Essays on Composers

Introduction

Giacomo Puccini was composer of Italian operas. He was born in a place called Lucca, Italy in 1858, and his parents had a long music history. When his father died when he was still 5 years old, his uncle Fortunato Magi took him to study because he considered him undisciplined and poor student. Afterwards, he became organist in the church, but he was inspired by Verdi’s Aida to be a composer of opera. The major operas by Puccini include Manon Lescaut (produced first in Turin – 1893), La Boheme (Turin-1896), Tosca (Rome-1900), Madame Butterfly (La Scala-1904), La faciulla del Continue reading...

If somebody had asked me what makes a film successful, I would have been not able to answer at once. Acting, directing, screenplay, soundtrack, costumes, settings, camera operating, and a great many of other factors are equally valuable; they all contribute to the general perception of the film by the auditory.
In my essay I will focus on one element of the system – music; and I will try to discover how that magnificent tool makes a film admired.
Anabel J. Cohen in his Music as a source of emotion in film states that “emotion characterizes the experience of film, Continue reading...

Introduction

Companies and individuals with profound passion in creating and selling music in different part of the world or even in its own country have a great opportunity. These companies are the music industry or music business who makes money abundantly out of their talents, ambitions, and resources. There are various types of organizations operating in music industry and there are individuals who engage in music ventures. The individuals who belong in the music industry are the musicians, composers, performers, music publishers, engineers, producers, educators, journalists, business managers, talent managers, entertainment legal representatives, booking agents, road crew, and promoters of Continue reading...

The Romantic era is a period that spurs a lot of revolutions in a number of sectors ranging from art, literature, music and intellectual movements among many others. Most outstandingly hits were visual arts, music and literature as it was associated with liberalism and radicalism. The emergence of great role models especially William Shakespeare played a very significant role in molding inspiration in several young artists and composers. A keen look at the works of two of such composers; Frenchman Hector Berlioz's ‘Symphonie’ Fantastique and Tchaikovsky's "Romeo and Juliet Overture" gives a classic representation of the intertwined similarities shared.
Continue reading...

Arcangelo Corelli

Arcangelo Corelli is one of the greatest violinists. He is considered to be the founder of modern violin technique. Corelli was one of the key figures of Italian music in XVII-XVIII centuries. Corelli’s works, without exaggeration, can be called masterpieces of Italian classical music.
His compositions are embodied rigor, modesty and simplicity. But, at the same time, they are written with the perfect taste, in his exquisite manner. His style is clear and unique. You won’t hear such unnecessary details in Corelli’s compositions like external effects, random notes – each sound has own place. And, at the Continue reading...

This clip- 86 minutes clip- depicts the great work of Arvo who happens to be born in Paide. His place of birth is captured from his first memory where he ends up giving his place of birth.
The clip depicts the great role that Arvo has played and his generous contribution in the music industry. From the clip, we learn of the importance of combining two voices thereby ending up with a more serious result. He illustrates this further by giving an example of two people whose paths seem to cross but they don’t. The clip also illustrates Continue reading...

MUSIC APPRECIATION

Twentieth century composers were known for the innovativeness, and developed new organizing systems and included sounds like never before never before seen or heard in Western fine art music. Music has grown over time and today, we hear rhythms and blues, psychedelic music to disco and rock, rock and roll, rap, and hip-hop to name a few. Composers like Edwin Outwater, Morton Feldman, Luigi Russolo, and Edgard Varèse have changed the concept of what music is and should be.
Melody was a composition that was not overtly preferred by Edwin Outwater. American music composer, Morton Feldman’s orchestra Continue reading...

Biography of Eve Egoyan

Eve Egoyan is a world acknowledged pianist. She engages in performing the music of contrasts, from Alvin Curran, Ann Southam, to Erik Satie, and Michael Finnissy. Her music is characterized as illuminating, authentic, and fearless. She is the concert pianist, who performs works of contemporary composers. Her sound command of the instrument and programming skills gave rise to very successful interpretations. Egoyan works only with living composers. Those composers highly value her performance, also internationally.
Eve Egoyan performed the premieres by many international composers. The most famous of them are Maria de Alvear, Erik Satie, Piers Hellawell, José Evangelista, Continue reading...

Characters in a musical are a useful media through which the composer communicates his message to an audience. The message is put in context for it to resonate/ relate with the target audience. The methods used to package the message in the song are varying. Some composers and directors opt for the explicit representation of situations, as they would be, while others seek to imply an underlying message within their musical works. In the context of a musical, the composers and directors package songs that carry individual messages, while also making sense when evaluated together within the musical. Each Continue reading...

Introduction

The Holiday is an American Christmas-themed romantic comedy film that premiered in the year 2006. It was written, directed and produced by Nancy Meyers and distributed by Universal Studios and Columbia Pictures. The whole story revolves around two lovelorn ladies, Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz, from the opposite sides of the Atlantic. It is a lovable love story with all Christmas trimmings.

Plot

It all begins when two victorious yet miserable women link through the website of home swapping and decide to exchange their homes for a while in an effort to forget their relationship crises and troubles. Living completely Continue reading...

Physical aspects that affected my experience of the concert

The concert was held in the TTU auditorium, which a nice place for performances. its size contained the sounds and the music echoed faintly from the wall. The audience comprised of respectful people to musoc who held their peace for the entirety of the performance. The silence was instrumental in ensuring a wholesome experience of the percussion of sounds played by the ensemble.

Musical observations

The music played during the concert was classical. The Threepenny opera classics were performed in a way that everyone got something in concert. The classical music enthusiasts were rewarded with these timeless tunes while the popular Continue reading...

Question 2

The Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical periods saw radical developments in music. The renaissance period (between 1400 and 1600) was one during which major changes in composing styles, instruments, methods of dissemination and genres of music emerged. Baroque was a period of art and music in Western Europe between 1600 and 1750 (Metmuseum.org. 1). The music of this era sounded heavily exaggerated and ornamented. A major belief in baroque music was that it could be utilized as a form of communication. This aspect was evident in the sacred music composed during this period (Metmuseum.org. 1). The Romans and Greeks used Continue reading...

Summary

The Wikipedia Page on composer Steve Reich is factually correct, though some of the information shared is written in deficient manner. This is typified by the shoddy overview in few entries in the page, where his credentials and credited work has been missed out. Though the writer is aware of his achievements and his life work, the superfluous importance to some aspects in the over others is not comprehensible. Despite the quibbles, the writer has included information that is factually true though the manner of interpretation is sloppy that leaves doubts in the mind of the reader. Cross-linking with Continue reading...

Alban Berg was an Austrian composer, teacher and one of the most prominent representatives of the Second Viennese musical expressionism and composer school. Alan Berg was a student and a follower of A. Schoenberg, who was Alban Berg’s teacher in years 1904 - 1911.
One of the most prominent representatives of expressionism in music, Berg expressed in his works characteristic of expressionist artists thoughts, feelings and images: dissatisfaction with the social life, feelings of helplessness and loneliness. The hero of his works can be expressed asa little man, driven to despair by a hostile environment of bourgeois society. Continue reading...

In this paper I will talk about the film Amadeus from 1984. I will summarize the movie focusing on the Mozart rebelled actions against the patronage system explaining the concepts, especially looking for how rich people from that time hired composer to write music only for their own interest. The film is an adaption after Shaffer’s stage play Amadeus from 1979 in which the composer Antonio Salieri discover Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s brilliant talent but it’s running him because of his pride and envy feeling. The action is set on Austria, more precisely in Vienna during the Continue reading...

After the enlightenment and the return to high culture in Europe musicians worked under what was known as the patronage system. This meant that they were indentured servants to noblemen who provided them with financial stability. Noblemen would keep a court composer, and they in term would provide them with a place to live, food to eat and financial stability. This was the pro of the system. The con of the system is that they weighed in on artistic decisions and in the process compromised the artistic integrity of composers at the time. The 1984 film Amadeus takes place Continue reading...

The swing era was marked by the introduction of jazz to the world. This genre of music started for the Southern states of the US. New Orleans in Louisiana is particularly considered to be the home of jazz music. During the swing era, this genre of music started to be acknowledged not only throughout the country but throughout the world. It was so influential that even some composers of classical music started borrowing some components from it.
In the 1940’, there emerged a new sub-genre of jazz music that was referred to as Bebop. Jazz had been increasing developing Continue reading...

Chapter One: Islamic Literature in the Middle Ages

In the early ages, literary salons were a part of the medieval Islamic culture. These salons were referred to mujalasat or mujalasa. The Mujalasat emerged in Iraq in the ninth century and greatly flourished in the tenth century (Ali, 2010). Thereafter, they spread from Iraq to the west, to Andalusian region of Spain, and ultimately to North Africa. The literary salons had an extended endurance and were part of the Islamic cultural practice well into the modern era (Ali, 2010).
The Mujalasat was poetry sessions that flourished immensely particularly in the age before television had reached peoples’ living rooms. Continue reading...

The composer I have chosen to write this paper on is American Roger Zare. Roger is a composer from Florida who started composing at the age of 14. He learned multiple instruments at a young age including the piano and the violin. Roger has written solo, chamber, choral and full orchestra works. He has earned numerous honors including being the winner of the 5th annual Trio Anima Mundi Composition Prize. The work I chose to listen to is “Geometries” written in 2010 by Zare. The instruments that are included in the production of this are the clarinet, violin, cello Continue reading...

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Ludwig van Beethoven is undoubtedly one of the most important and well-known unprecedented music composers. From an early age, Beethoven put significant aptitude, freewill, and inflexible peculiarity on display. His unusual and overwhelming personal characteristics are reflected in his compositions and music. Without a question, Beethoven became known as the most advanced and greatest classical music composer. According to Goethe, "I have never seen so intense so concentrated an artist” like Beethoven (as qtd. in Ludwig 247). It is not possible for a listener to not stir by Beethoven’s divine and soulful music. His exceptional Continue reading...

Classical music, according to Giraldez (31) affects the ability and the brain’s organization through rhythm and melody. Giraldez (31) further notes that the levels of serotonin that are produced by the brain are raised by rhythms. In explanation, he defines serotonin as a neurotransmitter that transmits nerve impulses that aid in maintaining jolly feelings. Giraldez (31) adds that when the brain produces serotonin, so is tension eased. In keeping with, Giraldez (31) depression results from scarce production of serotonin hormone and it are only released when the brain is positively shocked. An example is when one looks at Continue reading...

Revolutionizing the Musical Stage of Northern Italy

Although not as popular as Bach, Claudio Monteverdi, Schutz, Charpentier or Pachelbel. Barbara Strozzi was a representative name for Baroque music. Daughter of poet Giulio Strozzi's servant, born in 1617, she lived an intriguing life, later becoming the most respected and appreciated female composer of the 17th century.
She was adopted by her mother's master, a rather famous Venetian intellectual, who saw to her musical education. Her first notable teacher was Francesco Cavalli, already reputable singer and  composer. The news of her talent soon spread, and Nicolò Fontei dedicated her no less than two solo songs books, the first Continue reading...

George Gershwin was one of the most prolific composers in America for the twenty century, excelling in the field of popular song compositions and classical compositions. He wrote a lot of music but the pieces that made him famous and also remained in the history of music as representative for his own style were two orchestral compositions like Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris and also the opera Porgy and Bess.
George Gershwin was born in 26 September 1898 in Brooklyn, New York. Gershwin came from a Russian and Lithuanian Jewish heritage and he was the second Continue reading...

INTRODUCTION

Throughout history there are lists of important, significant, and contributory figures that have made a unique impact on the world, for better or worse. For many people the most important figures are world leaders or great thinkers, but for many, the most important historical figures, whose contributions are most significant, are religious figures who have earned a place within the iconography and mythology of those particular religions. Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) is one such figure. This nun in service of the church is also remarked as a writer, composer, thinker, early feminist and prophetess; all of which is atypical Continue reading...

Unequivocally, music is significantly known for entertainment. However, in the earlier centuries, there existed atrocities that got subjected to the public. The populace never appreciated atrocities. For the mentioned reason, specific artist invented a type of music that got used as an essential tool in social commentary. Categorically, myriad musicians employed the use of music as a social commentary across the United States of America and even outside the States. The paper, therefore, endeavors to extrapolate on music as a commentary. Similarly, it aims at establishing why music got used as a commentary coupled with the few artists who Continue reading...

One of the most acknowledged composers in the Civil War of 1861 to 1965 was the Sousa Band. The leader of the group has depicted a unique integration in their work. Sousa is regarded one of the best and successful musician. In his argument, entertainment music was much important when compared with music meant for education. This is one of the philosophies that guided his work as a composer and more so a real musician (Bierley, Paul, 44). His first work can be dated back in the 1910. During this time, he put into book “mission in music” . In Continue reading...

In this essay I will respond to Rifkin and Marshal debate regarding “St. Mathews Passion” by J.S. Bach by explaining their positions about this piece and the way of how modern instruments influenced the sonority in the performance of Baroque Music. To sustained my arguments I will use two articles from “The Musical Times,” the first is called “Bach’s Chorus. A Preliminary Reply to Joshua Rifkin” by Marshall and the second one is named “Bach's Chorus: A Preliminary Report” by Rifkin.
Johann Sebastian Bach was one of the most important composers from the Baroque period who wrote hundreds Continue reading...

In this essay, I will talk about my perspective on the relationship between human and nature in the Symphony No. 6 by Beethoven. In order to support my arguments properly, I will start by listening to the Six Symphony in the interpretation of London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Herbert von Karajan. Furthermore, I will divide the work in separate parts, in the same way in which the composer had created it and I will approach each movement separately, by connecting music and the main themes with the relationship between nature and human, by searching elements that are correlated or Continue reading...

Stravinsky was no stranger to pushing boundaries when he premiered the Rite of Spring in 1913. He had had immense success the previous year with his reimagining of the Russian folk tale of Petrushka. In that piece, as well, Stravinsky took liberties with his writing and the plot of the story. However, the liberties taken in the music for The Rite of Spring were far greater and more surprising than past compositions by him, or any other mainstream composer of the time. Coupled with the unusual choreography by Nijinsky, the event was understandably shocking to an audience unaccustomed to Continue reading...

Igor Stravinsky

Igor Stravinsky was one of the most representative and brilliant composers from the twenty century and had a big influence on the development of the modern music. He wasn’t known only for his skill as a composer, he was also recognized as a pianist, conductor and a great and valuable musician. Throughout his composing career, Stravinsky have experimented many styles in composition using different rhythms and harmonies but musicologists clearly defined three stylistic periods in his musical evolution. The first period was between 1908- 1923 and it was called “Russian period,” the second period was between 1923- 1953 Continue reading...

This essay will explore the compositional method and the harmonic innovations that Stravinsky used in his ballet “The Rite of Spring.” In order to capture all the ideas the essay will have three parts; the first part will be linked to the observation for the piece as a whole, the second part will be an analysis of the strategically features with examples from the score and the third part will be a cogent summary of the analysis that will imply the interpretation of the piece.
“The Rite of Spring” by Igor Stravinsky was premiered in 29 May 1913 at Continue reading...

Question One

According to Vario, for the content of the music produced, the words that are used in the new music do not explain in clear terms the nature, peculiarity and the essence of the accented singing. Vario says the words seem to be a circumlocution that is calculated to show that they wish to confuse them and not that they are disposed to regulate all things with rules founded on truth. Vario also that says the singers do not use the right tones and do not know how to carry the voice. Luca says the accents in composition have remarkable Continue reading...

Introduction

The Pre-lude and Fugue in C major, BWV is a composition written by J.S Bach. It appears in the book “The Well-Tempered Clavier” as the first prelude and fugue. This book comprises of a set of 48 preludes and fugues that were authored by J.S Bach. The prelude part of this keyboard piece consists of 35 bars and is also characterized by broken chords. It ends with a single C major chord. However, some artists over time have added extra bars inside the piece in order to add a personal touch to the piece or to alter its progression. Continue reading...

Compare and contrast the first movements of Beethoven’s 1st, 3rd, and 5th Symphonies

This essay will compare and contrast the first movements of Beethoven’s 1st, 3rd, and 5th Symphonies. Furthermore for a better understanding of the pieces, the research will focus on the musical path of the composer and on the way of how personal circumstances influenced his musical way of composing. For good comparisons and contrasts, I will approach in my analysis of the pieces instrumentation, harmonic development, length, and complexity of the structure.
Ludwig van Beethoven was one of the greatest composers of Germany and a predominant figure for the transition between Classicism and Romanticism. He wrote a lot Continue reading...

For individuals having aptitude in music it is extremely important to define a specialization field. Specialization chosen by a musician or musically talented individual should correspond to psychodynamic peculiarities of individual’s character and temperament. Qualities of temperament which are good for one kind of musical style may prove hardly suitable for other kind. The most important moments in musician’s choice of exact specialization can occur not in musical abilities but in purely psychological indicators like level of neuroticism, introversion and extroversion of personality, dextrocerebral or sinistrocerebral domination of consciousness. The following types of specialization of creative professions Continue reading...

In this essay, I will approach one of the most relevant global issues that is it immigration and its relationship with music. To support my arguments I will start with a brief history of United Kingdom and some geographical details regarding the country that will help the reader to understand better the context of the cause. Furthermore I will highlight my point of view by presenting a brief history of music and approaching the issue of immigration and how this changing and mixing of people on the continent lead to a mix of multicultural music with difference influences, and Continue reading...

Introduction

We have different types of music. The style has changed over time. Music also depends on the cultural setting where it is created and produced. It therefore changes with time as well as the cultural setting. Classical music has equally gone through some growth changes, from the aphoristic period after Erwartung and the return to the use of classical forms in Pierrot and Wozzeck. When considering the Schoenberg’s Berg’s, and Webern’s music, it is possible to see the development, trends and periods it has gone through.
The Medieval and Renaissance was the first period that was Continue reading...

Introduction

Baroque opera involves two distinguished characteristics which can be acquired by its name. This includes baroque which can be described as an era in the history of art in Europe between the 1600 and 1750 years. This era was after the Renaissance period and was later followed Classical era thus marking the initial years in evolution of opera. An opera in a large scale drama characterized by instruments and delivered to the audience through singing, poetry and drama. The dramatically part of the opera involves poetry, captivating action and pantomime, different scenes and costumes. This combination offers a unified Continue reading...

For as long as people have created works of art to represent themselves and their conceptions of the world around them, the symbolism that the moon offers has provided it with a unique place among natural symbols. The moon earned its place thanks to the deep understanding of ancient peoples and their mythological use of the moon to explain natural and moral phenomena. In music, all of those ancient stories concerning the moon and its place in the collective human psyche are layered atop one another to create a dense, mysterious symbol defined best by the pieces composed to Continue reading...

Communication

Abstract
Music has evolved with the times, and has a new meaning and role in the development of society. Before the 16th century, music was confined to religious sermons and other church practices. However, in the 16th century, there was a distinct change in the role of music. The emergence of Protestants saw music change from the practices of the Roman Catholics. The Renaissance witnessed the emergence of a new style of music; the birth of music that was a more vocal accompanied by a mixture of secular music. The Roman Catholics used music for their Mass and the Continue reading...