Updated on Wednesday 9th June 1999

• MEDIEVAL (1100-1425)
• RENAISSANCE (1425-1600)
• BAROQUE (1600-1750)
• CLASSICAL (1740-1820)
• ROMANTIC (1810-1900)

• Byrd, Palestrina, Victoria, Tallis, Lassus,
• Bach, Handel, Purcell
• Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven
• Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Chopin, Berlioz, Brahms, Wagner

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Key Words

     Catholic church
     Choral music
     Descant
     Harmonies
     The Middle Ages
     Plainsong
     Polyphony
     The Pope
     Tenor
     Sacred
     Secular.

Church music

The Catholic Church was very powerful in Western Europe during themedieval period. The Pope was much more important than any king or prince.Most of the music from the Middle Ages that we know about is church music.Of course, people sang and made music outside the Church but only church music was written down and has survived.

Plainsong

In the Middle Ages church music consisted primarily of plainsong. This is a style of music where the rhythm is set by the words and there is no set number of beats to a bar. Forms of music similar to plainsong appear in the history of music in many parts of the world; it seems to be a common stage in musical development.

Plainsong existed long before 1100. We know that in the 6th century Pope Gregory wanted to organise and control the way plainsong was used in churches.

• Choose an eight bar melody and perform it on any instrument.
• Then work with a partner and add a musical line one fifth higher and perform it.
• Next add a third line a fourth higher, and repeat the performance.
• Now repeat the exercise but this time add lines a third and a sixth above the music.
• What do you think of the results?

Descant and polyphony

A little later a completely new line of music (known as the descant) was added, which was not tied to the plainsong. By 1425 choral music had developed: the main melody was sung by a single voice, usually a tenor, with the other parts embroidering the plainsong.

This type of writing in several parts is called polyphony. It was much more complex than the original plainsong and it had two important implications. First, because it was complex it became more necessary for music to be written down in a more accurate way than before; second (again because it was complex) the music tended to be written by specialists - whom we would
now call composers.

Secular music in the Middle Ages

Of course not all music in the Middle Ages was church music - although the church had a very strong influence on everyone’s lives. Music that is not related to the church is called secular music.

Much folk music must have been played and sung by ordinary people as they worked and relaxed - but because it was not written down at the time we do not know what it sounded like. We do however have some information about the wandering musicians who travelled around France playing at the houses of the rich. These composer-performers were known as troubadours and
trouvères; they flourished in the 11th to 13th centuries. They were composers and poets, writing and singing love songs and narrative songs about great heroes.

The troubadours and trouvères realised that their music could develop further if instead of being soloists they had a backing from one or more additional musicians. These extra performers became known as minstrels. That is how the first touring groups of musicians in western society were formed.

This development also heralded the start of instrumental accompaniment, for (with the exception of the organ) no instrumental music was allowed in church. Even so the travelling musicians in France only used their instruments by way of accompaniment; there was no separate instrumental music at all. Only singers had written music, and it is possible that instruments were used to play any parts for which there was no singer.

Rather than being written specifically for a particular musical instrument, the accompaniment was played on whatever instrument was available.

Here are some instruments of the period. Undertake research to discover more about them - and find a picture of each one.

     Shawm (a double reed wind instrument, later replaced by the oboe)
     Sackbut
     Harp (with far fewer strings than the harp seen today)
     Viol (an early form of violin)
     Recorder
     Flute
     Psaltery
     Keyboard instruments.

The best musicians became prized by the nobility at court. The court musicians had to devise ever more extravagant pieces.

Write a simple melody which can be played on an instrument that you have available in your class or group - a violin, piano etc.

Write a second part to the melody, one octave below the original.

Now write further parts, one a fifth above the original, one a third above the original and one a sixth above the original.

Give each part to a different person to play. If possible every part should be written for the same instrument - so the piece would be for five violins, five recorders or whatever you can arrange. Each player rehearses his or her part and then the ensemble plays the piece together. This piece will give you a clear idea of how music sounds when a number of parts move in parallel lines.

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Key Words:
     Anthem
     Choral polyphony
     Dissonance
     Imitation
     Madrigal
     Mass
     Motet
     Protestant
     Reformation
     Renaissance
     Rondeau
     Opera.

Renaissance music

Different musical styles existed in many countries - especially England, Holland, France and Italy. Dissonance was used as a feature in compositions. The tenor no longer always carried the tune, and imitation between parts appeared.

The music was functional - much was written for the church, much for other events.

As the age of the travelling musicians passed, large churches and cathedrals began to take on their own expert musicians. These musicians wanted to develop their skills in as many ways as possible. As there was no instrumental tradition at this time musicians turned to writing pieces which used a wider variety of voices.

Vocal music at this time was in a strange state. Pieces might include several voices all singing independently - often singing not only separate melodies but even different words! As time passed, people became interested in finding ways of making the voices fit together in a form that sounded pleasant. This was the true beginning of harmony as we know it today. As they explored harmony, composers began to see the possibility of writing much longer and more complex pieces.

The Mass is the main service of the Roman Catholic church. During the Renaissance composers began to set the whole service to music. The Mass was sung in Latin; it became an important form of music. Religious vocal pieces for several voices that were not part of the Mass were known as
motets - or, in England, anthems. As time went by these works became more and more complex until the interweaving of the parts made it quite impossible to make out any of the words at all!

The number of instruments available was growing gradually, but because no-one could be sure exactly which instruments would be available for a particular performance, most composers simply wrote the music without specifying which instrument should play what.

Instruments began to be classified by the amount of sound they could make, rather than by their type. But gradually families of instruments evolved, so that for each instrument there might be a small version playing high notes, a medium size for middle notes and a bass for the lowest notes.

These developments gave composers greater and greater possibilities to experiment with, and this in turn encouraged others to develop new instruments.

In Renaissance times everyone who was educated was expected to know a fair amount about the practice and theory of music - just as these people were expected to know about mathematics and other subjects. Music had become central to the lives of educated people.

The Reformation

In 1517 Martin Luther began to question some of the basic beliefs of the Catholic Church. His questioning led to the movement known as the Reformation, out of which the Protestant churches were born. One of the things that Luther wanted to change was the music of the church. He felt that
church services, including the singing, should be in the language of the congregation (ie English in England, French in France, German in Germany) instead of in Latin. This meant all worshippers could participate, instead of just the priests and educated people. In turn this meant having church music that would be sung by all people, not just by a trained choir. This led to the development of hymns.

The Protestant Church was developing music that more people could understand. There was also a new interest in secular music (music not for religious use). The most important sort of secular music was the madrigal, a part-song in which each part was sung by one voice with no instrumental
accompaniment.

In madrigals the idea was for the music to reflect the words - something known as word painting. For example, if the words are about heaven the music will rise. If the song is about the sea then the music might go up and down like the waves. In the hands of an average composer this can sound
rather obvious, but in the hands of a great composer it can sound very beautiful.

Other composers whose music you might hear:

Tomas Luis de Victoria (back to the top)
Dates: 1549-1611
Country: Spain
Background note: Worked in Rome for much of his life
Music: Polyphonic church music, Masses, motets

Thomas Tallis   (back to the top)
Dates: 1505-1585
Country: England
Background note: One of the first composers to harmonise plainsong
Music: Church music and keyboard music

Roland de Lassus  (back to the top)
Dates: 1530-1594
Country: Flemish
Background note: Perhaps the greatest polyphonic composer of the age
Music: Motets, psalms, madrigals

List all the musical instruments you can think of. Then divide them into classes according to the volume of sound each one can produce. Compare your results with those of others in your group. Compose a piece for the softest instruments you have available.

THE BAROQUE PERIOD 1600-1750

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Main musical developments in the Baroque period:

• Major and minor keys developed
• Part-writing became more complicated
• Development of counterpoint
• First opera house opened
• J S Bach - one of the greatest composers of all time

Counterpoint

At the heart of Baroque music is counterpoint. You will already know the term polyphony - which means music in which several melodies are played or sung simultaneously. Counterpoint is the art of combining the melodies to make a piece of music. The composer of counterpoint must have the skill to keep each part moving freely while making sure that all the parts fit together.

When you listen to counterpoint you find that the music is always drawn forward as the various parts create an unbroken sequence of interwoven melodies.

In counterpoint you will not hear an obvious melody line on top of a series of chords, nor a bass line setting out the bass of the chords and holding all the music together. All parts interact equally.

A consequence of counterpoint is that it is almost impossible for a composer to change the mood of a piece part way through since all the parts are moving separately. If the composer did try a change of mood, one part would change into the new mood before the others, which would sound rather strange.

The overall effect of a piece of Baroque counterpoint is therefore usually of careful, serious movement through an unbroken, unchanging environment.

The Modes

One problem that presented itself at this time was that music was written in modes. To play a mode, start on any white note on the piano and play all the white notes upwards until you reach the note one octave above where you started.

Each mode is different from all the others. For example the mode from C to C is identical to the scale of C major. But the mode from D to D is quite different - it is not a major or a minor scale. E to E is different again - and so on.

The problem with the modes is that they cannot modulate (since all modes use the same notes). This means that there is a real limit on how far composers can develop their music.

Write a brief piece of music which uses only the notes of the dorian mode. The notes you can use are D E F G A B C D. You should make the piece centre around the note D, so that it feels that this is the beginning and end of the piece.

This development allowed composers to write longer pieces of music by making greater changes in the course of the piece. In longer pieces, it was possible to express contrasting emotions. Composers began to move away from counterpoint towards the music of the Classical era.

Key composers:

Johann Sebastian Bach  (back to the top)
Dates: 1685-1750
Country: Germany
Background notes: Very musical ancestors, and several sons who became great composers
Music: Keyboard, orchestral, church
Employment: Church organist
Pieces to hear: Brandenburg Concertos; St Matthew Passion; Toccata and Fugue in D minor; 48 Preludes and Fugues

J S Bach is the most prominent composer of the Baroque period. He wrote all types of music, except opera. His works for keyboard instruments (organ and harpsichord) include the chorale preludes (short organ introductions to hymns), fugues for the organ and 48 preludes and fugues for the harpsichord. Bach’s most famous works for the orchestra are the six Brandenburg Concerti, written in 1721. These are concerti grossi (although numbers 2 and 6 do not have the normal solo group to contrast with the string orchestra). Bach also wrote four orchestral suites. Bach was a Lutheran, a member of the Protestant Church. His religion had a great influence on his music, and he wrote many religious works. Of these, two of the most famous are the St Matthew Passion and the St John Passion. These are settings of the Easter story presented in operatic style, with recitatives, arias and choruses. Other major works include the Magnificat and the Mass in B Minor, sung in Latin. Bach also wrote church cantatas. The cantata was performed in the Lutheran Sunday services, and contained choruses, recitatives, arias and duets.

Other key composers of the Baroque Period:

Henry Purcell   (back to the top)
Dates: 1659-1695
Country: England
Background note: Combined elements of French and Italian music in his work
Music: Anthems, odes, stage music, instrumental music
Employment: Westminster Abbey and Chapel Royal
Pieces to hear: Dido and Aeneas, The Fairy Queen

George Frederic Handel  (back to the top)
Dates: 1685-1759
Country: Germany, moved to England 1712
Background note: Changed from writing opera to oratorio only after losing substantial sums in operatic ventures
Music: Operas (popular in his day, now rarely heard) and oratorios
Employment: Professional composer
Pieces to hear: Messiah, Israel in Egypt, The Water Music, Music for the Royal Fireworks, Largo (opening of opera Serse)

Other composers whose music you should listen to: Vivaldi, Scarlatti, Gluck, Corelli

Handel’s oratorios start with an overture and continue with a series of arias, duets, recitatives and most importantly (from a musical and dramatic point of view) choruses. Handel’s oratorios were written in English. They are performed in concert halls, and sometimes in churches. Today people consider oratorios to be religious works, but Handel based some of his works on myths
rather than Christian subjects. His most famous oratorio is Messiah (1742) which includes the Hallelujah Chorus (more info and sound here)

Activity

Below you will find a chord sequence which is a modern equivalent of a figured bass. Work in pairs. One of you plays the chords and the other a piece based around the chord; it can be a song or a percussion improvisation. But it must be related to the figured bass.

C major G major A minor G major F major E minor D minor C major

(repeat the sequences as often as required)

The concerto grosso

The Baroque concerto was known as the concerto grosso. The music contrasts of two groups of instruments - a small group of soloists on the one hand and the full string orchestra on the other. Later, the solo concerto was developed by Vivaldi who wrote many such pieces for violin and orchestra.

Much Baroque music was directed not by a conductor but by a keyboard player who followed a bass line (known as the figured bass) which was notated with a series of figures which acted as instructions on which chords should be played. (The nearest equivalent we have today is pop musicians who may follow the lyrics and guitar chords.) The numbers usually indicated the chords and showed whether the chords were to be played in root position, first inversion etc. Links between the chords were improvised.

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The word ‘classical’ is something of a problem word in music. To some people ‘classical’ simply means all music written for the concert hall and church in the past or any music that is not pop. But to be precise it is better to use the term just to mean the music of the period 1740-1820.

Key Words:

     Binary form
     Counterpoint
     Major
     Minor
     Minuet
     Quartet
     Rondo
     Sonata
     Suite
     Symphony
     Trio
     Ternary form.

Classical music

At the heart of the piece is a melody or series of melodies which are central to the way the work develops. Chords play an important part; in Classical music they are thought of as chords rather than merely forming through the continual movements of the various lines of counterpoint. Melodies are shorter and more memorable than with Baroque music. Much Classical music gives us today a feeling of elegance rather than the seriousness that many people find is the mark of Baroque music.
Volume changes make an appearance, with soft and loud passages alternating.

With all these factors it is possible that you will find music of the Classical period easier to listen to than the music of the Baroque era.

The Classical period coincided with the Industrial Revolution in Europe. This was a time of new developments in technology, trade and industry, and a general growth in prosperity. The better-off had more money available for leisure pursuits. Music became established as an important part of the lives of the nobility and the wealthy. In the past, music had been mainly linked to the church; now it became an important social event.

A style of performance developed (known as style gallant) which was associated with the court. It was used and extended by the two greatest composers of the period: Haydn (1732-1809) and Mozart (1756-1791) as they took the existing musical forms and expanded them.

By this time the modes had virtually disappeared. The new tonality of major and minor keys was fully established. Composers looked at the musical forms that existed and experimented with ways of extending them.

The major and minor keys had been established for some time, but the idea of having a melody with chordal accompaniment was still relatively new. Composers began to explore the possibilities the major and minor keys offered. The suite, for example, was extended and developed and gradually evolved into the more complex sonata.

The sonata and sonata form

The sonata developed as a large-scale solo work (for example the piano sonata), as a work for a small number of instruments (called trios, quartet, etc) and as a work for the whole orchestra (in which case it is called a symphony).

Composers have always found that in writing long pieces of music it is important to use a musical structure, or form, which helps guide the listener through the piece. This structure is achieved in two ways: by dividing the piece into a number of separate sections (or movements) which have a few moments of silence between each one, and by giving each movement an internal structure of its own.

To see how this worked we can look at the sonata as it existed by the middle of the 18th century.

Generally sonatas existed in four movements, with each of the movements having a particular structure of its own. The four movements often followed this pattern:

     First movement: sonata form
     Second movement: ternary form, slow
     Third movement: minuet and trio
     Fourth movement: rondo.

The first movement of the sonata was in sonata form. It is important to be clear about the difference between these two: sonata is the whole piece of music in four movements. Sonata form is the name given to a particular way of organising the music in one movement (normally the first) in a sonata.

Ternary form, minuet and trio and rondo also represent particular ways of organising the music within one movement.

Sonata form

Sonata form includes the following:

1. 1 An opening section known as the Exposition. The Exposition contained two themes (known  as subjects) which were often very different in nature. The first of the two themes would appear in the tonic key (that is the key of the whole work) and the second in a related key. So if a first subject was in C major the second subject might be in G major, A minor, F major or any other closely related key. (Moving from one key to another within a piece of music is known as modulation.)
2. 2 A middle section - the Development in which themes and ideas already laid out in the Exposition were further explored and developed
3. 3 A return to the themes of the Exposition, known as the Recapitulation, in which the Exposition was repeated but with both the first and second subject in the tonic.
4. 4 At the end there was normally a concluding section, known as the Coda, which rounded the movement off.

Activity

Write a piece of music, for as many performers as you wish. It can be a solo (as if it were the first movement of a sonata), a piece for four instruments (such as a string quartet), or even for an orchestra (as if it were the first movement of a symphony). You can also write for lead guitar, rhythm guitar and bass guitar, for two drums and a triangle or any other instrument group you wish. The only rule is that you must use sonata form.

This means that where a pattern that is specified in sonata form returns, the music must be very similar to the music used previously with that pattern. As such you will have to do a fair amount of planning before you are ready to give a performance to the rest of your class.

Mozart took ideas developed by Haydn and others and developed them very rapidly. Sometimes Mozart’s musical development was so fast that his public could not keep up with him and not all his music was widely accepted in his lifetime. He achieved great success with works such as his opera The Marriage of Figaro in 1786, but within a year he had developed so far into new areas of music that people became unsure of what he was saying in his music. His next opera (Don Giovanni, written in 1787) is recognised today as a work of great genius, but at the time it did not regain the success of Figaro.

As well as the operas Mozart wrote nearly 50 symphonies and 27 piano concertos. These concerti were written with three movements - fast, slow, fast. He developed a special first movement plan for the concerto which is a variation on sonata form. Here is an example of how it works in a piano
concerto (although the solo instrument could be virtually any orchestral instrument).

Exposition: orchestra - piano and orchestra - orchestra
Development:  piano and orchestra
Recapitulation: piano and orchestra
Cadenza: introduction orchestra -  improvisation piano
Coda: orchestra

Mozart also wrote horn concerti, clarinet concerto, and string quartets.

Signs and symbols

From the Classical period onwards composers began to use various special signs, symbols and words to help them show the way the music was to be played.

It also became common for Italian words to be used in explaining what the composer required - even if the composer was not Italian. What are the meanings of these words? If you are unsure use a reference book to find the answers.

Adagio
Allegretto
Allegro
Andante
Crescendo (cresc.)
Da capo (D.C.)
Diminuendo (dim.)
Forte (f)
Fortissimo (ff)
Largo
Legato
Lento
Moderato
Molto
Pianissimo (pp)
Piano (p)
Più mosso
Pizzicato (pizz.)
Presto
Rallentando (rall.)
Ritardando (ritard.)
Sforzando (sf)
Staccato ( . )
Tenuto ( _ )
Tutti
Vivace

To follow the next section of these notes you need to have a basic idea of chord structure.

A chord is a combination of notes (usually three or more). The most common chords just use notes from the key that the work is in. So if you are in the key of C major the notes available are:

C D E F G A B C

These are the white notes on the keyboard.

The most common chords are formed by taking every other note from a scale.
For example,

C E G - this is known as the chord of C major
D F A =D minor
E G B =E minor
F A C =F major
G B D =G major
A C E =A minor
The chord formed from B D F is less often used - but it is quite possible.

When you hear these chords you'll recognise that the minor chords have a similar sound and the major chords have their own sound.

Classical composers began to tackle the question of ending pieces, and sections within pieces, through chord sequences known as cadences (see below). Pairs of chords, in particular, became very popular for this purpose.

A simple way to look at chord sequences is to describe the note of the scale they are built on using Roman numerals (I, II, III, IV, V, VI and VII). The chord built on C is normally called I (that is Roman Numeral 1), the chord built on D is called II, on E III and so on.

The advantage of this system of numbering is that it can be used in any key. If I speak about the chord sequence V-I you will know that means G-C in the key of C, or A-D in the key of D and so on. If a piece is in a major key chords I, IV and V will always be major chords.

Cadences

The sequence of two chords used at the end of a piece is known as a cadence. Each cadence is given a particular name. They are written as two Roman numerals - so that it is not necessary to know which key the music is in. The important thing about a cadence is the relationship between the chords.

Here are the most popular cadences:

     V-I  Perfect cadence

     IV - I  Plagal cadence

     I - V, II - V, IV - V or VI - V  Imperfect cadence

     V - VI  Interrupted cadence

So in C major the fifth note (Roman numeral V) of the scale is G. The chord made here is G B D - known as G major. The first note of the scale is C - the chord is C major. So in the key of C major the perfect cadence is made from the sequence of the chords G major and C major.
Most people agree that a perfect cadence sounds like the completion of a piece - the obvious end. A plagal cadence sounds rather hymn-like and solemn.
An imperfect cadence sounds like a halfway point, and the listener waits for the music to continue.
The interrupted cadence has a very appropriate name - it sounds like an interruption.

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Key words:
     Chromatic harmonies
     Nationalism
     Programme music
     Symphonic poem
     Virtuoso.

The music of the Romantics showed many important developments which make it different in many ways from the music of the Classical period which it followed.

Romantic music

Melodies became even more important than before. Often an idea that was expressed in a melody was later re-used, perhaps in some modified way, even more than in the Classical period.

Composers experimented further and further with harmonies, introducing chromatic harmonies in addition to the harmonies that derived from the scales and keys being used.

Composers became less concerned with form and more interested in ideas that could be expressed in the music. Where Haydn and Mozart had developed and expanded new forms, the Romantics took these forms and used them to develop the expression of their own feelings. Related to this was the growth of interest in programme music, where the music clearly represented a particular idea or situation.

Composers developed an ever greater interest in nature. Nature was seen as something perfect and pure, an ideal notion which owed little to science, and a lot to the imagination!

As interest in music grew so too did the work of the professional solo musician and the fame of the virtuoso performer (previously something only found in the opera house).

Finally during this period we begin to see the start of nationalism in music. Earlier composers aimed to express perfection and the glory of God in their music, so there could be little place for nationalism or personal feelings. But in the Romantic period the idea developed that composers could express their own ideas in music. One of the most important results of this development was
the view that composers could use music to express thoughts about their homeland.

Activity

As you have just seen, Romantic composers had a great interest in harmonies - especially chromatic harmonies. To gain a little practical experience of this, write a series of chords - you can use any form of notation you like. Avoid writing the more common chords such as majors and minors, and instead make up new chromatic harmonies within your chords.

Play the chords, either by yourself or with the help of other members of your group. Now develop the chords to make a full piece of music. You can do this by adding a melody, or a rhythmic accompaniment. If the chords do not seem to flow into each other, change them until you are perfectly happy with them.

The 19th century was a period of great social change in Europe. The middle classes began to exercise more political and economic power. For the first time, composers in the Romantic era deliberately tried to amaze and excite audiences by offering ideas through their music which had rarely been considered before. They wanted to write music which expressed their concerns about liberty and freedom. In some cases, composers wanted to explore the bizarre and unusual.

They were looking to explore anything that could be considered different and new.

Composers realised that in order to explore these new ideas they needed a bigger orchestra offering a greater variety of tone colours than before. The rapidly growing number of instrument manufacturers responded by improving the quality of their instruments to make them more versatile and better able to handle the increasing demands of composers.

So complex did the music become that for the first time it was necessary to give much more attention to the rehearsals and the performance. The most obvious development was the introduction of the conductor who organised and controlled the rehearsals, and who took overall charge of the way in which the music was to be played.

The key composers from the Romantic period wrote the music that makes up the backbone of today’s symphony concerts. They may all be classified as Romantics; yet it is wrong to lump them all together. Each was a composer of great status and abilities who developed his own ideas and worked in his own ways. But above them all stood the towering genius of Beethoven - whom
many consider to be the greatest composer of all time.

Key composers:

Ludwig Van Beethoven  (back to the top)
Dates: 1770 - 1827
Country: Germany
Background notes: Father was a musician. Beethoven considered by many to be the greatest composer of western music of all time
Music: Orchestral, piano concertos, chamber
Employment: Professional composer; pianist in early life
Pieces to hear: Nine symphonies, any of 32 piano sonatas, Emperor piano concerto, violin concerto

Franz Peter Schubert  (back to the top)
Dates: 1797 - 1828
Country: Austria
Background notes: Son of a schoolteacher; the first composer to leave behind the Classical period and compose in a Romantic way
Music: Songs, symphonies, chamber music
Employment: Composer but never achieved great fame in his life
Pieces to hear: Unfinished symphony, C major symphony, Trout Quintet

Felix Mendelssohn  (back to the top)
Dates: 1809-1847
Country: Germany
Background notes: From a very wealthy family
Music: Orchestral
Employment: Composer, conductor
Pieces to hear: Hebrides overture, Scottish and Italian symphonies, Elijah (oratorio)

Robert Schumann  (back to the top)
Dates: 1810-1856
Country: Germany
Background notes: Music considered to be very ‘inward-looking’
Music: Songs (leider), piano music, symphonies
Employment: Composer, critic, pianist until he injured his hand
Pieces to hear: Four symphonies, Piano concerto in A minor, songs

Fryderyk Chopin  (back to the top)
Dates: 1810-1849
Country: Poland
Background notes: One of the first composers to use the music of his native land
Music: Piano
Employment: Internationally known pianist
Pieces to hear: Polish dances, 12 études (opus 10)

Hector Berlioz   (back to the top)
Dates: 1803-1849
Country: France
Background notes: Symphonie Fantastique uses an orchestra of 417 players including 120 violins and 18 trumpets
Music: Orchestral
Employment: Composer, journalist, author
Pieces to hear: Symphonie Fantastique

Johannes Brahms  (back to the top)
Dates: 1833-1897
Country: Germany
Background notes: Very conservative composer; used Classical forms in Romantic style
Music: Orchestral
Employment: Composer, pianist
Pieces to hear: Four symphonies, overtures, piano concerto, violin concerto

Richard Wagner   (back to the top)
Dates: 1833-1897
Country: Germany
Background notes: Created the Music Drama using subjects from German mythology
Music: Operas (known as music drama)
Employment: Composer, conductor
Pieces to hear: Flying Dutchman, Tristan and Isolde

Ludwig van Beethoven

Beethoven took the style and form of the Classical period and merged them with the new ideas of the Romantic period. He used the Classical forms until they overflowed naturally into something new.

Being a great pianist Beethoven naturally wrote a lot of piano music which he performed himself, especially in the early years of his life, before he became deaf.

When listening to the music of Beethoven you should ensure that you hear a wide range not only of the different types of music (symphonies, sonatas, quartets, etc) but also pieces from the different periods of his life.
 

• Period 1: The Moonlight sonata and Pathétique sonata for piano and the First Symphony come from this period, before Beethoven’s deafness. At this time he worked as a pianist as much as a composer.
• Period 2: The work during this period includes symphonies number 2 to 8, the 3rd, 4th and 5th piano concertos, and the violin concerto. Beethoven’s music needed a larger orchestra than that of earlier composers. He wrote for woodwind, horns, trumpets and timpani. He also expected a very high level of technical ability from the musicians.
• Period 3: By now Beethoven was deaf and in poor health but he continued to work, composing music which moved ever further away from Classicism and into new fields. The 9th symphony in particular is a work that was used as a starting point for subsequent developments by later composers. Also dating from this final period are the Missa Solemnis and the last string quartets.

Russian music

The Russian court had a deliberate policy of westernising Russian music during the 19th century. The major composer influenced by this approach was Tchaikovsky (1840-1893). He was influenced by French and German as well as Russian music. He wrote ballet scores such as Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty.

Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943) continued in the tradition of Tchaikovsky, and was particularly known for his piano works.

Some composers, however, sought to develop a specifically Russian school of composition. There was a group of nationalist composers of the period known as The Five: Balakirev, Borodin, Cui, Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. You will find it easiest to find recordings and concert performances of the music of Modest Mussorgsky - whose most famous works include Pictures at an Exhibition, Night on the Bare Mountain, and the opera Boris Godunov, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) who wrote symphonic poems - the most famous of which is Scheherezade.

Also note the work of Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915). He wanted to create a total art work which would change the world - a view that is very reminiscent of the pop musicians of the 1960s.

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