Two Romantics

As is evident in history there are different periods of time, such as the Medieval Period, the Age of Enlightenment, and so on. There are also different periods in music history and they are: The Renaissance, the Baroque, the Classical, the Romantic, and the Modern eras. One of the most inventive and popular eras was the Romantic. This era was one of the most productive and revolutionary eras for music. Many historians say that this era started and is bridged with Ludwig van Beethoven. There were many great composers in this era, the likes of Franz Schubert, Fredrick Chopin, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, and countless others.

During this period there were two different views of how music should be composed and played. There are two figures that can be representative of these different camps. Their names are Johannes Brahms and Franz Liszt. Their music was and is some of the best that has ever been composed to this very day. History has not forgotten them and I imagine never will, with such great masterpieces like Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, the Mephisto Waltz, and Leibestraum. Brahms has equally great pieces like Lullaby, the Hungarian dances, and the German Requiem.
Franz Liszt was born in Raiding Hungary, 1811. He was the son of an official at the Hungarian court whose employer was Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy. Young Liszt was proving to be a real prodigy and gave his first recital at the age of nine. Showing such promise the prince funded his education at a conservatory in Vienna. After Franz had finished his training he moved to Paris, where he was a sensation and loved by the public. While in Paris he was influenced by men like Chopin, Berlioz, and Paganini. Some people called Liszt the “Paganini of the Piano” for his virtuosic playing style.
He later moved to Weimar, and while he was there in Weimar he was employed as the music director to the ducal court which later became known as the “New German School”. Liszt had many mistresses and affairs, which is odd knowing that he wanted secretly to become a priest. Later in life he lived a fairly quite life, mostly promoting his son-in-law Richard Wagner’s music and teaching private piano lessons for free.
Liszt was not a traditionalist; he wanted something new and emotional. His music reflects this attitude. It was because of this idea that Liszt was heavily criticized. It was Eduard Hanslick, who was an Austrian critic, who reflected the opinions of Johannes Brahms that said: “After Liszt, Mozart is like a soft spring breeze penetrating a room reeking with fumes.”
Which brings us to Brahms; he was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1833. He, like Liszt, was a young learner. He started piano lessons at the age of seven and gave his first recital at fifteen. Shortly afterwards he met Eduard Remenyi a Hungarian violinist and five years after they met they started a concert tour. Throughout the tour they met other musicians and even stayed in Weimar with Franz Liszt. After this he went to Dusseldorf
where he visited his friends Robert and Clara Schumann. It was only shortly after this visit that Robert Schumann was institutionalized because he tried to drown himself in the Rhine River after hearing what he said was a voice that told him to do so.
Brahms moved back to Dusseldorf to help Clara with estate matters, while he was there he fell deeply in love with her, but they never married. Clara was a heavy influence on the music style of Brahms. Just as she had pushed her late husband to his musical limits, she also pushed Brahms. Then he traveled for a little while and settled in Hamburg, where he finished his piano concerto which did not get published right away, probably because of his dissociation from Liszt and the “New German School”.
In 1868 the composer moved to Vienna for good. Brahms, with the encouragement of Clara Schumann, finally finished his First Symphony in C Minor which he had been working on for twenty years. This symphony is often called Beethoven’s 10th because of its haunting style, and it was this that made Brahms very nervous to release it because he thought that the people would not like its style and similarities. But much to the composers delight it was a big hit. By this time he was making enough money from his compositions and performances that he spent the rest of his life devoted to composing.
Now as we have seen, both of these composers were very talented and very well liked in their respective circles. They both were kind and generous men. Liszt had a pleasing personality and was very well liked by the public and by a lot of his contemporaries.

Even his critics acknowledged this and said that it was only his personality that made his music popular, and that when he died so would his music.
Brahms was very well respected even by those who didn’t like him or care for his music. Brahms was a humble man and this is reflected in his music. He hated showy and flashy music and musicians. He believed that music and especially the musician should be skillful and subdued. I think this is why Brahms and Liszt had such enmity between each other, for Liszt was a people’s performer and a “Rock Star”. Brahms believed that music was deeper than that and was quick to voice his opinion. But as history has shown us both Franz Liszt and Johannes Brahms are timeless figures and their music shall live on forever. For both of the composers, Franz Liszt and Johannes Brahms have left their finger prints on history’s piano keys.

More Birthdays!

This year in music is a great one, from Mozart’s 250 birthday, and now three more big birthdays; Johann Sebastian Bach, George Fredrick Handel, and Domenico Scarlatti who are all 321 year old. For this post we will look at J.S. Bach. Bach is thought by many and I am one of them to be the best composer that ever lived. Bach had a very special theory that helped with this, and it was that: all music should glorify God and be pleasing to man. This principle is still very true today, and I think that a lot of composers\artist need to get back to. Let’s take a look at Bach’s history. He was born on the 21 of March 1685, in the Saxon town of Eisenach. Which for all of you church history buffs out there will know that is where Wartburg mountain is, and you guessed it, on top is Wartburg Castle. The same castle where Martin Luther went into hiding under the name of Knight George, after being condemned at Worms. Knowing this it makes perfectly clear why Bach was so staunchly Lutheran. Bach had a hard life growing up. He lost both of his parents when he was 10, then went to live with his older bother and when he could no longing support Johann and his own family Bach obtained a free place at St. Michael’s school where he finished his schooling. Bach was mostly a church musician but had a few court appointments. One of which he was thrown in jail because he no longer wanted to work there. Because of the fact that the duke’s wife hated all types of music and Bach couldn’t understand how anyone could not like music. So let’s just say that things were very tense when the two were in the same room. So after that he was bailed out by a more powerful duke, which made Bach his chief musician, Bach lived a rather peaceful adult life. He was blessed with many children, many of which were very musical. The most famous was Johann Christian. Bach lived in Lipzig for 28 years until his death. While he was at Lipzig he composed some of his best music such as the St. Matthew’s Passion and the Goldberg Variations. Throughout his life he was thought of as the best organist rather than composer but today is revered as both the best organist and the greatest of all composers. Well, I will stop there and finish the other composers at a later date. So check back later and I will try to have blogged in a timely fashion.

Composers

This year of 2006 has been a very busy and monumental year for musicians. With different festivals and special concerts, concerning Birthdays! I think everybody knows or at least heard that this past month in January on the 27, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart turned 250 years old. Today Mozarts' music is more popular than it has ever been. Mozarts' music was never taken seriously and if it was, never admitted publicly. Clara Schumann, Bob's wife, said only 100 years later that people were tired and bored with Mozarts' simple little tunes. That attitude is still held but is growing weaker and weaker as the years go by. Mozart was always thought to be background music at high-brow champagne party. But if only people had a little music in them and would stop and listen to the the way Mozart develops a theme, they would recognize the pure genius of the composer. We today owe a lot to Mozart for what he did for music, for without his revolutionary and independent thoughts we would not have our symphony structure that we have today. So go and listen to some Mozart and enjoy him in a new light.