Lecture 9 - Absolute Music in the 19th Century and Brahms [Outlines for expansion] Beethoven Whilst he did lead

the way with certain programmatic compositions like the Pastoral Symphony No 6, much of his large output is in the realms of absolute music. Some of the symphonies do have external themes attached to them like Eroica or Fate but the general impression is one of absolute structure and style. Again, some of the piano sonatas do have titles attached to them which have often been given by publishers in an attempt to market them such as Pathetique, Appassionata and Hammerklavier but these are relating to atmosphere rather than an obvious programme of events. Despite this, Beethoven succeeds in portraying human emotions in his music. The dramatic intensity is higher in his instrumental music than that of Haydn or Mozart. Joy, anguish, hatred, elation, terror, sorrow, hope etc. are all found in various aspects of his musical style but this does not make his writings necessarily programmatic. It is the sublime nature of pure music which speaks to the innermost soul of the listener in this case. Much of his extensive chamber music repertoire is certainly not programmatic and falls under the absolute music category. There are examples like the so-called Spring sonata for violin and piano which derives its title from the opening soaring theme but it is still absolute music. Schubert Most of Schuberts orchestral and chamber music is absolute in style. The Unfinished Symphony [No 8] has this title as it was simply incomplete! The Great C major Symphony [No 9] acquired this title due to its length one hour, but was not performed until after Schuberts death. Quartets such as Death and the Maiden and the Trout Quintet take their titles from the fact that Schubert used one of his lieder as the theme for the slow movement writing a set of variations in each case. His harmonic structure and distant modulations have all the hallmarks of a romantic composer. Mendelssohn Whilst Mendelssohn wrote titled Concert overtures which paint a musical landscape, they are not strictly speaking programmatic works in the true sense of the word. His symphonies e.g. Scottish and Italian attempt to create a grey and sunny atmosphere respectively and, although he uses a traditional Italian dance for the finale in the Italian symphony, these are really written in the absolute idiom. He also composed a vast amount of chamber music which conforms to absolute music strategy. His admiration for Bach manifests itself in preludes and fugues plus 6 sonatas for organ. This also indicates a yearning for nostalgia.

Schumann With the exception of the Spring symphony [with had titles originally] and the Rhenish symphony, there is still a degree of formal symphonic writing in his music. His Piano concerto in A minor, Cello concerto and Concertstck for 4 Horns are clear examples of absolute musical composition. However, much of his piano music is of a programmatic nature with titles. Conversely, he wrote much chamber music which is certainly absolute in style. Liszt Virtually all of Liszts music is programmatic but there are exceptions. The remarkable single movement Piano Sonata in B minor is a work where he expands his idea of thematic transformation throughout the sections and it certainly appears not to be programmatic. However, the great pianist Alfred Brendel said it was programmatic based on the Faust legend! His Transcendental Studies for piano are works of high musical content dealing with extremes of virtuosic techniques and, with the exception of numbers 2 and 10, have programme titles. The symphonic tone poem Mazeppa is based on No 4 of the Transcendental Studies. Chopin Virtually all Chopin piano music is absolute music. You could cite the Nocturnes as having a nocturnal landscape with the atmosphere of night but they are structured in a traditional manner. He was accused in the Raindrop prelude of having written it in Mallorca when the rain was dripping persistently outside his apartment but he fiercely denied this was true! Bruckner Bruckners main output was restricted to 9 vast symphonies and much religious RC choral music. In his symphonies he quotes freely from his religious works and also in the coda of the slow movement of the seventh symphony he quotes from Wagner as he learned at the time of writing that the great master had died. He was an ardent Wagner follower which gave him a musical style and landscape to write his huge symphonic works but they are mostly absolute music without any indication of programmatic design although Symphony No 4 is subtitled Romantic. Apparently Bruckner did indicate to some of his friends that the symphony had programmatic ideas but these were not published. Bruckner was at the opposite end of the friction between the conservative pro- Brahms faction in Vienna and, as he had made it clear that he admired Wagner, was placed firmly in that camp whether he like it or not! Brahms Brahms was very much a traditionalist in his ways and admired the music of Bach, Handel and Beethoven. Schumann had written of the 20 year old Brahms as A Genius so he had much to live up to and he felt the shadow of Beethoven haunting him in his formative years. His first Symphony had a gestation period of around 20 years as he felt Beethovens

symphonic canon was a hard act to follow! However, the first performance was a triumph and was hailed as Beethovens 10th!!! The ensuing 3 symphonies followed fairly quickly after the initial success of the first. Brahmss entire orchestral and instrumental repertoire can be considered to be absolute music in the traditional sense. There are, however, a couple of instances where he quotes from a Scottish poet at the head of a Ballade and an Intermezzo for piano but this is very rare for Brahms. His absolute output includes 4 Symphonies, 2 Piano Concertos, 1 Violin Concerto, A Double Concerto for Violin and Cello, 2 Orchestral Serenades, A Set of Hungarian Dances, a Tragic Overture and an Academic Festival Overture [given at Breslau University in to mark his honorary doctorate]. This contained some references to student drinking songs! His output of chamber music is considerable with String Quartets, Piano Quintet, Clarinet Quintet, various Sonatas - not to mention a large collection of Piano Music. Again, all this is absolute music of an exceptionally high standard. The Clarinet Quintet written towards the end of his composing career features the style of a gipsy band in the slow movement. The work opens with a Motto theme which recurs at the end of the work a technique called cyclic form. The quintet is considered to be a very fine work and was composed for his clarinettist friend Richard Mlfeld. Brahmss harmonic language is that of the late romantic composer with subtle effects of tonal colouration and his piano music is easily recognised by his use of polyrhythms [2s against 3s] His piano music is challenging as he was a virtuoso pianist with large hands so it is not for the faint-hearted! His German Requiem written after the death of his mother is a sublime choral work in which Brahms chose his own texts from the Lutheran Bible. His scoring for voices is exemplary as he had had much experience conducting a womens choir in his career. His fondness for Bach is highlighted by the main theme in the finale [a passacaglia] of his Fourth Symphony which is taken from a Bach cantata. His final compositions were a set of Chorale Preludes for organ. He also wrote an arrangement of a Bach Chaconne for Left Hand [Piano] which is a tour de force for any pianist! He also admired Handel and composed Variations and Fugue on a theme of Handel for piano. He was clearly influenced by the great Paganini and wrote a set of Piano Variations on Paganinis legendary theme which later Rachmaninov also used in his Variations for Piano and Orchestra. Brahms interest in Beethoven and Mozart is displayed in the fact that he composed Cadenzas for six of their Piano Concertos. Brahms Compositions on CD Adelphi Library List Requiem Symphonies 1 - 4 Piano Concertos 1 & 2 Piano Quintet Clarinet Quintet Piano Ballades Late Piano Works 782.3238 BRA 784.2184 BRA 786.2186 BRA 786.2186 BRA & 786.2195 BRA 788.62195 MOZ 786.2 BAL 786.2 BRA

Lecture 9 - German Romanticism Nostalgia for the Past Refer to: Einstein: Contradictions Ideas of Progress and Nostalgia for the past Beethoven Whilst Beethoven was a progressive and revolutionary composer, his desire to look at music from previous generations of composers was evident. He was certainly familiar with the music of Bachs 48 and made a study of his fugal procedures. This is evident in the late works e.g. in Piano Sonata No 31 where fugal techniques feature heavily in the finale and he displays a mastery of counterpoint as he does in the Grosse Fuge for String Quartet. There are many examples of contrapuntal techniques in his output clearly gleaned from the past. He also had a great love for the music of Handel and said how he wished he could speak to an audience the way Handel did in his oratorios. Mendelssohn Mendelssohn revived interest in Bach with a performance of the St. Matthew Passion at Leipzig in 1829. He clearly had studied Bachs contrapuntal style and it is said that his sister Fanny could play all the 48 from memory at the age of 16! An amazing feat! His interest in writing organ sonatas and preludes and fugues are evidence of his passion for Bachs music and his own contrapuntal skills show a mastery of technique and style of writing. It should also be remembered that he revived the writing of oratorios after Handel with St. Paul [1836] and Elijah [1846].The latter being written for the Birmingham Festival in England of that year. These were very popular in Victorian England where Mendelssohn had visited on numerous occasions. They followed in a great tradition of choral writing and his study of Bach and particularly Handel formed a lasting impression. Schumann It should also be remembered that although Schumann was essentially a romantic composer his interest in Bach was evident from his compositions in the baroque genre: 6 Fugues on the name of BACH for organ; 6 Canons for Pedal-Flgel [Pedal Grand Piano]; 6 Sketches for Pedal-Flgel

Wagner Whilst Wagner was one of the most forward-looking composers with innovations of the new music drama, it should also be remembered that for his poetical inspiration he looked to the past: Tristan is based on a 12th century legend; The Mastersingers reverts back to an actual singing competition in Nuremberg in the 17th century using musical themes from that era. The Ring cycle of music dramas is based on ancient Norse legends which he freely adapted whilst writing the poetical libretto. The Nibelungen saga as found in Das Rheingold is from Austrian folklore.

Bruckner Bruckner had a very thorough musical training in the art of organ playing but also harmony and counterpoint. This is strikingly evident in his symphonic and choral music where many contrapuntal techniques are displayed particularly inversion of themes in the symphonies. Brahms Brahmss thirst for nostalgia and study of earlier generations of composers can be seen in some of his piano writing: A Bach Chaconne Variations for LH, Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Handel, and the use of a Bach Passacaglia Theme [30 variations] for the finale of Symphony No 4. He continued the classical tradition of writing sonatas not only for piano but for other instruments as well The Bach Revival Before Bach died his learned style of contrapuntal music was regarded as outdated even by his own sons who were writing in the newer enlightened homophonic genre. But after his death romanticism rediscovered Bach! Bach was re-invented as a Romantic figure and father of the German musical tradition. 1801 48 Preludes and Fugues published 1802 The Life, Work and Art of Johann Sebastian Bach by Forkel, [Gttengen University] wrote of him as a Great German Composer and founder of German Music 1821 As listeners to Bachs music, we may feel as if we were present when God created the world [Goethe] 1829 St. Matthew Passion first performed by Mendelssohn in Leipzig 1850 Bach Gesellschaft [Society] founded and published complete editions of his works until 1900. Robert Schumann on Bach: Every day I prostrate myself before that great musical savant, I confess myself to that incommensurable and incomparable genius, intercourse with whom purifies and fortifies me.