G-flat. Using the TMusic would be extremely bland without the use of disso- other dominant chord, D-flat (with the basic ii7 to V7 of A-flat nance. Imagine a world of parallel thirds and sixths and no dis- m7 to D-flat 7), we can substitute the other relative ii7 chord, sonance/resolution. creating the progression Dm7 to D-flat 7 which, again, can re- The prime interval requiring resolution is the tritone—an solve to either a C or a G-flat. augmented 4th or diminished 5th. Known in the early church Here are all the possibilities (Note: enharmonic spellings as the “Devil’s interval,” tritones were actually prohibited in of- were used to simplify the spelling of some chords—e.g., B in- ficial church music. Imagine Bach’s struggle to take music stead of C-flat): through its normal progression of tonic, subdominant, domi- nant, and back to tonic without the use of this interval. Dm7 G7 C Dm7 G7 Gb The tritone is the characteristic interval of all dominant bw chords, created by the “guide tones,” or the 3rd and 7th. The 4 ˙ ˙ w ˙ ˙ tritone interval can be resolved in two types of contrary motion: &4˙ ˙ w ˙ ˙ bbw one in which both notes move in by half steps, and one in which ˙ ˙ w ˙ ˙ b w both notes move out by half steps.
    [Show full text]
  • Major and Minor Scales Half and Whole Steps
    Dr. Barbara Murphy University of Tennessee School of Music MAJOR AND MINOR SCALES HALF AND WHOLE STEPS: half-step - two keys (and therefore notes/pitches) that are adjacent on the piano keyboard whole-step - two keys (and therefore notes/pitches) that have another key in between chromatic half-step -- a half step written as two of the same note with different accidentals (e.g., F-F#) diatonic half-step -- a half step that uses two different note names (e.g., F#-G) chromatic half step diatonic half step SCALES: A scale is a stepwise arrangement of notes/pitches contained within an octave. Major and minor scales contain seven notes or scale degrees. A scale degree is designated by an Arabic numeral with a cap (^) which indicate the position of the note within the scale. Each scale degree has a name and solfege syllable: SCALE DEGREE NAME SOLFEGE 1 tonic do 2 supertonic re 3 mediant mi 4 subdominant fa 5 dominant sol 6 submediant la 7 leading tone ti MAJOR SCALES: A major scale is a scale that has half steps (H) between scale degrees 3-4 and 7-8 and whole steps between all other pairs of notes. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 W W H W W W H TETRACHORDS: A tetrachord is a group of four notes in a scale. There are two tetrachords in the major scale, each with the same order half- and whole-steps (W-W-H). Therefore, a tetrachord consisting of W-W-H can be the top tetrachord or the bottom tetrachord of a major scale.
    [Show full text]
  • The Compositional Influence of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on Ludwig Van Beethoven’S Early Period Works
    Portland State University PDXScholar Young Historians Conference Young Historians Conference 2018 Apr 18th, 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM The Compositional Influence of olfW gang Amadeus Mozart on Ludwig van Beethoven’s Early Period Works Mary L. Krebs Clackamas High School Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/younghistorians Part of the Musicology Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Krebs, Mary L., "The Compositional Influence of olfW gang Amadeus Mozart on Ludwig van Beethoven’s Early Period Works" (2018). Young Historians Conference. 7. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/younghistorians/2018/oralpres/7 This Event is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Young Historians Conference by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. THE COMPOSITIONAL INFLUENCE OF WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART ON LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN’S EARLY PERIOD WORKS Mary Krebs Honors Western Civilization Humanities March 19, 2018 1 Imagine having the opportunity to spend a couple years with your favorite celebrity, only to meet them once and then receiving a phone call from a relative saying your mother was about to die. You would be devastated, being prevented from spending time with your idol because you needed to go care for your sick and dying mother; it would feel as if both your dream and your ​ ​ reality were shattered. This is the exact situation the pianist Ludwig van Beethoven found himself in when he traveled to Vienna in hopes of receiving lessons from his role model, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
    [Show full text]
  • Boris's Bells, by Way of Schubert and Others
    Boris's Bells, By Way of Schubert and Others Mark DeVoto We define "bell chords" as different dominant-seventh chords whose roots are separated by multiples of interval 3, the minor third. The sobriquet derives from the most famous such pair of harmonies, the alternating D7 and AI? that constitute the entire harmonic substance of the first thirty-eight measures of scene 2 of the Prologue in Musorgsky's opera Boris Godunov (1874) (example O. Example 1: Paradigm of the Boris Godunov bell succession: AJ,7-D7. A~7 D7 '~~&gl n'IO D>: y 7 G: y7 The Boris bell chords are an early milestone in the history of nonfunctional harmony; yet the two harmonies, considered individually, are ofcourse abso­ lutely functional in classical contexts. This essay traces some ofthe historical antecedents of the bell chords as well as their developing descendants. Dominant Harmony The dominant-seventh chord is rightly recognized as the most unambiguous of the essential tonal resources in classical harmonic progression, and the V7-1 progression is the strongest means of moving harmony forward in immediate musical time. To put it another way, the expectation of tonic harmony to follow a dominant-seventh sonority is a principal component of forehearing; we assume, in our ordinary and long-tested experience oftonal music, that the tonic function will follow the dominant-seventh function and be fortified by it. So familiar is this everyday phenomenon that it hardly needs to be stated; we need mention it here only to assert the contrary case, namely, that the dominant-seventh function followed by something else introduces the element of the unexpected.
    [Show full text]