Ludwig van Beethoven was a famous composer of the eighteenth-century classical music and the nineteenth-century romanticism style of music. Beethoven is still remembered for his spectacular pieces in modern times. Beethoven’s music led others to take the art of music as a serious topic. His symphonies and sonatas were revolutionary to the music world, because of this, many people today are not aware of his deafness. His deafness eventually caused him to make sacrifices in his music career.
Since children of that era were traditionally baptised the day after birth in the Catholic Rhine country, and since Beethoven's family and his teacher, Johann Albrechtsberger, celebrated his birthday on 16 December, most scholars accept 16 December 1770 as his date of birth. Beethoven's first music teacher was his father. He later had other local teachers: the court organist Gilles Van Den Eeden, Tobias Friedrich Pfeiffer, and Franz Rovantini. Starting at age 5, his musical training was harsh and intensive, which often reduced him to tears. Many times he was dragged from his bed to the keyboard to do irregular late-night sessions.
Another composer who played an important role in the development of the Symphony is no other than Joseph Haydn, the ‘Father of Symphony’. One of his works, Symphony no. 92 in G Major, Hob I:92, composed in 1789, will be reviewed. “Oxford” Symphony was commissioned by Count d’Ogny for the Loge Olympique Concerts in Paris. It is known as “Oxford” because Haydn presented this symphony at the Sheldonian Theater at Oxford University in July 1791, where he was awarded a honorary doctorate degree.
Within the Renaissance period there were many outstanding composers of sacred chorale music. Two of the most noticeable were Johannes Ockeghem and Jacob Obrecht. It appeared that they had somewhat similar paths through their lives and they may have met. Johannes Ockeghem, born around 1410-20 A.D in Saint-Ghislian, Belgium. He received an early education in music but the whereabouts of where he was educated is not known.
This gave freedom to musical culture in Leningrad. Dmitri Shostakovich was close to death then, although, he was widely viewed as a leader from his seventh symphony. He described his symphonies as tombstones to represent the people who have died in numerous places during the devastating war. The structure of the novel reinforces its larger argument by engaging the reader into the beginning of the composer's life during Russia's rise of Fascism. Then, to the war effects on him in Russia from Germany’s gradual
However, the way Beethoven had composed Pathetique departs fundamentally from that of his predecessor, with an attitude of defiance and resistance. With its extreme difference and high level of energy, it made many of the Viennese listeners shocked and stunned. Beethoven dedicated this piece to Prince Karl von Lichnowsky, who was a huge supporter of Vienna’s musicians and Beethoven. In return for dedicating this piece to him, Beethoven was given a quartet of Italian string instruments and an annual sum of money. In the powerful and impactful Grave introduction, the resistance to the sufferings is exemplified in the contrast between the upward moving melodic and the darkness of the C minor tonality.
The famous German poem Ode to Joy (Ode), which was composed by Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller at the age of 26 (Kirby), is a significant work during Sturm und Drang. The reason I chose to write my reflection on this poem is that the topic of this poem is different from most of Schiller’s dramas. Ode praises joy, brotherhood and human virtue instead of tragic aesthetics. This raises my interest in finding a deeper understanding about this poem. It was in 1785, when Schiller published his drama The Robbers (1781) and Intrigue and Love (1784), that the audience began to know this great composer.
From research I have learned a lot about the background of this piece and about Haydn himself. Joseph Haydn wrote music for patron Nikolaus Esterhazy but also wrote pieces and works for sale to the general public. He composed six quartets of Op.33 in the summer and autumn of 1781 for the Viennese publisher Artaria. Haydn said in a letter to Artaria that the quartets were ‘a new and entirely special kind’. A new feature that Haydn included in this quartet was naming the minuet movement in each quartet Scherzo meaning ‘joke’ in Italian.
He gave up studying law to take on a career as a virtuoso pianist, but a hand injury prevented him to pursue his dream to become the finest pianist in Europe. He then invested all his time and effort to compose. Schumann at first composed solely for piano until 1840, after which he composed for piano and orchestra in his later years. His works included: four symphonies, many Lieder, an opera, concerto and other choral, chamber and orchestral works. Schumann 's remarkable skill to express delicate and profound emotions is evident in works such as his collection of short piano pieces, Phantasiestücke (Fantastic Pieces) and in the song cycle Dichterliebe.
The title "Pathetique" (or "Pathétique", "Pathetic") while not given by Beethoven himself, was accepted and even used by the composer referring to this famous composition. The sonata was composed in the years 1798 and 99 and published by Eder in Vienna as "Grande sonate pathétique pour le clavecin ou piano-forte composée et dédiée a son Altesse Monseigneur le Prince Karl von Lichnowsky." This very popular work is the summit of Beethoven 's piano works composed up to 1800. It is also the second time composer uses the key of C minor which is very evocative for him. He will be using that key again only at the ultimate Sonata N.32, opus 111.