Music of Beethoven - Essay Example

Each period represents a style of composition and orchestration. Anything differentiating from the norm or acts as a transition piece from one style to another is considered avant-garde, cacophonous and beyond the pleasure of the audience. A change is societal norms often is reflective of an inner crisis as in Beethovens deafness, or a psychological desire to do something innovating or basically a "crowd pleasure". Beethoven did not need to please crowds. He had become reclusive and wanted to compose for himself and his own solace. In Beethovens late period, when he realized that his only resource was to accept his fate of deafness, he composed some of the most unconventional music of his time. He had the soundless world of tone in his mind. His music is of calming quality, or of grotesque affirmations as the last movement of the 9th symphony. Never had any composer added a chorus to the last movement of a symphony before. He had enjoyed Bachs Masses. He changed the concept of variations of a theme and developed it into full movements; giving it a sense of contrapuntal textures. He had adored Bach. He used Fugues in his string quartets of this period. He changed the musical form but not the structure in this period. One of his quartets had 7 movements instead of 4. One sonata had 2 movements: one movement and a set of variations of the theme of the movement. His 9th Symphony, Joy to the World: was based on Schillers Ode to Joy. He used two principle ideas: universal brotherhood through the love of God. The choral was magnificent. As one point there were 4 solo voices to sing. His late works were so intimate and intimidating. His whole life he considered music as a mode of self expression His compositions of the third period of his life were beyond the understanding of most. We do not consider the compositions avant-garde as we have heard what came afterwards. Beethoven is an excellent introduction into an avant-garde composer of his time. He did not conform to society. He adapted new forms of compositions and orchestrations. He wrote for different groups of instrumentation. He was not understood by his contemporaries; and he composed for himself. The last issue in which Beethoven was not affected was the patronage of royalty. Beethoven early in his life decided what he was going to compose and for whom. Most composers had patrons and as artists, they wrote what was asked of them. 19th avant-garde composers compositional or other issues Berlioz and Liszt were contemporaries. They were forced by the times to be more than just composers. They did not have patrons. They had to work by supplying their incomes through writing (literary), by being music critic, teaching, conducting and performing. Their contributions to musical composition were unique and their forms are used today. Both Liszt and Berlioz wanted to join both music and literature of the 19th century Romanticism. They both were writers, critics and avid readers of literary genre. Liszt (1811-1866) had an incredibly eclectic background which affected his musical composition. He was a hot headed hungarian who spent time in Paris during the Literary Romanticism. Program Music was a manifestation of having met Berlioz. Everything Liszt composed had a program title or was in a style where the listener could imagine one feeling or style or scene. His wrote several collections of tone pictures and symphonic poems. The symphonic poem became a form of music to describe a scene, poem, event etc. It required a title and explanatory note from the composer. One of the most important symphonic poem in the 21rst century is Smetenas Moldau. This form of music was used all through the romantic period. Dvorkaks New World Symphony is also considered a symphonic poem. Berlioz (1803-1869) compositional form which compared to the Symphonic form started before Liszt. He developed musical drama and dramatic symphonies. His Symphonie fantastique composed in 1930, is a musical drama without words. "The program should be regarded in the same way as the spoken words of an opera servicing to introduce the musical numbers by describing the situation that evokes the particular mood and expressive character of each" Is is a musical wonders in the multitudes of moods. The symphony is not put together by the movements but by the effect of the drama through the five movements".(Grout 599) Shakespeare was one of his favorite writers. Berlioz composed his dramatic symphony, Romeo and Juliet, for orchestra, soloist, and chorus. He was copying Beethovens 9th symphony but his work was 7 movements and he used the voices throughout and the form starts to represent a "dramatic legend". Program music as the dramatic symphony, the musical drama, the tone pictures and the symphonic poems were forms of composition which were used all through the Romantic era Throughout the 1840s, Berlioz was invited to travel all over Europe, there was little appreciation for his music in France. He was in debt for the compositions that were complete failures . He traveled to Russia, worked 7 months as musical conductor in England and toured Europe. His trip to Russia gave him some financial respite. When he came back to France. he published his Treatise. He became gainfully employed as the head librarian in 1850 at the Conservatoire de Paris. His life was filled with disappointments, financial hardships, loneliness and solitude. In addition, people did not like his music. He was miserable as his music ignored by the most part of the French musical scene. It was not understood. It was expensive to perform his pieces as the number of musicians exceeded the normal amounts. The orchestra pits were not large enough and the scenes were too small. His orchestration was studied as being innovative outside of the country but in France it was thought to be ridiculous. The Russian school of music The Russian Five took his treatise of instrumentation and used it for their compositions. He was invited back to Russian for a second tour in the 50s. At an emotional level, he was an intellectual mastermind. He started his studies in medical school. He begged his father to let him go to the conservatory. He had an insatiable need for affection. Liszt did also but obviously had a more appealing affect as he had more affairs. Since Berlioz was not as successful, he did not fulfill his emotional needs as he wanted . Liszt became his friend in 1830. He had come to Paris after the death of his father in 1823. He supported the family by giving piano lesson. He was an avid reader which would serve as a literary writer. In 1833, he transcribed Berliozs Symphonie Fantastique to help him earn money and to make the composition more available to those who couldnt go to concerts. He toured four over 8 years in which time he wrote his program music. He and Berlioz helped he genre of orchestral program music but one was happy with his life and the other was not. Berlioz was an atheist and Liszt would be indecisive between a religious life and a torrid life style Berlioz died in 1869 by himself and miserable. He no longer had family and had not performed in a while. He had waited for death to knock. Liszt died in 1867 at the music festival in Bayreuth Germany, still the musician he was born to be. Avant-garde is a hard road to chose as it does not mean the same road for each person. Here are three composer: Beethoven, Berlioz and Liszt. Two of them suffered in their lives of the stress of rejection Berlioz and Liszt brought to light that music can bring a feeling without words. It has been used up to today. 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