Little Mozart

Music History
Early - Modern

American Music Institute

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www.amimusic.org

Early Music

Early music: music composed before the 1600s, music was mostly written in Europe
o Medieval and Renaissance period music
o 1500s the printer was invented in Europe so music could be accessed and
spread around

COMPOSER #1

Giovanni Palestrina (1525-1594)

Italian Renaissance composer
Brought in the unimagined idea of harmony (two
instruments played complimentary notes instead of the same one)
We see the first stirrings of an orchestra, with bass and
treble instruments working together for a full sound
Influenced church music greatly
Search YouTube for Listening example - Sicut Cervus (New
York Polyphony)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHUuaA8DKiQ

Baroque Period

Baroque Period: music composed 1600-1750

From Galileo and his geocentric theory to the settlement of the New World, change
was taking place and people scrambled to update old philosophies and ways of
thought. Much in the same way, early baroque composers sought to expand their
musical expression...growing from Early Medieval and Renaissance period music
new musical forms were made.
New forms like counterpoint and fugue techniques used
Operas and orchestra came alive in this period!
The elaborate, ornamented style in music reflected what was going on in art and
architecture at the time.
One of the biggest changes was that musicians were often employed by royalty and
the wealthy, so they had security for the first time. That gave composers the
opportunity to explore and experiment with music, even though they were
essentially writing to the order of their patron

COMPOSER #2

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)

Italian Baroque composer who grew

up in Venice, Italy
Known as the Red Priest because of
his flaming hair
Many people consider Vivaldi as the
best Italian composer of his time. He wrote
concertos, operas, church music and many
other compositions. In all, Vivaldi wrote more than 500 other concertos.
As well as about 46 operas, Vivaldi composed a large body of sacred choral music.
Other works include sinfonias, about 90 sonatas, and chamber music.
His most famous set of concertos is The Four Season, written in 1723. Depicted the
moods and scenes from each season.
Search YouTube for Listening Example: The Four Seasons by Budapest Strings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRxofEmo3HA

COMPOSER #3

Georg Fredrich Handel (1685-1759)

Born in Germany, spent most of his life in England

His father disapproved of his son learning music and
wanted him to become a lawyer. Georg practiced and
practiced and proved to his father he can make a living
studying music.
Spent 4 years studying opera in Italy. He composed
many operas and oratorios (like an opera, but sacred
religious theme and performed without any staging, like a
concerto)
Operas: Floridante, Rinaldo, Il Pastor Fido and Teseo,
Rodelinda
1740s people started becoming less interested in
opera and more in oratorios.
The Messiah - It premiered in the summer on July 17, 1717 when King George I
requested a concert on the River Thames . The concert was performed by 50
musicians playing on a barge close to the royal barge from which the King listened
with some close friends. The full oratorio about 2 and a half hours.
Search YouTube for Listening example: The Messiah Hallelujah Chorus Johann
Strauss Orchestra and the Harlem Gospel Choirit is a tradition to sing this song

around Christmas time and Easter time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76RrdwElnTU

COMPOSER #4

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Bach was from Germany and came from a long

family line of composers over 300 years worth of Bachs
all worked as professional musicians
Bachs parents passed away by the time he was 10
years old and was raised by his brother, a church organist.
Bach learned music naturally. At first he worked
for a duke, then for a prince, and finally, he became
director of music at the St. Thomas Church and School
People thought of Bach as just an ordinary working
musician. No one really knew much about his music until
100 years after his death, when another composer, Felix
Mendelssohn, conducted a performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion.
Bach composed for organ and other keyboard instruments, orchestras, choirs, and
concertos for many different instrumental combinations.
Search YouTube for Listening example: Minuet in G Major by the Philadelphia
Orchestrahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on1DDSLdDOo

Classical Music

During this time, Mozart and Haydn developed the grand forms of symphony, opera,
string quartet, and concerto. Public, rather than private concerts became the norm,
and more people were exposed to music. The classical period saw the rise of the
epic symphony, as well as the concerto (featuring one instrument with orchestra).
More than ever before, music was raised to an art form, complex and lush, as we
know it today.
The classical movement, starting around the mid-1700's, was aimed at bringing
music back "down to earth". Composers began to strive for beauty through
simplicity and balance.
The philosophical movement called the Enlightenment era began - basically it meant
that by using reason and logic, man could accomplish anything. Thus, where people
once relied on the church to determine their beliefs, the focus was now shifted
towards the individual. This focus on humanity led to a growth in the arts, including
music.



COMPOSER #5

Franz Joseph Haydn (1736-1809)

Franz Joseph Haydn was the most famous

composer of his time, known as the Father of Symphony
Haydn was born in the tiny Austrian town of
Rohrau. When he was 8, Joseph (he didn't go by Franz)
went to Vienna to sing in the choir at St. Stephen's
Cathedral, and to attend the choir school.
At first, Haydn struggled to earn a living as a
composer. Then, he got a job with a rich, powerful family
named Esterhazy. It was Haydn's job to write music for the
Esterhazy princes, and to conduct their orchestra.
Haydn was also a good businessman. Music
publishing made him and his music famous all over Europe. After he retired from
working for the Esterhazy family, Haydn made two very successful trips to England,
where audiences at concerts of his music treated him like a superstar.
His most famous compositions are 104 symphonies. Notable symphonies are two
sets, The Paris Symphonies - #82-87 and The London Symphonies - #93-104.
Search YouTube for Listening Example: Symphony No. 104 in D Major London
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OitPLIowJ70

COMPOSER #6

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Born in Salzburg, Austria Mozart was a child

prodigy.

He composed his first piece of music at age five; he

had his first piece published when he was seven; and he
wrote his first opera when he was twelve and overall he
composed over 600 works. By the time Wolfgang was 6, he
was an excellent pianist and violinist

Considered the most brilliant composer ever. From

the time he was a child, music gushed frantically from his
head to the paper almost nonstop. So hyperactive was his musical thought process
that he was often criticized for having compositions with "too many notes."

Famous works: "Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman" (a.k.a. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) Magic
Flute (opera), Marriage of Figaro (opera), Don Giovanni (opera) Requiem
Search on YouTube for Listening Example: The Queen of the Night Aria Magic Flute,
Soprano Diana Damrau

Classical Music Romantic Era

COMPOSER #7

Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany.
His father, who was a singer, was his first teacher. After a
while, even though he was still only a boy, Ludwig became a
traveling performer, and soon, he was supporting his family.

In his early twenties, Beethoven moved to Vienna,

where he spent the rest of his life. Beethoven was one of the
first composers to make a living without being employed by
the church or a member of the nobility. But when he was
around 30 years old, Beethoven started going deaf, however
he still composed some of his best music.
Beethoven is considered one of the greatest musical geniuses who ever lived.
Beethoven wrote chamber and choral music, piano music and string quartets, and
an opera. But, there are three periods that distinguish Beethovens musical output,
which makes Beethoven a key figure in music history making the transition from the
Classical to the Romantic Period.
Famous works: Piano Sonatas Moonlight Sonata, Pathetique, Waldstein, the
Eroica Symphony and the Ninth Symphony.
Search on YouTube for Listening Example: Symphony No. 9 Movement 4

Romantic Era

From 1820-1900 The Romantic period built on the Classical era, but also reflected
the more Romantic era of literature that was sweeping across Europe. This period
saw the development of telling a story through musical compositions.
The symphonies became longer and even more complex as the composers seemed
to strive to outdo each other.
This new period of freedom and unhindered creativity allowed composers to devise
new instrumental arrangements and to explore new harmonic colorings.

Many of the chamber pieces written during the time were intended for professional
chamber groups. Because of this, amateur chamber players were generally unable to
play the music of the day, and chamber music moved out of the homes of enthusiasts
and into the concert halls.

COMPOSER #8

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Franz Schubert was born in Vienna, Austria. In addition
to playing several instruments, Franz also sang very well. When
he was 10, he was accepted at the Imperial and Royal Seminary,
which trained boys for the Court Chapel Choir. That choir still
exists today as the Vienna Boys' Choir.
Schubert wrote his first symphonies for his school
orchestra, and for friends of the family who used to get
together to play -- the whole Schubert family was very musical.
Schubert wrote over 1000 works for piano, choral, and
chamber music, but he is probably most famous for composing

over 600 songs.

Famous works: Song cycles, Erlkonig, Unfinished Symphony No. 8 Ave Maria
Search on YouTube for Listening Example: Ave Maria by Rene Flemming

COMPOSER #9

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809-1847)

Felix Mendelssohn was lucky enough to be born into a

rich family, with loving parents who encouraged him to be a
musician.
Mendelssohn was born in Hamburg, Germany, and
grew up in Berlin.
The Mendelssohn family held regular Sunday
afternoon concerts at their house, so Felix grew up with music
all around him. He was already a terrific pianist as a child, and
started composing when he was ten. As a teenager,
Mendelssohn had already written some of his greatest music. He was also a
wonderful visual artist.
Mendelssohn also became well known as a conductor. When he was just 20, he put
together and conducted the first concert of Johann Sebastian Bach's St. Matthew
Passion since Bach's lifetime.

Famous works: String Octet, the Overture A Midsummer Nights Dream, 5

symphonies, 2 violin concertos, and 8 cycles of piano pieces - Song Without Words.

Search on YouTube for Listening Example: Wedding March

COMPOSER #10

Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)

Frdric Chopin was one of the greatest pianists of his

day. Chopin was born in a town just outside of Warsaw, Poland.
His mother introduced him to the piano; by the time he was six,
Chopin played extremely well and was starting to compose. He
gave his first concert at the age of eight.
Chopin was never healthy, and he was only thirty-nine
when he died of tuberculosis.
He is famous for the great piano literature that he wrote
Nocturnes, Prelude, and tudes.
Famous works: Ballade in G Minor, Scherzo in Bb, Fantaisie Impromptu Op.66,
Funeral March
Search on YouTube for Listening Example: Ballade No. 1 in G minor Op. 23 by Tzvi
Erez

COMPOSER #11

Robert Schumann (1810-1856)

Robert grew up with books all around him, so he fell in

love with books and writing. Robert also fell in love with music.
As a kid, he took piano, flute and cello lessons, and also started
composing.

When he was a teenager, Schumann still wasnt sure

whether he wanted to be a writer or a composer when he grew
up. But after heading off to the University of Leipzig to study
law, he knew he didn't want to be a lawyer.

In Leipzig, Schumann took piano lessons with a teacher

named Friedrich Wieck, whose star pupil was his daughter Clara. Robert fell in love
with Clara even though her father did not approve of him.

The whole year following their wedding, Schumann was so in love that he couldn't
stop composing songs. That became known as Schumann's Year of Song. Robert
suffered a hand injury but his wife Clara played a lot of his compositions.
Famous works: Carnaval Dichterliebe Symphony No. 3 Fantasiestcke
Search on YouTube for Listening Example: Carnaval Op. 9 Florestan by Evgeniy
Sopin

COMPOSER #12
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)

German born composer Richard Wagner is best

known for his operas. Before composing his own works, he
was a theatrical and operatic producer. He was also a
conductor and wrote articles and essays on drama and
music, something he continued to do throughout his
lifetime.

His masterpiece, however, is the Ring of the

Nibelung, a cycle of four operas that tells the story of
mythological German gods and beings. Composition of this
series took over twenty-five years. The use of leitmotifs helps to unite these four
operas. A leitmotif is a musical phrase that is related to some aspect of the drama -
perhaps a character, place, thought or thing.
Wagners music was loved by some and hated by others, but it had, and continues to
have, a tremendous effect on all audiences and musicians.
Famous works: The Ring Cycle, (includes Das Rheingold Die Walkure) Tristan
und Isolde
Search on YouTube for Listening Example: Ride of the Valkyries from Die Walkure
by Budapest Symphony Orchestra

COMPOSER #13

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

Johannes Brahms was born in the German city of
Hamburg. His father was a musician who played several
instruments, but never managed to earn much money. So
when Johannes was young, he played the piano at inns and
dance halls to help support his family.

When Brahms was older, he toured as an accompanist, playing piano for a

Hungarian violinist. That music -- and the gypsy bands Brahms heard later on when
he traveled to Hungary -- inspired his Hungarian Dances, which were a hit with the
public. He wrote 21 dances in all.
Many people considered Brahms to be the successor to Beethoven. Brahms never
wrote an opera or a symphonic poem.
Famous Works: Lullaby, Academic Overture, Variations on a Theme by Haydn
Search on YouTube for Listening Example: Lullaby by Slovac Chamber Orchestra

COMPOSER #14

Piotr Tchaikovsky (1940-1893)

Born in Votkinsk, a town in Russia's Ural Mountains.

Even though Tchaikovsky was a good musician as a kid, that
wasn't considered an "acceptable" profession, so his parents
made him study law instead.
Even during law school Tchaikovsky continued to study
music. Eventually, he gave up his legal job and went to the St.
Petersburg Conservatory.
Tchaikovsky traveled all over Europe for performances
of his music. In 1891, he even came to America for the opening
of Carnegie Hall, where he was invited to conduct his music.
His wide ranging output includes symphonies, operas,
ballets, instrumental and chamber music and songs. He wrote some of the most
popular concert and theatrical music in the classical repertoire.
Famous Works: The ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker,
the 1812 Overture, his First Piano Concerto, and 6 symphonies.
Search on YouTube for Listening Example: Romeo and Juliet Overture Love
Theme by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra

Modern Period

The Modern Period started in 1890 and still alive today many of the old music
conventions were thrown out of the window
The twentieth century has been a time of musical experimentation, as composers
have tried to redefine virtually every aspect of music: tonality, rhythm, form,
harmony, and even the qualities of sound itself.

The end of World War I is widely considered the real start of the Modern period.
Postwar society was characterized by rebellion and experimentation. As a result,
music of the time became increasingly divided as composers went their own
separate ways. Because of its experimental nature, much of the music from 1910 to
1930 was called "the new music".
For modern composers trying to counteract the size and scope of the Romantic era
gigantic works, chamber music provided the ideal medium.
Many composers, seeking out new sound colors, tried several different
arrangements of instruments. Also, the music became increasingly harder, to the
point that much of it is playable only by very skilled ensembles.

COMPOSER #15

Scott Joplin (Unknown-1917)

Today, birthdays are very carefully recorded, but no
one knows for sure exactly when Scott Joplin was born.
Scott Joplin's father was born into slavery in North
Carolina; his mother was a freeborn woman from Kentucky.
Both his parents were musical. When his parents separated,
Scott's mother supported the family by cleaning houses, and
he was allowed to use the piano in one of those houses. He

taught himself to play.

As a teenager, Joplin started traveling. In Missouri, he played piano in saloons; for
the 1893 World's Fair, he headed to Chicago, and played cornet in a band. After
spending some time in college, Joplin moved on to St. Louis, the hotbed of ragtime
music. Eventually, he wound up in New York City.
Famous Works: Opera Treemonisha (won Pulitzer Prize in 1976), 44
original ragtime pieces, notably Maple Leaf Rag one ragtime ballet, and two operas
Search on YouTube for Listening Example: The Entertainer by Cory Hall

COMPOSER #16

Charles Ives (1874-1954)

Charles Ives was born in Danbury, Connecticut just nine
years after the end of the Civil War. All the members of the Ives
family were successful business people, except for Charlie's father
George
His father was a musician who taught in a unique way
encouraging students to explore the bitonal and polytonal
harmonizations
Charles became a church organist at the age of 14 and

wrote various hymns, anthems and songs for church services, including
his Variations on 'America'.
Ives did not become a professional composer. Instead, he was a highly successful
businessman in the early days of life insurance, owning his own insurance company
called Ives & Myrick. But Ives spent all his evenings and weekends doing what he
really loved, namely composing.
Famous Works: The Unanswered Question, Universe Symphony, Three Places in
New England
Search on YouTube for Listening Example: Variations on America by E. Power
Biggs

COMPOSER #17

Gustav Holst (1874-1934)

Holst played the trombone and taught at a girls school in

London. His father taught him piano at an early age, but a nerve
disease cut his career as a pianist short. He went on to attend the
Royal College of Music where he studied composition and met
fellow student Ralph Vaughn Williams, who became a lifelong
friend.
Holst was very interested in Hindu literature and
philosophy and even learned Sanskrit so that he could translate
passages written in this language himself. This religion
influences many of his works.
His works include operas, choral music, orchestral pieces and songs.
Famous Works: The Planets, First Suite in Eb, I Love My Love
Search on YouTube for Listening Example: First Suite in Eb by United States
Marine Band

COMPOSER #18

George Gershwin (1898-1937)

George Gershwin was born in Brooklyn, New York.
He taught himself to play the piano at a friend's house by
following how the keys moved on a player piano.
At the age of fifteen, George left school and found
his first job as a performer as a "song plugger" for Jerome
H. Remick and Company, a publishing firm on New York
City's Tin Pan Alley, where he earned $15 a week.

George composed music for both Broadway and the classical concert hall, as well
as popular songs that brought his work to an even wider public. His compositions
have been used in numerous films and on television, and many became jazz
standards recorded in numerous variations.
He wrote most of his vocal and theatrical works, including more than a dozen
Broadway shows, in collaboration with his elder brother, lyricist Ira Gershwin.
Famous Works: Rhapsody in Blue, Someone to Watch over Me, Embraceable You,
the opera Porgy and Bess
Search on YouTube for Listening Example: Summertime - Porgy and Bess by
Kathleen Battle

COMPOSER #19

Aaron Copland (1900-1990)

Aaron Copland is one of the most famous

American composers of all time. Copland was born in
Brooklyn, New York, and went to France as a teenager
to study music with Nadia Boulanger, who helped
Copland create his own style.
Copland's music achieved a balance
between modern music and American folk styles.
He incorporated percussive orchestration,
changing meter, polyrhythms, polychords, and tone rows in a broad range of works
for the concert hall, theater, ballet, and films.
Copland wrote music with a very American" sound. Some of his most famous pieces
are his ballets -- Billy the Kid, Rodeo, and Appalachian Spring.
Aside from composing, Copland was a teacher, lecturer, critic, writer, and conductor.
Famous Works: Fanfare for the Common Man Third Symphony, A Lincoln Portrait,
First Symphony, Piano Quartet
Search on YouTube for Listening Example: Fanfare for the Common Man by
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
COMPOSER #20

Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)

Leonard Bernstein was born in Lawrence,
Massachusetts, and grew up in the Boston area.
He composed the class song for his high school
graduation, he went on to Harvard and majored in music

Leonard Bernstein got his big break when he was the 25-year-old assistant
conductor of the New York Philharmonic. At the last minute, he stepped in to
conduct a concert in Carnegie Hall that was broadcast live over the radio all across
America. The audience loved him, and the event made front-page headlines in the
newspaper.
When Bernstein was eventually named music director of the New York
Philharmonic, he was the first American to become permanent conductor of a major
American orchestra. Leonard Bernstein used television, which was brand new at the
time, to bring classical music to a very wide audience through his "Young People's
Concerts."
Famous Works: Wonderful Town, On the Town, West Side Story
Search on YouTube for Listening Example: A Little Bit in Love Wonderful Town
by Audra McDonald

Jazz Rock and Pop Highlights!

Jazz: Jazz can be very hard to define because it spans from Ragtime waltzes to 2000s-era
fusion. While jazz may be difficult to define, improvisation is clearly one of its key elements.
Jazz is music created in America which contrasts Classical music that was founded in
Europe.
Early blues was commonly structured around a repetitive call and response pattern, a
common element in the African American oral tradition. A form of folk music which rose in
part from work songs and field hollers of rural Blacks, early blues was also highly
improvisational.
In jazz, however, the skilled performer will interpret a tune in very individual ways, never
playing the same composition exactly the same way twice. Depending upon the performer's
mood and personal experience, interactions with fellow musicians, or even members of the
audience, a jazz musician/performer may alter melodies, harmonies or time signature at
will.
Famous soloists: Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Sarah Vaughn, Billie
Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald
Famous Jazz Ensembles: The Manhattan Transfer, Swingle Singers(connection to Bach),
Singers Unlimited, Take 6, New York Voices
Rock: Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll or rock 'n' roll) is a genre of popular
music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early
1950s, primarily from a combination of the blues, country music and gospel music.
Spanned from the 1940s till today. Styles: Rockability, Doo-Wop, Alternative Rock, Folk
Rock, Disco, Punk Rock, Grunge
Famous Soloists: Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan,

Famous Groups: Beach Boys, Rolling Stones, the Who

Pop: Pop music, often called simply pop, is contemporary music and a common type of
popular music distinguished from classical or art music and from folk music. The term does
not refer specifically to a single genre or sound, and its meaning is different depending on
the time and place. Within popular music, "pop music" is often distinguished from other
subgenres by stylistic traits such as a danceable rhythm or beat, simple melodies and a
repeating structure which are reminiscent of the songs of groups like One Direction.
Pop Groups: Jackson Five, The Beatles, Backstreet Boys, Taylor Swift (post-country phase),
NSync, One Direction
Pop Soloists: Michael Jackson, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears






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