ART TIMELINE

Dufay, Guillaume (1400-1474) Northern France

Artusi, Giovani Maria (1540-1613) Italian composer in 1600 stated: “They…ruin the good old rules handed down…by theorists and excellent musicians… These moderns…create a tumult of sounds, a confusion of absurdities.”

Byrd, William (1543-1623) Lincolnshire England. 
Elizabethan period.

Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750) Eisenach Germany 3/31/1685. Both parents died before he was 10. Liked French ornamental melodies and rhythms. Sang in choir. 1703 after sojourn in Weimar playing violin, organist in Lutheran church of St. Boniface in Arnstadt. 1705 left to Lubeck to hear Danish organist Buxtehude nearly 70. Congregation mad he returned 3 months late. 1707 packed harpsichord and all in hay wagon for Muhlhausen as uncle died leaving him money. Marired Maria Barbara. 1708 to Weimar became member of orchestra. Then promoted to Duke’s organist. To 1717 he wrote most of his organ music. Expert in church organs – called as expert all over central Germany. Early works influenced by Reinkel and Buxtehude.. At court learned and heard Italians like Vivaldi, Corelli and Albinoni. Arranged their string concertos for solo harpsichord, ornamenting them. Concertmaster of Duke’s orchestra. New compositions every month for Dukal chapel.  Dukal court of Cortan employed him as conductor but got in trouble – didn’t give notice.  Director for Prince Leopold’s orchestra. Cortan period composed bulk of secular instrumental music. After son Willlhelm Friedemann old enough to study music, wrote “teaching pieces.” 20 preludes for keyboard, then others to teach son. Well-Tempered Clavier book one. Intellectual and expressive. New style combined German, French and Italian. In the midst of success, wife died in 1720 and went back to the church. 1721 married Ana Magdalena Wilcken for whom he wrote the little pieces in the notebook. 1723 – he was 38, next 25 years dedicated to the congregation of St. Nicholas church in Leipzig. Age sixty still taught and led choir. 

Haydn, Franz Joseph (1732-1809) Rohrau Austria. Composer of classical – end of Baroque period. Pre-romanticism. Established “Classical.” Musical construction made him “Father of the symphony and the string quartet.” Viennese music made express deepest emotions. At 8 singing voice heard, joined choir in St. Stephen’s church in Vienna. At 17 voice broke. Made living playing and teaching. Nicola Porpora taught him Italian and composition. Prince Anton Estrahzy heard him and made him assistant musical director. 1962 Anton died, next prince Nicholas kept him, promoted him, 30 years in employ. Wife hated music, used his music for hair curlers. Made Estrahzy’s best known in Euroope. Compositions played in the world at large. By 1771 composed deeper in feeling than previous.  Wrote daring keys like sharp ones, introduced touches of Hungarian gypsy music. 1781 met with Mozart who admired him. Pushed Mozart more than his own. Mozart opened Haydn’s ears to new delicate melodic writing. From Haydn Mozart learned the craft of putting together symphonies and quartets. Played together whenever possible. 1790 Nicolas died, next prince more into painting. 1791 went to England to cheers. 1.5 years returned with small fortune. 1794 4 new symphonies and returned to London symphony. Even King George 3rd wanted him to stay. Back in Vienna started teaching Bethovan. Requiem was by Mozart.

Beethovan, Ludwig Van (1770-1827) Bonn Germany. Master composer of symphonies, sonatas, concertos and string quartets. Father (drunkard) wanted a prodigy to make money for family. First concert at 8. 1792 sent to Vienna. Studied under Haydn. Lessons stormy because he inquired about rules. Phenominal improvisor. After leaving Bonn no regular music work since mainly freelance composer and works for friends. Prices for various forms. Deaf he didn’t give up. Conversation became difficult – people wrote down discussion. Listen to ‘inner ear’ for composing. In the arts stormy passion, simple directness and warm tenderness began to take the place of aristocratic elegance and grace. Music different – dramatic – from others. Soft to loud explosively. Key changes untraditional. Hammered percussive chords. Bold arpeggios. Added picallo and trombones in 5th, contrabassoon in the 9th. Clarinette replaced oboe. It was the musical form of the sonata that Bethovan changed more than anything else. Connected themes, not only 4.  Foreshadowed the cyclic form of later composers. Titles made statements, music should make statements about mankind, not just idle dreams of upper classes. One of his convictioins: “Man should be free!” “All mankind are brothers.” His scarchzos are all musical jokes. Opera Fidelio 1805 did poorly. Life was 3 periods: youthful—first 50 opus numbers 20+ piano sonatas.. second period: greatest single step by music made by an individual composer in the history of the symphony and the history of music in general. Third period: standards people still use. Solo piano, string quartet, combination of voices and orchestra. Last works most extraoidinary of all mankind. Torment brought forth some of the most sublime music. Old classical forms left far behind. Never composed quickly and easily. Many sketches in notebooks. Months even years on one theme.

Schubert, Franz (1797-1828) Vienna Austrian. The last of the classic composers, first of the romantics. Wrote classical patterns but changed to suit his own purpose and nature. Established a new form of chamber music. 600+ songs.

Mendelssohn, Felix (1809-1847) Hamburg Germany. 
Brillian composer of the early Romantic period. Family of Moses Mendelssohn philosopher. “Scottish symphony num “Scottish symphony / number 3” “Italian symphony / Number 4.”

Chopin, Frederic (1810-1849) Near Warsaw Poland. “The poet of the piano.” Father French mother Polish. At 20 left for Germany and never returned (heart buried in Poland, the rest in Paris). Most successful in Paris. Famous love affair with Georges Sand. Iin 1948 left for England. After a collapse returned to Paris. All piano pieces except 2 concertos focused on the piano. “Could make the piano sing” using rhythm called Rubato. In Rubato melodies are sped or slowed while tempo is constant. Must use the pedal a lot to play his music. Exploited the pianos sustaining pedal. Brought into European music dances of Hungarian music Mazurkas and Polonaise. Prelude in A Major, Opus 28 – play it!

Schumann, Robert (1810-1856)  Zwikau German composer and critic. Torn between music and poetry. Mother wanted his to study law. Lost right ring finger. Untradional styled of teaching composition. 1834 founded a newspaper for music, fighting for the highest standards of musical criticism. Edited it for 10 years under different names, “Davidsbunbler” who were ready to tear down philistines in the arts who were against new ideas. Liszt recognized his genius. He wrote about music and musicians in an informed manner. Wife Clara (daughter of Wieck his teacher whom he took to court to marry) was loved by Brahms. Eight children.

Liszt, Franz (1811-1886) Raiding Hungary. Composer, teacher and the greatest piano virtuoso. At 9 Hungarian nobleman funded studies in Vienna. Student of Czerny. Paris conservatory refused the foreigner. In Paris became friends with all the young revolutionary writers and composers who were taking part in the arts.Paginini inspired composition style. Enormously successful. Improvised on themes given him by the audience. Support benefits for Hungarian flood victims and statue of Bethovan in Bonn. Made Weimar the musical capital of Europe. The first to write symphonic poems for orchestra – compositions that told a story dramatically or suggested a philosophical theme. Restless experimenter in new sounds melodically and harmonically. Later music was dissonant and atonal. Whole step scale and Hungarian scales. Later lived in Rome, became A.B. Liszt. 

Wagner, Richard (1813-1883) German. Excessive four-hour-long music dramas.

Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilyitch (1840-1893) Votkinsk (Ural mountains) Russian composer. When 10 family moved to St. Petersburg. Clerk in ministry of justice. Studied in school of Rubinstein, still working. To surprise of all he resigned to be musician. Nicholas Rubenstein hired him as professor of music theory 12 year post. His aim were compositional rather than pedagogical. Nervious collapse from overwork. Countess von Meck supported him for 13 years. Mother in law of niece. Relationship to sponser was only by correspondence. Wed unstable young woman. Tried to catch pneumonia – caught cold. Became morbid and menalcholy. Madame von Meck supported him going to Switzerland, France and Italy. Whote much gay music there. Settled down to creative life – Moscow and the country. Voratious reader. Met many bitter disappointments. Swan Lake was too symphonic. Sleeping Beauty and Nutcracker weren’t well received. Piano concerto number 1 Rubenstein said unplayable, premiered in Boston in 1875. Came into demand as conductor of his own works. In 1891 was invited to conduct in NY opening of Carnagie Hall. Philadelphia, Baltimore…Returning to Russia plunged into completely different type of symphony composition.

Monet, Claude (1840-1926) French. Pioneer of Impressionist painting.

Dvorak, Antonin (1841-1904) Near Prague Czechoslovakia

Edison, Thomas Alva (1847-1931) USA invented the phonograph in 1877.

Debussy, Claude (1862-1918) French. Blurred harmonies and atmospheric moods – Impressionism in music.

Sibelius, Jean (1865-1957) Finnish. 
His symphonic poem Finlandia in 1900 roused patiotism and he became known as “Finland’s greatest son.” In Etude magazine in 1948 he stated: “Things are not good because they are old, nor bad because they are new…we must be open-minded about new experiments in music, always remembering the only standard in music is beauty.”

Nicholas II, Russian Czar (1868-1918)

Marconi, Guglielmo (1874-1937) sent a trans-Atlantic wireless radio message in 1901.

Bernstein, Leonard (1918- ) Lawrence Massachusetts USA

Selected Music Styles at the Turn of the 20th Century

•	Post-Romantic—The Romantic tradition continued with some individual changes.
•	Impressionism—Associated most with the music of Claude Debussy, its vague and atmospheric tone paintings frequently violated traditional rules of composition.
•	Pointillism—Written in a fragmented style, the ear is required to blend the tones.
•	Exoticism and Primitivism—Inspired by primitive cultures and works of art, rhythm was revitalized and superseded melody in importance.
•	Neo-Classicism—More contrapuntal textures and 18th-century forms reappeared (suites, toccatas, sonatas) using 19th –century harmonies.
•	Humor and Satire—Some composers satirized the pretentiousness of Romantic music and poked fun at everything, including themselves.
•	Expressionism—Intensely personal feelings were expressed with focus on dark, even weird and twisted emotions that are usually hidden from others.
•	Atonality—Increased chromaticism and dissonance make tonal centers unclear to the listener, or the use of a tonal center or key is rejected by a composer.
•	Nationalism and Folk Influence—Research into folk elements of various regions and countries gave greater harmonic and rhythmic variety to the musical language.
•	Cakewalk and Ragtime—The music for the cakewalk became associated with ragtime with its “ragged,” uneven, syncopated melodies over a march-like bass.