1. Nationalism in 19th century romanticism was a very strong tendency: it was the attempt by composers of different European nations to assert their own country's individuality in music. One of the reasons for this was the fact that historically music had been dominated pretty much by Germans and Austrians; think of Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Brahms, Wagner. Many composers wanted to get away from sounding like the Germans or the Austrians. Do you think that nationalism-- or something very much like it-- plays a part in today's musical culture?
2. In the 19th century, Brahms and Wagner were the two big giants of music. One was considered to be a conservative (he was interested in preserving the traditions of the past) and the other was looked upon as being more "avante-garde." It was really in the 19th century that this whole notion of being "modern" started; you didn't really have it before this time. How do you feel about this idea of "traditional" vs. "cutting edge?" Do you think it's a good or a bad thing? Does it exist today?
3. Just as science and uncertainty played an enormous part in the radical changes in the music of the early part of the 20th century, what would you say has a similar impact on today's music?
1. As an example of late Romantic program music, please listen to Tschaikovsky's "Overture Fantasy, Romeo and Juliet." How does Tschaikovsky get across musically the idea of a "vendetta", the idea of the love between Romeo and Juliet? What other elements of Shakespeare's drama do you hear in the music?
2. What is Nationalism? What are the characteristics of nationalism in music?
3. Briefly summarize the career of Johannes Brahms? In what ways was Brahms a musical conservative?
4. The composer Gustav Mahler is considered one of the late Romantics (he died in 1911). His attitude towards Romanticism was very different from that of Brahms. Specifically, what was it that he regretted about Romanticism? What are the characteristics of his music?
5. What are your impressions of the 3rd movement from Mahler's "Symphony #1?" What elements of parody are found there? What is Mahler trying to say? How would you describe his use of the orchestra?
6. During the years between 1890 and 1914, enormous changes in terms of new inventions, new technologies, etc., were seen around the world. Name some of the things that were present at this time that had not been present before. Regarding the arts, who were the "modernists"? What were they trying to do? Who were the chief composers associated with modernism?
7. What effect did science and uncertainty have on the arts?
8. In a sentence or two, summarize the following movements:
Impressionism
Expressionism
Fauvism
9. Avant-garde composers began experimenting with new interpretations of the basic elements of music. Briefly discuss the following:
Experiments in melody
New scales
10. In music, a "dissonance" is any sound that has a quality of tension or harshness. Traditionally, this tension is usually resolved by a "consonance", or any sound that has a quality of repose. Throughout the 19th century, dissonance in Western music had gradually increased. At the beginning of the 20th century, Schoenberg came up with the idea of the "emancipation of the dissonance." What exactly did he mean by this?