Beethoven's Influence In Music

1294 Words6 Pages
Beethoven was born during the classical period, which focused on strict, predictable music forms. This music was entertaining, elegant and easily accessible by the public. Beethoven’s influence in music lead to the development of a new musical era called Romanticism, which focused on narrative, originality and emotion. This research project seeks to discuss the similarities and differences between the fourth movement of Beethoven’s 5th symphony, with that of a different symphony from another era, being the fourth movement of Tchaikovsky’s 6th symphony. There will be a specific focus on the development and changes in the symphony, specifically that of orchestration, form, melodic and harmonic language, dynamics and compositional techniques.…show more content…
In 1801, he mentioned in a letter to a friend that he was going deaf, and it was at this stage in his life that he became increasingly concentrated on creating music. Beethoven is viewed as a transitional figure between the classical and romantic eras and he implemented changes to the symphony and musical styles. He extended the orchestra, adding instruments such as the trombone, piccolo and contrabassoon. He began to develop rhythmic motives and linked movements with a unifying idea, often restating material from other movements. Another trend that he created was by placing more emphasis on the string section, specifically the lower register of the violas and cellos, which gave his music a darker and heavier…show more content…
Beethoven uses very stable, powerful chords which help create a triumphant tone, whereas Tchaikovsky makes use of chords that are less stable and tend to create tension. An example of each can be seen below: This is taken from Tchaikovsky’s symphony. The 4th movement starts with a dissonant chord, composed of the notes A#, C#, E and G. This chord creates suspense and tension and sets the tone for the rest of the movement. Chords like this can be heard and found throughout the composition. Use of dissonant chords such as these were very common during the romantic era and the resolution of these chords would often be delayed, creating more tension. A pull towards a tonal gravity became less common. This is taken from the opening of the fourth movement of Beethoven’s Symphony. He establishes the key of C major by playing the tonic chord in all the instruments (shown here is just the string section). There was less use of dissonant chords during the classical era and composers preferred to use stable
Show More
Related

  • Taste In Aesthetics Essay

    881 Words  | 4 Pages

    Evaluate the role of taste in aesthetics. While talking about the art and aesthetics, one of the biggest dilemma which everyone encounters is the choosing a proper approach for formulating aesthetic statements. The classic, and probably most well-known, approach is referring to beauty as the key feature of aesthetics. However, there is a problem with treating beauty as a theoretical term which may be used for an evidence-based discussion. This is the reason why the term taste is a common trope when

    Read More

  • Virtuosity In Classical Music

    869 Words  | 4 Pages

    The position of classical music seems to be not as important as that in the past when it comes to twenty-first century. The passage discusses about the influence of modern technology and also immediate availability of music. High art and low art are the most contrasting concerns between musical world of today and that of the nineteenth century. Furthermore, the passage mentioned that music industry has relocated classic music that it makes profits in present-day customer culture. In the past

    Read More

More about Beethoven's Influence In Music

Open Document