"Do not wonder that I am so religious. An artist who is not could not produce anything like this." (-Antonio Dvorak) A person of humble origins and demeanor and of deep faith, Antonio Dvořák often attributed his musical talents as being "a gift from God." His Bohemian nationalist music spurred generations of folk and romantic music to continue on into the 19th Contrary. He followed the path of God and it showed through in his music. To further understand the totality of Dvorak’s life, we must examine his personal life, career, and legacy. Born in September 8, 1841, in the Bohemian village of Nelahozeves, near Prague, in what was then Bohemia, Antonio Dvorak was inundated with Bohemian nationalist folk music from a young age. His father, who played the zither, first exposed young Dvorak to the music that would launch his career. At the age of six he began studying music, and attended Prague’s only organ school, graduating with proficiency in many instruments including the organ, violin, viola, and piano. In the 1860s, he began teaching piano lessons, and it was through them that he ...
Frederic later attended the Warsaw Lyceum where his father was one of the professors. He spent his summer holidays in estates belonging to the parents of his school friends in various parts of the country. The young composer listened to and noted down the texts of folk songs, took part in peasant weddings and harvest festivities, danced, and played a folk instrument resembling a double bass with the village musicians; all of which he described in his letters. Chopin became well acquainted with the fol...
Religion has been an important part of man’s life. Man has allowed religion to control and influence his life in many different ways, affecting both his behavior and his actions. So its not surprising that music, one of man’s earliest expressive forms, has also been influenced by religion. Religion has had an effect on man’s music all throughout history, from the early Egyptians to even now. So it is only natural that Western music should also have been affected by religion. Western music, and its development by composers, has been strongly influenced by the Christian religion, especially in the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque periods. The music in these periods laid the foundation for all the different types of music we enjoy today.
Gottschalk was a child prodigy, showing astonishing musical abilities at a young age. His father, against his mother’s wishes, sent him off to study music more intensively in Paris. During his time in Paris, Gottschalk studied piano with Charles Hallé, Camille Stamaty, and later studied composition with Pierre Maleden. Paris was just the beginning of the many places where he would compose some of his finest works.
At the age of 17, Balanchine entered the Conservatory of Music. He studied piano, composition and th...
Janice B. Stockigt, Jan Dismas Zelenka, 1679 – 1745: A Bohemian Musician at the Court of Dresden (Oxford, 2000)
For almost half a century, the musical world was defined by order and esteemed the form of music more highly than the emotion that lay behind it. However, at the turn of the 19th century, romantic music began to rise in popularity. Lasting nearly a century, romantic music rejected the ideas of the classical era and instead encouraged composers to embrace the idea of emotionally driven music. Music was centered around extreme emotions and fantastical stories that rejected the idea of reason. This was the world that Clara Wieck (who would later marry the famous composer, Robert Schumann) was born into. Most well known for being a famous concert pianist, and secondly for being a romantic composer, Clara intimately knew the workings of romantic music which would not only influence Clara but would later become influenced by her progressive compositions and performances, as asserted by Bertita Harding, author of Concerto: The Glowing Story of Clara Schumann (Harding, 14). Clara’s musical career is an excellent example of how romantic music changed from virtuosic pieces composed to inspire awe at a performer’s talent, to more serious and nuanced pieces of music that valued the emotion of the listener above all else.
Schwartz, Boris. Music and Musical Life in Soviet Russia, 1917-1981. 2nd edition. Indiana University Press, 1983.
Dvorak earned his first glance of success on March 9 of 1873 with the premiere of his patriotic cantata for male voices. (Doge) Boasting in the success Dvorak would then start to work on his opera, King and Charcoal Burner, with the Provisional Theatre. (Doge) This piece unfortunately did not get to premiere and was taken off the program because it exceeded the capabilities of the Czech orchestra. This event, however, is a pivotal point in the composition process of Dvorak as he began to critically assess his work and started to dive into new directions (Doge). This is where he starts to explore the ideas of music nationalism as his compositions deviated from the German influence and were influenced more by elements of Slavonic Folklore. During this Dvorak composed a couple more string quartets and a new version of his King and Charcoal Burner, which ended up having a very successful premiere in Novemb...
Roman Pilanski’s The Pianist (2002) depicts Polish-Jewish pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman’s struggle for survival in the Warsaw Ghetto during the Holocaust. The Pianist provides a linear account of Szpilman’s gradually worsening circumstances at the hands of both Nazi soldiers and his Polish compatriots. The film begins on September 23, 1939, with twenty-eight-year-old Szpilman conducting a concert on what would be the last broadcast of the Polish Radio before Nazi occupation. Szpilman’s concert was brought to a sudden end when the broadcasting station was struck by artillery. While evacuating from the station, Szpilman is hastily introduced to his friend’s sister, Dorota, with whom he is immediately smitten. The darkness surrounding Szpilman (the destruction of his place of work, the defeat of the Polish Army after merely three weeks of fighting and imminent Nazi occupation) is juxtaposed with the opportunity of new love. Unbeknownst to Szpilman, the gloom of these
Western Music has developed in many ways since the middle ages through its form, sound, and message. Throughout these different periods in western music one thing has remained constant, the true essence of music, a way to communicate with someone on a much more divine level than be by rudimentary conversation. Though Ludwig Van Beethoven and Paul McCartney may seem completely opposite they have one in common through their music they changed the world’s perception of its self
Bibliography Huneker, James. A. Chopin: The Man and His Music. New York: Dover Publications, 1966. Print. The.
In this essay, I’m going to discuss two composers- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. I will first tell you about the life of these men. Then, I’ll compare and contrast their music, the time period of which they lived in, the purpose of their music and more.
Frederic Chopin is one of the most famous and influential composers from the nineteenth century. He is especially known for his piano music now and then. Chopin’s works include three sonatas, mazurkas, waltzes, nocturnes, polonaises, etudes, impromptus, scherzos, ballades, preludes, two piano concertos, a few chamber music, and some Polish vocal pieces. He played an important role in the 19th century Polish nationalistic movement. In particular, his mazurkas and polonaises based on Polish dances best express his nationalistic passion and the musical features of the Polish culture.
The journey of Victor Jara is a prime example of an intelligent and a compassionate singer who spoke and sang strongly through his music. As a result, the songs of Victor Jara are an affirmation to his ability and positive vision of life. He had an admiration for the hard working people of small towns and villages as he himself knew the struggles. His songs aim to celebrate the lives of these individuals. In his wife’s biography, Victor: An Unfinished Song, Jara said that he hoped "to find a different and more profound love which perhaps would compensate for the lack of human love" in his life since he hardly saw his mother in his early years of life.
John Warrack, author of 6 Great Composers, stated, “Any study of a composer, however brief, must have as its only purpose encouragement of the reader to greater enjoyment of the music” (Warrack, p.2). The composers and musicians of the Renaissance period need to be discussed and studied so that listeners, performers, and readers can appreciate and understand the beginnings of music theory and form. The reader can also understand the driving force of the composer, whether sacred or secular, popularity or religious growth. To begin understanding music composition one must begin at the birth, or rebirth of music and the composers who created the great change.