2a

Norman Ludwin

It is divided in to groups or sections, not just one

player per part
q It is based on bowed string instruments of the violin
family
q The instrumentation is standardized
q It includes one or more bowed bass instrument
sounding in the 16th-foot (double bass) range
q It has distinct organizational identities
q It performs as an unified ensemble under
centralized control and discipline
q

Musicians

were hidden behind curtains

Numbers of players were optional
Music written as SATB
n

Similar to vocal music

No
n

indications of what instruments are to be used

Even up to 1740, Leopold Mozart wrote that if the alto trombone player is
inadequate, a violinist should be asked to perform the trombone part on the violins.

Giovanni

Gabrielli 1558-1613

Music

was performed in temporary structures

Used small numbers of players (8-10)
Mostly for royal audiences
Largely strings and keyboards, with the occasional oboes
or flutes added
Trumpets and timpani would be added for special
occasions
Arcangelo Corelli 1653-1719

1637 first public opera

Still no actual orchestral music in 17th century,
(meaning still one player on a part)
J.S. Bach 1685-1750
One of the worlds
greatest composers
Antonio Vivaldi 1678-1741 wrote Four Seasons;

Not

only men were musicians; Vivaldi conducted a famous

all girl ensemble in Venice, Italy

The birth of the orchestra as we know it begins

Effects like string tremolos, crescendos and
diminuendos are beginning to be being utilized
Orchestras now have uniforms, budgets, and
concert halls
They are on stage
They have stabilized as a distinct entity opposed to
a large chamber group
Concerts are beginning to be middle class events

Three main sections of the orchestra:

Strings

6,6,4,4,2
n First violins, second violins, violas, cellos and basses
n

Woodwinds
n

2
n

and Brass

2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 clarinets

horns, 2 trumpets, and timpani

Timpani was classed with trumpets

No

percussion section, but operas had harps, snare drum,

bass drum, triangle and cymbals

Joseph Haydn 1732-1809 Inspired Mozart and taught

Beethoven, known as Papa Haydn
104 symphonies (Symphony No.45 *), Father of the string
quartet, concertos, sonatas,
W. A. Mozart 1765-1791 One of the great geniuses of
music
41 Symphonies (Symphony No. 40*), string quartets,
concertos, operas,
Ludwig van Beethoven 1770-1827 Revolutionary in music
Nine symphonies (Symphony No, 5*), concertos, string
quartets, choral works
*In the analyzed scores section

Johannes Brahms 1883-1897 Traditionalist and innovator

Rimsky-Korsakov 1844-1908 Star orchestrator and

composer

Scheherazade (1888)*

Richard Wagner 1813-1883 Opera composer notated

for rich chromaticism, counterpoint, and harmonies

4 Symphonies, concertos, String quartets

Siegfried Idyll (1869)*, Ring Cycle (1876), Parsifal (1882)

Hector Berlioz 1803-1869 assembled huge orchestras;

doubled winds and added more strings
Symphonie Fantastique (1830) *
* In the analyzed scores section
u

10

New woodwind instruments added included:

piccolo, English horn, bass clarinet, contra bassoon;
each of these added extended the range of the
woodwinds
Brass instruments added were trombone and tuba
Harp
More percussion instruments become regular
members

Late Romantic Era

11

GUSTAV MAHLER 1860-1911 FIFTH SYMPHONY (1901)*

MAURICE RAVEL 1875-1937 RAPSODIE ESPAGNOLE (1907)*
CLAUDE DEBUSSY 1862-1918 AFTERNOON OF A FAUN*
SERGE PROKOFIEV 1891-1953 ROMEO AND JULIET
ARNOLD SCHOENBERG 1874-1951 PELLEAS AND MELISANDE
IGOR STRAVINSKY 1882-1971 PETROUSHKA* (1910)
LARGE ORCHESTRA AS WE KNOW IT TODAY
STRINGS: 18,16,14,12,10
WINDS: 4 FLUTES, 4 OBOES, 4 CLARINETS, 3 BASSOONS, 8 HORNS, 4 TRUMPETS, 4
TROMBONES, 2 TUBAS, 2 HARPS, PIANO AND PERCUSSION (WITH THE ADDITION OF THE
ELECTRIC BASS AND GUITAR WE REACH THE SIZE OF THE ORCHESTRA FOR MISSION
IMPOSSIBLE 3)
* In the analyzed scores section

20th and 21st Century

12

Benjamin Britten 1913-76 British composer

q

Aaron Copland 1900-1990 forged American style of composition

q

Piano Variations (1930), Billy the Kid (1938), Appalachian Spring (1944)

Jerry Goldsmith 1924-2004 One of the greatest film composer

q

Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra (1941) , Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and
Strings (1943), Billy Budd (1951)

Patton (1970), Omen (1976) Alien (1979)

Leonard Bernstein Composer, conductor and educator of the

highest order
q

West Side Story (1957), Serenade for solo violin (1954), Symphony No. 3
(1977)

20th and 21st Century

13

John Adams 1947 American Pulitzer Prize winning composer with

strong minimalist roots
q

Aaron Jay Kernis 1960 Pulitzer prize winner. Instrumental color is

excellent and mixes social, literary and musical influences
q

Jaws (1975) , Star Wars (1977) , Schindlers List (1993)

Steve Reich 1936 Tape manipulation later added African

drumming influences, phase shifting, Jewish heritage
q

New Era Dance (1998)

John Williams 1932 Premiere film composer

q

Nixon in China (1985-87), Short Ride in a Fast Machine (1986)

Different Trains (1988), Double Sextet (2007) Pulitzer prize

Michael Giacchino 1967 Rising star film composer

q

MI3 (2007), Incredibles (2006), Ratatouille (2008), Up (2009), Star Trek

(2009) Super-8 (2010)