Solo Research

Emily Hill

MUSC 251: Applied Music Study

Professor Goodman

January 27, 2022

Georg Philip Telemann Fantasia No.12 in g minor -

Georg Philipp Telemann was a German composer alive during the Baroque era. During

his earlier years, he was discouraged from being a musician because at the time it was not a

respectable career path. He was a self-taught musician and was able to play a wide variety of

instruments including the violin, recorder, oboe, viola da gamba, chalumeau, and clavier. Around

the age of 20, he decided to go to the University of Leipzig and study as a law student, which did

not last long because he soon became far more interested in pursuing music. One of his first

musical jobs was to compose church cantatas and to play the organ at the chapel. His next

positions were the conductor of the orchestra and the first violinist. Both of these positions gave

him valuable skills. Later he obtained the job as musical director of Frankfurt am Main (1712)

and nine years later he went on to be the musical director of Hamburg until his death in 1767.

Part of his contracts was to supply the courts of Eisenach and Bayreuth and the town of Frankfurt

with music and his compositions. He was fluent in German, Italian, and French and was often

inspired by Polish and English music. During his lifetime he published 125 orchestral suites, 125

concertos, 40 quartets, 130 trios, 87 solos, 250 pieces for keyboards, and many more different

pieces of music. In his private life, he was married twice, had several children, and was a

published author.

Marais Les Folies d’Espagne -

Marin Marais was a French composer from the mid 17th century through the early 18th

century. They are considered a baroque composer. He is credited with writing six operas and a

large variety of pieces meant for Viol. Little is known about Marais's life after adulthood, it is
known that is in his personal life he had 19 kids, one of his children would later become the

composer Roland Marais.

Les Folies d’Espagne was part of the second book of viol pieces. The theme of these

pieces has become one of the most known themes from the baroque period. The theme has had

many variations created over the years for many different solo instruments.

Both of the composers listed above were alive and composing music during the baroque

era. This era took place between 1600 - 1750 and was used to describe Western European music

and art. This era brought the modern orchestra, opera cantata, oratorio, concerto, and sonata. This

era is divided into three different categories: early, middle, and late. Characteristics of the late

Baroque period were abrupt dynamic changes. It is speculated that Telemann wrote his 12

fantasias for flute between 1727 - 1735, this was during the late baroque period.

Paul Hindemith Sonata, Movement 1 -

Paul Hindemith was a German composer living during the late 19th century through the

mid 20th century. He had a successful life, as a child he played the violin and this would later

take him to Dr.Hoch’s Konservatorium where he would learn about composition and conducting.

During his time at the Konservatorium, he participated in the Frankfurt Opera Orchestra and in

the Rebner String Quartet. He is responsible for creating the Amar Quartet that started in 1921

and was later disbanded in 1933. He gained some attention in 1922 when some of his pieces

were played in the International Society for Contemporary Music Festival. In 1927 he became a

professor at Berliner Hochschule für Musik. During his time as a professor, he had written music

for the film Ghosts Before Breakfast. In 1938 he emigrated to Switzerland due to his wife’s

ancestry, two years later he moved to the United States. When living in the United States he
taught at Yale University, where he founded the Yale Collegium Musicum. He also taught in

many other prestigious universities including the University at Buffalo, Wells College, and

Cornell University. He was also a guest lecturer at Harvard University. He received his

citizenship for the United States in 1946, but would later return to Europe to teach at the

University of Zürich until he left teaching in 1957. After he left teaching he spent more time

conducting and composing. He would compose pieces up until his death in 1963. During his

lifetime he won a few awards, the Howland Memorial Prize, Pour le, Mérite, Wihuri Sibelius

Prize, and the Balzan Prize.

Hindemith completed Sonata for flute in 1936, this piece contains three movements. This

piece is meant to show off Hindemith’s unique writing, this piece contains Neo-Classical idioms,

and is inspired by Neue Sachlichkeit style. This piece was originally supposed to be premiered

by flutist Gustav Scheck but it was canceled by the Nazi Regime due to the Hindemith’s

complicated relationship with the Regime.

 Bibliography

Classic FM, www.classicfm.com/composers/telemann/.

“The Classical Period Timeline by Classic FM.” Classic FM,

www.classicfm.com/discover-music/periods-genres/classical/.

Cook, Amanda, and Amanda Cook. “Hindemith: Sonata for Flute and Piano Program

Notes.” Between the Ledger Lines, 1 Dec. 2015,

https://betweentheledgerlines.wordpress.com/2014/03/23/hindemith-sonata-flute-piano-pr

ogram-notes/.

“Georg Philipp Telemann.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.,

www.britannica.com/biography/Georg-Philipp-Telemann.

“Les Folies D'Espagne - Solo FL or Solo OB.” Trevco Music,

https://www.trevcomusic.com/products/int-3444-marais-les-folies-d-espagne-ob.

“Marin Marais.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 5 Jan. 2022,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marin_Marais.