Music Essay on Beethovens Heroic Style - 1993 Words

Moira Loh Loh 1 Ms Yang Tien Music Historical Overview 3rd September Beethoven and the heroic style Early eighteenth century marked the beginning of the middle period, which was said to be the most productive period out of his three compositional periods as some of his most magnificent works were produced during this time (Lockwood, 194). In this paper, I will examine the heroic style - why it came about, what are some characteristics of ‘heroic’ music and through the analysis of a ‘product of the times’ (Taruskin) , compare the differences between the music of the heroic style and that of before. The middle period is also known as the heroic period from 1803 – 1812 is after the Viennese period and before the Late†¦show more content†¦An example of these dramatic passages would be on page 2 system 2 measure 1 – system 3 measure 2 of Beethoven’s string quartet Op.59 No. 3 where in the system two, a fast, rhythmically and harmonically dense melody is played and suddenly in the end of system 2 (meas ure 6) the first violin has a measure long segmented high violin solo. The sudden change in harmonic rhythm and density make this measure eye-catching already but the fact that it is in an extremely high register makes it more jarring and immediately transiting into a more melodious section, which leads to theme II in the expository section. Comparing it to the first movement of Beethoven’s String Quartet in F major Op. 18 No. 1†¨- Allegro con brio, where all the phrases are smooth in texture and run from one phrase to the next without sudden unanticipated stops. Looking at page 1 system 3 measures 3 – 8 where there is a musical conversation between the first and second violins. However, these phrases are still connected unlike in the heroic style many phrases like this are separated and the accents on the rhythm are very different. Another habit of Beethoven when composing his pieces in the heroic style would be to insert warlike themes and motifs into his pieces. Some of these themes include death and victory. Loh 4 ‘Conspicuously dramatic features in the music must be heardShow MoreRelatedRomanticism in Music Essay1614 Words   |  7 PagesRomanticism in Music Romantic: of, characterized by, or suggestive of an idealised, sentimental, or fantastic view of reality#8230; concerned more with feeling and emotion than with form and aesthetic qualities. The Concise Oxford Dictionary, Eighth edition, 1991. The term romantic first appeared at sometime during the latter half of the 18th Century, meaning in quite literal English, romance-like, usually referring to the character of mythical medieval romances. The first significant