Broderick Lemke

MUSI 367
Long Essay Final Questions:

1. Discuss Beethovens impact on the music of the 19th century. Provide specific examples

of how composers were influenced, and/or found their own path. (20)

Beethovens works pushed the boundaries of musical and personal expression, and lead

to many of the ideals in the romantic era. His works started in a classical form, but through the

use of narratives, motivic development, expansion of form and other techniques, he showed the

freedom that composers could adopt. After Beethoven, composers no longer had to follow set in

stone formal rules, allowing them freedom to explore. His influence reached multiple genres, as

well as multiple countries, leading to a worldwide influence on composers of the romantic era.

One concept that was not foreign to composers in the early romantic era, was that of the

Beethoven Question. This question was essentially How does one go about writing music and

advancing it past what Beethoven did? This was a rather hard question to answer, and each

romantic era composer came up with their solution. One seemingly simple way was adapted by

Schubert, in which he focused his efforts on creating a more melodic symphony than Beethoven.

Beethoven had many great themes, but a lot of his music focused on motivic development such

as the first movement of his Symphony No. 5, based almost completely on the four note fate

motive. Schuberts lyrical and flowing melodies, such as those present in the Unfinished

Symphony, and a return to a more conventional sonata form, combine Beethovens explorations

and lengthening of the symphony with the melodic symphonic works of Mozart and other

classical composers.
 Another early romantic composer, Berlioz, had a different idea on how to answer the

Beethoven question. Instead of using a flowing melody, he turned toward his life experiences in

Symphonie Fantastique to develop the program symphony. A program symphony is a symphony

that tells a narrative, often described by the composer in written form, such as in a program.

Berlioz could be seen taking inspiration from several works by Beethoven, such as his sixth

symphony in which Beethoven gives titles to the movements in order to evoke descriptions of

nature in his piece. Beethoven, however, did not want these descriptive titles to be taken literally

and for them to influence the listener. Berliozs symphony on the other hand, lays out a love

story and fantastical situations that mimicked those of his own life and are meant to be taken

more literally.

Beethovens work was admired outside of the symphonic realm, particularly noticeable in

the works and communications of Wagner. Wagner was quoted as saying that Beethovens ninth

symphony was human gospel of the art of the future. He thought that Beethoven had done

everything possible with a purely instrumental work, but the combination of voices and orchestra

in the final Ode to Joy movement of Symphony Nine, inspired Wagner. Wagner even saw

himself as Beethovens successor, trying to create a total artwork in which music was primary,

however he thought that opera should become a perfect blend of music, poetry, art, drama and

stagecraft. He sought to take Beethovens expansion of the orchestral relation with voice and did

so in his operas. He used the voice as a powerful driving force, such as in the Ring Cycle, in

which he uses the orchestra and strong vocal lines to create mood, and utilized leitmotifs to tie

the action on stage, and in the poetry, with the music.

Beethovens influence was so far reaching that it even effected composers at the end of

the romantic era, such as Brahms and Tchaikovsky. Each utilizes the idea of fate that Beethoven
used in his fifth symphony, but expand upon it in different ways. Brahms quotes the fate motive

in his first symphony, and utilizes other ideas from the fifth symphony, such as moving from C

minor to C major throughout the piece, and adding trombones in the finale. Because of these

borrowed ideas, Brahmss first symphony has even been called Beethovens tenth symphony.

Tchaikovsky also incorporates the idea of fate in his fourth symphony in the form of inexorable

fate that prevents the possibility of hope and joy from winning out in the end of the piece. He

also utilizes the technique of making the symphony feel tragic to triumphant through the use of F

minor moving to F major, similar to Beethovens fifth symphony.

Each of these examples shows that Beethovens work was far reaching and influenced

composers throughout the romantic era. Each proposed their own solution to the Beethoven

question and in their own right advanced music in different ways. Without Beethoven these

advances may not have been possible, but each composers creativity and genius must be

recognized as well.
2. Based on select works studied in class, compare and contrast Italian and German

Romantic Opera. (20)

Italian operas in the romantic era drew from a well-established history of operatic

tradition that came before them. Composers including Gluck and Pergolesi paved the way for the

early inspirations of works, something that German opera lacked. Singspiel was the only main

predecessor for German opera, which Carl Maria von Weber then built off of to create a uniquely

German operatic tradition. These differences stem from each countrys unique musical history,

but have a much further reach of influence throughout the romantic era. They developed into two

separate operatic traditions with several similarities, but also glaring differences in style, content

and inspiration.

Upon listening to several operas from the romantic era from both Germany and Italy, it is

abundantly clear that there is a difference in the way that the human voice is treated. Early Italian

composers like Rossini, were famous for the Bel Canto style of singing, which literally means

beautiful singing. Vocal parts in this style often contain long lyrical lines, florid embellishments,

and have a sense of effortless technique. These stylistic features are accentuated by the typically

light accompaniment while the voice is singing, clearly evident in the aria Una Voce Poco Fa

from The Barber of Seville. During the initial opening singing the string accompaniment utilizes

pizzicatos and a sparse texture. This allows the melody a chance to breathe and grow throughout

the piece. German operas on the other hand, more often treated the voice as if it was just another

instrument to add color. Richard Wagner was one of the most prolific German opera composers

and valued the musical value of a piece over the words. As such the mood and instrumentation

was more important than beautiful singing. The conclusion to Act 1 from Tristan Und Isolde

demonstrates this, as the voices protrude through the texture forcefully and portray the emotions
of the characters with a flushed out background from the orchestra. These contrasts in vocal

treatment create a clear divide between the two styles and show where the composers put the

emphasis in their compositions, whether it be the vocal style or overall musical mood and

character.

The inspirations for the plot of the operas also contrasts heavily between Italian and

German opera. For Italian composers, opera plots drew heavily on everyday situations or other

contemporary themes. These include love and marriage in The Barber of Seville, an American

military man marrying a Japanese woman and leaving her to hope that he would return in

Madama Butterfly and a woman being tricked into marrying a man and later murdering him as in

Lucia di Lammermoor. These themes were relatable to the audience, but also involved a lot of

exoticism in the form of other lands being mentioned and music from foreign locales seeping

into the opera. Madama Butterfly utilizes Japanese folk songs and the Star Spangled Banner in

the marriage ceremony scene, and treats Japanese culture as exotic, mentioning the European

taboo of ritualistic suicide. On the other hand, German operas often covered themes in their plots

relying heavily on medieval history and the supernatural. The supernatural themes are clearly

evident in Die Frieschutz as one of the main characters is Samiel, the devil. The supernatural

themes are accentuated by various musical effects including high woodwind chords, spoken parts

for the devil and tremolos in the strings that draw upon historically significant musical ideas

related to the supernatural. Wagner even brought the idea of using medieval poetry and Nordic

legends to a new height as he attempted to write a German national epic in the form of his opera

cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen. These differences in inspiration for the plots between Italian and

German opera, lend a different feel to each nations operatic tradition and further distinguish

them from each other.

advancements to the style. Wagner developed the use of leitmotifs throughout his works, in

which a musical idea would be used to portray a character. The Tristan chord from Tristan Und

Isolde and the ride of the Valkyries from Der Ring des Nibelungen are used throughout their

respective works. The Tristan chord can be heard whenever Tristan and Isoldes longing for each

other is mentioned or being shown. Similarly the ride of the Valkyries can be heard when

Valkyries are present, or even at the mention of their name or hinting of their presence. These

leitmotifs clue the audience into aspects of the music and plot of the opera. Additionally

Wagners music created a strong sense of continual motion. The melodies in the prelude to

Tristan Und Isolde seem to flow endlessly which is created by the lack of authentic cadences in

the music. These two trends of leitmotifs and endless melody prevail throughout Wagner and

German opera.

Despite the many differences in the two styles, there are several similarities. Both were

widely performed in their respective times and the community of opera was growing in both

countries. Opera houses around the world were expanding, allowing both genres to thrive.

Additionally the works have become loved today and their symphonic movements such as

preludes and overtures were, and are performed as standard repertoire in the symphony hall.

Classic examples from each side of the traditions include the overture to Barber of Seville and

the Prelude to Tristan Und Isolde. Each genre also saw traction gained behind their composers

rather than performers of the pieces, leading the composers to get top billing and leave behind a

legacy. Wagner became a musical paradigm in his country for writing opera while Verdis name

became a national unifying cry throughout Italy, showing the depths that the country felt each

composers music was significant. These facts show that even though each operatic traditional
went through a different development, they both carried wide appeal and advanced music in their

countries and throughout the world.