The Father Of String Quartets

From 1820 onwards the Romantic era began. This is where composers began to experiment more with their structure, making it as complex as possible, but still making sure that the listener can here lots of different motifs. This idea is basically having a few themes and using these to create different sections through augmentation and fragmentation etc. Also melodies became more flamboyant with composers adding in more chromatic lines to their melodies.

Both Haydn and Beethoven are known as two of the greatest classical/romantic composers in the history of music. Haydn is identified as the father of modern symphony, as well as the father of the string quartet. He has played an essential role in developing the piano trio and the sonata form. Beethoven is also a widely recognized composer in Western music, his style joined the lull between the Classical and Romantic eras. Beethoven traveled to Vienna when he was young to study under Haydn. However, due to disputes and differences between the two composers, lessons only lasted for a little over a year. The teachings, if only for a short period, left a mark on Beethoven, and can be observed in his compositions.

          Haydn has a special preference for writing music in a bundle of six. Each of the six pieces has its individuality while sharing many common features at the same time. Haydn’s solo keyboard sonatas show striking diversity in type and style. They often could be categorized by their style periods and each of them reflects a corresponding social background.

The Green Violinist by Marc Chagall is the work of art I am going to analyze. The Fiddler aka The Green Violinist is the main figure in this painting. He stands out more than any other figure. In this painting, The Green Violinist is on the roof of a house. Marc Chagall uses scale and proportion when making this painting. The angle of this artwork makes The Fiddler resemble a giant but he is not.. He doesn't seem connected to other figures in the painting. He looks like an outcast and doesn't fit in. In the background, I see a dog and his companion playing in the backyard. I also see a person in the sky "flying" and someone is trying to reach for them.

While Ludwig van Beethoven and Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky have much in common, they also have many differences. Both men are famous for their orchestral compositions and their future influence on other composers. They experienced a blend of horrible failures and great successes. Although they were from different musical time periods, they both made huge contributions to the world of music.

Music of the baroque period was considered very complex and similar to the other forms of art of this time. Additional brass, woodwind and string instruments had been created to add additional depth to the works of this time. Composers of this time attempted to give voices to their works and invoke emotions. The works were created to tell a story.

The fugue is often regarded as a genre defined by strict procedural guidelines. It is notable that three historically important composers, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Georg Friedrich Handel (1685-1759), and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), all employed a closely related fugue subject in three different works. An analysis of each of these works individually, and a comparison of these works collectively reveal numerous latent and salient features, and a reflection of the composers’ style within these works. Analyses also provide an outlook into the fluidity in certain aspects and rigidity in others of the form itself, reflected historically. The three composers analyzed fall closely together in history. J.S. Bach and G.F. Handel were contemporaries, whereas Mozart was born six years after Bach’s death and three years before Handel’s death. Analytically, the angularity of these similar fugue subjects presupposes a treatment regardless of the composer. Because of the shared intervallic content among the subjects of these fugues, despite being written by several different composers, a surprising number of similarities arise. Therefore, it is reasonable to assert that compositional choices made in the construction of the fugue subjects limit the number of results possible.

Haydn composed his Op. 74 quartets in the later years of his life between 1796 and 1797 and it was the last of his completed string quartets. The set of quartets were dedicated to the Hungarian Count Joseph Erdödy and were published in 1799. It was said that this selection of quartets was one of his “most ambitious chamber works” with his attempt of “emphasizing thematic continuity, seamlessly and continually passing motifs from one instrument to another” 1. The fourth of these quartets is nicknamed “Sunrise”. This is due to the exquisite rising theme heard in the first violin part at the beginning of the first movement from bar one to bar four as seen in Figure

Music is constantly changing. The Baroque period (1600-1750) and the Classical period (1750-1820) have both differences and similarities in elements such as form, texture, and dynamics. I will be comparing the first movement of Spring from the Four Seasons composed by Antonio Vivaldi and the first movement of Symphony No. 5 in C minor by Ludwig van Beethoven. I will construct a stylistic comparison of the two compositions and their musical stylings with regard to the periods of music of which they belong.

•In the late Baroque, polyphony, as a result of counterpoint, was used in all sorts of compositions, especially the fugue.

In classical music, the structures emphasize more the grace of proportion and balance, moderation and control; polished and elegance in character with expressiveness and formal structure held in perfect balance. Furthermore, the forms do not vary as much as the Romantic era, they had forms like sonatas, symphonies etc. The melodic phrases are usually balanced and symmetrical made up of two phrases of the same length. For an example, in Mozart's Clarinet Quintet, the music is very symmetrical and well balanced, in a variation form. However, in Romantic music, they rather emphasize on the emotional content than trying to sound balanced and symmetrical, and expanded their use of forms and created new forms, like impromptu, ballade, etude, nocturnes etc,. Moreover, the melodies normally have either really long or short phrases, increased in range, but also increased in chromaticism. For example in Mahler's symphony no.1 in D major "Titan", we can see that except it is in a ABA form, the whole movement was not as symmetrical and well balanced as the Mozart, although it is in a variation form, the melodic phrases have increased in range, are either really long, for example in the first 18 bars, or really short, where the melody can be hardly seen in bar 134-137.

Franz Joseph Haydn is one of the most recognizable names and characters of the Classical era. He is recognizes as the inventor of the string quartet, and tutored many other easily-recognizable musicians such as Ludwig van Beethoven and Amadeus Wolfgang Mozart. Haydn’s first experience with music was when he was eight, and he was recruited to sing as a choirboy at St. Stephen’s choir in Vienna. He eventually came to love the keyboard and violin, and supported himself in his early years by teaching and playing violin. His most famous pieces include: the "Rider" quartet and the Surprise, Military, Drumroll and London symphonies. The listening example: Symphony no. 94 is known as the Surprise Symphony, and is the second of the twelve London Symphonies.

Even though the two pieces were composed in different centuries – Mozart’s piece in the 18th century and Strauss’ piece in the 20th century – some of the musical elements that they share transcend both time periods. The characteristics of music in the classical period had to do with the new view of human psychology. Mozart was one to introduce contrasting moods within movements or even within a theme. He was able to infuse strong contrasts of moods within the style of his music (Burkholder, Grout, & Palisca 475). In Figaro, Mozart includes an overture which is a piece in sonata form despite its lack of a development section. In Act I cavatina, “Se vuol ballare”, Mozart whimsically makes changes to the character of his music so as to correspond to Figaro’s machinations (Hambrik n.p). By doing so, he musically

Baroque music is characterized through contrasts as dramatic elements, monody and the advent of the basso continuo, and different instrumental sounds. Contrast is an essential feature in the production of baroque arrangements. The alternations between bold and flamboyant and soft, solo and ensemble, different instruments and timbres all constitute a key portion in various baroque compositions. Composers similarly created more precise instrumental arrangements regularly stipulating the instruments on a musical piece that ought to be executed instead of allowing the performing musician to select.

String section and basso continuo central to the orchestra. Other instruments are occasional additions. Standard group of four sections: strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. Different instruments treated individually.