The Mighty Handful

Moving out of the Classical (1750-1820) and Romantic (1820-1890) period came to be the Modern period, which took place from 1890 – 1950. This period allowed for upcoming artists in this era to collaborate different styles from the Classical and Romantic period, as seen in the patterns of the composers’ pieces. The Modern Period has many influential artists that have been respected through history. Taking a close analysis at Igor Stravinsky, 1882 – 1971 (Yudkin, 202), and Bela Bartok, 1881 - 1945 (Yudkin, 215), by assessing their life and music gives a deeper meaning of what it meant to live through the Modern time frame. During the life of both of these composers the world went

The Overture 1812 ("1812") was composed in 1880 by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, the most famous of all Russian composers and perhaps best-loved for his ballet

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky is the author of six symphonies and the finest and most popular operas in the Russian repertory. Tchaikovsky was also one of the founders of the school of Russian music. He was a brilliant composer with a creative imagination that helped his career throughout many years. He was completely attached to his art. His life and art were inseparably woven together. "I literally cannot live without working," Tchaikovsky once wrote, "for as soon as one piece of work is finished and one would wish to relax, I desire to tackle some new work without delay." The purpose of this paper is to give you a background concerning Tchaikovsky's biography, as well as to discuss his various works of

Tchaikovsky is one of the most popular of all composers. The reasons are several and understandable. His music is extremely tuneful, opulently and colourfully scored, and filled with emotional passion. Undoubtedly the emotional temperature of the music reflected the composer's nature. He was afflicted by both repressed homosexuality and by the tendency to extreme fluctuations between ecstasy and depression. Tchaikovsky was neurotic and deeply sensitive, and his life was often painful, but through the agony shone a genius that created some of the most beautiful of all romantic melodies. With his rich gifts for melody and special flair for writing memorable dance tunes, with his ready response to the atmosphere of a theatrical situation

The famed Czech composer, Antonin Dvorak, was born in a Bohemian village of Czechoslovakia on September 8th, 1841 (Carlson & Smith, 154). After several years of living and learning music in his home village, eventually Dvorak moved to Prague at the age of 16 to continue his education in music. Pursuing his studies diligently, and after working various odd jobs, he eventually became a professor of music at the Prague Conservatory (Pogue & Speck, 64). While in Prague, he married his lovely wife Anna Cermakova in the November of 1873, and was happily married for the rest of his life to her (Encyclopedia Britannica). Performing all over Prague, eventually Dvorak’s incredible work was discovered by the famed composer Johannes Brahms, who recommended Dvorak to Brahms’ publisher Simrock. Simrock took to liking Dvorak’s works so much, that he agreed to publish works like the Moravian Duets in 1876, and the Slavonic Dances in 1878. These works

In this essay I will be discussing the extent that Dmitri Shostakovich adhered to and rebelled from the conventions and traditions that were normalized in classical music and I will offer varied examples of the many times Shostakovich has obeyed and dissented within music throughout his career. The career span of Shostakovich extends from 1926 when he presented his first major work, Symphony No.1 to 1970 when he presented Quartet No. 7.

The Classical and the 19th century Romantic Period were eras where many of the most famous composers and compositions that we know today were born. The Classical Period brought forth big name composers like Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, CP Bach, and Ludwig van Beethoven. The 19th century Romantic Period was characterized by composers like Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, and Edvard Grieg. But, what really were these artistic periods? What makes them different from each other? And how did the Classical Period inevitably end and influence the beginning of the Romantic Period? Here we will not only cite in depth research of both the Classical and the 19th Century Romantic Period, but also pull direct characteristics of the classical period from Beethoven’s “Zärtliche

Horton, Andrew J. "The Forgotten Avant Garde: Soviet Composers Crushed by Stalin." Central Europe Review vol. 1, no. 1, 28 June 1999. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.

Afterwards, Anderson goes back in time and reveals how the life of a genius, Shostakovich, was affected by a series of war conflicts including a revolution and World War I. Then, in October 1917, he also witnessed the birth of a Communist Russia after Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks seized power. For a brief period, this new government supported and encouraged artists to develop their talents. The city became a place where “new art, new music, and new drama had to be found for a new world where workers ruled” (p. 37).

Tchaikovsky’s personal life, and especially his sexuality, have been discussed to an extent that is very uncommon for most composers of his time. Although he achieved much success, he also suffered through much trauma. He often fell into depressive episodes, and worked through many trials, such as his mother’s death, his own suppressed homosexuality, and the loss of his good friend and sponsor Nadezhda von Meck.

After Dvorak left the Organ School in 1859, he basically disappeared from the public eye for twelve years until 1871, which is when he emerged back into the public as a composer. For those twelve years he spent in seclusion, he was occupied with extensive writing in the classical form (8). To much grief and disappointment Dvorak’s first son died in September and his second daughter in October of 1877. These tragic losses were experienced within his grandiose oratorio “Stabat Mater.” For the next twenty years, Dvorak was invited to other European countries to conduct performances of his own works while enduring a struggling relationship with his publisher Hitherto Simrock (7).

In the early 1960s, or shortly before the cold war, the Russian music industry had been divided into two groups; the melodiya (music recorded by the state record company) and the rest, which included the underground music writers. The many musicians under the underground songwriters came up with a musical style referred to as the "author's song", which comprised of a strong accent in its lyrical set up, and was performed on unaccompanied acoustic guitar. This style often (not necessarily always) contained or passed a subversive message, hence rubbed the authority the wrong way. The government often suppressed this style of music, but despite the government's efforts to diminish its popularity, it still enjoyed more and more popular; was marked by Vysotsky, a rock singer, becoming a highly popular and influential

Music has been around for countless generations. In the lifetime of his magical art we call music we have seen many different musicians. One musician who had a great influence and effect on the Romantic Era would have to be Antonin Dvorak. Antonin Dvorak’s talent for music was visible from an early age. He was so gifted his childhood teacher was unable to continue teaching him even while he was still very young.

For my Concert Attendance Report, I decided to view the Music’s Emotional Impact on PBS as I wasn’t able to attend a live orchestra performance. This video captivated a small introduction to Tchaikovsky’s life as well as having one of his well accomplished songs, Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36 be played by the All-Star Orchestra, which was directed and conducted by Gerard Schwarz. Tchaikovsky wrote this symphony when he was 37 years old when he was in rough patch in life. Tchaikovsky was homosexual and he married a woman, Antonia Miliukova, whom he didn’t love because he didn’t want people to suspect he was different, but to no surprise the marriage didn’t last long and he soon divorced. Tchaikovsky later met Nadezhda von Meck. She impacted

In the course of the development of music, many great composers have contributed their brilliance towards the revolution of music. To be a great composer does not necessarily mean that they have reached a vast amount of fame. However, it means that their compositions have ingenuity and value. The melodies they have cleverly created have reached a point of worthiness in the world of music. For it is the sweet harmonies a composer creates that defines who he is. One of these gifted composers was Frederic Chopin, born on February 22, 1810 in Zelazowa Wola, Poland. Young Chopin was already composing by the age of eight and as his musical career developed he became known as a master of piano composition. Although he was often misunderstood