Handel's fame during his life was based on his abilities as a performer as well as his success as a composer. There is the legend of his participating in a contest with Domenico Scarlatti for bragging rights concerning their performing abilities. Tradition has it that while Scarlatti was chosen as the winner on the harpsichord, Handel was chosen as having even greater abilities on the organ. Scarlatti himself is thought to have said that Handel was the first person that ever showed him the potential of the organ.
Be that truth or fiction, Handel was definitely a virtuoso on the organ, which Handel decided to use to his advantage. Opera in 18th century London was the rock concert of its day. With audiences dividing into different camps for different composers and singers, opera companies would vie for the most popular singers to ensure that the box office would sell out. Handel's direct competition at the time was a rival opera company that had just hired the famous castrato singer Farinelli, who was setting the London opera scene on its ear. Handel himself tried to secure Farinelli's services for his opera company, but when he couldn't meet his price, Farinelli's singing lured so many people away from Handel's operas that it threatened to bankrupt him.
Handel first played the G minor organ concerto in a performance of his choral work Alexander's Feast in 1736. It was shortly after this in 1737 that Handel suffered a stroke that temporarily cost him the use of his right hand and arm. He was recovering from this until May of the same year when he had a relapse. All of the symptoms vanished after he took the waters at the spa town of Aachen in Germany.
The concerto begins with a slow, stately movement that has two main themes that are developed freely with the organ answering the orchestra in decorated replies. There follows an allegro movement that continues the decorative organ responses to the orchestra with different themes. The short adagio leads to a minuet and two variations.
The Handel organ concertos are a milestone in the development of the keyboard concertos of the Classic and Romantic ages. While there are many examples of concertos for violin and other instruments before Handel and Bach's time, it is Handel and Bach that set the stage for the concerto for solo keyboard and orchestra that gave Mozart and Beethoven notoriety as virtuoso performers.
Joseph Haydn was Kappelmeister for almost thirty years for the affluent Esterházy family at their isolated and remote estate in Hungary. "I was cut off from the world. There was no one to confuse or torment me, and I was forced to become original," Haydn has been quoted as saying. He composed endlessly for his patrons at the estate, was in charge of the care and upkeep of the instruments, lead the orchestra, played in chamber music groups, and lead the production of operas at the estate.
Haydn's fame as a composer grew despite his isolation, and he was granted permission from his employers to accept commissions for works from others. Haydn's works were known in France, and a group led by Claude-François-Marie Rigoley in Paris commissioned six symphonies from Haydn for the orchestraLe Concert de la loge Olympique (Orchestra of the 'Olympic' {Masonic} Lodge). This was one of the largest and most famous orchestras of the time, and Haydn did not disappoint as all six symphonies were very well received. The first numbered of these symphonies was number 82 in C Major, 'The Bear' (L'Ours in French).
I. Vivace assai -Haydn took delight in writing for such large forces, as the Paris Orchestra is said to have had 40 violins alone, while Haydn's usual forces at the Esterházy family estate usually numbered no more than a total of 25 of all instruments. Haydn begins with a robust theme that outlines the C major chord in repeated notes in the strings. Haydn gave the option of playing this symphony with two horns, or two trumpets, or two of each. As usual, the second theme is in the dominant key, in this case G major, and is played by 1st violins and flute with a light staccato accompaniment by the 2nd violins and a drone of one note played by a solo bassoon. The development goes through differing keys through scraps of each main theme until the recapitulation is reached. The first theme is sounded, and makes its way to a modulation of the second theme to C major as well. This time the theme is heard in the 1st violins and solo bassoon that plays high in its register. The drone notes are played by the two horns. The movement is rounded out with a short coda in the home key and ends with a flourish as it began.
II. Allegretto - Haydn eschews a slow movement for a double variation, which he was very fond of as he used the form many times. Double variation form is like a theme and variations, but it has two themes that are varied. The first theme is in F major. The second theme is in F minor. These two themes alternate with each other, and each time they are heard changes are made. Sometimes in instrumentation, sometimes in small details. The first theme finally wins out and the movement ends with a fragment of it quietly played.
III. Menuet e trio - In the third movement, Haydn bows to the grace of the French dance, with punctuations added by the timpani. The trio showcases the winds, no doubt to the delight of the French audience and the orchestra players.
IV. Finale: Vivace - This is the movement that gave the symphony it's nickname, for the droning strings reminded contemporary audiences of the dancing bears that would 'dance' to music from bagpipes. Bears were stolen from their mothers when small cubs, and trained to dance for the amusement of people (especially royalty) and for the fortune of their owners. To say it was a miserable existence for the bear is an understatement.
History does not say who gave the music the name, as Haydn didn't give nicknames to any of his works. But it does convey the feeling of the steady beat of the bagpipe drone, and the rustic atmosphere that was part of this kind of music.
Johannes Brahms was one of the first master composers that was also a musicologist. He especially enjoyed studying and analyzing the works of the Baroque masters Handel and Bach. Brahms combined the forms from the Baroque era and the opulence of the Romantic era into some of his compositions, with the 4th symphony being a good example.
Brahms came late to symphony writing, as he was forty two when his first symphony was written and performed in 1876. He wrote three more by 1885 and although he lived another thirteen years, he wrote no more symphonies.
His fourth symphony is the culmination of all he learned while writing the first three, and he instills the symphony with a range of powerful emotions that prove that no matter his conservative leanings, Brahms was a product of the Romantic era as much as any other composer.
The 4th symphony has four movements:
I. Allegro non troppo - The strings begin with a restless two-note motive that appears throughout the movement. The restless nature of the music continues until the drama and intensity grow into a thundering final cadence and the movement comes to a tragic close.
II. Andante moderato -A melancholy melody gently plays through the remains of the previous tragedy. It is not so much a restful respite, but a gentle reminder that things are what they are, and we must bear them with grace and dignity.
III. Allegro giocoso -A scherzo in all but name, Brahms rough-house humor comes through in this movement, notable for the of a triangle which was very unusual for Brahms. The scherzo offers an extended break from seriousness, and considering what follows was much needed for the sake of contrast.
IV. Allegro energico e passionato - The tragedy of the first movement is extended in the finale. Brahms chose to cast the music in the form of a passacaglia, one of the Baroque forms that he had studied. The thirty two variations contained within the movement are based on a base line from a Bach cantata, Number 150 Nach Dir, Herr, verlanget mich, (I Long To Be Near You, Lord). . Brahms states the harmonized bass line in woodwinds and brass to begin the movement:
The variations go through many guises, transformations and workings, but the bass line is always present in one form or another. Sometimes the bass line is felt more than heard, but it is there, like a truth of life that can be felt and heard but not explained. Unlike the similar chaconne, a passacaglia can have the bass line move in any voice, not just the bass, and Brahms does just that. It is music that moves to the end without resolving of life. All we know is that we've been on a journey, and that just may be the important thing.
Anton Bruckner labored long and hard before he got much recognition as a composer, studying compulsively for many years. He composed many choral pieces for the church in the beginning of his career, and finally settled on being a composer of symphonies.
He struggled to find an audience for his compositions, but the case was different with his organ playing. He was one of the most skilled organists of his time and was a master improviser on the instrument. That Bruckner created no great works for solo organ while being a recognized virtuoso is but one of the paradoxes of the man. But if his style of composition and orchestration for the orchestra is examined, he uses the orchestra itself like a huge organ, using combinations and mixtures like an organist uses the ranks of pipes to express what he hears in his head.
He finally received some recognition with his 4th Symphony written in 1874. But the man could get immersed in refinement of a work (or taking too much advice on how to make the work more pleasing to the public) for he revised most of his symphonies numerous times, including the 4th. This has lead to mass confusion of which version by which editor to use in performance. But even that has not stopped his music from becoming more and more popular and played more often in the concert hall.
Many biographers have commented on Bruckner's 'provincial' personality, his social awkwardness, and how nothing of the man is revealed in his music and nothing of his music is revealed in the man. He was trained to be a school teacher as his ancestors, and he was most of his life. But music eventually took over even this vocation as he became a professor at the Vienna Conservatory of Music.
His music aesthetic probably accounted for his lack of an audience early on. He remained original on the one hand, though out of step with his contemporaries, even the ones that he admired and followed. His hero was Wagner, but Bruckner wrote no operas, didn't even know what the stories of Wagner's operas were, but he knew Wagner's music intimately. Bruckner and Brahms were caught up in a musical-political fiasco not of their doing, as the sides were drawn for the 'keepers of the purity of musical tradition' on one side and the 'composers of the new music' on the other. The ridiculous notion that hearers needed to pledge their allegiance to one side while condemning the music of the other was kept going by music reviewers and others, some who cared little about art and everything about drama and intrigue. Bruckner had no head for this type of thing, and the members of the 'new music' group used him to his own detriment.
Through it all, Bruckner went on composing and finally had his largest success with his 7th Symphony written in 1881-1883. The premiere was in 1884, given by the Gewandhaus Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Nikisch. The work has been linked to Wagner for two reasons. Bruckner uses Wagner Tubas in movements two and four, and the second movement which has been called a tribute to Wagner.
I. Allegro moderato - The symphony opens with string tremolos, a mystical start of some other of his symphonies as well. The first theme has a range of two octaves and is first heard in the cellos and horn solo. Oboes and clarinets bring forth the the second theme, and a crescendo leads to the third theme, a theme that seems to walk at its leisure up to another crescendo and slight climax. The third theme continues its walk until the end of the exposition. Interspersed in this exposition of main themes there are other motifs that are played, as well as variants of the themes themselves.
The development section begins gently in the woodwinds and horns. The three main themes are sometimes restated in inversions of themselves. The brass leads a section that starts loud and gives the impression of leading to a climax, but it doesn't quite get there as the first theme returns and goes through some variants until it reaches a version akin to the opening of the movement, which signals the beginning of the recapitulation.
Themes are repeated, but not verbatim as Bruckner continues to expand on them. To be sure, Bruckner's first movements are in sonata form, but Bruckner's handling of the form is unique. After another crescendo and missed climax, the music begins a massive coda where the music builds in volume in the brass as the strings play tremoloes. And then the movement ends.
Wagner tuba
II. Adagio: Sehr feierlich und sehr langsam -Bruckner was known for his adagio movements, and this is one of his finest. Bruckner had known of his idol Richard Wagner's serious illness with heart disease, and with the feeling that Wagner would soon die, he was inspired to write this movement. The inclusion of 4 Wagner tubas is one of the ways Bruckner gave tribute to his master. The music ebbs and flows, and makes its way to a climax in the brass. This soon fades back into the flow of the movement in tender music. The opening music of the movement returns and slowly builds in intensity and power until it reaches a bona fide climax punctuated by a cymbal crash. The music grows quiet with traces of the main theme heard. The brass slowly bring the movement to a quietly contemplative ending with the main theme. The addition of the cymbal crash and triangle in the climax of this movement is thought by some musicologists to have not originated with Bruckner, but that the conductor Nikisch persuaded Bruckner to add them for effect.
III. Scherzo: Sehr schnell - Trio: Etwas langsamer - The third movement is a scherzo that is typical Bruckner; driving rhythms and a gentle trio section that is in marked contrast to the rest of the movement. The strings begin the movement with a figure that ushers in a trumpet playing a motif that Bruckner supposedly called "The crowing of the cock." The trumpet motif is repeated while the orchestra helps to build the scherzo to a climax. The trio is a gentler affair with the trumpet playing a part in it as well. The scherzo is repeated.
IV. Finale: Bewegt, doch nicht schnell - The finale rounds out the work, again in Bruckner's personal use of sonata form, complete with Bruckner's stylistic habit of stopping a theme without a bridge to the next, a few lesser climaxes before he unleashes the orchestra in a shortened version of the very first theme of the first movement that leads to a grand roaring from the orchestra that suddenly ends, along with the symphony.
The natural gifts of any musician need to be formed around a solid technique. The very few who are extremely gifted in composition also need plenty of room to develop their personal voice. Chopin was one of the few that was born with genius, and he also had the good fortune of having as his first professional piano teacher a man that understood his pupil's gift straight away. Wojciech Żywny was a Czech pianist, violinist and teacher that guided Chopin through the basics of music and piano practice but also gave the young boy plenty of opportunity to learn for himself and develop his already unique talents according to his own desires. The boy soon passed the teacher in skill and knowledge as he absorbed everything rapidly.
Chopin studied at home until he was thirteen and then entered the Warsaw Lyceum, but he continued to study piano under Zywny until 1826. Chopin never forgot his first teacher and was ever grateful for not only what he had taught him, but what he didn't teach him. In 1826 Chopin began a three year course of study with Józef Elsner, another teacher that recognized Chopin's gifts and allowed him to develop in his own way. With the guidance and teaching of these two selfless men, Chopin was acknowledged as the best pianist in Warsaw by the time he was 15 and developed into who many musicians think is the greatest piano composer that ever lived.
Under Elsner's tutelage, Chopin composed two piano concertos when he was about 20 years old. The concerto in E minor was actually the second one written but it was the first one published, hence the designation as Concerto No. 1. Chopin had already made his brilliant debut in Vienna in 1829 only three weeks after graduating from the Warsaw Conservatory when he premiered his Piano Concerto No.2 in Warsaw later that same year, and the premiere of Piano Concerto No.1 in 1830 in Warsaw during a farewell concert.
The star of both Chopin's concertos is quite naturally the piano. Despite a long-held tradition that Chopin was not much of a composer for the orchestra, keeping in mind Chopin's spot-lighting the piano, the orchestration is neither too much nor too little. Chopin has the orchestra support the piano where it needs it, gently accompany it when it needs it, and be silent altogether when it doesn't need it. The concertos, like any work of genius, are best judged within the confines of their own content and technique. Chopin was not trying to be formally perfect or heaven-storming like Beethoven. He was trying to express himself as best he could within his own genius. And in that task he was completely successful.
The first concerto is in three movements:
I. Allegro maestoso - Chopin always used the confines of sonata form in his own unique way. He has been criticized for his lack of skill in using the form, but he more than makes up for it by his sheer imagination and creativity. He uses unexpected modulations in this first movement and while this goes against 'classic' sonata form, it does make for interesting listening.
II. Romance - Larghetto -Chopin himself explained this movement in a letter to a friend:
“The Adagio of my new concerto is in E major. It is not meant to create a powerful effect; it is rather a Romance, calm and melancholy, giving the impression of someone looking gently towards a spot that calls to mind a thousand happy memories. It is a kind of reverie in the moonlight on a beautiful spring evening.”
III. Rondo - Vivace - This movement is a tuneful Polish dance set in the traditional rondo form.
Chopin is one of the most original and unique composers that ever lived. That needs to be taken into consideration when listening to the piano concertos. His two piano teachers recognized his genius and did all they could to allow that genius to develop in its own way. The music that Chopin wrote serves as proof that his teachers knew what they were doing.
Felix Mendelssohn's natural musical abilities were recognized early. He began piano lessons with his mother at age six, and learned so quickly that he had his first public appearance at age nine. Felix began composition and counterpoint lessons with the esteemed teacher Carl Friedrich Zelter in Berlin about 1819. His teacher was an advocate of the J.S. Bach tradition and gave his student a thorough grounding in the works of the older master and other composers of the Baroque and Classical eras.
Mendelssohn's earliest surviving compositions date from 1820, and in 1821 he composed the first six of what was to become a total of twelve symphonies for strings. These were written as composition exercises for his teacher, and the completed the set in 1823 when he was 14 years old. The string symphonies were thought lost for many years but they turned up in a library in Berlin after World War Two. These dozen string symphonies quickly led to Mendelssohn's early masterpieces the String Octet written at age sixteen and the Overture To A Midsummer Night's Dream written a year later.
Carl Zelter
The first six string symphonies are written in 3 movements with the later ones in 4 movements with the exception of No. 10 In B Minor which has one movement, and No. 11 In F Major which has 5 movements. No. 10 In B Minor may have had at least two more movements but they are lost. The work was written when Mendelssohn was 14 years old. There are three tempo designations in the work:
Adagio -A slow introduction begins this work with a nod to the music of J.S. Bach in feeling if not in construction. Towards the end the music lightens in mood and pays homage to Haydn and Mozart.
Allegro - The beginning of the movement proper is a sudden shift in tempo and mood that reflects C.P.E. Bach's empfindsamer Stil with the first theme in early Haydn's Sturm und Drang style. The second theme has a rapid and busy quality that became a trademark of Mendelssohn's style. A third section adds additional material that leads up to the traditional repeat of the exposition. The development section repeats the two themes in various guises with few real surprises but a deftness in handling the material that is amazing for a composer of but 14 years. The recapitulation begins with the first theme, and after a short section of transition the second theme returns in the home key of B minor.
Piu presto -The music increases in tempo and rushes breathlessly in a short coda that ends the work.
Dmitri Shostakovich was refining his technique and losing some of his more radical avant garde style before the official denouncement of 1936, but the denouncement forced him to try and write works that would curry public and more importantly Stalin's favor. It was a life or death situation for the composer, and he knew it.
The 5th Symphony was written and titled An artist's creative response to just criticism. The work was a great success officially and with the public and Shostakovich had at least temporarily dodged the literal bullet, even though he put some subtle hints in the work that suggest it wasn't as heartfelt a rehabilitation as it appeared on the surface. But Shostakovich had learned his lesson well. Stalin and his cronies were not men to be crossed, so Shostakovich wrote music to please Stalin, (all the while inserting subtle nose-thumbing) along with music that he wrote to please himself. He called these "works for the drawer", compositions that he could experiment with out of the public view. Many of these compositions remained in his desk drawer until the death of Stalin.
Shostakovich and Sollertinsky
Shostakovich was one of the great composers of string quartets of the 20th century, as he wrote 15 of them. They stand far and away as the form that he wrote most of his chamber music in. He wrote the 2nd Piano Trio in 1944 during World War Two when he was 38 years old. Shostakovich had come to international attention with the writing of his 7th Symphony earlier in the war, and as the 7th Symphony has been called a requiem for the 25 million Russians who perished in the war, the 2nd Piano Trio can also be thought of as a requiem; this time for his good friend Ivan Sollertinsky, a critic and musicologist that suddenly died of a heart attack.
The trio is in 4 movements:
I. Andante - The work begins with the solo cello playing a theme in high, eerie harmonics. The violin enters, and the piano enters as all three instruments participate in a fugue that acts as an introduction to the rest of the movement. Part of the fugue theme is incorporated into the first theme of the movement proper. Other themes are presented and the tempo varies as Shostakovich develops them all in the spirit of a folk tune, but with an edge. The movement ends quietly.
II. Allegro con brio - The scherzo has Shostakovich sarcastically thumbing his nose as notes are repeated and tossed back and forth between the three instruments. The music never settles into anything more than a frenzied dance, and soon ends.
III. Largo -The piano begins the movement with heavy chords. The violin enters with a sad theme as the piano chords continue to plod underneath. The cello enters and sings the lament as the violin plays a counter melody. This music is in the form of a chaconne, a set of variations over a ground bass played by the piano. The music remains slow and mournful throughout the movement, and ends with a quiet whimper from the strings.
IV. Allegretto - The last movement begins with a Shostakovian dance tune, a theme that has the feeling of Jewish folk music, first heard in the pizzicati violin, and then in the piano while both strings play pizzicato. The material of the march is developed at length. The theme from the first movement introduction returns, the dance music interrupts at length until the chords from the third movement chaconne appear out of nowhere. The Jewish dance tune briefly returns, slowly played in the strings, and the movement quietly ends in E major with the strings playing pizzicato over a piano chord.
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