Beethoven history
1770-1827 Studied with Haydn Dad was an alcoholic singer who beat him and was very into the idea of Beethoven being the next Mozart Went Deaf, was mean because of it but noone understood his pain People of the day liked his works; even if they were confused or befuddled by them, like Eroica 3 periods: Early (everything up to 1802) Works mocked Mozart and Haydn Piano Sonatas op. 10 and op, 13 (Pathe*tique) and Second Symphony in Beethoven style though Middle Period (1802-1815) Works that are most Beethoven Waldstein and Appassionata Piano Sonatas; the Razumovsky Strng Quartets; the Third through Eighth Symphonies; the thrid through fifth piano concertos; the violin concerto, and the opera Fidelio. Called the heroic style, the struggle and triumph in the works, like in The Third Symphony, the Fifth Symphony, and the Third Leonore Overture Late Period (1815-1827) Becomes a recluse, and music loses the heroic feeling; except the ninth symphony; and the music moves toward extremes of form, proportion, texture, and harmony. Finale of 9th Symphony conforms to no pattern. Explores a sesnse of harmonic freedom and raw emotion.
Berlioz
1803-1869

Not accepted very quickly; wrote in the style he knew people would like only when he had to. Couldn’t get commissioned by the Ope*ra so he wrote musical reviews instead. Wrote a textbook on orchestration that was revised by Strauss and is still used today.

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Principal Works(Symphonie fantastique)

Symphonise and Concert Overtures: His 3 major symphonies are the greatest of their kind in the 19th century. All based on literary elements; Symphonie fantastique, based on his; Harold en italie based on epic poem Childe Harold’s Pilgrimmage; Rome*o et Juliette based on R&J
Overtures also inspired by texts like Waverly, Les francs-juges, King Lear, Rob Roy, and Le Corsaire
Operas-Wrote two, not overly popular, Cellini and Les Troyens (Trojan War)
Vocal Music-Wrote several unstaged vocal works, Requiem, L’Enfance du Christ, La Damnation, Lelio, and invented a new genre with his song cycle for voice and orchestra, Les nuits d’e*te*

Schubert
1797-1828

Born into a musical family. Like Mozart, never got a secure position as a composer in spit of talent, died young at 31, taught lessons to make ends meet. Great Songwriter! Might have been a homo.

Principal Works

Symphonies-Wrote 2, Unfinished and Great

String Quartetes and Other Chamber Works- Death and the Maiden, string quartet, slwo and set to song of same name, Trout quintet, variations on song The Trout

Piano Sonatats and Miscellanous Works for Piano-The Wanderer Fantasy for sonata and Impromptus and Moments musicaux, both where miscellanous works

Songs-Schuberts big thing, Der Lindenbaum, An Schwager Kronos, Die Forelle, and Gretchen am Spinnrade. Two song cycles, Die Wintereise and Die scho$ne Mu$llerin

Chopin
1810-1849

Had poor health, charged alot for lessons, never felt at home, from Poland but lived in France

Principal Works

Solo Piano-mainly all he wrote and will be further broken down

Nocturnes-evening song
Etudes-strict tehcnique, technical challenge, two books of “studies”
Polonaises-highly stylized polish dances
Waltzes0stylized pieces meant for dancing
Sonatas-earliest, youthful, last two, dense and complicated, show effect of beethoven
ballades-most celebrated, technically demanding and very dramatic
Scherzos-four, large scale, triple meter and ABA
Impromptus-Three, lighter, Fantasie-Impromptu
Independent-Barcarolle, Berceuse, Bolero, and Fantasie

Other Works-include two piano concertos, sonatat for cello, piano trio

Verdi
1813-1901

had musical talent but not enough to get into schools, dove into private lessons and counterpoint, became famous after first opera, big in Italy, made home for retired musicians, royalty’s went there for 30 years post-death

Principal Works

Opera-Had roughly three periods, first, which went through the 1840s and included Oberto,nabucco, Ernani, Macbeth, and Luisa Miller, was like the works of predecessors. Middle period began with Rigoletto and was most of his most popular works (Il Trovatore, La Traviata, Un ballo in maschera, La forza del destino, and Aida. In the end he wrote Otello and Falstaff which incorporated the orchestra more than ever before.
Sacred Music-Wrote a collection called Four Sacred Pieces with an Ave Maria written in a fake key and wrote the Verdi Requiem aka the Messa da Requiem

Wagner
1813-1883

Great critic. Also wrote tons of Operas. Had a great job in Germany as Kapellmeister in Dresden and then left when the Revolution of 1848 happened, then went to Bayreuth and built a unifying opera house.

Principal Works-

Early Operas- Die Feen, Das Liebesverbot, Measure for measure, and Rienzi

The Romantic Operas-Der fliegende holla$nder, Tannha, Lohengrin

Music Drams-Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger von Nu$rnberg, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Parisfal(never supposed to be performed outside of Bayreuth, that has been disregarded)

Tchaikovsky
1840-1893

Depressed often, late bloomer music wise, mixed all styles but was nationalistic

Prinicipal Works

Ballets and Operas-Swan lake, Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker, all operas, next operas, Eugen Onegin and Queen of Spades

Symphony- six, only good one was Pathe*tique
Overture-1812 Oveture
Symphonic Poem-he cultivated it

Brahms
1833-1897

Embraced musical past, music hard to understand, declared amazing beyond belief by Schumann, critics ate him alive so he ignored them.

Principal Works

Symphonies and Orchestral Works-Wrote four symphonies, two ovetures: Academic Festival Oveture and Tragic Oveture. Serenades: Variations on a Theme of Haydn.
Concertos-few in number
Chamber Works-very technically demanding
Piano Music-wrote mainly variations, tried solo but gave up
Songs-wrote many but most aren’t used
Vocal Music-The German Requiem, Alto Rhapsody, Na$nie, Triumphlied

Mahler
1860-1911

wanted to be a martyr, had no following, music considered crazy, torn between jewish and catholocism

Prinipal Works

Songs-schubert plus chormaticism, three major cycles, des kanben wunderhorn, lider eines farenden gesellen, kindertotenlider
Symphonies-Wunderhorn, middle period(5-7), symphony of a thousand, the late symphonies(das lied von der erde) scared to write it

Beethoven Prinicipal Works
Prinicipal Works: Symphony-Third Symphony, first Beethoven Symphony, was huge and was different than any other symphony’s, structuraly complex, weight of finale, treatment of orechestra, heroism Piano Sonatas-32 of them, explore many styles, Moonlight Sonata, Appassionata, Tempest, Les Adieux, Hammerklavier Stringer Quartet; Other Chamber-Wrote many sonatas for many instruments, late quartets were some of the hardest written during the 19th century, early ones were shadows of works by Haydn and Mozart, First set that were Beethoven style where the Razumovsky Quartets, the Harp Quartet was called so because ofthe arpeggiated pizzicato figures in the first movement Vocal Music-wrote more than people realize, Oratorio(Christ on the mount of olives), the opera Fidelio, 50 canons for voices, and much else