World Famous Music Composers(Romantic Music)

 Romantic Period

            Music of the Romantic period contrasts with classical music in mood and form. The composers of the classical period thought mostly of the form, technique and perfection of their compositions. But the composers of the romantic period were more interested in what they put their own feelings and thoughts into music. They did not hesitate to depart from traditional styles to express personal feelings and place emotion above form. Among the composers of the period were Schubert, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Liszt, Verdi and Wagner.

Franz Schubert

            Franz Schubert was born on January 31^st 1797 in Vienna. He learnt to play the violin from his father, piano from his brother and piano, organ counterpoint from his teacher Michael Holzer. At eleven, Schubert became a choirboy in the court chapel and won a scholarship to the Imperial Seminary, on exclusive boarding school where he played the violin and occasionally conducted the orchestra. Schubert so loved music that he once sold his school to buy a ticket for a performance of Beethoven's Opera Fidelio.

            Schubert composed a number of Masterpieces in his late teens while teaching at his father's school, a job he hated. His love of poetry led him to the art song. He was seventeen when he composed his first great song "Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel"

            The next year he composed 143 songs including the Erlking. When he was 19 he composed 179 works including two Symphonies, and Opera and Mass at 20-1, Schubert gave up teaching to devote himself entirely to music. He lived with ill. He died at 31 on 19^th November 1828.

His works include…

      Orchestra Music-

§         The unfinished Symphony

§         'Great c major symphony'

      Chamber Music-

§         String Quartets

§         Piano Quartets

§         Piano Trios

      Piano-

§         15 piano Sonatas

§         31 Dunces

§         32 piano Duets

      Choral Works-

§         46 works for male Choir

§         19 works for mixed Choir

§         6 works for female Choir

§         36 vocal Trios and Duets

Felix Mendelssohn

            He was born in Hamburg in Germany on 3^rd February 1809, to a wealthy and famous family. By the age of 9 he was a brilliant pianist and by 13^th he had written Symphonies, Concertos, Sonatas and Vocal Works. His overture to "A Midsummer Night's Dream" which he composed when he was 17 is a master piece of startling originality. As a teenager he tried out his compositions with a private Orchestra in the family dining room to a gathering of intellectual artistic society of Berlin.

            At 20 Mendelssohn conducted Bach's "St.Matthews Passion" earned and international reputation. He often performed as pianist, organized and conductor in Germany and in England where his music was popular.

                        Besides his musical achievements, Mendelssohn was a talented pianist, a fine writer and a Brilliant conversationalist in 4 languages.

            The death of a beloved sister was a violent shock and he died 5 months later at the age 38 on November 4^th 1847

His works include...

      Orchestral Music-

§         Symphonies (Mo 2 Lobge Song)

§         Overture Midsummer Nights Dream

§         The Hebrides Oveture

      Choral Works-

§         Oratorios-St. Paul Elijah

      Stage Music-

§         The Wedding of Car Nacho

      Chamber Music-

§         Violin Sonatas

§         2 cello Sonatas

      Piano-

§         Songs without words

§         Ran Do Capriccioso

§         6 Prelude and Fudges

Ludwig Van Beethoven

            This German composer was born on 16^th December 1776. His father & grand father were also musicians. Ludwig had a very unhappy childhood. He made his 1^st public appearance as composer & pianist at the age of 25 years in spite of his gruff manner and bad temper he had many aristocratic friends. He broke away from his system and made way for the composers that followed to be independent. His increasing deafness forced him to abandon public performance and devote him self woolly to composition. He is considered as rof the most original of all composers who had an enormous influence on the music of the 19^th century. He passed away on 26^th march 1827.

His works include-

      Orchestral Music-

§         Symphonies (including the pastoral, Erica the Choral)

§         Violin Concertos,

§         5 piano Concertos

§         2 Romances for violin and Orchestral

      Chord Works-

§         2 masses

      Oratorio-

§         32 Sonatas

§         21 set of Variations

      Songs-

§         Song Cycle to the instant beloved

      Chamber Music-

§         Quintet for piano and wind

§         String Quintet

§         16 string Trios

§         Cello Sonatas

§         Horn Sonatas

      Church Music-

§         18 Masses

§         Requiem

World Famous Music Composers(Classical Music)

Flanz Joseph Haydn (Pron: Hide-n)

            This Austrian composer was born on 31^st March 1732. He was brought up to thrifty, hard working and god fearing. It was an uncle who persuaded the parents to send Joseph Haydn on the path of musical training. He sang in church played the violin and keyboard and soon became a composer of string quartets and symphonies. He was nicknamed the “Father of the Symphony” having composed 104 symphonies. He died on 31^st May 1809.

His works include…

      Orchestral Music-        

§         104 Symphonies

§         The surprise No.

§         13 keyboard Concertos

§         3 violin Concertos

§         1 cello Concertos

§         2 horn Concertos

§         1 trumpet Concertos

      Stage Works-  

§         10 Operas

      Oratorios-       

§         8 Oratorios(creation)

§         12 Masses

§         2 Solo Cantatas

      Chamber Music-

§         84 string Quartets

§         31 piano Trios

§         56 string Trios

      Keyboard Music-

§         52 Sonatas

§         5 sets of variations

      Songs-

§         47 songs

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (mo-tsart)

                 This Australian composer was born on 27^th January 1756. His father Leopold Mozart was also a musician, who taught his son Amadeus and daughter Mari Anna, and took them on concert tours. Son Amadeus showed early signs of musical talent and began composing at 5 year. On his 6^th year he was taken on a concert tour along with his sister, and was acclaimed a “child prodigy” by the time he was ten years he had composed his first tree Symphonies and thirty other works. Music frowned from Mozart increasingly making him the supreme master of the classical style in all the forms of the period. Just before the premature end of his life on 5^th December 1791, a mysterious stranger appeared before him and requested him to compose a requiem (a Mass for the dead) He died before it was completed, and his pupils completed the work to be performed on the day of Mozart’s Funeral.

            Mozart’s works were cataloged by Ludwig Koechel and are referred to by their numbers in “K” numbers. (Ex- Sonata in C-K 33)

                                                    

His works include…

      Operas-          

§         Marriage of Figaro

§         Magic Flute

§         Don Giovanni

      Orchestral Music-

§         41 Symphonies including the Jupiter, Paris, Heffner

§         21 Piano Concerts

§         5 Violin Concerts

      Chamber Music-

§         23 string, quartets

§         2 piano quartets

§         Clarinet quintet

§         37 violin Sonatas

      Piano Music-

§         17 Sonatas

§         15 sets of variations

George Frederic Handel

            German composer born in Halle Germany on 23^rd February 1685 (The same year as Bach) He decided on a musical career much against his Father’s wishers. He wrote many works in the same form as Bach but he was most famous as a composer of Operas and Oratorios. (An Opera is a play set to music, while on Oratorio is a story of a religious mature which is sun) His greatest Oratorio is the messiah which is often sung at Christmas. At a performance of it, king Jorge iii had risen to his feet on hearing the Halleluiah chorus ever since then, it has became a tradition, to stand up for it.

            Although a German by birth, Handle settle in England where he has carried to Popularity and wealth. He too like Batch became blind at the time of his death on 14^th April 1750. He was buried in the west minister. Abbey among the English royalty.

His works include…

      Operas-                      

§         (About 38) Rodrigo

§         Almira

§         Rinaldo

§         Berenice.

      Oratorios-                   

§         (About 22) Messiah

§         Israel in Egypt

§         Judas, Maccabatus

      Church Music-

§         3 Coronations

§         Anthems

§         Funeral

§         Anthem for the death of Queen Caroline(1737)

  

      Orchestral Music-        

§         Water music

§         Fire works music

§         6 Concertos,

§         12 Organ  Concertos

      Chamber Music-         

§         Sonatas for flute, recorder, one and two violins,

2 oboes with keyboard accompaniment

      Keyboard-                  

§         17 suites

§         The harmonious black Smith (a set of variations)

World Famous Music Composers(Baroque Music)

Dominico Scarlatti       

Son of composer Alessandro Scarlatti, Dominico was born in Naples on October 26^th 1685. His father was his first teacher. He was the greatest Italian writer. For the harpsichord of his time, he composed about 600 pieces in one movement, now generally called “Sonatas” Most of them are written in Binary form. Among the most original and characteristic technical devices which appear in them are wide leaps, crossing of hands, rapidly repeated notes and repeated dissonant chords.

Among the works are Operas, Concertos, Cantatas, Masses and a Stab at Mater. Dominico Scarlatti died on July 23^rd 1757 Madrid.

Johann Sebastian Bach

            This German composer was born in Eisenach Germany on 21^st March 1685. He came from seven generations of professional musicians. He was born at a time when music was of great importance in court life. He lost both parents while he was still a boy and was then brought up by an elder brother who was also a musician fourteen years his senior. It was from this elder brother that Johann learnt his harmony and to play the organ, harpsichord and clavichord, the key board instruments used in those days, Equipped as a fully professional musician, he wrote works that fall into 3 sections corresponding to the different posts he held. They are

1)      Organ Music

2)      Orchestral and other Music

3)      Church Music

He wrote music in every known type of his day except opera. He became blind toward the latter part of his life. He died on 28^th July 1750.

His works include…

      Organ Music-  

§         6 Sonatas

§        143 Choral preludes

§        Toccatas (Toccata is a rapid and brilliant keyboard piece)

§        Preludes (Preludes is an independent composition of no prescribed form)

      Orchestral Music-        

§         Six Brandenburg Concertos,

§         Four Overtures (an Overture is an instrumental introduction  to an opera or a play)

§         Concerto for harpsichord, flute and violin

      Church Music-

§         St. John Passion

§         St. Matthew Passion

§         Christmas Oratorio

§         Mass in B minor

      Keyboard Music-

§         48 Preludes and Fugues

§         6 French suites (a suite is a work consisting of several short movements which are dance types and are in the same key. The dances are termed Allemande, Courante, Sara band, Gigue, Bouree, Minuet) The well tempered clavier,

§         Italian Concerto.    

Baroque Music

Baroque Playing Family

Baroque Orchestra 

                        

               More instruments bigger sound much repetition steady beat even rhythms forms easy to follow more than 1 melody at a time.

Classical Music

Classical Players

Classical Instrument

Classical Composer

            

Strong and regular beat melody easy to follow ane melody at a time with chord or broken chord accompaniment, Mithor evry loud note very soft, larger sound in orchestra, feeling of balance, simplicity.

Romantic Music

Paint of Romantic

Romantic Instrument

Romantic Instrument

Much larger orchestra sound, much contrasts in dynamics and tempo, more brass, percussion sound, much rhythmic rarity, usually one melody at a time with accompaniment.     

Modern Music

Modern Music Studio

Live Band

            








Two or more key sounding at a time(Bitonality and Polytonality) two same tones there is no feeling at all of tonal centre, often complex rhythm.

         






Now we learn some thing about the History of Western Music. And then we are going to learn about World Famous  Music Composers.