Beethoven's Influence In Music

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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

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