Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Beethoven has achieved iconic status as a composer. In the musical community, this position has been achieved due to the immense, even revolutionary, influence he has had on the development of music as the pivot point from the Classical to the Romantic eras. His symphonies in particular demonstrate this development, themes from the 5th and the 9th being instantly recognisable, the latter used as the European Anthem. His image is also well-known among non-musicians, with his features of intense concentration and unruly hair. Beethoven's deafness has served to underline this position as icon, both because it makes his achievements seem more remarkable, but also because it emphasises the popular picture of a composer whose inspiration comes from within, those inner thoughts and sounds are elaborated and pieced together into the most intricate musical canvas.

Beethoven was born in Bonn in Germany and, like Mozart, into a musical family whose father and grandfather were both singers. Though not to the same extent perhaps as Mozart, he was also a musical prodigy, whose father had taught him music at an early age (and some say bullied his son to further his own ambitions), and this education was continued by court musicians such as Neefe. His early talent was demonstrated particularly at the keyboard, as pianist, organist and harpsichordist, although he also showed talent on the violin. He studied composition with Haydn and other composers of the day, also reputedly receiving some tuition from Mozart after moving to Vienna, and his early works are not too far removed from the output of Haydn and Mozart.

Beethoven's influences

We've mentioned that Beethoven learned much musically from his teachers. He also learned much from studying Bach's works, such as the 48 preludes and fugues, and it is interesting to see how Beethoven employed fugal writing himself within his symphonies as a form of development (see for example the slow movement of the 7th symphony again). However, although Beethoven had a number of musical influences, in some ways that is not the most important aspect of his creativity. Rather in many ways it was his own thoughts, feelings and ideology which he strove to commit to musical form, and it was this which singled Beethoven out as the first of the great Romantic composers.

Prior to this time, composers were typically employees of state, church or wealthy titled patron who requested works to suit various important occasions whether secular or religious. In contrast Beethoven, like Mozart, was an independent creative artist who to some extent could set his own agenda. This agenda may have been fuelled in some more intimate works by his several failed love affairs and knowledge of his growing deafness, but other grander influences (particularly in his 3rd, 5th and 9th symphonies) were ideals of liberty, republicanism, religious beliefs and the brotherhood of man.

Beethoven's method of working was to record ideas in numerous notebooks, which sometimes he would mull over for years, before eventually developing them into the building blocks of his compositions. So for example the seeds of the theme which eventually became the Ode to Joy, was originally conceived more than a decade earlier. This suggest a long gestation period and supreme attention to detail in order to depict in music the strength of his idealism. This creative process and the path he initiated was followed and extended by many other composers of the Romantic era, including composers as diverse as Brahms, Wagner and Mahler.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)

Mozart was born in Salzburg (where his house can still be viewed today, not too far from some of the locations used in The Sound of Music!). His father Leopold was himself a musician and composer who taught the young Mozart at a very early age. So successful was this that Mozart was able to play the piano at the age of 4 and he was composing his own works from the age of 5. When he was 6, while learning the violin, his father took Mozart and his elder sister (Maria Anna, also a young pianist) on a tour of Europe lasting 4 years to exhibit their talents to a wide audience. The gifted pair were presented to and celebrated by the Nobility and Royalty of several countries, meeting Louis XV of France, Georges III of England and also Marie Antoinette who was also of a similar age. Wolfgang Amadeus was even decorated by the Pope.

Hence Mozart was immersed in music and in performing throughout his formative years. To demonstrate the skills of the young Mozart as a composer, we include here two of his early works composed around 1762 at the ages of 5 or 6. These works were originally catalogued by Ludwig von Kochel in 1862, giving them their "K" numbers which were intended to be chronological. We now know more about the dates of composition so that K.2 was actually composed before K.1 and there were a few works written between them.

The novelty factor of child prodigies wears off as they grow older, so Mozart had to struggle more as a teenager and young adult. He went on a second money-raising tour to Paris, where his mother who accompanied him died. Mozart returned to Salzburg but his relationship with the Archbishop (his father's employer) was not very good. It was at the age of about 25 that Mozart moved and settled in Vienna, where he married Constanze Weber and fathered 6 children (though only 2 survived). There as a freelance composer he struggled to make ends meet, frequently having to borrow money from friends. However, during this last decade of his short life he was at the peak of his phenomenal skill as a composer and wrote a large number of his best known works. He died leaving his last work (a Requiem) not quite finished, and following the most basic of funerals was buried in an unmarked pauper's grave. There is now a monument to Mozart in his adoptive city of Vienna.

Musical Influences:

While visiting England during the early European tour, Wolfgang met with Johann Christian Bach (one of the sons of Johann Sebastian Bach) and struck up a friendship with him which undoubtedly had an influence on the direction taken the young composer. Later at the age of 16 on a visit to Vienna, Mozart got to know the music of Haydn. The two formed a close relationship of mutual support and there is a strong similarity not only their musical forms and traditions but also in their musical soundscape and tuneful lyricism. Although Mozart is frequently thought of as composing the most beautiful music effortlessly, he studied hard under his father to learn the techniques of the established masters including Bach, Handel and Haydn. The triumvirate of Haydn, Mozart and the early Beethoven are frequently thought of as being at the core of the classical era where the forms we know today (including the Symphony, Sonata and Concerto) were consolidated and stretched. These three in turn were to deeply influence composers over the next two centuries.

Mozart became a Freemason while staying in Vienna, and it was his masonic friends who helped to support him financially. Freemasonry was also an influence on him musically, and he incorporated masonic symbolism into some of his works of this period. One final thing that's worth mentioning about Mozart and his music is that his name has been used in the context of the "Mozart Effect". It has been noted in various studies that classical music can make people and animals relax or become more productive. While the effect is said to occur for a wide range of classical music, it is the music of Mozart that is most closely associated with this phenomenon, and possibly because his work is often thought of a being perfectly formed.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)

With Bach, the Baroque era went out with a bang. Though the seeds of classicism were very much sown during his lifetime, his sons being some of the prime shapers of that movement, Johann Sebastian Bach remained largely fixed in the Baroque traditions yet was able to fashion them as no-one else, either before him or since, into a towering peak of structural grace and formal perfection. It is this supreme craftmanship, largely unrecognised at the time, which has earned Bach an enormous stature in later years among composers and musicians.

The Bach family

Though his contemporary Handel moved to England, Bach remained for most of his musical career in his native Germany. He had held a number of posts in various locations as musician or music director to a number of Dukes and Princes, when his first wife died leaving 7 children. In the early 1720s, Bach married his 2nd wife, Anna Magdalena Wulcken (herself a musician) and took up the post in Leipzig where his duties included directing the musical requirements of the local church and associated school. While employed there, the couple extended the family by another 13 (though 7 children did not survive into adulthood) as well fulfilling the demands of the employment. Unsurprisingly the family were all musically gifted, Bach's eldest son (Wilhlem Friedermann Bach) was a great organist like his father, Carl Philipp Emanuel became a musician in the court of the future Frederick the Great, and Johann Christian was also an organist and moved to London in the employ of Queen Charlotte. Those latter two sons were very influential in the development of classical forms from their precursors in baroque forms such as the Suite.

But while his sons were to help found the new school, it was the old school training from the father which sowed this seed. By all accounts, the Bachs became a nerve centre for all things musical in the area, with their extended family of relatives, friends and musicians both local and visiting. It may well be that some of the output from that time would not have survived if Anna Magdelena had not recorded many examples of smaller works in her two "notebook" collections of which the following four pieces are from the 2nd Notebook:

There are many books with selections from the Anna Magdelena Bach notebooks which are a good place to start learning baroque keyboard music. Here are two selections from Sheet Music Plus in the US or The Music Room in the UK.

Johann Sebastian Bach's music

It was as a performing that Bach was perhaps best-known in his day. He was a master of the keyboard instruments of his day, particularly the Organ, Harpsichord and Clavichord. When the "well-tempered" method of tuning was adopted for the early stringed keyboard instruments, Bach was inspired to compose his 48 preludes and fugues (now usually played on the modern piano). He was a prolific composer of keyboard works for these instruments, of suites and other works for orchestras and cantatas and other works for singers. Although he occasionally traveled to entertain and meet other musicians, much of his life was spent heading up a cottage industry creating works required for various occasions as demanded by his employment at the time.

As per the baroque style, much of his music is contrapuntal in nature meaning that several independent voices are used to weave a tapestry of sound. The king of this polyphonic style is the fugue where rules dictate a certain structure to the interaction of the voices, yet the skill is within these confines to exhibit creative invention. In some ways this theme of freedom within an ordered world mirrors Bach's lifestyle, and he himself became the supreme master of the fugue. His final work, called the Art of Fugue, demonstrating how he could construct a wide variety of fugues with different numbers of voices from a single musical idea.

The 6 Brandenberg concertos are of a form known as "concerti grossi" which is something a little more unified than a suite, and later to evolve into the symphony, concerto and other works based on sonata form. These concertos are fairly early works in Bach's career yet they exhibit much invention in the use of different instrumental colours. Here is an interesting video made by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra which is an excellent introduction to these wonderful concertos. Among many now famous works, there are his Mass in B minor, the St. John and St. Matthew Passions, the Christmas Oratorio, the Goldberg variations, the Italian concerto (for solo keyboard), Preludes and Fugues for Clavier, and Preludes and Fugues or Toccatas and Fugues for Organ.

Bach's legacy

Bach is often regarded as being self-taught to a large extent and relatively uneducated. While this may have some basis in truth it is surely something of an exaggeration, likewise the claim that Bach was an unrecognised talent in his own lifetime. Though Bach's works were known to composers such as Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, it was not until Mendelssohn played the St. Matthew Passion in 1829 that Bach's previously hidden talents as a composer began to get a more widespread recognition.

Since then Bach's music has frequently inspired musicians such as Chopin, many composers arranging and adapting his works. In terms of classical composers, Gounod used the first prelude from book 1 of the 48 as the basis for his "Ave Maria", Busoni created a supremely elegant piano version of Bach's Chaconne from a violin work, and Liszt and Rachmaninov both transcribed Bach works for piano. Many composers have studied his work in much detail and Shostakovich has written his own set of 24 Preludes and Fugues. Even in today's world of popular music, you can still hear singles based on say his Toccata and Fugue in Dm for organ, or his "Air on a G string" taken from a suite.

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893)

Peter (or Pyotr) Ilyich Tchaikovsky is a composer whose music has made an indellible impression on the world, yet many things seemed to be stacked against him. His mother died from Cholera when Tchaikovsky was only 14 years old and this great loss affected the boy deeply. As a boy and also in later life, he suffered from various neuroses and experienced periods of deep depression. Although he learned the piano as a boy, Tchaikovsky was initially to study law and his first profession was as a clerk performing administrative functions. It was only at the age of 23 that he made a career change and decided to study composition at the new St. Petersburg Conservatory. His success there led to a post at the (also new) Moscow Conservatory with Nicholas Rubenstein (the brother of Anton Rubenstein who had established the St. Petersburg Conservatory). Although Tchaikovsky's music is now universally admired across the world, he wasn't always to receive a warm reception in his native Russia and a poor critical reception to his works understandably contributed to his periods of depression. For example, his first Piano Concerto which is now instantly recognisable and a firm favourite with concert goers was initially dedicated to Nicholas Rubenstein. He didn't like the work and Tchaikovsky felt devastated. The dedication was changed but years later Rubenstein changed his mind and was to play the work regularly.

The image that history has left us of Tchaikovsky is of a solitary figure who often worked in isolation. When in later life he accepted invitations to conduct, he felt homesick and longed to return home. For a while Tchaikovsky struck up a curious relationship with a woman called Nadezhda van Meck who became his benefactor, and her regular funding and letters of encouragement allowed him to compose without the constant worry of earning a living and he resigned from the Moscow Conservatory to concentrate on composition. The relationship was curious because the two never met. Undoubtedly a major contributor to the composer's bouts of depression was his homosexuality. This is not surprising since at that time in Russia, the state considered certain acts to be crimes carrying the death penalty! At one stage Tchaikovsky married a female admirer, perhaps to conceal his true nature, but the marriage was a disaster. It broke up within a short period of time, and Tchaikovsky suffered a breakdown and attempted suicide. It is not surprising that some of Tchaikovsky's music is full of sadness and despair. What is surprising perhaps is that much of his music is bright and happy.

Tchaikovsky was never a total recluse. He met many other composers and musicians of the day. In his native Russia he certainly knew several members of the Russian Nationalist School and for a while was inspired by their musical thinking. The core of this group consisted of five composers often referred to as the "kuchka" or "mighty handful" - Nicolay Rimsky-Korsakov, Mily Balakirev, Modest Mussorgsky, Alexander Borodin and Cesar Cui. These composers sought to compose and promote music which emphasised its Russian origins using folk music and other traditions, and largely shunning the music being composed in other parts of the world. Tchaikovsky's music might seem very Russian to modern ears, but his fellow countrymen detected traces of European influence. It is true that his music has a broader appeal, characterised by beautiful melodies, inventive orchestration, and a "heart on sleeve" emotional warmth and engagement. Indeed his music was more popular abroad than in his native country, and perhaps this was the cause of some initial resentment back home.

In time Tchaikovsky's music became more accepted in Russia. When his former benefactor stopped his allowance after 13 years, he was soon the beneficiary of funding from the Russian government. He even overcame his previous reluctance both to travel and to conduct. He travelled abroad to conduct his own music in European cities and in the US to great success. However his life was to end in tragedy. The official story is that he contacted Cholera (the same disease which had struck his mother years before) by carelessly drinking a glass of unboiled water, though a later story suggested that he committed suicide. Shortly before he died, Tchaikovsky had completed his 6th Symphony. The premier was not a great critical success, but the piece's mood of deepest despair seems prophetic.

Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809)

Franz Joseph Haydn is a cornerstone of the Classical Period of music. He came at a time when the influence of the church on musical development was diminishing and this influence was moving towards the nobility who employed composers to provide entertainment for their guests. In Haydn's case his employment by one family was a happy and rewarding one, which gave him a lot of freedom to explore many different aspects of music. This experimentation and the experience gained allowed Haydn to play a crucial role in establishing many of the key classical forms such as the Symphony, the String Quartet, the Sonata and the Concerto. Although versions of all these forms already existed, Haydn was the principle composer to establish and promote them. A key component of all these forms is something called "Sonata Form" which was normally used for the first (and sometimes later) movements of a works. Haydn's key role in classical music, his reputation across Europe, and the wealth of music he created over the years, earned him the knickname "Papa Haydn".

Haydn was born in Austia, he learned the harp at an early age and became a boy singer in a choir in Vienna. The music he learned to play and sing, and the folk music of the areas he knew kindled a keen interest in music and it became clear that Haydn was destined for a musical career. He left the choir when his voice broke, embarked upon a self-study of the music of various composers and received some further musical instruction while building his musical experience. When he landed the dream role of Kapellmeister to Prince Esterhazy while still in his late 20s, this began a long period of financial stability with huge opportunities to refine his craft. The job entailed writing and arranging performances of many types of music - religious music for the chapel, operas for the large theatre (the Esterhazy's had a large estate) and chamber music for all kinds of events and celebrations. Allowed to experiment, find his own way and explore many different aspects of music, Haydn developed a keen grasp of musical knowledge. His style went through a number of phases as different facets of his musical growth came to the fore. Although it was a characteristic of music at the time that it obeyed the rules of "form", Haydn did not see these rules as constraints and frequently bent these rules and added variations and ideas so that his music never stagnated.

Haydn rarely travelled far from the Esterhazy properties although he did meet and form a mutually rewarding relationship with Mozart on a visit to Vienna. Haydn outlived several heads of the Esterhazy family and one change in leadership gave him the opportunity to travel further afield and he was to visit parts of Europe and especially London where he discovered the works of Handel. He made another fruitful visit to London later, where he composed and conducted a number of new symphonies. A sign of Haydn's fame in later life and the political times in which he lived, is that the invading Napolean put a guard around Haydn's house as the composer lay ill. No doubt the composer would have approved when Mozart's Requiem was later played at his funeral.

Haydn's music and influences:

Haydn was born during the time of J. S. Bach and the final stages of the Baroque Period and contrapuntal music was well established. Haydn was very much influenced by developments made by Bach's son C. P. E. Bach who, moving away from his father's teachings, brought drama and originality to his keyboard works and helped to establish early Sonatas and Symphonies in 3 movements. Another major influence on Haydn was Johann Stamitz who was a pioneer of the Symphony. For much of his life though Haydn was at work in the Esterhazy court, with only the occasional outside influence. He therefore relied heavily on his own thoughts and ideas, and the results of his own experimentations to drive his musical thinking forward.

Haydn's contact with other composers or their works frequently resulted in further inspiration, often mutual. As previously noted, he discovered the works of Handel while visiting London. Haydn too influenced many of his contemporaries as well as later composers. He was full of praise for the talents of Mozart, but Mozart himself was clearly inspired by the works of Haydn although he was to explore new directions himself. Beethoven was also greatly influenced by Haydn and studied with him for a time. Although in comparison with these great composers Haydn became comparatively forgotten, he nevertheless has much to offer especially his Symphonies, String Quartets and Keyboard Sonatas.

Frederic Chopin (1810 - 1849)

Frederic Chopin was born in Poland of a Polish mother, and his country of origin clearly influenced Chopin to the extent that he wrote many Mazurkas and Polonaises based on Polish dances. The other country he is associated with is France, his father being French and Chopin moving to Paris and spending much of his creative life there. Although often contrasted with the extrovert virtuoso Liszt, the reserved Chopin nevertheless had a creatively important social life in Paris with a number of lady friends. His longest lasting relationship was with the female novelist known as George Sand who dressed as a man. This relationship was important to Chopin, with Sand perhaps acting as a mother figure, and they were together for about 10 years. Chopin was not particularly healthy and developed tuberculosis, which he endured for several years before his death at the age of 39.

Chopin's music:

Chopin was a skilled pianist, and a large proportion of his works are for solo piano. Many of these works are fairly short in duration, such as the Preludes, Etudes, Waltzes, Impromptus, Nocturnes and Scherzos, as well as the previously mentioned Polish dance forms of the Mazurka and Polonaise. Chopin also developed a form called the Ballade which is a more extended work, fairly free in style like a stream of consciousness, but with an internal logic. He also wrote a number of multi-movement works including of course several Piano Sonatas. He was quite capable of writing for other instruments and did so at times, his two Piano Concertos (for solo Piano and Orchestra) being obvious examples.

Some of Chopin's solo piano works demonstrate a ressemblance to the similar works by the Irish composer John Field, so this was one musical influence. Perhaps the greatest influence in terms of composition was Bach, with Chopin's 24 preludes in all keys clearly mirroring Bach's 48 preludes and fugues. More particularly there is an abstract approach in many of his works (e.g. Preludes and Etudes) which bear a relationship with some of the forms (e.g. Preludes, Inventions and Fugues) that Bach used. These are abstract in the sense that they are heavily structured, but they are far from being emotionless. On the contrary, Chopin played his works with a strong "rubato" (free variations in speed) and his music demands this approach. This gives the performer another dimension of expression which makes Chopin's music very much of the Romantic era.

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Learning Music is A Fun

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Some Famous Composers