Classical Era
Classicism Defined
The period of the
ancient Greeks and
Romans
A standard (enduring)
Genre of music
Time period
1750-1820
Architecture
Recalled ancient
classical
U.S. Capital
Monticello
Music of the Classical Era
Began: death of Bach
Ended: Beethoven (mid-life)
Classical Thinking
Reason was supreme
Sought the perfect
society
Enlightenment
Beauty
Rules were valuable
Music of the Classical Era
Written for middle class
Non-sophisticated Listener
Simple and Melodic Themes
Large Room
Movements have beginning, middle, end
Easier to play
LIFE-TIME-LINES
BEETHOVEN 1770-1827
MOZART 1756-1789
HAYDN 1732-1809
1770
1820
Joseph Haydn
Father figure to Mozart and
Beethoven
Worked for Prince Esterhazy
Father of the symphony
Included jokes in his symphonies
Wrote in most genres
Freely gave time and advice
Relationship with Mozart
“I write my music in order that
the weary and worn or the men
burdened with affairs might
enjoy a few minutes of solace
and refreshment.”
— Haydn
Haydn?
Haydn was a traditionalist first.
Haydn believed that ISOLATION forces
one to be come an original.
He was isolated in the Esterhazy Palace
for most of his career. His music is
original.
Beethoven will realize this pathos later in
in career.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
1756-1791
Born in Salzburg
7th child of Leopola and Anna
Maria
only he and sister Nannerl
survived infancy
The Mozart Family
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Began composing before age 5
Life of depression and
creativity
In Salzburg
Court composer
Vienna
Friendship with Haydn
Struggle for money
Mozart played for
kings and queens.
This portrait of
him was painted in
1762, when he was
six years old.
Children during Mozart’s time dressed
just like adults. He just finished playing
for Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.
As Mozart grew
older, his
reputation spread.
Not only was he a
gifted musician,
but he could also
compose his own
music.
Mozart at 14, 1770.
Mozart’s Music
Simple melodies
Contrasting moods
Rich orchestration
Perfected the serenade
Able to hear complete pieces in his
head
Capability for output
10 years:
8 Symphonies
17 Piano Concertos
6 Operas
Clarinet quartet and quintet
Requiem Mass
11 String Quartets
5 String Quintets
Many Individual Works
“Though it be long, the work is complete
and finished in my mind. I take out of
the bag of my memory what has
previously been collected into it. For this
reason the committing to paper is done
quickly enough.”
— Mozart
“What a delight this is I cannot tell — all
this producing takes place in a pleasing,
lively dream.”
— Mozart
Mozart was 35
years old when
he died in 1791.
In his short life
he wrote over
600
compositions.
This portrait, painted after Mozart’s
death, is said to look the most like
him. It was painted in 1819.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
1770-1827.
Born in Bonn.
Died in Vienna.
Young adulthood
Beethoven went to Vienna, Austria to learn
more about composing when he was 17; played
for Mozart
He had to return home when his mother died,
and help raise his brothers.
Returned to Austria, studied with Haydn
Became a “rock star” at improvisation (‘duels’)
Helped make the piano popular
“I carry my thoughts within me long,
often very long before I write them
down. As I know what I want, the
fundamental idea never deserts me. It
mounts, it grows in stature. I hear, I see
the picture in its whole extent standing
all of a piece before my spirit, and there
remains for me only the task of writing
it down.”
-Beethoven
Beethoven’s Music
Was the transition from the Classical to
the Romantic Period
Famous works
3rd Symphony (Eroica)
5th Symphony (Fate)
9th Symphony (Ode to Joy)
Moonlight Sonata
Sonata Appassionata
Sonata Pathetique
Jacques Louis David
Napoleon
in his study
Jacques Louis David
Coronation of Napoleon
Beethoven’s Deafness
“Though born with a fiery, active temperament
I was soon to withdraw from society, to live a
life alone. If at times I tried to forget all this, oh
how harshly was I flung back by the doubly sad
experience of my bad hearing. Yet it wasn’t
possible for me to say to people, “Speak
Louder, shout for I am deaf! Ah, how could I
possibly admit to an infirmity in the one sense
that ought to be more perfect in me than in
others, a sense that I once possessed in the
highest degree.”
1796/8: First signs of deafness
1801: Complains of buzzing in ears in letter to
Wegeler; Amenda
1802: “Heiligenstadt testament” - Beethoven
writes of his despair at worsening hearing
1814: Further deterioration sets in. Last public
appearence as pianist
1816-18: Use of ear trumpets
1818-27: Conversation books. (Conversation
had to be written)
1823: Almost totally deaf (left ear not as bad as
right)
“I am resolved to rise superior to every
obstacle. With whom need I be afraid of
measuring my own strength? I will take
Fate by the throat. It shall not overcome
me. O how beautiful it is to be alive—
would that I could live a thousand times.”
-Beethoven
“How humiliated I have felt if somebody
standing beside me heard the sound of a flute in
the distance and I heard nothing...It is
impossible for me to say to people, ‘Speak
louder, for I am deaf.’ How would it be possible
for me to admit to a weakness of the one sense
that should be perfect to a higher degree in me
than in theirs. So forgive me if you see me draw
back from your company which I would so
gladly share. I would have ended my life. It
was only my art that held me back for it seemed
impossible to leave the world until I have
brought forth all that is within me.”
— Beethoven
He could hear the music inside
his head….and he wasn’t
bothered with other noises
around him.
He wrote some of his best music
during this time.
Patronage System
Exchange of artistic services for
A place to live
A Salary
Clothes
Rank in Society
Depends on the patron.
Servant to aristocratic patronage.
Patronage: a Comparison
Haydn: patron was Prince Esterhazy
Mozart: tried to free lance
Beethoven: independent, of the new
order of composers
Patronage: a Comparison
Haydn: patron was Prince Esterhazy
Esterhazy Palace
Esterhazy Concert Hall
“My prince was always satisfied with my
works. I not only had the encouragement of
constant approval, but as conductor of an
orchestra, I could make experiments,
observe what produced an effect and what
weakened it, and was thus in a position to
improve, alter, make additions, or omissions
and be as bold as I pleased. I was cut off
from the world. There was no one to
confuse or torment me. I was forced to
become original.”
— Haydn
Patronage: a Comparison
Mozart detested the patronage system
(the artist was bound by the whim of the
patron)
He didn’t get along with his patron
(Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg)
Tried to be free lance (subscription
concerts, operas, commissions, concert
tours)
“[My pay is] too much for what I do,
too little for what I could do.”
— Mozart
Beethoven manipulated the patronage
system so that he could live more freely.
Gave music lessons to wealthy families.
Sold music to many publishers.
Even when Napoleon was threatening the
whole survival of continental Europeans,
Beethoven had contacts with publishers
in England who would continue to
publish his music.
Invited into the homes of the aristocracy.
Treated as an equal to the aristocracy.
Demanded respect.
Beethoven’s Contract
“But as it has been demonstrated that only one
when he is free from care as possible can devote
himself to a single department of activity and
create works of magnitude which are exalted and
which ennoble art, the undersigned have decided
to place Herr Ludwig van Beethoven in a
position where the necessities of life shall not
cause him embarrassment or clog his powerful
genius.”
Beethoven’s Contract
All Beethoven had to do was to declare
Vienna his home.”
It is good to walk among the aristocracy,
but first you must MAKE them respect
you.”
Ruminate on...
patronage and
Haydn
Mozart
Beethoven
why the French Revolution and
industrialization led to the demise of
patronage.
why less complex music is favored in
classical culture.