Bach, Beethoven, And Brahms: Music Analysis

Over the course of this class, we have gone in depth with research of three of the most important classical composers in history. Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms have all influenced the world in one way or another, and all of these composers were innovative and unique in the way that they composed. The three pieces that I will be comparing are all piano pieces, as I have focused on piano pieces for much of the study of the three composers this semester. I will be comparing Prelude and Fugue Number 5 from Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier, Beethoven’s Piano Sonata (Op. 57 No. 23), and Brahms’s Piano Sonata Number 3. These are all piano pieces that have distinct form that must be followed. What interested me most in this comparison are how different the

Through Bach’s experiences as a music teacher, he was inspired to create pieces for his students and that exactly is what the Well Tempered Clavier pieces are for, they are meant as a learning tool to teach students. This piece specifically employs perpetual motion as well as using bass in the left hand to outline chords and bass tones that are to be followed throughout the entire piece. Bach was known as a great teacher in the town that he lived in, Leipzig, but he was not well known outside of his hometown. He never achieved fame until after his death, and I don’t think he would have enjoyed being famous if he had achieved fame. There was a period of time in history that was about 100 years long where Bach’s music went dormant (unless played by his many sons). But his pieces were soon resurrected and both Beethoven and Brahms looked to Bach to influence their keyboard works. This is why Bach is known as the father of classical music, or there has be known to be a musical trinity with Bach being the father, Beethoven being the son, and Brahms the holy

57 No. 23 is one of Beethoven’s most recognized piano works today. It is known under the nickname “Appasionata” because of its passionate, but extremely intense overall sound that has a theme section that revolves around an arpeggio with a trill at the end of each arpeggio. This piece was also known to have been the piece in which Beethoven tried to overemphasize the lowest notes that he could play on the fortepiano, this is what is believed to be the reason that he wrote this piece in F minor in order to be able to strike the lowest notes possible. Beethoven wrote his Sonatas just for the sake of writing them, or for his students to learn, or to display emotions and try to change music for the better. I personally believe that Beethoven’s main reason for writing his Sonatas is to display musical expression because they are often dynamical, intense piano works that are often so unique that one could tell that Beethoven could only write them. Beethoven was very different from all composers before him in the way he wrote for wind and brass instruments, in that he made them play in many different musical keys, instead of the easier keys of F Major and C Major (relative minor keys included). Early criticism of his pieces stated that his works were too challenging, and pushed too many boundaries, and even overturned common conventions at the time. This lead to much criticism about his pieces with examples being that his pieces were defying what music is