Classical Symphony - Mozart v. Beethoven

Continuing with the theme using of orchestral music to highlight the different periods of classical music, today I want to share two very famous symphonies by two of the greatest classical composers: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven.

First, what is a symphony? Again, think of it as a mini album written in a common key, typically containing 4 tracks alternating in mood and speed (ex. medium fast song, slow song, really fast song, medium song). Also, a symphony is for a full orchestra and band, so there will be both string and brass instruments. If you were ever in orchestra or band, that one concert a year where the two collaborated probably involved playing a symphony, and very likely one of the two below.

We will start with Mozart, since he came earlier of the two. Mozart was a true child prodigy, and extremely talented. Unfortunately, he ran into money troubles later on in life and was buried penniless in a common grave. The symphony No. 40 is referred to as "The Great G-Minor symphony" and was composed in that latter half of his life. Critics say the piece exhibits emotions of sadness, passion, and grief.

To recap last post's lesson here is the naming convention for the piece in layman's terms:
Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K550 - Movement 1 Allegro
Name decipher: Name of album, catalog ID, track number, description of the track in terms of speed



Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, 1st Movement - Allegro, composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Beethoven was another child prodigy who was exploited by his father at a young age to make money off of his talents. He was arguably abused emotionally and physically to practice the piano as a child, suffered many breakups, and started losing his hearing at 26, all of which led to a certain element of rage in some of his pieces. Below is a classic example with a theme commonly heard in all genre's of music, movies, and tv shows.

Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op.67 1st Movement - Allegro con Brio

What is Classical Music?

What is considered classical music? There's a wide array of definitions referencing style, genre, and historical period, but for a basic understanding, you can just think of it as music composed between the following 4 periods:

Baroque (1600 -1750)
Classical (1750 - 1830)
Romantic (1804 - 1949)
Contemporary (1900 - present)

As you can see, some of the periods overlap, and contemporary is it's own animal. Obviously, hip hop is not considered classical music, even if it is composed in present day. What categorizes the first 3 periods are similarities in structure and style, which start to become more diversified during the contemporary era, so there are smaller movements within contemporary that have been grouped together.

Here is a taste of each era with a short and famous piano piece:

Baroque: Prelude No. 1 in C Major BWV 846 from The Well Tempered Clavier, composed by J.S. Bach (1685-1750)

This is from a famous book of Prelude and Fugues composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, who is a top contender for the title of "Father of Classical Music". Out of the entire collection, this piece is arguably the most famous because it is more simplistic and easier to enjoy. Some of the fugues become very complex in terms of multiple voices and will give you a headache! 

Classical: Fur Elise, composed by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Although the style is approaching romantic, I just couldn't resist because this is probably one of the most famous piano solo pieces of all time. You can commonly find this piece in movies, tv shows, and as background music for websites, elevators, waiting rooms, you name it! The title translates to "For Elise", and historians have argued who Elise actually is, the most famous being a former student who eventually turned down Beethoven's proposal of marriage.

Romantic: Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2, composed by Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)

Chopin (pronounced Sho-Pan, not like you're Choppin' vegetables) wrote a series of very famous compositions called Nocturnes, which are basically short piano pieces 'inspired by the night'. They demonstrate heavily the concept of Rubato, which is a swaying of the music by increasing and decreasing tempo in the performance to convey a sense of romance. 

Contemporary: The Cat and the Mouse, composed by Aaron Copland (1900-1990)

This is one of my favorite contemporary piano pieces! I am a very girly girl, who is heavily biased towards romantic pieces, but this one was just so fun to play. If you close your eyes and picture Tom and Jerry, you can almost see the chase and the cat limping away at the end. 

That's all for now, next week, we will explore some famous orchestral works used in movies. Stay tuned!