Discuss Beethoven being the pivotal role betqween the Classical and Romantic genres.
Discuss the pivotal role Beethoven played between the Classical and Romantic genres. The term 'Classical' music, for the majority of people, covers all aspects of music which is not popular or folk; it is thought of as 'high brow' and inaccessible. However, to the music historian, it has specific meaning in relation to style and period1. Classical music, dated from approximately 1760 to 1810, succeeded the Baroque genre, which is noted for its very complex and ornate musical texture and precedes the Romantic era. Romanticism, dated approximately from 1810 to 1890, it is a term used in music to describe an extensive range of works2. By necessity, these dates have to be approximated because there will always be an overlap between one genre and the next; obviously there cannot be a clear cut-off point and "in purely musical respects, certain genres and forms are common to both Classicism and Romanticism."3 During the Classical period, the form of music changed and the world saw the development of the concerto, sonata and symphony, the latter credited as the creation of Haydn, together with the string quartet and the instrumentation patterns within a piece of music. The themes of a piece were recapitulated, that is, repeated
Yet another surprise is to be found in the Fourth Movement, when the second theme from the preceding movement appears, reminding the listener of anxious feelings that we thought had passed, before once again thundering into the victorious theme. Beethoven frequently wrote two or more pieces of music at the same time, including symphonies, his greatness was such that he was always able to compartmentalise each in his own mind. The Moonlight Sonata is an excellent example of this; the music is so evocative, it could be interpreted by the same person as different things, depending on the mood of the listener40. Some would suggest that Beethoven's music "transcends Classical-Romantic distinctions", which may be true. This feeling of tension and forward motion typified the beginning of the Romantic genre. To today's listener, the Pastoral, seems to epitomise the Programme music earlier defined and clearly relates Beethoven's love of nature; the Third Movement, for example, has a very rustic sound and reminds the listener of people dancing, it is very energetic and seems to be a representation of different experiences. At the time of this benefit concert, Beethoven was thirty years old, which seems quite old for an eighteenth century composer10, when compared to Mozart for example, who, at the same age, had completed thirty eight of his forty one symphonies. Research suggests the C minor Symphony is the most well known and enjoyed22 of all Beethoven's work, it ". During the Third Movement, entitled Scherzo, for example, there is an extremely "strange passage as the Timpani throbs on a continuous C note"36 and so the suspense grows before the whole orchestra thunders once more into the first theme37. It begins with these three short notes, followed by a longer, lower note; the rhythmic motif being repeated in the orchestra, but played at a lower pitch, with even the long note being augmented rhythmically. The 'true' Romantics, like Berlioz for example, did break away with the past as can be seen in their compositions, where there is a total breakdown in form. The First Symphony was full of musical surprises for the audience, as it began with, for example, a discord in F whilst written wit a C major chord, and quickly became a favoured piece.
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