Classical Music Forms, Composers, and Characteristics

Musical Piece Descriptions

1. Lied: Starts with aggressive piano playing. A man singing opera comes in later, then it goes back to only piano for a brief period.
2. Lied: Soft and slow piano to start. A man singing opera in German, with elongated singing. Super slow piano playing.
3. Lied: Starts with soft piano, a girl singing opera comes in soon.
4. Parlor Song: Piano starts slow. A girl singing "Beautiful Dreamer."
5. Character Piece: Soft, high piano playing to start. Slows down then speeds up again, repeated. The piano gets a little louder. No singing.
6. Nocturne: Loud piano playing, slow playing. Gets quick 45 seconds in. Still calm sounding, but fast. No singing.
7. Etude: Super fast piano playing. Super aggressive then pause, then super aggressive again. Slamming on the piano. Wildly fast.
8. Symphony: Orchestra. Song playing by basses, fast, horror movie-ish playing by the violins. Some plucking. Then flute plays alone. Scary sounding song.
9. Symphony: Starts with strings softly. Calm music. Elongated notes.
10. Opera Aria: Starts immediately with a lady singing in a super high voice. Instruments can be heard but not well.
11. Opera Aria: Starts with an oboe. Then strings play quietly behind. A man singing a little opera.
12. Opera Aria: Super soft instruments. Aggressive man singing opera. Says "Nessun Dorma." The man gets very loud. Instruments played behind him, sounds like strings only.

Key Figures and Musical Concepts

Composers and Their Contributions

• Women Composers: Wrote Lieds, which evoked personal emotions and dramatic storytelling.
• Antonín Dvořák: Significant for symphonies, particularly in America.
• Thomas Jefferson: Associated with Arcangelo Corelli.
• Stephen Foster: Influenced by European opera.
• Hector Berlioz: Renowned for his orchestration.
• J. Goethe: Author of "King of the Elves," a supernatural tale featuring an Elf King.
• Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt: Prominent Romantic composers.
• Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini: Masters of opera, known for works like Madame Butterfly and Rigoletto.

Understanding Symphonies

• First to use a program (programmatic music).
• Often composed with five movements.
• Movements were titled.
• Emphasized self-expression.

Musical Forms and Genres

• Programmatic Music: Instrumental music using a title that also tells a story. This genre was popular because the public enjoyed fantasy and imagination.
• Sonatas and Concertos: Important classical forms.

Character Portrayal in Music

In his compositions, Robert Schumann often explored contrasting aspects of his personality, such as the calm and shy side (perhaps represented by "Eusebius") and the more flashy, impulsive side (represented by "Florestan").