MUS- M 402 1st EditionLecture 8Outline of Last Lecture I. Mozart and His FatherII. Concerto FormOutline of Current Lecture I. Redefining the Classical AestheticII. Beethoven’s Style of Composition Current LectureI. Redefining the Classical Aesthetica. Classical Aesthetic- the perfect arrangement of expected forms with the repetition of simple elements in a “perfect order”.b. Classical Idealsi. Depicting emotion1. Beethoven believed that if the music properly depicted emotion, it was allowed and acceptable to overstep all boundaries of order, proportion, and purpose. This music, however, no matter how many boundaries it was to overstep, must still be pleasing to the ear. 2. Beethoven was a huge believer in finding balance in all things. Music must be balanced; it must be the perfect arrangement of balanced expected forms. ii. Music in the classical aesthetic must reflect a love of all things nature and rational evenly balanced against conveying incredibly strong emotion.II. Beethoven’s Style of Compositiona. With the career of Ludwig van Beethoven, history displays the path of someone who clearly started off making music and composing in the traditional classical aesthetic. His life’s work, however, took him further than this into a new aesthetic and idea of what was meaningful and true in music. This new understanding of music came to define Beethoven’s compositional style. It also strongly influenced the movement that later became immensely important for the future of Romantic music. b. Beethoven’s Heroic Period of composition was primarily defined by his Eroica Symphony. It began asking questions of both the composer and the listener and establishing that there is more to art than just giving pleasure. The audience wasintentionally lead to feel uncomfortable, prompting the audience to think and contemplate a greater meaning behind the music. c. Beethoven himself did not believe in social classes or superiority of rank amongstpeople. He saw himself as superior in every way to every other human being andso repeatedly challenged authority. This mentality extended to his music as he continuously pushed boundaries and broke the traditional “rules” of composition. d. A new attitude towards art and artists develops. The artist is no longer the humble servant toiling away at the demands of the wealthy. Artists began to view and project themselves as superior beings, enlightened. They believed that if people did not appreciate them for what they were doing simply in music because they did not understand it or because it made them feel uncomfortable, it was the peoples’ fault…because they were not cultured enough to appreciate
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