Franz Schubert(1797-1828)

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Franz Schubert(1797-1828)

• Learned to play violin/piano from father and brother

• Beautiful soprano voice• “learned everything from God”• Composed variety of lieders, operas,

symphonies, chamber music• Suffered during late adulthood (syphilis)• Buried next to Beethoven

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Franz Schubert

• Influenced by Mozart and Beethoven

• Blended classical and romantic styles

• He wrote more than 600 songs

• He became popular after death

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Franz Schubert

• Known as the Prince of Song.• He became popular after his death.• In 1897 there was a festival in his honor.• He wrote a symphony called “Great”

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Robert Schumann•Prominent composer of Romantic Era•1810-1856•Known for

–Symphonies–Chamber music–Piano music–Lieder

•Looked up to–Mozart–Beethoven–Chopin–Looked down upon Lizst, Wagner

•Protégé –Johannes Brahms

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Robert Schumann

• Music– Composer of German Lieder– Embodied German Romanticism– Employed themes of love– Most famous song cycle- A poet’s love

• Life– Married Clara Weick– Fell into depression and madness

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Fanny Mendelssohn-Music• Large-scale works:

– Piano Trio– String quartet– Cantatas– An oratorio

• Highly lyrical style– Wide range of tonal, harmonic, and formal variety

• Loved to write about nature– Drawn to Joseph von Eichendorff, poet– “Mountain Yearning” based off of one of his folk-inspired

poems

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Fanny Mendelssohn•Life Span: 1805-1847•Actively discouraged from pursuing music as a career because of her gender•Brother and Father cautioned her to be the traditional housewife•Talents were recognized by some like the poet Goethe

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Frederic Chopin

• Considered the father of modern music

• Had a unique style that makes his music recognizable by many

• Was influenced by Mozart and Bach the most

• He wrote upwards of 200 pieces, almost exclusively for piano

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Frederic Francois Chopin

• Educated at the Conservatory of Warsaw• At the age of 21, Chopin moved to Paris, where he

spent the rest of his life• Many musicians and literary figures influenced

Chopin:– German poet Heinrich Heine– The painter Eugene Delacroix

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Franz Liszt

• Thematic Transformation-shift of emotions-RomanticTensionConflictTriumph-Similar to the Concerto structure

• Created Lyrical Expression– Freedom of expression in music

• Gnomenreigen and the Little Bell Etude– Violin Concerto no. 2 B Minor by Paganini– Finger octaves– Like Gnomes dancing

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Franz Liszt

• Attached to French Romanticism• Director and grand conductor of the opera house

during Weimar Period – Utilized advantage to sway music preferences of

the future• Endorsed music of Wagner , Berlioz, and Chopin

• Noted as teacher, composer, virtuoso pianist– New customary piano performance posture and

technique

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Clara Schumann (1819-1896)

• One of the most distinguished musicians of the 19th century despite her gender.

• Lifelong friend of Johannes Brahms.

• Wife of Robert Schumann.

• Her father was angered by her marrying Robert Schumann.

• 2 large scale works (Piano Concerto and a trio for Pianos and Strings)

• Was more famous than her husband.

• Started studying piano at the age of 5.• 1st concert appearance was in Leipzig at the age of 9.

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Clara Schumann (1819 -1896)

Musical Career:* Outstanding pianist* Composer* Leading interpreter of the music of

- Brahms- Chopin- Robert Schumann (her husband)

Works = technically difficult & deeply introspective

Known for her following works:* songs* piano music* chamber music

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• He was appointed conductor at the London Drury Lane theatre • While receiving attention from all leading musical reference books, he was

still not generally accepted as being one of the great composers• Berlioz was not a child prodigy, unlike some other famous composers of

the time• He was not formally trained• In 1864 Berlioz was made Officier de la Légion d'honneur

• he began studying music at age 12, when he began writing small compositions and arrangements

• Berlioz's work as a conductor was highly influential

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Hector Berlioz

• Best known as a composer, but also a writer.• His Works (Composition) :

– The Trojans (opera)– The Childhood of Christ (oratorio) – Symphonie Fantastique

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Bedrich Smetana• Born in Eastern Bohemia in the Czech

Republic

• Learned violin by his father

• Went to school in Prague when he was 15

• joined the nationalist uprising in 1848

• Conducted and wrote 8 operas for the national theater in Prague

• Most famous piece the Moldau is about the bohemian river in his homeland

• 1st bohemian to achieve international fame

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How It Is Expressed• Others wrote the symphonic poems and operas

celebrating the exploits of a national hero, historic events of the scenic beauty of their county

• Some based music on the songs and dances

• Many wrote dramatic works based on the folklore or peasant life

• Nationalism today: Beauty and the Beast

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Johannes Brahms (1833- 1897)

Continued classical traditions (especially Beethoven’s)

Great notable works:- 4 Symphonies (including the Third).- Solo piano/chamber music. - Leider.

Created romantic art in purest classical form.

Unique aspect: dances made for his rhapsodies/ballades.

The German Requiem was widely recognized. -Preached a more hopeful and

inevitable way to death.

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Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

• First compositions greatly impressed Joseph Joachim,

leading violinist of the day

• Robert and Clara Schumann took

Brahms into their home

• Robert Schumann lingered for two

years while Brahms began to fall

in love with Clara

• Brahms never got married in his lifetime

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• Its aim was to console the living and lead them to a serene acceptance of death as an inevitable part of life

• Although the idea of the Lord is the source of the comfort, the sympathetic humanism persists through the work.

• Arranged in seven movements

• Loss of mother and Schumann motivated him to write the German Requiem

Johannes Brahms

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Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)

•Czech Republic origin

•Late Romantic Era

•Family’s low income was an obstacle in musical career

•Teaching in America- Stressed native land appreciation- Native American and African American influence

•Homesick in America- Persuaded to stay-Later returned to Bohemia

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Felix Mendelssohn• Preserved classical Tradition• Caused revival of Bach• Founded Leipzig Conservatory of Music

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Amy Beach (1867-1944)– 1867-1944

• Henniker, New Hampshire

– Child of wealthy industrialist, Charles Abbott Cheney

– Was a child prodigy• Could create counter melodies to songs her mom

would sign to her

– She married Henry Beach, a physician and amateur singer• Who asked her to focus on composition

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Amy Beach/early American music

• The united states was dominated by European musical styles in the 19th century

• Women in the romantic era were discouraged from perusing careers as composers

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Giuseppe Verdi• A play writer• Wrote Rigoletto

• Setting Of Rigoletto: Renaissance era 1850- 1851 North Italy small town - Mantua. Exact location is the ducal court.

Act II– Rigoletto warns Gilda(his daughter) to stay at home.

• She has already fell in love with the Duke– The Duke’s new love vanished.

• Who is Rigoletto’s daughter, Gilda.

Giuseppe Verdi (1813- 1901)• Born in a small town in northern Italy

• Went to Milan for two years– Verdi returned to Busseto to take a position as an organist

• 3 years later, Verdi returned to Milan with the manuscript of an opera– The opera’s success brought him three other commissions

• Fell in love with one of his benefactor’s daughter

• In 1893- almost 80 years old astonished the world with Falstaff

• Interesting facts: – Wrote 28 operas

– Died at 87

– Left most of his fortune to a home for aged musicians that he had founded (still operating today)

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Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)

• Verdi’s music stands as the epitome of Romantic drama and passion

• Verdi thought melody was very important• Macbeth is the most important of Verdi’s

fifteen early operas• The operas of the middle period show

Verdi writing on a more ambitious scale– Included elements from the French

Grand Operas• His final operas were described as the

best of Italian lyric tragedies in 100 years

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Richard Wagner

•Wagner created endless melody to keep emotions heightened throughout his pieces

•Wagner made the orchestras larger to be able to better play the complex parts of his pieces

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Richard Wagner (1813-1883)• A revolution broke out in Dresden in 1849.• Wagner rebelled in many of the revolutions• The Wagner gospel spread across Europe as a new

art-religion• THE RING CIRCLE was presented to worshipful

audiences at the first festival

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George Bizet

• Won the highest award possible, the Prix de Rome* in 1857

• Three months after the premiere of the opera Bizet died of a heart attack at the age of 37

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Georges Bizet

Bizets famous opera “Carmen”•Four acts

•First performed in Paris

•Tells the story of the downfall of Don José,

•Before run concluded, Bizet died suddenly, and thus knew nothing of the opera's later celebrity

•Continues to be one of the most frequently performed operas

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Giacomo Puccini’s Madame Butterfly

• This piece was set in Nagasaki, Japan• Contains 3 acts

– 1st: Introduction, soft instruments– 2nd: More drama, but mellow at the same time– 3rd: Climax, Deeper, more suspenseful instruments

• It ends when the man’s ex-wife from Japan kills herself with a knife (In the 3rd Act)

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Giacomo Puccini

• Works became less frequent as he got older• Favorite theme=Love• Known for:

– Madame Butterfly

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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky1840 - 1893

o Born in Russia

o As a child, took piano lessons

o Mother passed away from cholera when he was young

Traumatized him, struggled with it for the rest of his life

Was very devoted to her

o Married twice

Both marriages unsuccessful

Had multiple affairs and known for homosexuality scandal

o Died of cholera

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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

• Composed during the romantic Period• Russian Heritage had an influence on his

music• Wrote:

– Overtures– Symphonies– Ballets– Operas– Sonatas (occasionally)

• Music consisted of– European Harmonic Regression– Expressive melodies– Structured meters– Repetition – Heavy orchestration

• One of Tchaikovsky’s major works is the Romeo and Juliet overture that contains the well known “love theme.”