Appreciating Music

WHAT IS MUSIC?
Collection of coordinated sound or sounds
Often collaborative
Made of sounds, vibrations, and silent moments.
Also made with endless combinations of instrument, voices and sounds.

MUSIC IN DIFFERENT PERIOD

BAROQUE PERIOD OF MUSIC
Derived from the Portuguese barroco, or “oddly shaped pearl,” The term “baroque” has been
widely used since the nineteenth century to describe the period in Western European art music
from about 1600 to 1750.
Baroque period saw the creation of tonality Baroque music expanded the size, range and
complexity of instrumental performance. Concerto is the most important type of instrumental
music in the baroque era. CORELLI and VIVALDI the 2 greatest composers of concertos.
BACH is one of the greatest geniuses in the history of music.

CLAUDIO GIOVANNI ANTONIO MONTEVERDI (1567 - 1643) An Italian composer,

gambist, singer and Roman Catholic Priest. His work, often regarded as revolutionary. The first
great composer of the "new music". L'Orfeo, one of the earliest operas that Monteverdi wrote.
He was recognized as an innovative composer and enjoyed considerable fame in his lifetime.
Only two of his operas had survived, “the return of Ulysses in His Homeland" (II ritorno d'
Ulisse in patira 1641) and "the Coronation of Poppea" (L'incoronazione di Poppea 1642) his
masterpiece.

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL (1685 - 1759) He was born on Feb. 23, 1685 at town of Halle
Germany, famous for his operas, oratorios and concerti grossi. Famous works are Messiah
(1741) - an oratorio set to texts from the King James Bible. Water Music (1717) Music for
Royale Fireworks (1749). From 1706 to 1710 he was in Italy where he developed his mastery of
Italian music style. He composed the first London Italian Opera, Rinaldo, in 1710. Strongly
influenced by the technique of the great composer Henry Purcell, his music was known to many
composers including Franz Joseph Hadyn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig Van
Beethoven.

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685 - 1750) was a German composer and musician of the
Baroque period. He is known for instrumental compositions such as the Brandenburg Concertos
and the Goldberg Variations and vocal music such as the St Matthew and the Mass in B minor.
He has been generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time. In Weimar where he
expanded his repertoire for the organ and Kothen where he was mostly engaged with chamber
music. From 1726 he published some of his keyboard and organ music. Bach had a prestigious
musical lineage and took on a various organist positions during the early 18th century, creating
famous compositions like "Toccata and Fugue in D minor." Some of his best-known
compositions are the "Mass in B Minor," the Brandenburg Concertos" and "The well-Te,pered
Clavier."
ANTONIO LUCIO VIVALDI (1678 - 1741) was born on March 4, 1678, in Venice, Italy. An
Italian composer and violinist who left a decisive mark on the form of the concerto and the style
of late Baroque instrumental music. Vivaldi's main teacher was probably his father, Giovanni
Battista. He made his first known public appearance playing alongside his father in the basilica
as the "supernumeracy" violinist in 1696. He became an excellent violinist, and in 1703 he was
appointed violin master in at the Ospedale della Pieta, a home of foundings

MUSICAL PERIOD OF MUSIC (1775-1825)

CLASSICAL PERIOD OF MUSIC In the middle of the 18th century, contemporaneous with the
mature years of Bach and Handel, a new musical style developed that is known as Rococo or
pre-classical music. In the second half of the 18th century, a reaction against Rococo style
occurred. There were objections to its lack of depth and to the use of decoration and
ornamentation for their own sake. This led to the development of Classical Style
The choral music of the classical era was dominated by three composers; Franz Joseph Haydn
(1732-1809), Wolfgang Amadues Mozart (1756-1791), and Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-
1827). However, the term classical music is used in a colloquial sense as a synonym for Western
art music, which describes a variety of Western musical styles from the 9th century to the
present, and especially from the 16th or 17th to the 19th.

THE GREATEST COMPOSERS OF THE CLASSICAL PERIOD

1. FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN (1732-1809) Often referred to as the "Father of the

Symphony" or "Father of the String Quartet". An Austrian composer who was one of the
most important figures in development of the Classical style in music during the 18th
century. He helped established the forms and styles for the string Quartet and the
Symphony. Haydn was a remarkable composer, epitomizing the meaning of classical
period compositions. During this time, Haydn composed many pieces of music for the
courtly orchestra to perform, with a staggering body of work, including over 100
symphonies and 60 string quartet.
2. WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791) A prolific artist, Austrian composer
created a string of opera, concertos, symphonies, and sonatas that profoundly shaped
classical music. Over the years, Mozart aligned himself in a variety of European venues
and patrons, composing hundreds of works that included sonatas, symphonies, masses,
chamber music, concertos, and operas marked by vivid emotions and sophisticated
textures. In December 1787, Emperor Joseph II appointed him as his "chamber
composer". He wrote all his violin concertos between 1774 and 1777, as well as Masses,
symphonies, and chamber works. In 1780, Mozart wrote his opera Idomeneo, which
became sensation in Munich. In 1782, it was also the year that saw his opera Die
Entfuhrung aus dem Serail staged with great success. In the early and mid- 1780's,
Mozart composed many Sonatas and Quartets. Mozart produced his three greatest Italian
opera; Le nozze di Figaro (1786; The Marruage of Figaro), Don Giovanni (1787, for
Prague), and Cosi fan tutte (1790). In his last opera, The Magic Flute (1791), Mozart
turned back to german opera, and he produced a work combining many strands if popular
theatre and including musical expressions ranging from folk to opera.
 3. LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) was a German pianist and composer,
widely considered as the greatest of all time, whose innovative compositions combined
vocals and instruments, widening the scope of sonata, symphony, concerto and quartet.
He is the crucial transitional figure connecting the Classical and Romantic ages of
Western music. Johannes Brahms discovered that Beethoven had in fact composed a
"beautiful and noble" piece of music entitled Cantata on the Death of Emperor Joseph II,
it is now considered his masterpiece.

He composed his first six string quartets (Op. 18) between 1798 and 1800, and published
in 1801. Beethoven became regarded as one of the most important generations of young
composers following Haydn and Mozart. He also continued to write to write in other
forms turning out widely known piano sonatas like the "Pathetique" sonata (Op. 13),
which Cooper describes as "surpassing any of his previous compositions, in strength of
character, depth of emotions, level of originality, and ingenuity of motivic and tonal
manipulations." He also completed his Septet (Op.20) in 1799, which was one of his most
popular works during his lifetime.

ROMANTIC PERIOD OF MUSIC (1820-1900)

Romantic Period started around 1820 and ended around 1900, as compositions became
increasingly expressive and inventive. The Romantic era is known for its intense energy and
passion. The ideal for the Romantic composer was to reflect his own feelings and emotions in his
compositions in order to instill in the listener certain preconceived moods. The expression of
emotion and the "sparking" of the imagination were a primary goal.

ROMANTIC PERIOD COMPOSERS

Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) - was a Polish pianist and composer known for his pieces written
for the piano. He specialized in the genres ETUDE, MAZURKA, NOCTURME, WALTZ, and
POLONAISE

Franz Joseph Liszt (1843-1907) - a Hungarian composer and pianist, one of the greatest piano
players to have ever lived. He was known for his passionate performances which included
dramatic gestures, intense facial expressions and adding his own style to pieces.

Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) - was an Italian composer known for his operas, including
Jerusalem, Rigoletto, Aida and more. His operas ability to penetrate the psyche and evoke
intense emotions rank him among the most well-known Romantic composers. Verdi was also a
political figure idolized by many Italians for his nationalist beliefs. Verdi elevated the Italian
opera, working on the foundations set by Bellini and Donizetti. Verdi's musical styles are so
distinctive. This allowed him to write his music in a way that would most efficiently express the
story's meaning

MODERN PERIOD OF MUSIC

The transition from 19th century Romanticism to 20th century "Modernism" is, perhaps, as
violent an upheaval as was the transition from the Renaissance to the Baroque. Music of the pre-
modern world can be broadly divided into two kinds. Folk music emerged naturally among
cultures throughout the world, while Art music was deliberately cultivated by small numbers of
professional composers. Folk music generally features relatively simple structure or theory and
has a relaxed, informal quality; whereas Art music generally features relatively complex
structure or theory has an elevated, formal quality.
TOP MODERN PERIOD COMPOSERS
Aaron Copland, (1900-1990) - Most people know that Aaron Copland was a composer. He was
born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 14, 1900. Copland's earliest musical training came
in the form of piano lessons. Copland's formal training began in 1914 which piano lessons from
Leopold Wolfsohn, at age 16, Copland began studying counterpoint and compositions with
Rubin Goldmark. Copland was also a teacher, lecturer, author, editor, and conductor. Because of
his involvement in these different facets of artistic compositions, and because he was successful
in merging a distinctly American style of compositions, Copland is frequently referred to as the
"Dean of American Music."

Francis Poulenc, (1899-1963) - He was born on January 7, 1899, Paris, France and died January
30, 1963. A composer who made an important contribution to Frwnch music in the decades after
World War 1 and whose songs are considered among the best composed during the 20th century.
Francis Poulenc was a fantastic pianist and composer. He was known to be a very eccentric and
completely unconventional man and these traits showed in the music he composed. His music
was different from those around him at the time and he was also a fantastic songwriter. He was
considered as one of the most important composers of the pre-World War 2 era. He composed
his music throughout the war and included many patriotic themes in his music.

Paul Hindemith (1875-1963) - He was born on November 16, 1895 and died December 28,
1963. An outstanding twentieth-century German composer, as well as a violist, teacher, theorist,
and conductor. Hindemith helped to create a new conception of tonality with the 12-tone scale
while retaining the traditional anchor of a tonic or foundational tone. His works and teachings in
the United States made him very popular, especially in the 1940s when he used consonance and
dissonance to set the apart the melodic and harmonic lines of a compositions for emphasis and
expression.

Igor Stravinsky, (1882-1971) - In full Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky was born June 5, 1882 in
Russia and died April 6, 1971 in New York U.S., A Russian born composer whose work had a
revolutionary impact on musical thought and sensibility just before and after World War 1, and
whose compositions remained a touchstone of modernism for much of his long working life. He
was given lessons in piano and music theory. He had begun touring as a conductor and pianist,
generally performing his own works. In the 1930s, he toured the Americas and wrote several
pieces fulfilling American commissions, including the Concerto in E flat, "Dumbarton Oaks."