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The Viennese period was really the period of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and to some extent, Gluck. (Though Beethoven shares some qualities of the Romantic period.) Sometimes called the Viennese Classical period, it was another era that glorified the classical art and architecture of the past—both ancient Greece and Rome—and this showed up in music as clean lines and form, with shorter melodic phrases. Homophony replaced polyphony and the basso continuo as the predominant texture. The symphony became a major force, and the sonata-allegro form was used one way or another in nearly all of the instrumental forms in the Viennese period, from solo and chamber works to concertos and symphonies.

Orchestral writing expanded with the development of the four-movement symphony and the three-movement solo concerto. The four-movement string quartet and the three movement sonata developed similarly in chamber music. Musical forms such as the sonata-allegro, rondo, minuet and trio, scherzo, and theme and variations expressed a new intellectual posture toward instrumental composition. Melodies built from motives (motifs) led to greater musical development in the larger formal structures. The complex and ornate melodies of the Baroque era were replaced by graceful, symmetrical melodies supported by a less active harmonic texture. The terraced dynamics of the Baroque period gave way to the gradual dynamic changes of crescendo and decrescendo. The orchestra grew in size, with a sharper contrast between orchestral and chamber music. By the end of this period the patronage system was less common, public concerts became more popular, and sacred music was no longer the central force.

Musical Expansion and Line By the middle of the 1700s, many composers began to find the organization and regularity of baroque composition too intense and domineering. Musical texture had reached a new height of polyphony and counterpoint. The brief period of Rococo or “galant style” (approximately 1715– 1740) was framed around composers’ reaction to the complex polyphony of the late Baroque. There was a move to thin the texture. Symbolized by light and frivolous compositions and paintings, the Rococo period served as a transition to the dramatic changes that would mark the music of the mature Viennese period.

Vienna became the musical center for the developments commonly referred to in the art world as the Classical Period. The visual and literary arts were obsessed with quoting cultural examples of ancient Greece and Rome. For this reason, Greek temples appeared in the natural setting of a garden, in paintings, and even on coins. The elegance of ancient Greece and Rome were injected into all the arts resulting in a classical attitude toward cultural expressions.

Ancient music had no historically intelligible notation, and therefore nothing specific to quote or borrow. The classical composers in Vienna did, however, assume a classical posture.

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From this came the music known as Viennese (or Viennese Classical). Smooth melodic lines, often constructed of smaller organic motives (motifs), soared elegantly above an accompaniment that had a single purpose—to enhance the melody. Motives offered many new possibilities for musical development: short melodic ideas could be used to structure similar but different melodies. Motives became the building blocks for themes and theme groups. Motivic development became the principal technique for expanding the symphony, offering the basis for expansion of musical thought. This symphonic development technique matured with Haydn and Mozart, and reached a pinnacle late in the period with Beethoven, who successfully bridged the gap between classicism and romanticism.

The Symphony The development of the symphony sprang out of the instrumental suites and sonatas of the Baroque period. The expansion of instrumental music into larger structures was limited by the dance forms themselves. Binary and ternary forms provided little room for musical development. They depended on the repetition and contrast of themes. With the introduction of motivic development, new themes were built of smaller melodic ideas, and composers found the freedom to invent new structures that could support extensive development. As a result, the Viennese period gave birth to multi-movement works that were rich with new structural ideas.

Four-Movement Works For the orchestral symphony and its chamber-music equivalent, the string quartet, the most important large structures had four movements. Of the four movements, only the third retained any connection with dance music. The minuet and trio retained the repetition and contrast associated with dance movements. The remaining three movements were often based on the structures that also developed in this period, sonata-allegro, rondo, and theme and variations. (Refer to Lesson 3 for diagrams and further explanations of these formal structures.)

The symphony had a status unequaled to any other form in the Viennese period. It continued to expand in length and complexity, offering an endless arena for musical development. Over the last two centuries, motivic development continues to be a vital procedure in building large movements.

The Sonata-Allegro Form Large forms were needed to harness and structure the power inherent in the expanding

developmental process. No single form could have answered the call better than the sonata- allegro form. The three sections of this form served different dramatic purposes. The first section, the exposition, presents two themes or theme groups and provides the material for later development in the second section, appropriately called the development. The last section, the recapitulation, is the resolution of the unstable development. The dramatic aspects of repetition and contrast offered in this form allowed inventive composers to add structure and unity to long single movements, and, eventually, to combine several movements into an even larger multi- movement structure.

Joseph Haydn became the first composer to unleash the significance of the sonata-allegro form. He worked with the budding form in his shorter, dance-like divertimenti, a predecessor to

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his early string quartets. The most interesting part of this growth process can be seen in how the middle section, or development, took on more and more significance. The first appearances of the development section in the early string quartets were short motivic moments that provided contrast to the stability of the exposition and recapitulation. Over the years Haydn expanded the development section until it became an equal in the three-part structure.

Along with the drama of motivic development came a new musical force—tonal stability. The sonata-allegro form identifies each section by key area and theme. The term theme group refers to a section of melodic ideas grouped by key. The exposition has two key areas: first, the tonic, followed by the dominant (or if the tonic key is minor, the relative major). The development section increases tension by departing even further from the tonic key area. The recapitulation is the celebration of key area stability, repeating all the themes in the tonic. Key area alone became an organizational parameter, and resolution of the key area is the musical goal of many large musical works.

The symphony developed quickly. Haydn was responsible for much of its early development. Mozart seized the symphonic form and took it to new heights. Finally, the classical symphony expanded further with the writings of Beethoven. (His Symphony No. 5 is discussed in Topic 2 of Lesson 11.) Beethoven’s skill pushed the symphonic form beyond the scope of the Classical period. He was truly a transitional figure. In just twenty-five years, the symphony moved from an exciting new form developed by Haydn to the dominant instrumental form of the early romantic composers.

A list of Beethoven’s works is impressive in length and scope. He was an excellent pianoforte performer and, like many composers before him, had great improvisational skills. Beethoven’s well-developed compositional mind allowed him to improvise on a small theme or motive in such a manner that listeners thought he had worked out the development of the ideas in advance.

The difference between his improvisations and his written works can only be speculated on. His mature compositions, however, are significant because they expanded earlier forms. The time it takes to perform one movement of his Third Symphony alone dwarfed the time to play an entire Haydn symphony. The greater length was due primarily to the expansion of the process of development within the symphony. Musical ideas begged for expansion and growth in developmental sections, and even in codas and transitional sections.

From an early age, Beethoven not only performed on the piano and organ but also worked with a chapel choir and learned the possibilities of vocal and instrumental combinations. This broad background led to many works for solo piano, piano and orchestra, chorus, voice and pianoforte, and even one work for piano, vocal quartet, chorus, and orchestra.

Beethoven became a full-time “freelance” composer, perhaps the first. He performed for years and conducted his works into the 1800s. However, due to increasing deafness, he had to give up performance. He continued to make a successful living selling his works to publishers and patrons. He was so popular in Vienna that he received an annual salary from three noblemen to guarantee his presence in the city. The musical community by this time had become large enough in Vienna that his concerts and publications provided a comfortable income. Beethoven’s musical contribution was vast, and helped change the general perception people had of composers from creators of entertainment to people whose work could both elevate and transform.

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 Franz Joseph Haydn

(1732–1809)

1732 Haydn was born in the Austrian village of Rohrau. His home life was simple but loving, and his parents recognized his early musical talent and beautiful voice.

1740 After two years of strict musical training under Johann Franck, a distant relative, Haydn was sent to St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna to sing in the choir and continue his education.

1745 Haydn’s voice began to change, and he was dismissed from the choir at St. Stephen’s and forced to eke out a living on the streets of Vienna. He continued to practice and perform on clavier and violin while studying composition, particularly the works of C. P. E. Bach.

1751–1759 By this time, Haydn had developed a good reputation as both a performer and teacher, and was making a simple living as music director to Count Ferdinand Morzin.

1760 Haydn married Maria Anna Keller after her younger sister (his first choice) became a nun. It was an unhappy, childless marriage.

1761–1790 These thirty years were spent in the employment of the Esterházys, a rich Hungarian noble family. Haydn lived on a magnificent country estate and composed volumes of music, conducted the orchestra, trained singers, and oversaw all aspects of the daily performances demanded by the royal family.

1772 Haydn composed and conducted the famous Farewell symphony. (During the performance, the musicians left the room one by one until only Haydn and one violinist remained. This musical hint convinced the prince to let the musicians return to Vienna for a much deserved reunion with their families.)

1781–1782 Haydn met Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, for whom he held the highest musical respect. By this time, Haydn’s music was widely acclaimed all over Europe.

1790–1795 After the death of Prince Nicholas Esterházy, Haydn left his post and traveled to London, where he composed twelve symphonies (later named the London Symphonies or Salomon Symphonies). Haydn was very well received in London and his concerts were extremely successful.

1795–1801 He returned to Vienna rich and famous, and continued writing Masses for the Esterházy family, as well as cantatas, sonatas, and concertos. Inspired by Handel’s music, he composed two oratorios, The Creation (1798) and The Seasons (1801).

1802–1809 Haydn’s last years were spent in ill health. However, many friends and dignitaries came to pay tribute, and he was continually honored by performances of his works. When he died in 1809, funeral services and concerts were held all over Europe in his honor. Even the French soldiers and officers who occupied Austria at the time paid tribute to the musical genius of Franz Joseph Haydn.

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Soloistic Three-Movement Works The three-movement works that arose from this period usually involved soloists. The elimination of the minuet and trio from the large four-movement works is the most common structural difference. The sonata-allegro form was still the structure of the first movement. The second movement provided a slow, strongly melodic, contrast to the faster movements that surrounded it.

The solo concerto featured an instrumental soloist with full orchestral accompaniment. With the appearance of the new, more forceful sounding pianoforte, the number of solo concertos written for piano with orchestra outpaced those being written for any other instrument. The solo concerto became a showcase for technically superior musicians. These concertos included short sections in which the entire orchestra stops while the soloist improvises on the musical material of the composer. The improvised sections are called cadenzas. Composers often performed their own works and were able to weave in spontaneous musical ideas with those they had already created. Later in this period and into the nineteenth century, composers took control of the cadenzas by providing pre-written cadenzas, reducing some of the excitement of improvisation, but guaranteeing a more consistent result.

If the soloist is accompanied by a piano and not an orchestra the work is called a sonata. The term sonata became more specific in this period; sonatas were now considered to have one soloist accompanied by a piano rather than the more generic “played” or instrumental music. Pianists provide their own accompaniment in a sonata and therefore do not require a second musician. A violin sonata, on the other hand, requires a piano for accompaniment. The piano becomes an equal with the soloist in the later sonatas of the period.

Vocal Music Sacred vocal music continued actively in this period with traditional large works like Masses and oratorios. Haydn continued the tradition of oratorio writing established by Handel, with two very successful works, The Creation and The Seasons. These works remain staples in concert literature today. The famous Requiem of Mozart, a Mass written for funeral services, shows the serious and weighty writing possible in the classical style. This piece was popularized in current times by the movie Amadeus. Sacred compositions large and small appeared throughout the period. However, the greatest change to take place in vocal music in the eighteenth century developed with opera.

Opera In the Baroque period, serious opera had lost a good deal of its audience to oratorios and ballad opera. In the Viennese period, serious opera got a breath of fresh air with the reform operas of Christoph Gluck. In France, in 1762, he produced Orfeo ed Euridice, an opera that would signal a reformation movement to establish a more equal balance of music and drama. With this opera and those that followed there was an attempt to better blend music, drama, and dance into a theatrical whole. Gluck was partly successful because he softened the contrast between recitative and aria sections. Both sections could now support dramatic moments and freer expression. His accomplishments were substantial in that he tackled opera reform using a language thought by many to be unsingable—French. He not only successfully

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String Quartet in E Flat, No. 2, “Joke” Op. 33, Movement IV, Finale: Presto (1781)

by Joseph Haydn

Haydn’s early quartets are distinguished by their wit and freshness. There are six quartets in Opus 33. This selection is the last movement of the second quartet, nicknamed “The Joke.” This movement is a rondo, with a spirited theme. Haydn purposely wrote a confusing ending to this movement so that “the ladies would not begin talking before the music finished.” The joke appears at the very end of the movement. Haydn prevents a normal ending from taking place. In the coda, the tempo suddenly moves to a serious adagio, in striking contrast to the frivolous rondo theme. After only a few measures, the rondo theme returns, but it is broken up by two measures of silence. With all momentum shattered, there are four measures of rest followed by two final measures of the theme. The result is confusion. Is the movement over?

Notice the balanced texture of the four instruments. Although the first violin still plays a dominant role, the independence of the four solo voices is nearly complete. The cello is confined to bass line activity while the second violin plays duets with the first violin, or joins the viola and cello in accompaniment.

00:00 Rondo theme (A), short and light. The first violin is very active and the others provide accompaniment.

00:06 Repeat.

00:12 New material (B).

00:28 First theme (A).

00:35 New material (C); activity level increases. This section ends with the second violin playing a duet with the first violin.

00:51 (A).

00:57 New material. The cello stays on the same note, repeating it while the first violin assumes all melodic activity. The accompaniment joins the first violin in regularly spaced accents. This section is more developmental.

01:25 (A) followed by material from (B) above.

01:47 (A) followed by material from (C) above.

02:13 Tempo slows to a cadence.

02:23 The first theme is started but soon comes to a stop. Several more attempts at starting the theme are broken with short silences.

02:57 Two measures of silence.

03:01 Last attempt at the theme.

03:03 End.

produced French librettos, he placed new importance on the opening instrumental section, establishing the overture as an integral part of an opera. He used the orchestra thematically, giving further definition to the importance of instrumental music in this period. Gluck’s greatest accomplishment came with the move to simplicity of melody and texture.

Although constructive and long-lasting, reform operas found strong competition from the very popular comic operas written in England, France, Italy, and Germany. Each country had a different name for these light and often farcical works. The French called them opéra comique and the Germans called theirs Singspiele. In each case, the melodies relied heavily on folk songs and popular music of the day to present romance and comedy. All forms of these comic operas, except the Italian, had spoken parts to further elaborate the plots and provide sharp comic moments. The use of the vernacular language drew strong support for these simply produced operas.

Italian composers of serious opera also found the use of comedy increasingly successful, and eventually developed opera buffa, which placed individuals in socially humorous situations. These works often concluded with an ensemble finale, in which each singer on stage would sing independent words and music, creating a clever and complex polyphony that intrigued listeners. The compositional skills exhibited by Mozart in his brilliant opera buffa, Le Nozze di Figaro, not only enraptured the audience, it has fascinated musicians for years. He enhanced the drama by cleverly controlling key areas and manipulating thematic material. His symphonic writing skills propelled him ahead of his peers. His operas tease the intellect as much as they do the ear. He built large structures in his operas on a par with the forms being developed in instrumental music at the time.

Patronage and the Working Musician The Viennese Classical Period was dominated by the genius of three great composers: Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. They are remembered today with a certain sense of reverence due to the quality and quantity of their compositions. The social environment of that period, however, did not always see these men in such an elevated light. For nearly thirty years Haydn enjoyed the patronage of the Esterházy family, an aristocratic family typical of the wealthy class. The aristocracy was capable of hiring composers and orchestras alike. Operating in the relative isolation and creative freedom of the court for many years, his published works began to give him a reputation outside the court. In the last thirty years of his long life, Haydn slowly became independent of sole patronage as his publishing income, lucrative commissions, and public concerts, increasingly popular with the emerging upper middle class in many parts of Europe, made him quite wealthy and famous. Publishing music became a substantial business, and Haydn was one of the first to make it work for him.

With increasing independence, composers moved from being “hired help” for the aristocracy to freelance artists with an improved level of public recognition. It was, and still is, difficult to compose music without combining patronage with activities of performance and publishing. One sees the humor of Haydn in his Surprise and Farewell symphonies. In writing music required of his patrons, he wittingly poked fun at those who hired him, while satisfying both his expressive needs and the taste of his patrons.

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 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

(1756–1791)

1756 Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria, into a musical family. By the age of six, he was already considered a child prodigy, writing and performing his own compositions on harpsichord.

1762–1769 Under his father Leopold’s strict supervision, Mozart traveled all over Europe, performing in most major cities, including London and Paris. They were well-received in all of the royal courts, as Mozart’s youthful charm and obvious musical genius overwhelmed and delighted his audiences. During this time, he met and was influenced by J. S. Bach’s youngest son, J. C. Bach (including exposure to the Italian composing methods he enjoyed).

1769–1771 Mozart and his father toured Italy, where he established his genius by writing down an entire Mass performed by the Sistine Chapel choir after only one hearing. His successful tour of Italy brought several commissions by wealthy patrons, and he continued working on operas, symphonies, and oratorios, as well as performing his own keyboard compositions.

1771–1777 Mozart returned to Salzburg, and spent these years feverishly composing. His popularity as a child performer, however, began to wane, and Mozart became more and more dissatisfied with his life in Salzburg. His total dependence on his father had resulted in a selfish, pampered, and intolerant personality.

1777 With his mother as chaperone, Mozart left Salzburg to seek employment in Munich, and later Paris, where his mother died in 1778. He returned to Vienna, which remained his home.

1782 Soon after the success of his first opera, Die Entführung ausdem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio), Mozart married Constanze Weber. Although he continued to write, teach, and perform, Mozart had little regular income, and the marriage was plagued by money pressures.

1786–1787 The operas Le Nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni were successful, but Mozart’s popularity in Vienna began to decline.

1790 Mozart was commissioned to write a requiem for an unknown patron. As his health grew worse, he struggled to finish the requiem, believing that it was his own.

1791 At the age of thirty-five, Mozart died; he was given a standard simple burial in Vienna (not in a pauper’s grave as folklore once held).

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Don Giovanni Act I: Introduction, opening scene (1787)

by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

This scene involves Don Giovanni, who hides his identity and enters Donna Anna’s room for an amorous adventure, leaving Leporello, his nervous sidekick, outside pacing back and forth. We hear short statements from Don Giovanni and Donna Anna, with brief nervous statements from Leporello. Don Giovanni refuses to identify himself to Donna Anna, who eventually leaves when the Commandant enters to defend her. Don Giovanni kills the Commandant, who will appear in the opera later as a ghost. Leporello is the comic character, while Don Giovanni is the arrogant character. Listen to how they are characterized by the music.

00:00 Orchestral introduction.

00:15 Leporello enters, singing of his frustration about why he must stay outside and wait for the Don, who is inside with the lady.

01:45 The Don and the lady enter, arguing about him staying and revealing who he is. Leporello hides.

01:57 Leporello joins the singing, creating an ensemble. He is not interacting, just commenting on his fear of discovery.

02:31 Notice the increased activity of the singing and the fluid fast melodic lines (declamatory), which are naturally complemented by the Italian language.

02:55 Leporello sings fast nervous lines, while the Don’s and the lady’s staccato lines act as accompaniment.

03:05 The Commandant appears; tremolo in the strings. He argues with Don Giovanni.

03:52 Orchestral interlude.

04:09 The Commandant is wounded. The music slows; after his last gasps, he dies.

05:05 Short orchestral interlude.

05:19 Leporello and the Don use a recitative to talk about the event that has just taken place.

05:39 End of scene.

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Mozart was tragically caught between the image of menial skilled labor, which he despised, and that of a new emerging, self-sufficient artist. He performed and composed desperately to make a living, receiving several commissions. But his eventual move to Vienna barely paid, and he died in poverty. While he earned additional money through piano lessons and concerts in his and wealthy people’s homes, he was mostly a failure at soliciting patrons to subsidize his other activities.

On the other hand, Beethoven broke away from the old image completely. He received his greatest support from the growing demand for music and concerts for the middle class. He did, however, continue to nurture links with the aristocracy, who continually lent support to his talent. Though not an especially shrewd businessman (his brothers were better at this and helped him with publishing negotiations), he demonstrated well-developed skills in balancing patronage, publication, and performance.

History has placed these three individuals outside of their common beginnings. For many years, Haydn wrote music that served the fancy of those who paid him. Mozart was less willing to compromise and struggled his short adult life. Beethoven was amazingly successful considering he rarely compromised his goals. The conditions around each affected many of their actions. Regardless, each responded to their conditions by producing great music. As music developed after Beethoven, the music industry itself broadened and gave increasing support to the struggling composers.

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String Quartet in C Minor, No. 4 Op. 18, Fourth Movement (c. 1798–1800)

by Ludwig van Beethoven

This is the fourth movement of this string quartet, and is a combination of a sonata and a rondo. The rondo form is A-B-A-C-A-D-A, and the sonata-allegro form is exposition, development, and recapitulation (A-B-A). The form of this sonata-rondo is A-B-A-C-A-B-A. The A and B themes act like the two themes of the sonata-allegro form and the C takes the place of the development. This combination of forms was a common structure used as a climax of the four-movement structure of a string quartet.

Beethoven does not simply state the themes. Notice how they always have a sense of development as they return each time.

00:00 Main theme (A) is stated first in the violins. Fig. 1

00:30 Contrasting second theme (B) is lyrical and legato. The key moves from minor to major. Fig. 2

01:13 The lively main theme (A) returns in the minor. Notice that the theme is more agitated. Beethoven could not avoid some level of development.

01:41 The next new theme (C) is an active melody again in a major key. It is passed around the orchestra.

02:05 Return of the original minor theme.

02:41 Rather than a new theme, the second theme (B) returns, lyrical and legato (played smoothly). It is developed somewhat before the return of the original theme. Notice the fast accompaniment ideas to the slower melody. This material comes from the first theme.

03:26 The last statement of the (A) theme is very lively. The tempo increases and the dynamic level becomes forte (loud). Fast scale passages signal the end of the movement.

03:56 End.

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 Ludwig van Beethoven

(1770–1827)

1770 Beethoven was born December 16, in Bonn, Germany.

1782 He was formally appointed as assistant court organist in Bonn, assuming duties to replace his teacher, Christian Neefe.

1787 While in Vienna for study, he met and played for Mozart.

1788 Beethoven, still court organist, was hired as a viola player in the revived theatre and opera orchestra in Bonn.

1792 Beethoven studied briefly with Haydn in Vienna.

1798 Deafness began to overtake Beethoven.

1803 As his deafness increased, the “Eroica” Symphony (No. 3) began a series of triumphant compositions heralding his second period.

1804–1808 He became a commanding figure in the music world, giving regular series of concerts and publishing works with limited exclusive rights in Austria and Britain. During this time he produced his only opera, Fidelio.

1809 Beethoven was paid an annuity by three noblemen to remain in Vienna and not leave for a position in Westphalia.

1810 The Napoleonic Wars brought economically hard times for Beethoven. However, he continued to write, completing his Fifth Piano Concerto, numerous string quartets, and the Symphony No. 7.

1815–1820 Beethoven’s compositions became fewer during a difficult time when he attempted to gain guardianship of his nephew, Karl. A suicide attempt by Karl devastated Beethoven, and marked the beginning of Beethoven’s third period.

1818–1827 Beethoven, now totally deaf, produced his last string quartets, the late piano sonatas, the Symphony No. 9, and the Missa solemnis.

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“I feel, therefore I am.” These famous words by Rousseau became the echoing call of the Romantic period. Feeling was taking precedence over thinking. Love and nature pushed against authority. This theme motivated the genius of Beethoven and eventually later Romantic composers. Music expanded to the grandiose. Musical performances required more musicians, with an extraordinary range of dynamics. The extremes from very soft to very loud widened. Along with the powerful large works were miniature, intimate works for solo voice and/or piano that also expressed powerful, personal feelings. The art song flourished, focusing on the Romantic desire to be dramatically expressive.

Program music blossomed as a single-movement instrumental form that offered a continuous flow of descriptive musical composition. The symphony increased in length and scope, with dynamics, pitch ranges, and tempi varying dramatically within movements. Orchestras increased in size and the role of the conductor became more important in coordinating the changes in tempo and dynamics. The composer’s goal shifted from displaying musical craft to expressing personal emotions and ideas. New techniques of orchestration, along with new colorful and dissonant harmonies, became expressive tools for composers. Opera expanded with increased instrumental sections and flamboyant plots. The Romantic period valued individuality, poetry, ideas, chromaticism, the distant past, and faraway places, as well as nationalism and local folk melodies.

The Art Song The solo compositions of the Romantic period are perhaps most representative of the expressive goals of the artists of this time. Literature provided the emotional content necessary for elaboration by the composer. As seen in the early madrigals of Monteverdi, the sacred music of Palestrina, the recitatives and arias of Handel, and the operas of Mozart, the balance between words and music remained an ever-present concern. The balance shifted with each period. In the Romantic period, words were given added emotional significance instrumentally. At times, in art songs, the pianist becomes a soloist of equal importance, balancing the dialogue with the vocalist.

Each country had a form of art song or Lied (German) for singing at home or in other intimate settings. The songs covered all imaginable topics. The most common, however, was romance. The pain and joy of romantic love dominated the thoughts of musicians. These songs were miniatures of the phenomenon that was taking place in the entire artistic community. In setting poems to music, composers relied on a long tradition of word painting. Special emotionally laden words would receive dissonance or resolution to help express the feeling of yearning, frustration, or sadness.

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Composers grouped songs with related themes into cycles filled with a variety of emotions. When viewed as a whole, these song cycles were really larger works. Structural elements could group two or three songs at a time into a larger section. This section would in turn balance similar groups of songs. The overall structure could be a large binary or ternary form. This technique was especially effective in the Schumann song cycle Frauen Lieben und Leben (A Woman’s Love and Life) or Schubert’s Winterreise (Winter Journey.)

The technique for structuring single songs falls into one of two categories. The most familiar is the setting of several verses or stanzas of a poem, each with the same or slightly varied music. This strophic technique provided the repetition necessary for audience comprehension. Strophic songs were easily remembered and became favorites. The second category relied on contrast and development to interpret the story. In a through-composed form (from the German durchkomponiert), the dramatic development is apt to increase as the story unfolds. The music does not rely on strict repetition. As the story unfolds and characters change mood, the music changes, representing and amplifying the changes in the story line.

The dramatic use of both these techniques can be found in the songs of Franz Schubert. He combined the two techniques at times to reap the benefit of both. Whatever method or combination he used, his melodies tended to honor the natural rhythms and emphasis of the phrase he was setting. At the age of 17, he composed his musically descriptive song Gretchen am Spinnrade (Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel) and at 18, he wrote the dramatic Erlkönig (The Erlking) in one sitting. These two songs fully represent the finest products of a musical romantic. Although art songs were not new to the Romantic period, Schubert brought the form to a new level of intensity representative of the romantic temperament.

Solo Piano Short works or miniatures exploded in popularity with the development of the pianoforte. In the late 1700s, the piano quickly replaced the harpsichord because of its ability to produce such a range of dynamics, from soft to loud (piano to forte). For keyboard soloists, the piano offered a greater scope of expression than any instrument outside of the pipe organ. The expressive needs of romantic composers found the singing nature of this percussion instrument exciting. As a result, it became the favored instrument for solo composition.

As in art songs, mood development dominated the thinking of composers for the piano. There were many single-movement forms from which romantic composers could choose, and Chopin explored most of them. But, except for a few orchestral accompaniments, he directed his attention solely to composing for the piano. Chopin’s mastery of the piano as a performer, improviser, and composer gives him a unique place in history. Compositions for piano, like Robert Schumann’s character pieces and the intermezzi of Brahms, explored additional sonorities for the piano. Their works are unique and musically powerful. However, no composer dedicated himself so completely to exploring the rich new harmonies, sonorities, and expressive nature of the piano as Chopin.

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 Franz Schubert

(1797–1828)

1797 Born in Vienna, the son of a pious schoolmaster, Schubert was surrounded by music, and began piano and violin lessons at an early age.

1808 He was admitted to the court chapel choir, and later won a scholarship to the Imperial Seminary, a prestigious Viennese boarding school, where he furthered his musical studies and began composing songs and piano works.

1813 Schubert left school, studied elementary education at a teacher training school, and began working at his father’s school in 1814, a position he loathed, as it hindered his desire to constantly compose.

1814 Schubert continued composing volumes of music, taking the poetry of the great writers of his day, like Goethe and Schiller, and converting them to romantic art songs, as in his first great song, Gretchen am Spinnrade.

1815 Schubert wrote 144 songs, including Erlkönig, a fine example of musical romanticism. He centered most of his songs on themes of nature and unhappy love.

1816–1818 He composed 179 works, including piano sonatas, art songs, symphonies, and operas. Nearly one-thousand works would be completed before his early death.

1818 Schubert quit his teaching job and eked out a living writing and selling his music and giving music lessons. He surrounded himself with a small circle of poverty-stricken friends, mostly artists, poets, and musicians, and spent his days composing, frequenting small cafes, and performing at parties for middle-class patrons.

1822 At age 25, he contracted venereal disease. Although in ill health and depressed, he continued to write. The Unfinished Symphony, written this year, was not performed until forty years after his death.

1823 Schubert composed his first song cycle, Die schöne Müllerin, a collection of art songs that tell a story. His second cycle, Die Winterreise, was completed in 1827.

1828 As his health rapidly declined, Schubert contracted typhoid and died in Vienna. His last request was that he be buried near Beethoven.

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Erlkönig (1815) by Franz Schubert

The drama of this through-composed song unfolds above the tension-filled bass melody in the piano. Although there is only one singer performing the song, there are, besides the Narrator, three characters in this story by Goethe.

The Narrator tells of a father riding late at night in bad weather, with his sick child in his arms. The father sings in a low register trying to comfort his son. The Erlking sings in a higher register, with enticing and luring melodies beckoning the child to him. The son sings fearful outcries of “Mein Vater” (My father, my father), and tries to describe the pleas of the Erlking to his father.

The Erlking is the king of the elves, and represents death. He promises games and happiness to the child, in a contrasting vocal range from the father’s desperate assurances. The part of the Narrator appears twice, both starting and ending the song. Notice the differences of melody and range that separate the identities of the father, Erlking, and son.

The song ends with the narrator. The father arrived home and “in his arms the child was dead.”

00:00 Piano begins with a galloping theme in the bass.

00:23 The narrator tells of the father and son in a hurried journey home.

00:56 The father asks what his son sees.

01:04 The son replies that he sees the Erlking.

01:20 The father says it is only an image in the mist.

01:31 The Erlking invites the son to join him. The melody is light and soothing, the vocal range is higher and floats above the accompaniment.

01:55 The boy yells out in fright; the vocal range is more strained.

02:08 The father tries to comfort the child; a lower vocal range.

02:18 The Erlking again tells the boy that they will sing and dance in a wonderful world.

02:37 The son yells again in fright.

02:49 The father again tries to comfort him.

03:00 Brief piano interlude.

03:07 The Erlking continues to call the boy.

03:18 Desperate screams from the boy.

03:32 The narrator enters telling of the panic of the father.

03:57 “In his arms, the child was dead.”

04:11 End.

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 Frédéric Chopin

(1810–1849)

1810 Chopin was born in Warsaw, the son of a French father who taught his native language to children of the Polish nobility.

1817 Chopin gave his first public concert at the age of 7, having studied piano at the Warsaw School of Music. By 15, he was already a published composer, and by 19, was widely known for both composition and performance.

1831 He gave concerts in Paris, where he was immediately accepted by the aristocracy and invited into a circle of well-known artists, writers and musicians, including Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, Franz Liszt, Berlioz, Robert Schumann, and the painter Delacroix, who became his closest friend. Chopin decided to make Paris his home.

1837 Chopin met novelist George Sand (Mme. Aurore Dudevant) and began a ten-year relationship. These proved to be his most productive composing years. Writing almost exclusively for the piano, Chopin’s works included etudes, preludes, polonaises, nocturnes, waltzes, and ballades.

1847 After his relationship with George Sand ended, Chopin’s general health began to fail, and he contracted tuberculosis. His desire to compose dwindled dramatically.

1849 After spending the last year of his life in Scotland, Chopin returned to Paris, where he died and was buried.

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Character Pieces Chopin used several forms of character pieces, or single-movement works that develop a specific mood. Following were several of Chopin’s favorite forms.

nocturnes, pieces for night, are slow compositions with rich and lyric melodies. They were generally in a three-part form (A-B-A). The B section was very different in texture and mood.

études are literally studies designed to develop a student’s technique. The specific technique to be developed became the primary thrust of the work. In the hands of great composers, these studies took on musical qualities, making them suitable as concert pieces.

polonaise and the mazurka are both traditional Polish dances characterized by their triple meter. The polonaise retained its stately nature; it was traditionally a processional for the nobility.

impromptus demand a great deal of technique, and sound free and reflective, similar to what might be expected during an improvisation. They did not, however, allow for improvisation.

ballades are musical narratives without words. The music unfolds much like a developing story.

preludes are a series of short pieces that develop rich moods, exploring all of the major and minor keys.

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Étude in C Minor (“Revolutionary Étude”) Op. 10, No. 12 (1831)

by Frédéric Chopin

This étude was called the “Revolutionary Étude,” because of its heroic and aggressive qualities. This particular study was designed to develop speed and endurance in the pianist’s left hand. Notice the active and relentless motion in the bass. The heroic nature comes from the strong chordal melody in the treble. Following the opening chords, the right hand continues with a powerful melody played in octaves. The ending arises from the single moment where the motion calms. There is a strong, ornate, descending pattern on the keyboard, concluding with the final loud chords.

Notice the interaction between the left and right hands. Typical of Chopin’s performance style, the right hand pulls against the rhythm of the left hand. This feeling of freedom, rubato, is a critical element in Chopin’s music. The melody is set apart from the accompaniment through rubato, adding strength and tension to the melodic line. This étude surpasses any image of a mere exercise for students. It, like most of his others, has become a staple of virtuoso pianists.

00:00 Introduction. Full chord in the right hand, followed by a long descending line in the left hand. Fast notes swirl down into the bass range, preparing for the entrance of the theme.

00:16 The theme—a forceful dotted rhythm (long-short)—is stated in the right hand. The left hand continues with fast difficult passages.

00:23 The melody is played forcefully in the right hand.

00:32 Repeat of the theme; starts softer this time but crescendos quickly.

00:46 The middle section has new chords and a new melody.

01:07 The descending, swirling passage returns again, leading into the theme.

01:22 Repeat of the opening theme and texture.

01:47 The texture thins a little, with a decrescendo.

02:04 Soft, ascending passage begins in the bass and continues up through the range of the piano.

02:10 Cadence. Softer but still active.

02:21 Ending.

02:26 Final chords.

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Program Music The emotional outpouring typical of art songs existed in instrumental music as well. The most popular format was program music. While there is no vocal text, the music depends on poems, stories, ideas, or a single word to guide and define the developing moods of the composition. Regardless of how short or long the literary idea, it provided a new dimension to both single- movement and multi-movement works. In contrast, instrumental music that had no program was called absolute music; the music had little or no outside reference. 1. Concert overtures are single-movement works, usually in sonata form. Traditionally, overtures

preceded such dramatic works as operas and plays, and set the mood for the upcoming drama. The concert overture, however, had no such function. It used the title to define the mood of the unfolding instrumental drama. Concert overtures were written for performances where no stage drama was expected to follow. Examples include Romeo and Juliet Overture by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Hebrides Overture by Felix Mendelssohn.

2. Tone poems or symphonic poems are long single-movement compositions. Sonata-allegro form or rondo were commonly used to structure the musical development. Irregular forms were also designed to respond to a uniquely developing story. These freer structures provided the same flexibility songwriters had with through-composed forms. In both cases, the literary structure holds the work together. Exotic tales were favorite subjects for these flexible symphonic compositions. Examples include Don Juan by Richard Strauss, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice by Paul Dukas, and Les Préludes by Franz Liszt.

3. Program symphonies are similar to single-movement tone poems but offer an expanded format for organization and development. The program symphony, as the title implies, had a program to unify a multi-movement form. Commonly, each movement had a title or phrase as a program. In the case of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, each movement described a single event, with

the movements building a larger program for the overall symphony. The novelty of the Symphonie Fantastique’s returning theme and its surprising

autobiographical program made a strong impression on the Parisians who first heard it. In addition to these innovations, Berlioz enlarged the orchestra with additional trumpets, trombones, tubas, and percussion. The larger brass and percussion expanded the dynamic range. Berlioz was the first to write dynamic levels louder than ff and softer than pp.

Berlioz was known as a revolutionary because of his new instrumental combinations. His orchestrations grouped instruments nontraditionally, producing some of the most exciting tone colors of the period. He was not a pianist; he played flute and guitar. His writing for orchestra was unique in that he used the orchestra as his instrument rather than merely orchestrating what he played on the piano. For this reason, his inability to play piano was possibly a blessing in disguise.

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 Hector Berlioz

(1803–1869)

1803 Berlioz was born in a small town near Grenoble, France. His father, a physician, insisted on early medical training, although his son’s great musical interest was obvious.

1821 Berlioz went to Paris to study medicine, but spent many more hours in the opera house and music library. To the horror of his family, he abandoned medical school and began composing while studying at the Paris Conservatory.

1830 He won the coveted Prix de Rome, a composition award that gave him money to study in Rome for two years. This same year he composed and conducted the Symphonie Fantastique, dedicated to Harriet Smithson, the Shakespearean actress he had seen perform two years earlier and with whom he had fallen madly in love.

1832 Berlioz married Smithson and had a son. He spent the majority of his time writing and producing his own concerts to publicize his Berlioz’s grandiose orchestrations were a costly endeavor, requiring the hiring of hundreds of musicians and vocalists.

1835 In order to provide enough income for his family, Berlioz took a job as a music critic, writing for local Parisian journals.

1837 His Requiem was produced, involving a huge orchestra, hundreds of voices, and four brass choirs. Although his unconventional music was generally accepted by the public, Berlioz had no support from the organized music societies or the Paris opera house directors. Subsequent concerts pushed him further into debt.

1838 The debut of his opera Benvenuto Cellini resulted in open audience disapproval. His dramatic symphony Romeo and Juliet was performed successfully in 1839, but again without profit.

1840–1846 Made bitter by his lack of acceptance in Paris, Berlioz traveled all over Europe, composing and conducting major works, including the Damnation of Faust, based on Goethe’s poem.

1869 Berlioz died in Paris, having spent the last years of his life in mental and physical agony, fighting several chronic illnesses that left him almost bedridden.

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March to the Scaffold from Symphonie Fantastique (1830)

by Hector Berlioz

This symphony is in five instead of the usual four movements, and each has a specific program. The overall program for the symphony is long and descriptive. It is also semi- autobiographical. Berlioz was in love with a Shakespearean actress, extremely popular in Paris. Although she refused to see him at first, she did attend a concert two years later of his Fantastic Symphony and was swept off her feet when she realized it was about her. Their marriage could not live up to the fantasy and ended after a few years. The program for this symphony depicts his yearning for her love and his depression from her lack of response. In despair, he attempts suicide with opium. Rather than dying, he falls into a heavy sleep and dreams.

His love appears in the dreams as a recurring musical motif called an idée fixe or “fixed idea.” The fixed idea unifies the five movements by its reappearance. The theme is altered each time it appears, taking on dramatically different personalities. In the second movement, it is an elaborate waltz theme. In the fourth movement, it is played by a solo clarinet, which is shockingly interrupted. The technique of developing and changing the same theme throughout several movements, called thematic transformation, was more prevalent after its use in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5.

The titles of the five movements are 1. “Reverie, Passions,” 2. “A Ball,” 3. “Scene in the Country,” 4. “March to the Scaffold,” 5. “Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath.”

The fourth movement, “March to the Scaffold,” is a story of the dreamer as he walks to his execution for murdering his beloved. The fixed idea at the end of the movement is abruptly cut off before it is completed by a loud, orchestral chord representing the fall of the guillotine’s blade. This movement unleashes some of the most striking orchestrations in the symphony. Notice the enlarged brass and percussion sections.

00:00 Timpani opens the movement. French horns make short statements above.

00:27 Descending melody follows full orchestral chord.

00:41 Repeat of the melody with the addition of a bassoon solo melody.

00:53 Violin takes the melody, with activity in the lower strings.

01:06 Sudden brass and percussion shouts. Violin and lower string activity continues.

01:20 New texture. Pizzicato strings; very active bassoon line accompanies.

01:39 Brass and woodwinds play a powerful march theme. Notice the timpani.

02:04 Trumpet call, low pedal note in the trombone. Phrase completed by a very dissonant chord.

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02:11 Return to pizzicato strings.

02:22 March returns.

02:52 Soft strings and woodwinds. Crescendo.

03:15 Climax of the theme. Cymbal crashes. Lower brass.

03:25 Transition.

03:42 Sudden orchestral accent; galloping string activity.

04:14 Solo clarinet playing the fixed idea, just before the axe falls.

04:23 Loud accented chord interrupts the clarinet solo.

04:25 Drum roll, cymbal crashes. Brass chords end the movement.

04:45 End.

As a composer, Franz Liszt explored several forms and genres. He was a great promoter of new music, and considered his program music, symphonic poems (a term he apparently invented), and style of thematic development to be the future of music, calling the forms “new bottles for new wine.”

Inspired by the virtuosic intensity of violinist Paganini, Liszt also became the top virtuoso pianist of his day, achieving what we might think of as pop-star status, and inspiring what people then called “Lisztomania.” His work was variously bold and intimate, passionate and mystical. While he continued to incorporate such traditional forms as the sonata, he inspired other composers with his expanded musical pallet and chromaticism, foreshadowing twentieth- century harmonic and structural developments with his later forays into dissonance, unstable tonality, and whole-tone harmonies.

Not everyone in this period was thrilled with program music. Though his music was often lyrical and expressive, Johannes Brahms was a proponent of absolute music, feeling the development of music was threatened by associating it so exclusively with outside references and ideas. A great admirer of Mozart and Beethoven, Brahms composed four symphonies whose depth and power alone would have earned him an honored place in music history. Utterly skillful at handling the elements of music, he described his composing process as starting in an expanded state of awareness. “In this exalted state,” said Brahms, “I see clearly what is obscure in my ordinary moods. These vibrations assume the forms of distinct mental images, after I have formulated my desire and resolve in regard to what I want, namely, to be inspired so that I can compose something that will uplift and benefit humanity; something of permanent value.”

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Les Préludes (1854) by Franz Liszt

This famous tone poem is based on a poem by Alphonse de Lamartine, a French romantic poet. The focus of this program is elusive and vague but is typical of program music from the nineteenth century. A mere suggestion or title was enough to launch a composer into musical development, especially one with the improvisational skills of Liszt. It is common for listeners to complete the program in their imagination. The program pulled from Lamartine’s work is full of dramatic and contrasting moods. Following is an excerpt from the program.

What else is life but a series of preludes to that unknown song whose first solemn note is intoned by death. Love is the enchanted dawn of all existence. But what destiny is there whose first delights of love are not interrupted by some storm? . . . Who, after such a storm, does not try to soothe its memories in the gentle calm of country life? . . . to find in combat the full awareness of himself and the complete possession of his powers.

This single-movement work was written during a period when Liszt was not concertizing. The structure is made up of four large sections, preceded by a slow introduction. A simple three-note motive (long-short-long) is the basis for thematic transformation. It first appears in the strings and moves to the brass. From there it is transformed into two different love themes. The storm follows the love themes with military-like transformations of both love themes. The themes eventually combine at the end, suggesting commonality between what seems to be opposites.

The use of thematic transformation not only is a means to consciously unify long works but also is a natural developmental process in improvisation. Liszt’s command of this technique as a composer and performer suggested exciting new horizons for dramatic orchestral writing. Wagner was among the benefactors of the expanding harmonic and melodic style heralded in this work.

00:00 Two pizzicato notes. Theme starts with the three-note motive in the strings.

00:46 Repeat of pizzicato notes and theme. Strings and woodwinds echo each other.

01:35 Theme is repeated several times up one step each time: crescendo.

02:35 The texture builds to a majestic theme (Love/Death); lower brass, strings play arpeggios.

03:28 First love theme, strings. Basses respond. Horn takes over the melody.

04:50 Second love theme, French horns. The harp and violas play a warm accompaniment figure.

05:32 Woodwinds play second theme with responses by the violins.

05:53 Crescendo. Suddenly, the woodwinds play softly but are interrupted by aggressive statements from the strings.

06:00 Fade

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Opera: Grandeur and Dissonance Emotion and passion dominated most of the dramatic plots in the nineteenth century. In romantic opera, the love between two individuals was commonly depicted as being so great that if one died the other also died because their love had ended. In the opera Tristan and Isolde, by Wagner, Tristan is mortally wounded in the first act, and when he finally dies in the last scene of the opera, Isolde dies singing her love for him. Emotions were further expanded by using mythology, which offered magic and supernatural suspense for heroes and villains who were bigger than life.

To best understand nineteenth-century opera we will look at the two powerful composers of the period. Their contrasting compositional styles exhibit a wide scope of operatic possibilities. Giuseppe Verdi in Italy and Richard Wagner in Germany wrote with conviction for what they believed was the function of opera.

Verdi believed opera must be, above all else, passionate. As well, it should be interesting and provide entertainment for the mass public. He wrote in a conventional manner, with the emphasis on melody. Throughout his life his orchestrations became increasingly more descriptive in support of the melody. However, the melodic line and its ability to enhance the text was always supreme. As he matured, the emotionally charged arias and the more descriptive recitatives became more and more similar, especially in his last three operas, Aida, Otello, and Falstaff.

Falstaff Excerpt from Act III, Scene 2 (1893)

by Giuseppe Verdi

Falstaff was the last opera composed by Verdi, and represents his mature ensemble and orchestral writing style. The final scene of the last Act finds Falstaff, an overweight comic figure, trying to court two ladies who are well aware of his intentions and quite uninterested. As is typical of opera buffa, the plot is filled with individuals who all have schemes at work. The schemes of Falstaff and those of the ladies collide with the schemes of yet another individual: Ford. In this scene, all of the schemes intersect and are exposed. The plot is complicated by the use of masks, confusing everyone except the audience. As usual, true love—in this case, that of young Fenton and Anne—wins over all the other schemes. While in disguise (disguises that had been switched), they are married in front of everyone, while Falstaff, Ford, and Dr. Caius, all of whom had other plans, watch unknowingly. The successful schemes of the two ladies and the young couple put everyone else in their rightful place. The scene ends with everyone reconciled to the marriage.

The music is a brilliant interplay of several solo voices, expressing diametrically opposed emotions, ranging from joy to surprise and anger. There are short orchestral statements throughout that help articulate the various moods of the soloists. There is also a chorus of voices that appears at the very end and takes on the role of a quasi-narrator, expounding on the situation. This chorus is cleverly structured as a fugue. See if you can hear the staggered entrances. Finally, be aware of the quick movement from texture to texture. At times

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there are several voices interacting at once. At other times there are short, melodic ideas. Interspersed between all of these textures are moments that sound like recitative settings. This contrast of textural colors is evidence of Verdi’s compositional control.

00.00 This selection begins with Ford making a recitative statement announcing the end of the ridiculous masquerade and upcoming wedding. No accompaniment.

00:19 Strings enter in accompaniment. The music takes on an air of reverence for the very brief ceremony.

01:00 Fenton and Anne, in disguise, are brought forward to make it a double wedding.

01:28 Both couples are joined in marriage and they unmask.

01:39 It is discovered by all that the young lovers, Fenton and Anne, were married, to the surprise of Ford, Dr. Caius, and Falstaff.

01:47 Dr. Caius is shocked to discover he mistakenly married Bardolph (Ha, ha, ha).

02:11 The melodic lines become romantic

02:33 Rapid delivery of single words, in disagreement as to who is more of a fool.

03:03 Ford reluctantly accepts the outcome. Everyone, except Dr. Caius, is happy.

03:12 Brief recitative moments.

03:35 The orchestral and choral fugue begins. Notice the very fast delivery of words. This is a common trait of comic Italian opera. Hurrah! The whole world is but a joke, And man is born a clown. Within his addled head His brains are in a churn. We all are fools! And every man Laughs at the others’ folly. But he laughs best who sees to it That the last laugh falls to him.

04:06 First of a series of forte interjections by the chorus and orchestra. The soloists continue in counterpoint.

04:57 Another powerful interjection.

05:42 Sudden stop. Slower and softer part. “We all are fools.”

06:03 Final orchestral cadence.

06:24 End.

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Verdi’s popularity was tremendous, and his ability to build strong musical characterizations set him apart from his contemporaries. His operas became the model for Italian opera. A favorite part of many of his operas was the ensemble, which ended large sections. In these sections several individuals sing separate melodies with different texts and act as if they do not hear each other. Verdi identifies each melody and text with individual emotions for each singer in the ensemble.

While Verdi was active in Italy, another style of opera was developing in Germany. Wagner believed that he wrote operas that were larger in scope than traditional opera. His characters were super beings with super problems. He called his works music dramas because he felt that they blended all aspects of music and drama. He not only wrote the music, he wrote the librettos, which were often derived from legends and myths. He had control over the set designs

 Giuseppe Verdi

(1813–1901)

1813 Giuseppe Verdi was born in the small Italian village of Le Roncole, the son of a tavern keeper.

1823–1835 He studied music in the nearby town of Busseto, where he became the municipal music director and married Margherita Barezzi, the daughter of a patron. As a teenager, he walked miles barefoot to his job as church organist to save his only pair of boots.

1839 Verdi wrote the first of his twenty-six operas, Oberto, which was performed in Milan and led to a contract for three more operas.

1838–1840 His wife and two small children died. Verdi quit composing for months, and fell into a life of quiet despair.

1841 Inspired by the libretto of Nebucco, a Bible story that told of the plight of the Jewish people, he wrote the opera. His own sense of nationalism and patriotism was further fired by the fight for a united Italy, free from Austrian domination.

1851–1853 Verdi composed three of his most famous operas during this period: Rigoletto, La Traviata, and Il Trovatore.

1859 He married his second wife, Giuseppina Strepponi, with whom he had spent the previous ten years.

1861 Verdi was elected to the first Italian parliament after Italy became an independent nation.

1871 The opera Aida was performed at the Cairo opera house in celebration of the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.

1887–1893 Verdi composed his most famous tragedy, Otello, and at age 79, he completed his most famous comedy, Falstaff.

1901 Verdi died in Milan, several days after suffering a stroke.

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and all aspects of the visual arts that made up the total experience. He even designed and had built an opera house in Bayreuth, Bavaria, worthy of his elaborate music dramas.

The musical flow never stops in his operas and the demarcation between aria and recitative dissolved. Wagner considered his “unending melody” the thread unifying each act. He removed all traditional places for applause so that there would be no interruption of the musical flow. The audience is engulfed in sound, with large instrumental sections composed symphonically, injecting the drama with development similar to the large symphonies of the day.

Der Ring des Nibelungen Wagner wrote an enormous cycle of operas called Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), which is made up of four operas. The plot is based on Nordic mythology about gods, giants, dwarfs, incest, renounced love, and a gold ring. This monumental work is Wagner’s personal statement that the lust for money and power will be the downfall of society.

The plot was formalized by Wagner in 1848, which was the same year that Marx’s Communist Manifesto was published. The first opera begins in the Rhine, with a dwarf who steals gold from the Rhine maidens and fashions a ring that brings enormous power to whomever possesses it and renounces love. The ring is taken by Wotan, the head of the gods. His daughters, called Valkyries, protect him from the dwarf. Wotan also fathers twins, Siegmund and Sieglinde, who were separated, and in the second opera fall in love and give birth to Siegfried. Siegfried is the hero of the cycle and Wotan’s hope for retrieving the ring. At the end, everything comes crashing down in fire and flood.

In this cycle of operas, it is common to hear long, descriptive discourses sung in unending melody. To some critics, these long dialogues seemed long-winded. However, they represent a composer’s ability to use his craft to express personal ideas and thoughts. It was no longer enough to show off one’s craft; composition was now a tool for expression and communication.

The most significant innovation in The Ring is the special use of motives—melodic and harmonic ideas assigned to each character, object, place, or thought. As the operas progress, leitmotifs (the musical motives associated with the powerful emotions and objects of love and power; the gold, the sword, etc.), fill the musical texture with complexity. The Ring is perhaps the most highly developed work based on motivic development. These leitmotifs were handled symphonically. That is, they were developed or transformed as the drama unfolded. Leitmotifs combine and change to the point that they can hardly be recognized. Throughout the four operas, these motives have a profound impact on the listener, and, with their transformations, express the changing conditions of the plot and characters.