I would like to start a class discussion on issues involving Beethoven's symphonic music. Lorne said he would like to post some things, and as I have said in class, I would like to get discussion going on the blog. I have some things to post myself, but will do that in the morning. You can post a "comment" if you wish to contribute. So here goes...
LB
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Hi Everyone -
I just wanted to offer you a tangible form of some of the ideas that I shared during Thursday's class (since I didn't have a hand-out for you to keep).
The focus of my discussion was the musical climate in Vienna during the last years of the 18th century, as well as the effects that this climate had on Beethoven's compositional and professional decisions. [I based my discussion primarily on the Sisman reading (which was supplementary), as well as the Weiss-Taruskin piece and my own perspective as a composer.]
Count Waldstein (a friend of Beethoven who commissioned several of his works - most notably the piano sonata that bears his name) wrote a very insightful note to Beethoven in 1792 (as the young composer was about to leave his hometown of Bonn to Study with Haydn in Vienna). He said:
“Dear Beethoven: You are going to Vienna in fulfillment of your long-frustrated wishes. The genius of Mozart is still weeping and mourning the death of her pupil. She found a refuge but no occupation with the inexhaustible Haydn; through him she wishes to form a union with another. With the help of assiduous labor, you shall receive the spirit of Mozart from Haydn’s hands. Your true friend Waldstein.”
While some considered this a put-down toward Haydn (the notion that he was carrying Mozart's genius but not putting it to use), we have to remember that, by 1792, Haydn had already achieved super-stardom. He was into his London period, and was basically the most famous composer in Europe. And while Haydn was certainly impacted by Mozart's music, The former already had his own genius - what did he need Mozart's for? He was at the top of his field, so there really wasn't anywhere left for him to go. That meant that the benefit of Mozart's impact on Haydn would be passed on to whoever Haydn taught next -- and that happened to be Beethoven.
We know that Haydn was not Beethoven's first choice for a teacher. Rather, he wanted to be Mozart's student. After all, it was Mozart who had lauded Beethoven, and what student wouldn't want to study with a teacher who thought the student was the greatest thing the world had ever seen? Unfortunately, Mozart had "left the building" in 1791. So Haydn was the next best thing. We also know that Beethoven was far from a model student, though (ironically) he would later show his true respect for Haydn -- as the story goes, during Haydn's final public appearance in 1808, Beethoven knelt and kissed his former teacher's hand in admiration.
When Beethoven arrived in Vienna, he found a city that was immersed in music. People from all walks of life (and of all skill levels) played music, either in public or in private. This phenomenon was likely a result of the positive attention that Enlightenment thought had brought to the arts (and to music in particular).
While it might initially appear that that a society which held music in such high regard would be good for Beethoven and others like him, this was not necessarily the case. Rather, the Viennese musical climate was heavily stratified -- let me explain:
On the one hand, there was a dichotomy among musical audiences (and thus the styles of music they liked). There was a public style of music (played at public concerts, and sometimes referred to "symphony style") -- this music consisted of operas, symphonies, and overtures, and it tended to be big, loud, and declamatory (influenced by the galant style). There was also a private style of music (played in people's homes, also known as "sonata style") -- this included songs and sonatas, as well as duos, trios, and other "chamber music," and it was more delicate, nuanced, and expressive than the public style of music. The only genre of music that was played in both settings was the string quartet -- perhaps this why Beethoven wrote 16 of them!
At the same time, there was also a dichotomy among music performers. Some were highly trained and could play virtuosic music. However, many were amateurs (they enjoyed playing but possessed a lower skill level). And music publishers took advantage of this dichotomy -- for instance, a collection of C.P.E. Bach's keyboard music from around this time was labeled "Für Kenner und Liebhaber" ("for connoisseurs and lovers," -- i.e., "for professionals and amateurs").
Mozart didn't like this system because he tended to write challenging pieces (he was a virtuoso himself). Since he didn't want to "dumb down" his music to make it accessible to the amateur market, his works didn't get played or purchased as often.
Another reason that ordinary people were so involved in Vienna's musical life is that, unlike at previous times, they could now afford to be involved. There were more instruments being made and circulated than ever before, and keyboard instruments (especially harpsichords and clavichords) were becoming more affordable due to the advent of the Fortepiano (this was the "latest thing" among wealthy people -- a more expensive instrument that had hammered strings and enough touch-sensitivity to produce a modest range of dynamics -- Mozart loved the instrument, though he could never afford one himself).
There was also a sort of "generational dilemma" among composers at this time (as there still is today) regarding the "proper" relationship between student and teacher. Was the student supposed to imitate the teacher? Or, was the student supposed to go further (in terms of bending the rules) than the teacher? And exactly how far is it okay to go? And, speaking of rules, are rules meant to be followed, or are they meant to be broken? These are the questions that composers have to face, and Beethoven was no exception.
According to Edward Young (an 18th-century English poet and reverend), “An Original…rises spontaneously from the vital roots of Genius; it grows, it is not made: Imitations are often a sort of manufacture wrought up by those Mechanics, Art, and Labour and out of pre-existent materials not their own…Learning is borrowed knowledge. Genius is knowledge innate.”
In other words, Young believed that genius could not be taught, and that systematic training and hard work could only produce something unnatural and artificial.
We know that Beethoven had a very high opinion of himself (which Mozart probably helped to bring about). For instance, when Beethoven had just finished his fourth symphony at the home of a prince and the prince's guests teased the composer for not entertaining them on demand, Beethoven stormed out into the rain and walked to the home of another patron, where he justified his actions by saying "There are, and always will be, thousands of princes. But there is only one Beethoven!"
This mentality guided the decisions Beethoven made (in both the business and the art of music). On the business side, he decided not to take a court position (as Haydn and others had done), but rather to live off of commissions, concert revenue, and teaching lessons. However, this wasn't easy because (1) the breakdown of the European aristocracy at this time (remember that the French Revolution had just taken place) left Beethoven with a reduced number of potential patrons, and (2) the overwhelming number of musicians in Vienna led to an overwhelming number of music teachers (almost anyone who could play could make some extra dough by teaching someone else), thereby creating a great deal of competition in the market for lessons.
Still, Beethoven managed to get by, and I believe that he did so in large part because of the artistic decisions he made. Namely, Beethoven consciously chose to violate many of the musical precedents that been set by other composers. For example, Sisman points out that, in his Op.18 No.5 string quartet, Beethoven's approach to the variation form is nothing short of revolutionary. He writes highly chromatic ornamentation, changes his melody through modal inflection, and even interrupts it with off-beat accents and other effects (all things that run counter to the idea of "simple beauty"). Moreover, he puts his contrapuntal variation first (it had hitherto been customary to leave contrapuntal material for the end, such as in Mozart's Jupiter symphony).
Beethoven also defied other musical precedents. For instance, he did not adhere to customary durations for many of his works (at more than 3/4 of an hour, the Eroica symphony is about twice the length of any symphony that had previously been written). Beethoven also "broke the rules" with regard to formal proportions (most notably with regard to his extended coda sections in symphonies and other works) and with regard to movements themselves (Beethoven replaces the traditional third-movement Minuet with a Scherzo in a number of his works (ironically, it was Haydn who had once said "I wish someone would write a really new minuet").
Let me close by saying that Beethoven was not only gifted, but also fortunate. He was in the right place at the right time to fill the void that was left by Mozart. One cannot help but wonder whether Beethoven would still occupy his venerable position in music history if Mozart had lived longer. Would one genius have been overshadowed by the other? Personally, I don't think so. I believe that Beethoven's compositional style was an uninhibited one. (This was probably in part due to the fact that in 1802, after writing his Heiligenstadt Testament, Beethoven began writing as though there were no tomorrow -- which he genuinely believed might be the case.) And Beethoven's lack of inhibition was what led him to create works that stood out in his own time, just as they stand out in ours.
Does anyone remember which symphonies we are listening to for Tuesday? Also, are there any new readings? Sorry, but I'm not sure how to start a conversation on the articles since Lorne summarized so much in his essay.
rachel...i believe we are listening to symphonies #5, #6 & #9 - I haven't seen any new readings.
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