A Classical

Review
Ft. Gluck, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven
Gluck
Christopher Willibald Gluck

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 👪 Family Background
✣ Gluck was born in
Erasbach the first of nine
children
✣ His father came from a
long line of fosterers
✣ Nothing is known about his
mother, neither her
ancestry nor her maiden
name.
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✣ In 1717, the family moved to
bohemia, where the father
became head fosterer in the
service of Prince Philipp
Hyazinth von Lobkowitz in
1727.
✣ His father was head fosterer in
Eisenberg in Bohemia and he
had brought up to follow in
his footsteps.
Training and Exposure to Music
✣ Gluck had musical interest from an early
age, playing the violin and cello and
singing
✣ To avoid following in his father’s
profession as a fosterer, he ran away aged
13 or 1 to Parague, where he became
involved in music-making in Bohemian
capita, with only a few money in his
pocket.

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Training and Exposure to Music
✣ He earned food and lodging with singing.
✣ On Sundays and holidays he would play
in the village churches.
✣ Largely self-taught as composer, he was
influenced by the many Italian operas by
Vivaldi and Albinoni

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Mood and Attitude as an Individual

He adapted many of his poeras into french

and it lead to a frenzied culture war between
Rebellious advocates of opera in french and those who
supported the old italin style.

Gluck grew up unsatisfied with the

extrvagant conventions of Baroque opera. He
Never satisfied reformed the opers in many ways.

Gluck rarely compromised, even cancelling a

performance the King was due to attend
because he wasn’t happy with the
Stubborn production.
 Accomplishments as a Musician
✣ On Dec. 26, 1741, Gluck had ✣ Initiated the major reform of
his first great dramatic success serious opera during the
with his first opera, Artaserse century and appeared just at
✣ Preformed symphonies and the right moment to rescue
arias at weekly concerts in the opera from the deplorable
Prince’s palace and left a state into which it had fallen
particular impression on the
Emperor and Empress

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 Failures as a Musician
✣ After he was appointed official ✣ His French version of
court composer, his new Alceste, also met with
version of L’Arbre enchanté disapproval.
brought him success, and the
completely rewritten Cythère
assiégée proved a failure.

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Haydn
Joseph Haydn

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 👪 Family Background
✣ Haydn had parents who
immersed their home with
music, Joseph Haydn as young
boy sang all his father’s pieces
correctly.
✣ His father, Mathias Haydn,
played the hard, although he
did not read music, and
mother, Anna Maria, sang the
melodies his father played.
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✣ All the children learned the
songs, developed their singing
voices and showered their
neighbors with concerts.
✣ His father was a wheelwright,
his mother, before her
marriage, was a cook for the
lords of the village.
 Training and Exposure to Music
✣ Little Haydn revealed unusual musical gifts, his
cousin who was a choirmaster in the nearby city
offered to take him into his home and train him.
✣ Haydn sang in the church choir, learned to play
various instruments, and obtain a good basic
knowledge, and obtained a good basic
knowledge of music.

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 Training and Exposure to Music
✣ When he was 8, he moved to Vienna.
✣ He stayed at the choir school for 9 years,
learning a big knowledge of music by constant
performances but receiving little instruction in
music theory.

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Mood and Attitude as an Individual
He composed fourteen masses and he said
that he said that he would always fail to his
knees and pray to the Lord every single day.
His modesty remained with him throughout
his life, “I know that God has granted me a
Religious and gift, and I recognize it thankfully. I also
Modest believe I have done my duty, and that I have
been useful to the world through my works.
May others now do the same!

Haydn was known to be good with people

and was quite the prankster.

Fun and Social

 Accomplishments as a Musician
✣ He helped establish the forms ✣ He taught Beethoven in Bonn
and styles for the string quartet and said that he would
and the symphony someday be Europe’s greatest
✣ In 1766 Haydn became composer
musical director at the
Esterhazy court. He raised the
quality and increased the size
of the prince’s musical
ensembles

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 Failures as a Musician
✣ Haydn had many odd and ✣ His Operatic output
unusual jobs as he supported continued strong until
himself at the age of 17 1785, notwithstanding
✣ When Haydn had matured the destruction of the
physically, he was no longer Esterhazy opera house
able to sing high choral parts. by fire in 1779.
Empress Maria Theresa herself
complained to Reutter about
his singing, calling it
“crowning”

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 Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart)

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 👪 Family Background
✣ His father, Leopold, came ✣ His mother, Anne Maria Perlt,
from a family of good was born of a middle-class
standing, but was then soon family active in local
estranged. administration.
✣ Leopold was the author of ✣ Mozart and his sister Maria
famous violin-playing manual, Anna “Nannerl” were the only
which was published in the two of their seven children to
very year of Mozart’s Birth. survive.

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Training and Exposure to Music
✣ He was born in Salazburg to a musical
family, from an early age he showed all
the signs of prodigious musical talent.
✣ He would entertain people with the
keyboard.
✣ At the age of 8, he had composed his first
symphony.
✣ He was considered to be a rare musical
genius.
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Training and Exposure to Music
✣ His father, was quick to see the talent of
his young son and became a formidable
publicist in showing off his son’s talent
✣ Mozart became a frequent guest at
various places around Europe, playing for
distinguished guest

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Mood and Attitude as an Individual

Genius Hard Mozart’s entire body of work is immense: 41

worker symphonies, 22 operas, 18 masses and
everything in only 35 year.

While composing he was simultaniously

walking, riding, or playing billiards.
Mozart’s sister-in-law, said that he often used
to touch napkin to his lip, make grimaces, tap
Hyperactive his hand or feet on objects, or play with hats,
pockets, tables and chairs
 Accomplishments and Failures as a
Musician
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
✣ He wrote several successful
operas, including The
Marriage of Figaro (1786),
Don Giovanni (1787), and The
Magic Flute (1791)
✣ He composed a number of
symphonies and sonatas. His
Last symphony, the Jupiter
Symphony, is perhaps his most
famous
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FAILURES
✣ When he preformed at
Theater an Per wien for
Archduke Ferdinand of
Austria said that it was far too
noisy and too many notes
✣ In 1788 and 1791, Mozart’s
last three compositions were
considered massive failures
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven

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 👪 Family Background
✣ Beethoven was born in in
Bonn, Germany.
✣ He was the eldest of 3 children
of Johann and Maria
Magdalena van Beethoven.
✣ The family was Flemish in
origin.
✣ Beethoven’s grandfather was a
singer in the choir of the
archbishop-elector of Cologne.
He
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He eventually rose to become a
much bigger singer.
✣ When Beethoven’s
grandfather passed away, his
family became poorer, hence
his father becoming an
alcoholic.
✣ His father, who was a
musician, taught him how to
play piano and violin
 👪 Family Background

✣ He was of often pulled out of ✣ And was ordered to preform

bed in the middle of the night for his father’s drinking
as a kid companions, suffering
beatings if he rejected him

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 Training and Exposure to Music
✣ He was introduced to music in an early age.
✣ His first teacher was his father who was very
strict.
✣ He was frequently beaten to practice correctly.
✣ His father tried to make him a child prodigy like
Mozart but failed to succeed.

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 Training and Exposure to Music
✣ Only in hid adolescence did he begin to attract
mild attention.
✣ His talent on the piano was recognized by Count
Ferdinand. He sponsored him and this enabled
Beethoven to travel to Vienna.
✣ He was able to spend time with the great Haydn,
who taught him many things.

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Mood and Attitude as an Individual

His behavior was as erratic as his complex

Unpredictable personality. He lived in a state of chaos
which shocked many observers.

He was known to be a difficult and

unsociable man, who felt bitter and isolated
by the deafness which developed in his 20s

He has always been kind and was frank to

point of rudeness. He was brave and strong
Kind to follow his father although he got beaten
up.
And
strong
 Accomplishments as a Musician
✣ Known as the first composer
who broke the rules of
classical music, by writing
what he wanted when he
wanted, and deliberately
produces masterworks for all
time, rather than useful pieces
for the next occasion on the
calendar.
✣ He wrote nine symphonies,
32 piano sonatas, one opera,
five piano concertos, and
many chamber works
including some ground-
breaking string quartets.

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 Failures as a Musician
✣ Beethoven’s first on-stage ✣ The premiere of Ludwig van
appearance in 12 years in Beethoven’s Symphony No.9
Vienna on 1824 performance was nearly a complete disaster
itself was somewhat
disappointing, Many spoke
out that they thought it was
under-rehearsed and
“scrappy” in its execution.

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 Once again…

A Classical Review
Submitted to:
Submitted by:
Ms. Villasotes, Cath
Robleza, Lorelei Kate B.

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