music APPRECIATION - week 12
(EBOOK: Chapters 37-39)
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Just for fun -- watch this clip of a modern-era 12 year-old genius at work. This young lady is a concert violinist, pianist, and composer!
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MUSICAL EXAMPLES | ||
Franz Liszt (1811 - 1886), Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (1847) One of 19 rhapsodies for piano, this is by far his most popular. Featured in several rather famous cartoon sequences, this work is representative of some of the most extremely technically demanding pieces in the entire piano literature. Liszt was known early in his career as music's foremost pianist, and the unrestricted rhapsodic form provided an ideal showcase for his abilities. This piece also shows a great example of nationalistic influences in music. To view the BUGS BUNNY CARTOON SEQUENCE, CLICK HERE! |
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Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847), Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor (1830) A romantic composer with conservative tastes, his concerto is one of the most often played works in today's repetoire. Note the extreme virtuosity of his writing. In this example, he avoids the more conventional double exposition of his Sonata-Allegro form and segues DIRECTLY into the second and third movements which follow. Note the pianist in this example was only ELEVEN years old at the time of this performance!!! FORMAL CONSTRUCTION (MMT. 1)
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Felix Mendelssohn Although following a standard concerto three-movement form, the piece has some innovations: immediately introducing the soloist, all three movements are played immediately without a break (similar to his piano concerto above), etc. The first movement cadenza was written by the composer and is played just before the recapitulation. The soloist was 12 years old at the time of this recording! Formal Construction MMT. 1
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Rachel Portman (born 1960), Music Score for the movie Cider House Rules (1999) NOTE: THIS IS NOT A COMPOSITION FROM THE ROMANTIC PERIOD, USED FOR EXAMPLE ONLY! This is a great example of what would be considered modern-day incidental music, and was composed as background music for the critically acclaimed movie. It was also nominated for an Academy Award in 1999. Of course, this music should sound familiar to all Michigan residents as it is used for the Pure Michigan TV/Radio commercials. CLICK HERE to view the official movie trailer. |
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Felix Mendelssohn, Overture, A Midsummer Night's Dream (1826); this piece was composed by the composer at the age of 19! It is the first of a musical genre -- a "stand alone" overture and precursor to the symphonic tone poem. This music is considered as "program" music -- and instrumental work composed with the intention of telling a story (in this case, the play by William Shakespeare). It wasn't until 1842 when Mendelssohn was commissioned to compose incidental music for the actual play. Later, many orchestras combine his overture with specific instrumental pieces from his incidental music and present it as an orchestral suite. Note that while the music is Romantic in purpose and spirit (depicting a specific program using ethereal sounds of another world), it is nevertheless very Classical in construction. |
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Felix Mendelssohn, A Midsummer Night's Dream (1842); the famous Wedding March; originally written as incidental music to accompany the play by Shakespeare (and therefore can be considered as an example of "program music"); it was later made into a concert suite. |
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Hector Berlioz (1803 - 1869), Symphonie fantastique, MMT. 4 ("March to the Scaffold") 1830 BEGINS AT 36:18 or so. An excellent example of the program symphony, in 5 movements. Berlioz was considered as a "master orchestrator" (the first to utilize a tuba in the brass section). His symphony utilizes an "idee fixee" -- in this case a slow clarinet passage at the end of the movement and somehow used in all of the movements to promote cohessiveness). |
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Bedrich Smetana (1824 - 1884), The Moldau, from My Country (1874-79) One piece in a cylce of six symphonic poems and an excellent example of program music -- meant to capture images and promote a storyline in music. |
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Edvard Grieg (1843 - 1907) Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1, Op. 46 (Excerpt from "Morning Mood") (1874-75). An orchestral suite derived from incidental music to a play by Henrik Ibsen. |
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Edvard Grieg, Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1, Op. 46 (Excerpt from "Hall of the Mountain King"). An orchestral suite derived from incidental music to a play by Henrik Ibsen. The piece is played as the title character Peer Gynt, in a dream-like fantasy, enters "Dovregubben (the troll Mountain King)'s hall". The scene's introduction continues: "There is a great crowd of troll courtiers, gnomes and goblins. Dovregubben sits on his throne, with crown and sceptre, surrounded by his children and relatives. Peer Gynt stands before him. There is a tremendous uproar in the hall." The first lines in the scene are sung: "Slay him! The Christian man's son has seduced the fairest maid of the Mountain King! Slay him! Slay him!"
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Richard Strauss (1864 - 1949) A symphonic tone poem for large orchestra, tonal but highly chromatic, program music inspired by the writings of Nietzsche. This portion of the piece depicts the dawn of man; used in Krubrick's 2001 Space Odyssey movie. |
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Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) German Requiem, MMT. 4 (1868). Considered a "classicist", he was a master of "absolute" music; note the sharp contrast in style between this work and the Strauss piece cited above. This requiem was inspired by the death of his mother and/or possibly the death of one of his beloved composers, Robert Schumann. Note that unlike a Roman Catholic requiem, which emphasizes a rather dark message and is in a fixed format, a German requiem is based on positive texts and is not in a fixed format. |
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Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Symphony No. 3 in F major, MMT. 3 (1883). As stated above, note the sharp contrast in style between this work and the Strauss piece cited earlier. This movement is in ABA-Coda form. |
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Brahms, German Folksongs (Wake Up, My Heart); As a "Classicist" composer, Brahms was strongly influenced by the love of his country and RE-HARMONIZED many folksongs (144). This song is an excellent example of STROPHIC form (a recurring stanza - ABB form); note the piano accompaniment, in which Brahms utilizes harmony/chords with a great deal of sophistication as opposed to the traditional "street vendor" versions. |
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Brahms, Hungarian Dance No. 5; Brahms fell in love with Hungarian themes and folk music early in his career. He composed 21 famous Hungarian dances for piano, some of which were orchestrated later for piano four-hands and orchestra. His most famous Hungarian dance is the one heard in this example. |
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Antonin Dvorak (1841 - 1904) This movement follows strict Sonata Allegro form and contains many references to early American and traditional folk songs.
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Antonin Dvorak (1841 - 1904) A "Classically" oriented composer (following the pathway of Johannes Brahms rather than Richard Strauss), often utilizing well-known folk tunes quite familiar to the local public. This piece was composed while he was residing in the United States and contains references to early American and traditional folk songs. |