Chapter 21
Chapter 21: Music in the Later Nineteenth Century: Europe, Nationalism, and the Classical Tradition in America
Chapter Outline
I. Prelude
- Rise of national styles
- An international style was created in the eighteenth century.
- The nineteenth century saw a movement toward nationalism.
- Emphasis on native literature and linguistic traditions
- Interest in folklore
- Patriotism
- Craving for independent identity
- Germany and Italy became unified countries (see In Context, p. 504).
- Musical nationalism was particularly strong in Russia and in the countries of eastern Europe.
- Other trends
- France explored new paths of making music.
- Italian opera became more realistic.
- The Austro-German classical tradition was transplanted to the United States.
II. The Austro-German Tradition
- Wagnerian influence
- Many composers fell under the spell of Wagner.
- Most sought to find their own voice while exploring his innovations in harmony and orchestration.
- Preferred genres
- Solo song with piano accompaniment
- Symphony and symphonic poem
- Opera
- Hugo Wolf (1860–1903)
- Wolf is best known for adapting Wagner’s methods to the German lied.
- Wolf composed 250 lieder, mostly during periods of intense activity between 1887 and 1897.
- He published five principal collections of songs, each devoted to a single poet or group, thereby stressing an equality of words and music.
- Like Wagner, he worked toward a fusion of poetry and music, and of voice and piano.
- Lebe wohl! (Farewell!), from the Mörike songbook, reflects Wagner’s influences (see Example 21.1).
- The arioso vocal line has speechlike rhythms.
- Continuity is sustained in the piano part.
- Chromatic harmonies are inspired by the idiom of Tristan und Isolde.
III. Gustav Mahler (1860–1911) (see Biography, p. 497 and Figure 21.2)
- His Life
- Mahler was the leading Austro-German composer of symphonies after Brahms and one of the great masters for voice and orchestra.
- Mahler influenced Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern.
- Symphonies
- He conveyed a sense of life experience in his symphonies.
- Many project or imply a program
- Songs played a large role
- Themes from his Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer) appear in his Symphony No. 1.
- Voices are included in four symphonies.
- Symphonies Nos. 2, 3, and 4 use themes from Mahler’s songs based on texts from Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Boy’s Magic Horn).
- Orchestration
- Huge numbers of performers, extending up to Symphony No. 8, the “Symphony of a Thousand”
- Great imagination in the combination of instruments, often only a few playing at a time
- Song cycles with orchestra
- Kindertotenlieder (Songs on the Death of Children, 1901–4) is based on poems by Friedrich Rückert (see NAWM 150).
- The spare use of instruments creates a chamber-music-like transparency.
- The post-Wagnerian harmony intensifies the emotions.
- Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth, 1908)
- Mahler created this work for tenor and alto soloists with orchestra.
- The poems are translated from Chinese.
- The texts alternate between frenzied grasping at the dreamlike whirl of life and sad resignation at having to part from all its joys and beauties.
- The mood balances ecstatic pleasure and deadly foreboding.
IV. Richard Strauss (1864–1949)
- His life (see Biography, p. 499 and Figure 21.3)
- He was a dominant figure in German musical life.
- A famous conductor, he led most of the world’s best orchestras.
- Symphonic poems
- Strauss’s works are modeled after the program music of Berlioz and Liszt.
- Colorful orchestration
- Thematic transformation
- Programs are often based on literature.
- Strauss’s depictions range from representational to philosophical.
- Don Juan
- His first complete mature work, it established his reputation.
- Events in the life of Don Juan are depicted, including a graphic sexual climax and his death at the end.
- Most of the work evokes boldness and romance.
- Till Eulenspiegel
- A representational telling of a trickster’s exploits
- Two themes for Till are leitmotifs.
- The work can be heard with an understanding of the story or as a colorful concert work.
- Strauss called the form a rondo, referring to the recurring themes.
- Also sprach Zarathustra
- A musical commentary on Nietzsche’s long prose poem
- Nietzche suggests that the Christian ethic should be replaced by the ideal of a superman, who is above good and evil.
- Much of Strauss’s work is philosophical, but there are some moments of direct representation.
- The opening, made famous in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, was inspired by Zarathustra’s address to the rising sun in the prologue.
- Don Quixote (NAWM 149)
- Depicts the adventures of the knight Don Quixote and his squire Sancho Panza (see Figure 21.4)
- Variation structure
- Much of the work sounds like chamber music.
- Don Quixote is represented by a solo cello, which is joined by solo violin and English horn (see Example 21.2).
- The bass clarinet and tenor tuba represent Sancho.
- Themes are altered using thematic transformation.
- Operas
- Strauss turned to opera after establishing himself with symphonic poems.
- Salome (1905)
- Strauss adapted the libretto from a one-act play by Oscar Wilde.
- In this decadent version of the biblical story, Salome performs the Dance of the Seven Veils and entices Herod to sever the head of John the Baptist.
- Strauss created harmonically complex and dissonant music that greatly influenced later composers.
- Strauss depended on the listener hearing the dissonance in relation to an eventual resolution.
- Elektra (1906–8) (see Figure 21.5)
- This is the first of seven operas to librettos by Viennese playwright Hugo von Hofmannsthal.
- Adapted from a play by Sophocles, it dwells on insane hatred and revenge.
- The dissonance at times is even more extreme than in Salome.
- Der Rosenkavalier (The Knight of the Rose, 1909–10)
- The opera depicts a sunny world of elegance, eroticism, and nostalgia (see Figure 21.6).
- This sentimental comedy features Viennese waltzes.
V. National Trends: Russia (see In Context, p. 504)
- Opera
- Opera was a vehicle for a distinctive Russian identity.
- The Czar used opera as propaganda for his absolutist government.
- Mikhail Glinka (1804–1857)
- The first Russian composer to be recognized internationally
- A Life for the Tsar (1836)
- This pro-government historical drama established Glinka’s reputation.
- This is the first Russian opera sung throughout.
- The recitative and melodic writing have a distinctly Russian character.
- Ruslan and Lyudmila (1842)
- Glinka’s second opera is based on a Pushkin poem.
- The music features whole-tone scales, chromaticism, and dissonance.
- The Mighty Handful
- A group of five composers stood against the professionalism of the conservatories.
- Mily Balakirev (1837–1910)
- Aleksander Borodin (1833–1887)
- César Cui (1835–1918)
- Modest Musorgsky (1839–1881)
- Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908)
- Only Balakirev had conventional training in music, but they all studied Western music on their own (see Vignette, p. 505).
- They incorporated aspects of Russian folk song, modal and exotic scales, and folk polyphony.
- Modest Musorgsky (see Figure 21.8)
- Musorgsky, who studied with Balakirev, was the most original.
- He worked as a clerk in the civil service.
- Principal stage works
- Boris Godunov was based on a Pushkin play.
- Khovanshchina (The Khovansky Affair) was completed by Rimsky-Korsakov.
- The realism of Russian literature is reflected in Boris Godunov.
- Coronation Scene from Boris Godunov (see NAWM 145, Figure 21.8, and Example 21.3)
- The vocal melody is sometimes speechlike.
- The text is treated syllabically, and the music follows the natural accents of speech.
- The melody lacks lyrical melodic lines and symmetrical phrasing.
- Much of the singing is a fluid arioso similar to Russian folk songs.
- Narrow range
- Repetition of short motives
- Tendency to rise at beginnings of phrases and to sink slowly at cadences
- Harmony
- The music is tonal, but his progressions are novel.
- He juxtaposes distantly related harmonies, and usually joins them by a common tone.
- The opera is built from large blocks of material.
- The scene alternates dominant seventh chords with roots a tritone apart.
- A contrasting section culminates in a chorus.
- The chorus is accompanied by the first traditional harmony in the scene.
- The people sing a genuine folk melody.
- The tune is developed and contrasted with other material.
Œ- Instrumental works
- Night on Bald Mountain (1867), a symphonic fantasy
- Pictures at an Exhibition for piano (1874, later orchestrated by Ravel)
- This set of ten pieces was inspired by an exhibition of sketches, paintings, and designs by Viktor Hartmann.
- Several of the images are rendered in character pieces that are joined by a theme meant to represent the walking viewer.
- The image of a commemorative gate to be built at Kiev was set as a grand processional hymn with Western and Russian elements (see Figure 21.9 and Example 21.4).
- Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov
- Rimsky-Korsakov studied with Balakirev and other private teachers.
- He had a career in the Russian Navy, and he became a professor at the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1871.
- He was an active orchestra conductor and a master of orchestration.
- As professor and conductor he championed the works of Glinka and other Russian nationalists.
- He wrote a harmony treatise and taught some important students, including Glazunov and Stravinsky.
- He edited two collections of folk songs and incorporated folk tunes into his own compositions.
- Rimsky-Korsakov is best known for his programmatic orchestral pieces.
- These works display his genius for orchestration and characterization.
- The four movements of Sheherazade (1888) represent four stories as told to the Sultan by his wife, who is represented by a solo violin.
- Rimsky-Korsakov completed fifteen operas.
- The Golden Cockerel (1906–7) alternates diatonic music for the real world with chromatic music for the supernatural world.
VI. National Trends: Other Countries
- Edvard Grieg (1843–1907) in Norway
- Grieg created a distinctive nationalist style with a series of songs, short piano pieces, and orchestral suites.
- Norwegian elements
- Modal melodies and harmonies
- Dance rhythms
- The nationalist style can best be seen in:
- Songs on Norwegian texts
- Peer Gynt Suite (1875)
- Slåtter, a collection of Norwegian peasant dances arranged for piano.
- The piano style has some similarities to that of Chopin, but folk elements predominate.
- Some of Grieg’s works were international in character, including the popular Piano Concerto in A Minor (1868, revised 1907).
- Edward Elgar (1857–1934) in England
- First English composer to gain international recognition in over two hundred years
- He did not adopt a distinctive national style and drew upon the styles of both Brahms and Wagner.
- The Dream of Gerontius (1900), an oratorio, is influenced by Wagner’s Parsifal.
- His orchestral works include the Enigma Variations (1899) and two symphonies.
VII. New Currents in France
- General trends
- Paris was the principal center of both concert music and opera.
- Concerts and musical styles were often tied to politics.
- The Paris Conservatory was a model for conservatories all over Europe.
- The government supported performances of works by French composers.
- Two principal strands of music dominated prior to the emergence of impressionism.
- A cosmopolitan tradition transmitted through César Franck
- A French tradition, embodied in the music of Gabriel Fauré
- César Franck (1822–1890) and the cosmopolitan tradition
- Born in Belgium, Franck studied at the Conservatoire and became professor of organ there in 1871.
- Musical characteristics
- Classical genres, forms, and counterpoint
- Thematic transformation and cyclic unity
- Wagnerian harmony
- Franck’s Prelude, Chorale, and Fugue (1884) for piano mixes Baroque forms and procedures with the thematic and harmonic methods of Liszt and Wagner.
- Franck is considered the founder of modern French chamber music.
- All three of his major chamber works are cyclic and incorporate thematic transformation.
- Piano Quintet in F Minor (1879)
- String Quartet in D Major (1889)
- Violin Sonata in A Major (1886)
- Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) and the French traditions (see Figure 21.10)
- The French tradition drew upon works from Couperin to Gounod.
- Music was viewed more as sonorous form than as expression.
- Order and restraint are fundamental.
- Music is more lyrical or dancelike than epic or dramatic.
- Biography
- Fauré studied under Saint-Sa‘ns and held several posts as organist.
- He was a founder of the Société Nationale, which sought to preserve French traditions.
- He became a professor of composition at the Paris Conservatoire in 1896 and served as director from 1905 to 1920.
- His large works include the Requiem (1887) and two operas.
- He composed primarily smaller works, including songs, short piano works, and chamber music.
- Fauré developed a new style in which melodic lines are fragmented and harmony is less directional.
- Avant que tu ne t’en ailles (Before you depart) from the song cycle La bonne chanson (The Good Song, 1892) (see Example 21.5)
- Fragmentary melodic phrases
- The harmony dilutes the need for resolution and creates a sense of repose.
VIII. New Currents in Italian Opera
- Verismo
- This operatic movement parallels realism in literature.
- It presents everyday people, generally from the lower classes.
- The stories often depict brutal or sordid events.
- Two verismo operas have entered the permanent repertory.
- Cavalleria rusticana (Rustic Chivalry, 1890) by Pietro Mascagni
- I Pagliacci (The Clowns, 1892) by Ruggero Leoncavallo
- Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924) (see Figure 21.11)
- Puccini is the most successful Italian opera composer after Verdi.
- Puccini blended Verdi’s vocal style with Wagner’s approach, including leitmotifs.
- Major works
- La bohème (1896)
- Tosca (1900)
- Madama Butterfly (1904)
- Turandot (1926)
- Madama Butterfly (NAWM 143)
- Music moves seamlessly between dialogue and brief aria-like moments
- The most important melodies are in the orchestra.
- The Western musical style is touched with exoticism.
IX. The Classical Tradition in the United States
- A large number of Germans immigrated to the United States in the middle of the nineteenth century.
- German musicians had a strong commitment to their national traditions.
- German immigrants filled American orchestras and taught all levels of instruction.
- German tastes and style dominated American music in the classical tradition until World War I.
- American composers in the German tradition
- John Knowles Paine (1839–1906) became Harvard’s first professor of music.
- George Whitefield Chadwick (1854–1931) studied at the New England Conservatory in Boston and became its director.
- Horatio Parker (1863–1919), a student of Chadwick, taught at Yale and was the first dean of its School of Music.
- Edward MacDowell (1860–1908) was the first professor of music at Columbia University.
- All of the above composers studied in Germany, and their styles were deeply rooted in German tradition.
- They had varying attitudes about nationalism.
- Parker wrote in an international style reflected in his best-known work, the oratorio Hora novissima (1893).
- Chadwick employed pentatonic melodies and distinctive rhythms in his Symphony No. 2 in B-flat (1883–85) and Symphonic Sketches (1895–1904).
- MacDowell opposed overt nationalism, but he wrote several nationalist works, including his Second Indian Suite (1891–95).
- Amy Marcy Beach (1867–1944) (see Figure 21.13)
- Biography
- Beach was a child prodigy.
- Excluded from the top universities because she was a woman, she studied privately in Boston and taught herself.
- She married a wealthy physician and had time to compose.
- Beach was internationally recognized and inspired many women in later generations.
- She composed several large-scale works.
- Mass in E-flat (1890)
- Gaelic Symphony (1894–96)
- Piano Concerto (1899)
- Piano Quintet (1907)
- She also wrote about 120 songs and other piano and choral works.
- Style
- Some of her music has an ethnic flavor, like the Irish tunes in the Gaelic Symphony and the Native American melodies in the String Quartet (1929).
- Most of her works follow German traditions.
- The last movement of Beach’s Piano Quintet (NAWM 153) embraces late-nineteenth-century chromatic harmony.