1st Edition MUS M 402 Lecture 8 Outline of Last Lecture I Mozart and His Father II Concerto Form Outline of Current Lecture I Redefining the Classical Aesthetic II Beethoven s Style of Composition Current Lecture I Redefining the Classical Aesthetic a Classical Aesthetic the perfect arrangement of expected forms with the repetition of simple elements in a perfect order b Classical Ideals i Depicting emotion 1 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 Composition a 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 was intentionally 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 amongst people He saw himself as superior in every way to every other human being and so 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 it
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