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Chapter 10

The Nineteenth Century II:

Mid- to Late-Romantic Music

Understanding Music By Jeremy Yudkin

PRENTICE HALL

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

10-2

Mid-Romantic Era

1850s to 1870s

Most important works were: solo piano works, symphonic program music, and opera.

Most important composers were: Franz Liszt, Giuseppe Verdi, Richard Wagner, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.


PRENTICE HALL



10-3

Works for Solo Piano

Solo piano music was appealing

to Romantics because of the focus

on the individual.

The focus was on musical

expression and technical

prowess.

First “performer-hero” at the

piano was Franz Liszt.


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10-4

Symphonic Program Music

Two paths during the Mid-Romantic Era

Programmatic symphony-a full-length symphony with each of its 3 to 5 movements depicting an episode in the narrative

Symphonic poem--single-movement self-contained work for orchestra; also programmatic

Liszt was the greatest mid-Romantic composer of symphonic poems.


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10-5

Opera: Schools and Types

Three national schools of opera:

the French, the Italian, and the

German

Each had a distinct national

identity by the time of the mid-

Romantic period.


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10-6


French opera--three types

Grand opera--lofty subject matter, spectacular staging, ballet, choruses, and crowd scenes; recitatives, arias, and choruses--no spoken dialogue

Opéra comique--(comic opera)--much smaller cast and orchestra with a simpler musical style and more down-to-earth plots with humorous or romantic interest--some spoken dialogue


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10-7


French opera--three types

Lyric opera--between grand opera

and lyric opera; melodious; subject

matter was tragic love; proportions

lay somewhere between the

spectacular and the skimpy.

Greatest lyric opera is Carmen

(1857) by George Bizet.

Set the stage for verismo (realism) in

opera toward the end of the 19th

century.


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10-8


Italian opera--dominated by the

achievements of Giuseppe Verdi.

Three important composers of

Italian opera preceded him:

Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini

Rossini--Barber of Seville (1816)

Bellini--Norma (1831)


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10-9


German opera--central figure was

Richard Wagner.

Influenced by the works of Carl

Maria von Weber--Der Freischütz

(1821) with its supernatural and

heroic subject matter and heavy

emphasis on the role of the

orchestra.


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10-10

Nationalism

After the Napoleonic Wars ended in 1814, European countries began to assert their independence and to stress national identity.

Italy unified under a constitutional monarchy in 1870.

A single German empire was created from a collection of separate states in 1871.


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10-11

Nationalism

Polish people rebelled against the ruling Russians.

Czechs rebelled against their Austrian rulers.

Norway gained independence from Sweden.

Finland struggled for independence from Russia.

Russia had a Civil War to preserve a single national identity.


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10-12

Nationalism

This movement was reflected in the arts.

Local language was fostered.

Books of national poetry were published.

Intellectuals turned with increasing interest to the folk tales, dances, and songs of their native heritage.

Operas were based on national legend or history and were written in the native language.


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10-13

Nationalism

This movement was reflected in the arts.

Folk tunes appeared in symphonic music.

Rhythms of folk dances were used in chamber works.

Verdi wrote barely disguised political protests into his operas and was regarded as a national hero.


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10-14

Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

Born in 1811 in Hungary.

Father was an administrator and court musician at the Esterházy Palace, where Haydn spent much time.

Liszt learned to play piano from his father.

After moving to Vienna, he studied composition with Antonio Salieri, who had taught Schubert and Beethoven.


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10-15


At 13, the family moved to Paris; he began to tour Europe as a piano virtuoso.

He showed incredible technique.

He was known as a fabulous showman.

At age 20, he heard Paganini and decided to achieve the same level of virtuosity on the piano.

His fingers were unusually long and thin, and he could play tenths with ease.


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10-16


Developed great friendships with Berlioz and Chopin.

Lived with Countess Marie d’Agoult, a novelist who published under the name, Daniel Stern.

She left her husband to live with him, and they had 3 children.

They traveled frequently around Europe while he performed to enthusiastic crowds and composed.


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10-17


1842--settled in Weimar, Germany, where he had been appointed music director.

Devoted himself to composing and conducting.

Relationship with Countess ended in 1844; he began an affair with a Russian princess.


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10-18


While with the Countess, he completed most of the compositions that made him famous--12 symphonic poems, 2 programmatic symphonies, and much music for solo piano.

1861--resigned at Weimar and went to Rome to begin religious studies.


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10-19


Became an abbé and wrote several religious compositions:

Psalm settings

Masses

An oratorio

Near the end of his life, he again composed music for the piano and completed some pieces that foreshadowed the harmonies and Impressionistic colors of early 20th century music.


PRENTICE HALL



10-20

Liszt’s Music

Liszt and Wagner are considered

the most avant-garde composers

of the mid-19th century.

Liszt’s piano music is quite varied.

Transcendental Études--contain

some of the most difficult piano

music ever written.

Dance forms: mazurkas, waltzes,

polonaises, and Hungarian

dances


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10-21

Liszt’s Music


Piano Sonata in B Minor

One long movement with 3

themes that are stated at the

beginning

The themes reappear in different

forms throughout the piece.

Called thematic transformation.


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10-22

Liszt’s Music


Hungarian Rhapsodies--examples

of more of his nationalist music

Transcriptions--“translations” of

music from one medium to

another

100s of transcriptions of

orchestral and operatic music for

piano


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10-23

Liszt’s Music

Orchestral music

Best known of 12 symphonic poems are Les Préludes and Hamlet.

Two programmatic symphonies:

Faust Symphony--based on main characters of Goethe’s play

Dante Symphony--based on the 3 main parts of Dante’s Divine Comedy


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10-24

Liszt’s Music

Liszt expanded the boundaries of what was considered possible to perform on the piano.

His Hungarian music contributed to the nationalist movement of his home country.

He influenced several generations of composers after him and foreshadowed some of the harmonic changes of the 20th century.


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10-25

Liszt’s Transcendental Étude No. 10 in F Minor Composed in 1826 when Liszt was

only 15 years old.

Revised and reissued later--in

1839.

“Ten times more difficult than

before”

Berlioz said Liszt was the only

person who could play it.


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10-26

Liszt’s Transcendental Étude No. 10 in F Minor Explored every possible

demanding piano technique:

Doubled octave passages

Rapid skips

Intricate bass tracery

Fast runs

Massive chords

Widely separated hands


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10-27

Liszt’s Transcendental Étude No. 10 in F Minor Contains some unusual harmonies

and a great sense of moving

forward.

Although seemingly random and

uncontrollable, the piece is

actually carefully organized.


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10-28

Verdi and Wagner

Each became the symbol of opera for his own country:

Verdi in Italy

Wagner in Germany

They both had long careers, writing their last operas in their 70s.

They made opera the central genre of mid-Romanticism.


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10-29

Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)

Verdi was admired in Italy while still a

young man.

Born in a small northern village where

his father ran an inn.

As a boy he played the organ for

services at the local church and

conducted the town band in Busseto.

One of the wealthy merchants In

Busseto sent him to Milan to study

music.


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10-30


The famous opera house, La Scala, was

located in Milan.

When he returned to Busseto, he

married his patron’s daughter when he

was 23 and she was 16.

Although he started composing there,

his two children died along with his

wife; he became seriously depressed

and decided not to compose anymore.


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10-31


The concert manager at La Scala gave

him the libretto for Nabucco

(Nebuchadnezzar), and he liked it so

well he composed an opera by that

name which was produced in 1842.

During the next eleven years, he

wrote 15 operas. The most famous

were:

Rigoletto (1851)

Il trovatore (1853)

La traviata (1853)


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10-32


Verdi became a very wealthy man; he married again and bought a country estate.

1860s and 1870s he wrote 3 more operas including Aida, which was commissioned for the opening of the Suez Canal.


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10-33


His final surge of creativity yielded 2 more operas:

Otello in 1887 (based on Shakespeare’s Othello)

Falstaff in 1893 (based on Shakespeare’s play, The Merry Wives of Windsor

The Jewish chorus in Nabucco was heard by the Italians as a rallying cry against their Austrian rulers.


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10-34


During his life he became a national symbol.

After Italian independence in 1870, he was name an honorary member of parliament.

When he died (at age 88), Italy declared a national day of mourning.


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10-35

Verdi’s Music

Music in other genres besides

opera:

A magnificent Requiem

Several songs

A fine string quartet


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10-36

Verdi’s Music

Secret to his operatic success was his

beautiful melodies.

He also specialized in writing stirring

rhythms that can set the heart

pounding.

True essence of a Verdi opera is in the

drama:

Strong emotional resonance

Violent contrasts

Quick action


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10-37

Verdi’s Music

Between 1840 and 1880, Verdi’s

compositional style became more

fluid.

Instead of the recitatives-arias

style of earlier compositions, he

created a continuing musical flow

in which the drama unfolded.


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10-38

Verdi’s Music

The music was held together by the

orchestral accompaniment.

Binds voices together in duet, trios, and

ensembles.

Keeps action moving.

Supplies rich, colorful harmonies.

Verdi also uses the orchestra to present

motives that represent people in the

story, thus approaching Wagner’s

concept of the lietmotif.


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10-39

Verdi’s Otello(excerpt)

The last of Verdi’s tragic operas.

Dramatic interest lies in the portrayal of

human emotions.

Story: Iago, a junior officer in the

Venetian army, is intensely jealous of

the promotion of his friend, Cassio. He

tries to destroy Cassio’s career by

deceiving Otello into thinking that

Cassio is having an affair with his new

wife, Desdemona.


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10-40

Verdi’s Otello(excerpt)

Form is somewhere halfway

between recitative and aria--

called accompanied recitative.

Scene ends with a huge orchestral

climax.


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10-41

Richard Wagner (1813-1883)

Born in Leipzig, Germany.

Father died when he was an infant, and his mother remarried.

Educated under the influence of his stepfather, who was a writer and an artist.

He studied Shakespeare and Homer and heard Beethoven’s music.


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10-42


Studied music at Leipzig University, but left before finishing his degree to take a job at a small opera house.

For six years there, he learned about opera from the inside, both as a chorus director and as a conductor.

He married an actress, Minna Planer, and composed his first operas.


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10-43


Left Germany in debt, fleeing in the night to Paris with his wife.

They were very poor; the Paris Opera wouldn’t produce his opera, Rienzi.

He made money selling his music.

He composed another opera, The Flying Dutchman.


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10-44


Then he heard that both Rienzi and The Flying Dutchman were going to be produced in Germany. These were a great success.

At age 30, he was appointed court conductor in Dresden.

Two more operas were composed:

Tannhäuser (1845) and Lohengrin (1848).

Librettos based on folk legend.


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10-45


1848--joined a failed coup against the monarchy; he had to leave Germany again.

Settled with his wife in Zurich for 12 years. Some of his most important compositions were written there:

Essay: The Art Work of the Future (1849)

Book: Opera and Drama (1851).


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10-46


He called for a return to the artistic ideals of Greek antiquity in which poetry, drama, philosophy, and music could be combined into a single work of art.

He believed music and words should be completely interwoven into a genre he called music drama.


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10-47


Wagner was an anti-Semite who wrote an anti-Jewish essay and attacked the music of Jewish composers.

He wrote the largest musical project of the entire Romantic period--his cycle of music dramas known as The Ring of the Nibelungs.


PRENTICE HALL



10-48

The Ring of the Nibelungs

Four long operas based on

medieval German legend,

involving gods and goddesses,

dwarfs and giants, and human

heroes.

Four operas are: The Rhinegold,

The Valkyries, Siegfried, and The

Twilight of the Gods.


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10-49

The Ring of the Nibelungs

Music and poetry were both written by

Wagner.

The work took > 25 yrs. to complete.

Music describes and illuminates the

poetry.

Leitmotivs--musical phrases

associated with objects, characters,

events, thoughts, and feelings--added

meaning to the text and offered

psychological insights into the

characters.


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10-50


Wagner was not a faithful husband. He

finally left Minna and married Cosima

von Bülow.

For 8 years he believed his operas

wouldn’t be produced, but then King

Ludwig II of Bavaria stepped in.

The King funded his every wish,

including a new opera house in

Bayreuth, where he could stage his

operas.


PRENTICE HALL



10-51

Wagner’s Music

His only important music was

opera.

The early operas, Rienzi and The

Flying Dutchman, are typical of

German Romantic opera--with

grand scenes and separate

recitatives and arias.

His human characters, however,

were symbolic of grand ideas.


PRENTICE HALL



10-52

Wagner’s Music

By the later operas, Tannhäuserand Lohengrin, he had developed his poetic skills; he based his stories on ancient legends.

In these operas, the individual arias, recitatives, and choruses were not as distinct in musical style, flowing with much more musical continuity.


PRENTICE HALL



10-53

Wagner’s Music

In The Ring the music is absolutely continuous, and the orchestra carries the main musical content.

The voices sing in arioso style--halfway between speech-like recitative and lyrical aria, blending into the instrumental fabric.


PRENTICE HALL



10-54

Wagner’s Music

The orchestra is central to all of Wagner’s music.

He enjoyed using the brass instruments.

He even invented the Wagner tuba, a new musical instrument the sound of which covered the gap between the French horns and the trombones. The Ring uses four of these.


PRENTICE HALL



10-55

Wagner’s Music

Wagner achieves musical continuity through the orchestra but also through the harmonies that he employs.

Melts the end of one phrase into the beginning of the next, instead of having clear cadences.

Since the music is so chromatic, it’s hard to say what key it is in at any one point.


PRENTICE HALL



10-56

Wagner’s Music

His music depends on the leitmotif--this was similar to Berlioz’ idée fixe (which represented the beloved) in theSymphonie fantastique.

The leitmotif is different however because it can refer to things as well as people.

He combines, interweaves, contrasts, and blends these in his music.


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10-57

Wagner’s Music

The orchestra is the central “character” of his music dramas.

In his harmonic construction, he lays the groundwork for some of the ideas which came to fruition in the 20th century.


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10-58

The Nationalist Composers

Wrote operas in their own native languages.

Based operas and symphonic poems on stories from national folklore and on descriptions of native scenes of natural beauty.

Often wove their own countries’ folk tunes into their compositions to give their music a distinct national identity.


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10-59

The Nationalist Composers: Russia

Nationalism was first felt in Russia.

Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881)

Boris Godunov--based on a story by the Russian writer, Alexander Pushkin

Pictures at an Exhibition--a series of pieces depicting paintings hanging in a gallery

Night on Bald Mountain--a symphonic poem


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10-60

The Nationalist Composers: Bohemia Now a region of the Czech

Republic.

Two principal composers of the 19th century were Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884) and Antonin Dvorák.


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10-61

The Nationalist Composers: Bohemia Smetana

Opera: The Bartered Bride--based on Bohemian folklore.

Symphonic poem: The Moldau--describes a river across the Bohemian countryside.


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10-62

The Nationalist Composers: Bohemia Dvorák

9 Symphonies: 9th is called New World Symphony--most famous

Combines American themes with Bohemian folk melodies.

Hoped to inspire American composers to become nationalists.

Cello Concerto

Slavonic Dances for Orchestra


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10-63

The Nationalist Composers: Moravia Now a region of the Czech

Republic

Foremost composer was Leos Janácek (1854-1928).

Collected authentic Moravian folk songs.

Wrote 2 superb Czech operas and 2 fine string quartets, both in the 1920s.


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10-64

The Nationalist Composers: Scandinavia Norway: Edvard Grieg (1843-

1907)

Peer Gynt Suite--written for the play by Henrik Ibsen.

Denmark: Carl Nielsen (1865-1931)

Operas, symphonies, and string quartets


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10-65

The Nationalist Composers: Scandinavia Finland--Jan Sibelius (1865-1957)

7 superb symphonies

A string quartet

Symphonic poem, Finlandia--his most famous work

Banned by the foreign rulers in Finland, but a big hit throughout the rest of Europe!


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10-66

The Nationalist Composers: Spain

Three main nationalist composers were:

Enrique Granados (1867-1916)

Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909)

Manuel de Falla (1876-1946)

Granados and Albéniz wrote piano suites in lively Spanish rhythms with colorful melodies.

De Falla is best known for Nights in the Gardens of Spain--a series of 3 pieces for piano and orchestra.


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10-67

The Nationalist Composers: France

After the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871, a National Society for French Music was founded to encourage French composers.

Two important composers were:

Camille Saëns (1835-1921)

Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924).


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10-68

The Nationalist Composers: France

Camille Saëns

Carnival of the Animals for chamber orchestra

Symphony No. 3--a more serious work

Gabriel Fauré

Several exquisite French songs

A series of 13 Nocturnes for piano

A Requiem Mass


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10-69

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky(1840-1893) Although he wrote Russian operas

and used Russian folk songs in his

music, he was not as committed a

nationalist as other composers of

the day.

Father was a Russian mining

engineer.

Mother was French.


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10-70

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky(1840-1893) Had piano lessons as a child and

did some composing.

At age 14, after his mother died, he turned to music as a strong emotional outlet.

Earned his living as a government clerk until age 19, but when the new St. Petersburg Music Conservatory was founded, he quit and enrolled full time.


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10-71

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky(1840-1893) A year after graduating, he was

appointed professor at the music conservatory in Moscow; after this he devoted his life to music.

Although he was gay, he decided to get married in 1877, which led to a nervous breakdown and a suicide attempt.

He gradually recovered and turned to music once more.


PRENTICE HALL



10-72

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky(1840-1893) Both the 4th Symphony and the

opera, Eugene Onyegin, date from this time and reflect his intense emotional state.

A wealthy widow named Madame von Meck decided to become his patron--as long as they never met.

He resigned his teaching post and composed a great deal of music during the 13 years they corresponded.


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10-73

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky(1840-1893) The relationship ended abruptly,

but by then Tchaikovsky had a substantial income along with a life pension from the Russian czar.

Some of the best known of his music was written in his later years.

The Nutcracker Suite--a ballet

6th Symphony--called Pathétique


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10-74

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky(1840-1893) Died of cholera in 1893, or that’s

the story.

Some suggest he committed suicide because he feared being exposed as a gay man.


PRENTICE HALL



10-75

Tchaikovsky’s Music

Highly emotional with a great range of expression.

Ballets:

The Nutcracker Suite

Swan Lake

Sleeping Beauty

Operas

Eugene Onyegn

The Queen of Spades


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10-76


Instrumental Works

Three piano concertos

A violin concerto

Very interested in instrumental colors, but his orchestras were never the huge size of some of the other composers.

Examples: used a brass fanfare, paired clarinets, celesta, and the bass clarinet in some of his works.


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10-77


A master of melody

Wrote some tunes that became the basis for popular songs or soundtracks for movies.


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10-78

Late Romanticism

Late 19th century changes:

More democratic governments

throughout Europe

Free compulsory schooling with a

more educated public

Better working conditions for the

people

Movement known as “Realism”

affected all of culture.


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10-79

Late Romanticism

Major composers:

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

Used the rigor of Classical and Baroque

musical genres and forms but in

Romantic style.

Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)

Wrote dramatic realist operas with acute

psychological insight.

Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)

Created a synthesis of song and

symphony with a mood of resignation.


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10-80

Johannes Brahms(1833-1897)

Born in Hamburg, Germany.

Father was an orchestral and band

musician, and mother came from a

wealthy family.

Was a child prodigy at the piano.

As a child he wrote pieces for his

father’s band.

As a youth, he was exposed to

Hungarian gypsy music.


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10-81


At age 20, he met Robert and Clara

Schumann.

Compared himself unfavorably with

other great composers of the day.

Took 20 years to publish his first

symphony.

Settled in Vienna where he played the

piano and made a name for himself.

He also worked in Vienna as a

conductor.


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10-82


He was a quiet, reserved person who never married.

Was seen as a symbol of conservatism and the leader of an “anti-modern” movement.

Deliberately attempted to avoid modern genres such as the symphonic poem and the music drama.

Preferred solo piano pieces, songs, choral works, chamber music, concertos, and symphonies.


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10-83


Last movement of his First Symphony makes a deliberate reference to Beethoven’s Ninth.

Last movement of his Fourth Symphony uses a Baroque form and is based on a theme by Bach.

Had a life-long friendship with Clara Schumann and died from cancer just one year after she died of a stroke.


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10-84

Brahms’ Music

Wrote highly original music in

Classical and Baroque forms.

Romantic songs follow those of

Schubert and Schumann.

Main themes are love, nature, and

death.

Most famous of these is “Lullaby”

Op. 49, No 4 (sometimes called

“Brahms’ Lullaby”)


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10-85

Brahms’ Music

Wrote 4 symphonies--all of which

are masterpieces.

Also wrote a masterpiece Violin

Concerto which compares

favorably with those of Beethoven,

Mendelssohn, and Tchaikovsky.

His two piano concertos were

written for himself to play.


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10-86

Brahms’ Music

Orchestral works:

Used an orchestra not much bigger than Beethoven’s, avoiding the huge, showy sounds of Wagner and Liszt.

Used thick orchestral textures, “filling in” the sound between treble and bass with many musical lines and doubling melodies in 3rds and 6ths.


PRENTICE HALL



10-87

Brahms’ Music

Orchestral works:

Especially liked middle-range instruments like the clarinet, the viola, and the French horn.

Chamber music:

Wrote several works for piano and strings.

Wrote some excellent string quartets.

Also wrote two string quintets and two string sextets.


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10-88

Brahms’ Music

Choral Works

German Requiem--for soprano and baritone soloists, chorus, and orchestra

Used texts from German Bible.

Written for concert performance, not for a religious service.


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10-89

Brahms’ Music

Innovative Composer in many ways:

Rhythms are always complex and interesting with syncopation and offbeat accents.

Often used mixed duple and triple meters.

Phrases are often irregular, expanded or contracted from the 4 or 8-bar format.

A master of variation; very little exact repetition in his music.


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10-90

Brahms: Fourth Movement from Symphony No. 4 in E Minor

Orchestration: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 French horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, full string section

Tempo: Allegro energico e passionato (“Fast, energetic, and passionate”)

Meter: 3/4

Key: E Minor


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10-91


Based on a regularly repeating 8-measure harmonic progression.

Form is called passacaglia--a Baroque variation form.

Gives movement a clear, accessible form.

Can be followed simply by counting measures.

Progression is not repeated exactly each time, but is a point of departure for variation.


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10-92


Variations range from pure harmonic

chord progressions to various

melodic ideas.

Initial presentation of the theme is

bold, strong, and direct. It is

primarily harmonic in nature but

also has a powerful melodic

element.

Consistently uses an 8-measure

pattern, which holds the movement

together.


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10-93


Overall Form of the movement is ABA’Coda:

A = Theme, and Variations 1-11

B = Variations 12-15

A’ = Variations 16-30

Coda


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10-94


Greatest opera composer of the late 19th century

Grew up in Lucca, near the coast of Italy.

Came from a family of musicians.

4 generations of men were composers.

At age 14, became the organist at Lucca, and worked melodies of opera arias into his playing.


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10-95


At 18, he heard Verdi’s Aida, and decided to become an opera composer.

Went to Milan to study composition there.

Played and sang portions of one of his own works at a party and was heard by the head of the largest publishing firm in Italy. The firm decided to publish and stage his opera.


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10-96


After his first two early works, he decided to choose his own librettos.

At 35, he produced the first of his great Romantic operas: Manon Lescaut, based on a French love story. It was an overnight success.

Followed this with the great operas: La Bohème (1896), Tosca (1900), and Madama Butterfly (1904).


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10-97


All three of these operas are “realist.”

La Bohème tells the story of poor students and artists living in Paris.

Tosca contains scenes of attempted rape, murder, execution, and suicide.

Madama Butterfly describes the death of a devoted Japanese geisha girl.


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10-98


Last 2 operas:

La fanciulla del West (The Girl of the Golden West, 1910)

Staged at the Metropolitan Opera House in NYC.

This is his “American” opera.

Set in the “Wild West” with saloons, guns, and a manhunt.


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10-99


Last 2 operas:

Turandot--not quite finished when he died in 1924.

A colleague completed the last 2 scenes.

First performance given in 1926 at La Scala in Milan.

Based on a Chinese folk tale.

Puccini’s death was honored with a national holiday in Italy.


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10-100

Puccini’s Music

Stirs the strongest emotions.

Senses of timing, drama, and

poignancy were perfect.

Sets a scene or mood with just a

few phrases of music.

Melodies soar, and vocal lines are

enhanced by the orchestra,

especially the strings.


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10-101

Puccini’s Music

Wrote in fresh, modern

harmonies.

Used strong dissonances and

unexpected chord progressions,

which heightened the drama.

Used unusual scales, such as

pentatonic, to suggest an exotic

locale.


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10-102

Puccini’s Music

Action is continuous with short

orchestra phrases woven together

under the sung dialogue.

Little distinction between

recitative and aria most of the

time.

In some operas, however, there

are arias that are unforgettable.


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10-103

Puccini: “Un bel di” (“One Fine Day” fromMadama Butterfly

Oriental customs and exotic

scenery set the stage for the

tragic plot of this opera.

Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton (an

American lieutenant) has rented a

Japanese house and with it comes

“betrothal” to Cio-Cio-San

(“Butterfly,” a young Japanese

girl).


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10-104


Pinkerton treats the marriage as a

casual affair, returns to America,

and marries an American woman.

When he brings his American

wife to Japan 3 years later, the

grief-stricken Cio-Cio-San

commits suicide.


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10-105


“Un bel di” comes at a time when Cio-Cio-San is trying to convince herself that her husband will return to her.

It contains soaring melodies and “Oriental” sounds.

Its form is Da Capo Aria: ABA.

It contains doubling and tripling of the vocal line in the orchestra.


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10-106


The last of the great Romantic composers

Combines Romantic song and Romantic symphony in a style of late Romanticism.

Born in Bohemia of Jewish parents.

Made his career in Germany.

Gave his first public piano concert at age 10.


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10-107


Lived near a military base, and loved to hear the marching bands.

Band music and marches are included in much of his music.

Attracted to folk poetry and songs.

As a student in Vienna he studied composition, history, and philosophy.

For 20 years he made his living as a conductor, specializing in the works of Mozart, Beethoven, and Wagner.


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10-108


Composed during the summers when the concert season was over. Wrote his first 3 symphonies in this way.

Wanted the prestigious position of music director of the Vienna Opera House, but he was Jewish and couldn’t get it for that reason. So he had himself baptized a Catholic and was hired in 1897.

Completed several large-scale compositions while he was there.


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10-109


1902--fell in love with Alma Schindler and married her, but it was a troubled marriage because he was very autocratic.

Had troubles at the Vienna Opera House because of his domineering ways, and in 1907 he resigned from his job.

1907--daughter also died of scarlet fever.


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10-110


1907--Mahler’s heart condition was discovered.

1908--he accepted two positions in New York:

Music director of the Metropolitan Opera, and

Conductor of the New York Philharmonic.


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10-111


He was superstitious and afraid to finish his 9th symphony because both Beethoven and Schubert died after completing 9 symphonies.

Sure enough, he finished it and started working on the 10th when he died at the age of 50.


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10-112

Mahler’s Music

Tried to capture the whole world of nature, God, love and death, exaltation and despair.

Had to invent new musical genres and forms.

Most of his work is closely connected to song.

4 of his symphonies use voices and instruments.

Song melodies find their way into instrumental compositions.


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10-113

Mahler’s Music

Wrote some important orchestral song cycles--in the place of piano accompaniment, Mahler uses the orchestra, hugely expanding the range of expressive possibilities.

Used quite unorthodox harmony, with compositions that end in a different key from the one in which they began.


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10-114

Mahler’s Music

Some of his symphonies are longer than any previous ones, lasting 90 minutes or more.

A brilliant and subtle orchestrator, he knew exactly the sound he wanted.

Used enormous orchestras to achieve the widest possible range of tone colors.

In the 3rd symphony he wrote a solo for the posthorn, an instrument used on mail coaches.


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10-115

Mahler’s Music

Most of his music is programmatic in some way.

A sense of yearning fills his work--feelings of impossible aims, losses, and the tragic undercurrent of human existence.

His music is full of quotations from Wagner, Brahms, Mendelssohn, and Beethoven.


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10-116

Mahler: Fourth Movement “Primeval Light” in C Minor

This symphony is called

“Resurrection.”

It is through-composed.

Orchestration: alto voice, 2

piccolos, 3 flutes, 2 oboes, English

horn, 3 clarinets, 2 bassoons,

contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3

trumpets, glockenspiel, 2 harps,

and strings


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10-117


Tempo: Sehr feierlich, aber

schlicht (“Very ceremonial, but

straightforward”)

Meter: 4/4

Key: D# Major


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10-118


This symphony is huge, lasting

nearly 90 minutes.

It is in 5 movements.

It traces a spiritual journey from

death to resurrection, reminiscent

of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony.

Idea is highlighted by his use of

the same key (c minor) and

ending in C Major.


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10-119


Movement is an example of the blending of symphony and song.

The setting of a song text, sung by a solo alto voice with the orchestra.

Text’s central message is, “I am made by God and will return to God.”

Melodic phrase ascends and then descends.


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10-120


Movement is an example of the blending of symphony and song.

Instrumental music is quiet, stately, and richly orchestrated with striking key changes.

Music gives words new and profound meaning beyond their own power of expression.


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10-121

Mid- to Late-Romantic Music: Summary New genres, such as the

programmatic symphonic poem, became popular.

Older genres, such as the symphony, were used for programmatic purposes.

Operas used more continuous music with less distinction between recitative and aria--called arioso style.

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