Music lovers of all ages are drawn to the pure melodies of classical music. Now aficionados of this timeless genre can learn something about classical music every day of the year! Readers will find everything from brief biographies of their favorite composers to summaries of the most revered operas. Interesting facts about the world's most celebrated songs and discussions of classical music–meets–pop culture make this book as fun as it is informative. Ten categories of discussion rotate throughout the year: Classical Music Periods, Compositional Forms, Great Composers, Celebrated Works, Basic Instruments, Famous Operas, Music Theory, Venues of the World, Museums & Festivals, and Pop Culture Medley.

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Yes, you can access The Daily Book of Classical Music by Leslie Chew,Scott Spiegelberg,Dwight DeReiter,Cathy Doheny,Colin Gilbert,Travers Huff,Susanna Loewy,Melissa Maples,Jeff McQuilkin in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Media & Performing Arts & Classical Music. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Publisher

Walter Foster Publishing

Year

2010

Print ISBN

9781600582011

eBook ISBN

9781610586061

Topic

Media & Performing Arts

Subtopic

Classical Music

DAY 1

CLASSICAL MUSIC PERIODS

Medieval Music (400–1400)

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

Medieval Music is music written in Europe in the Middle Ages—a time period that started with the fall of the Roman Empire and ended in the middle of the 15th century.

Because the creation of lasting manuscripts in the Middle Ages was quite an expensive endeavor (including the need for rare parchment and the use of scribes), there are very few surviving scores left from the Medieval time period, and the scores that do exist are from wealthy families and organizations—consequently not at all indicative of the common music of the day.

Medieval music, for example, can be classified into the sacred and the secular. However, since the majority of the studied scores are of the sacred variety, there isn’t much solid, accurate information about secular music.

Another hindrance of musicologists’ study of Medieval music is the rudimentary nature of the notation system of the times. Much of the music made was communicated through oral tradition, and when music was written, it certainly wasn’t with our exacting musical language. Instead, vague approximations of harmonic lines were outlined, and rhythms were merely suggested.

Unlike the notation, though, the instruments of Medieval music were strikingly similar to our modern versions. Both string and wooden wind instruments were used; pictures even suggest a comparable bow usage.

Medieval music is quite beautiful; it may sound a bit repetitive at times, but if you allow the plainsong chanting to wash over you, listening to it can be a wonderfully meditative experience. —SL

LISTENING HOMEWORK

Hildegard von Bingen’s Ordo Virtutum

Philippe de Vitry Motets

Guilliuame de Machaut Messe de Nostre Dame

DAY 2

COMPOSITIONAL FORMS

Binary Form

WE KNOW WHAT WE WANT

Most musical forms result from two conflicting desires: the desire for something familiar, and the desire for something new. The binary form is the most basic example of this.

A simple binary form is in two parts—A and B—roughly equal in duration, and distinguished by different melodies. These parts are divided by clear cadences, and quite often each part is repeated, becoming a two-reprise form. Thus we end up with AABB, repeating A material to give us something familiar before moving to a new B section. The repetitions provide boundaries for the sections and give us the opportunity to hear and remember the melody.

Bach’s famous Air on the G String demonstrates how the B melody of the Air can be related to the A melody, with some similar rhythms and contours, but it also creates the feeling of something new by starting on a lower pitch and using different chords.

We like familiar things so much that a common variant of the binary form is the rounded binary form: ABA. The music is still in two sections, but the second section finishes with a return to the starting A melody, usually shortened. With the typical repeats, this becomes AA BABA. The theme from the third movement of Mozart’s Piano Sonata K. 284 shows how A can change when it returns. A modulates to a new key, but the return of A in the second section is altered to stay in the original key. —SS

DAY 3

GREAT COMPOSERS

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)

THE MUSIC INSIDE HIS HEAD

Ludwig van Beethoven’s life and work straddled the classic and Romantic periods, and thus he is claimed by both. While many composers came from strongly musical families, Beethoven stood out from his kinfolk. There were musicians in his line—his father first taught him piano and violin—but none in his family before or since took any interest in composing.¹ Nevertheless, from an early age Ludwig showed such genius that he was fancied to be the “new Mozart.”²

Taught by Haydn and Salieri in the classical style, Beethoven took a more emotional turn than his predecessors. Noticing (with panic) that his hearing was failing, Beethoven entered a period of fierce creativity, composing some of his most famous works. By 1818 he could no longer communicate except by writing; yet amazingly he continued to produce some of his most profound pieces while completely deaf—most notably his Symphony No. 9.

It is suggested that in his early years Beethoven wrote for his audience, but in his latter years—alone in his deafness—he apparently wrote for himself.³ His last pieces were so advanced and progressive that audiences of his day could not comprehend them. When Beethoven’s outer world fell silent, he could no longer draw influence from the music surrounding him. All that was left was the music inside his head. —JJM

DAY 4

CELEBRATED WORKS

Symphony No. 5 in C minor

BY LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN, 1808

In the entire history of music on planet Earth, there might not be any composition more renowned than the tour de force that is Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. A commanding exhibition of power, majesty, accessibility, and sophistication, it towers as a testament to the magnificent possibilities of structured sound. Having said that, by no means is there universal consent that the work is even Beethoven’s finest accomplishment, but such is the subjective nature of musical interpretation, and such is the genius of Beethoven.

Of course, the symphony’s sinister da-da-da-DUM opening motif (which has been imaginatively compared to fate knocking on the door) has taken on a life of its own, but it functions as much more than a catchy hook. Not only in the frenzied first movement but throughout the entire symphony that authoritative rhythmic phrase makes a series of dramatic reappearances that serve to unify it. In the thrilling final movement, after 30 minutes of C minor turbulence, a long and satisfying sequence of C major chords brings a relieving sense of stability that the piece seems to frantically seek from the start. —CKG

RECOMMENDED RECORDING

Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7; Carlos Kleiber (conductor); Wiener Philharmoniker; Deutsche Grammophon; 1995

DAY 5

FAMOUS OPERAS

Dido and Aeneas

HENRY PURCELL (1659–1695)

“Remember me, but ah, forget my fate.” This haunting line from Dido’s lament, “When I Am Laid in Earth,” exemplifies for many listeners the exquisite example of Baroque opera that is Dido and Aeneas, the tragedy in three acts by English composer Henry Purcell that premiered in 1689. Librettist Nahum Tate loosely based the story on Virgil’s Aeneid, a love story involving Dido, Queen of Carthage, and Aeneas, who is shipwrecked at Carthage. When witches remind Aeneas that he is d...

Cover
Title Page
Contents
Introduction
Day 1. Medieval Music (400–1400)
Day 2. Binary Form
Day 3. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
Day 4. Symphony No. 5 in C Minor
Day 5. Dido and Aeneas
Day 6. The Orchestra
Day 7. Music Theory
Day 8. Arena Di Verona
Day 9. Mozarthaus Vienna
Day 10. Beethoven and Rosemary’s Baby
Day 11. Early Medieval (Before 1150)
Day 12. Ternary
Day 13. Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)
Day 14. Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Day 15. Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro)
Day 16. The String Section
Day 17. Ear Training and Sound Recognition
Day 18. Carnegie Hall
Day 19. The International Chopin Festival
Day 20. Khachaturian’s Adagio in 2001: A Space Odyssey
Day 21. High Medieval (1150–1300)
Day 22. Inner Forms 1: Motive
Day 23. Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809–1847)
Day 24. Air on the G String
Day 25. Don Giovanni
Day 26. The Violin
Day 27. What is Musical Form?
Day 28. Royal Albert Hall
Day 29. Get in Line...Early
Day 30. Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” in Help
Day 31. Late Medieval (1300–1400)
Day 32. Minuet and Trio
Day 33. Sergei Rachmaninov (1873–1943)
Day 34. Adagio for Strings
Day 35. Cosi Fan Tutte
Day 36. The Viola
Day 37. How we Perceive Musical Form
Day 38. La Fenice
Day 39. Moab Music Festival, Utah
Day 40. Benjamin and the Man Who Knew Too Much
Day 41. Renaissance (1400–1600)
Day 42. Inner Forms 2: The Sentence
Day 43. Richard Wagner (1813–1883)
Day 44. The Four Seasons
Day 45. Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)
Day 46. The Cello
Day 47. Music as Organized Sound
Day 48. Sydney Opera House
Day 49. London Handel Festival
Day 50. Gustav Mahler and Death in Venice
Day 51. Renaissance—Notation (1400–1600)
Day 52. Da Capo Aria
Day 53. Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951)
Day 54. Clair de Lune
Day 55. Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville)
Day 56. The Double Bass
Day 57. Music Notation
Day 58. The Metropolitan Opera House
Day 59. Verbier Festival
Day 60. Classical Music Television Broadcasts
Day 61. Renaissance—Instruments (1400–1600)
Day 62. Inner Forms 3: Subphrase and Phrase
Day 63. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)
Day 64. Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor
Day 65. La Cenerentola (Cinderella)
Day 66. The Hurdy-Gurdy
Day 67. Building Blocks
Day 68. Massey Hall
Day 69. Aspen Music Festival and School
Day 70. Raging Bull and “Intermezzo” from Cavalleria Rusticana
Day 71. Renaissance—Time Periods (1400–1600)
Day 72. Suite
Day 73. Claude Debussy (1862–1918)
Day 74. Rhapsody in Blue
Day 75. La Sonnambula (The Sleepwalker)
Day 76. The Woodwind Section
Day 77. Notation of Rhythm and Meter
Day 78. Vienna State Opera House
Day 79. Boston Early Music Festival
Day 80. Strauss and 2001: A Space Odyssey
Day 81. Baroque Music (1600–1750)
Day 82. Theme and Variations
Day 83. Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849)
Day 84. Nocturne No. 2 in E Flat Major
Day 85. Norma
Day 86. The Flute
Day 87. Tempo and Italian Terminology
Day 88. Symphony Hall, Boston
Day 89. Music Still Floats Through the Halls
Day 90. Puccini’s “O Mio Babbino Caro” and A Room with a View
Day 91. Early Baroque (1600–1650)
Day 92. Inner Forms 4: The Period
Day 93. Franz Liszt (1811–1886)
Day 94. Canon in D major
Day 95. L’elisir D’amore (The Elixir of Love)
Day 96. The Clarinet
Day 97. Melody
Day 98. La Monnaie, Brussels
Day 99. Newport Music Festival
Day 100. All that Jazz—and Vivaldi Too
Day 101. Middle Baroque (1650–1700)
Day 102. Rondo
Day 103. Hector Berlioz (1803–1869)
Day 104. Three Gymnopédies
Day 105. Lucia di Lammermoor
Day 106. The Oboe
Day 107. Harmony and Chords
Day 108. Suntory Hall, Tokyo
Day 109. Puccini Festival
Day 110. The Planets are Everywhere
Day 111. Late Baroque (1680–1750)
Day 112. Concerto Grosso
Day 113. Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904)
Day 114. Symphony No. 9 (“From the New World”)
Day 115. Rigoletto
Day 116. The Bassoon
Day 117. Intervals, Modes, and Emotions
Day 118. Mariinsky Theatre
Day 119. Glimmerglass Opera
Day 120. Bach and the Silence of the Lambs
Day 121. Classical Period (1750–1825)
Day 122. Canon
Day 123. Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901)
Day 124. Ave Maria
Day 125. La Traviata (The Woman Who Strayed)
Day 126. The Brass Section
Day 127. The Minor Modes
Day 128. Musikverein, Vienna
Day 129. Festival D’aix en Provence
Day 130. Pachelbel and Ordinary People
Day 131. Rococo/Galant
Day 132. Scherzo
Day 133. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Day 134. Symphony No. 94 (“Surprise”)
Day 135. Aida
Day 136. The Trumpet
Day 137. Flats, Sharps, and Naturals
Day 138. Place Des Arts, Montreal
Day 139. Dresden Music Festival
Day 140. Mozart in Out of Africa
Day 141. Classicism: First Viennese School (1760–1775)
Day 142. Sarabande
Day 143. Aaron Copland (1900–1990)
Day 144. Peter and the Wolf
Day 145. Otello (Othello)
Day 146. The French Horn
Day 147. Gravity and Tonality in Music
Day 148. Royal Opera House, London
Day 149. Glyndebourne
Day 150. Barber and Platoon
Day 151. Classicism: First Viennese School (1775–1790)
Day 152. Fugue
Day 153. Charles Ives (1874–1954)
Day 154. “Moonlight” Sonata
Day 155. Der Fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman)
Day 156. The Trombone
Day 157. Tonic Rules
Day 158. Vigado, Budapest
Day 159. Oregon Bach Festival
Day 160. Bellini and the Bridges of Madison County
Day 161. Classicism: First Viennese School (1790–1825)
Day 162. Sonata
Day 163. Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971)
Day 164. Blue Danube
Day 165. Lohengrin
Day 166. The Tuba
Day 167. Cadences
Day 168. Royal Festival Hall, London
Day 169. Rossini Opera Festival
Day 170. Moon Music
Day 171. Romanticism
Day 172. Waltz
Day 173. Béla Bartók (1881–1945)
Day 174. Missa Papae Marcelli
Day 175. Tristan und Isolde
Day 176. The Percussion Section
Day 177. Diatonic and Chromatic Scales
Day 178. Festspielhaus, Bayreuth
Day 179. Edinburgh International Festival
Day 180. Mozart’s “Romance: Andante” and Alien
Day 181. Sturm und Drang (Storm and Stress)
Day 182. Concerto
Day 183. Gustav Holst (1874–1934)
Day 184. Peer Gynt
Day 185. Faust
Day 186. The Timpani
Day 187. Key Relationships
Day 188. Konzerthaus, Vienna
Day 189. Banff Summer Arts Festival
Day 190. Walt Disney’s Fantasia
Day 191. Early Romanticism
Day 192. Madrigal
Day 193. Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
Day 194. The Rite of Spring
Day 195. Roméo et Juliette (Romeo and Juliet)
Day 196. Tuned Percussion
Day 197. Seventh Chords
Day 198. Hungarian State Opera House
Day 199. Beethovenfest Bonn
Day 200. Ravel and 10
Day 201. Late Romanticism
Day 202. Ballad
Day 203. Edvard Grieg (1843–1907)
Day 204. Adagio for Strings and Organ in G Minor
Day 205. Les Pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers)
Day 206. Carillon
Day 207. Monophonic Music
Day 208. Theatre Des Champs-Elysees
Day 209. Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival
Day 210. Elgar and Elizabeth I
Day 211. 20th-Century Music
Day 212. Toccata
Day 213. Nadia Boulanger (1887–1979)
Day 214. Boléro
Day 215. Carmen
Day 216. The Glockenspiel
Day 217. Polyphonic Music
Day 218. Gewandhaus, Leipzig
Day 219. Handel House Museum
Day 220. Black & Decker® and Rimsky-Korsakov
Day 221. Romantic Style
Day 222. Passacaglia
Day 223. Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953)
Day 224. Toccata and Fugue in D Minor
Day 225. Samson et Dalila
Day 226. Indefinite Pitched Percussion
Day 227. Homophonic Music
Day 228. Bolshoi Theatre
Day 229. The Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival
Day 230. British Airways and “Flower Duet”
Day 231. Impressionism
Day 232. Mazurka
Day 233. Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741)
Day 234. Requiem
Day 235. Les Contes d’Hoffmann
Day 236. Indefinite Pitch Orchestral Drums
Day 237. Implied Harmony
Day 238. National Theatre, Munich
Day 239. Ravinia Festival
Day 240. Grieg and Nescafé®
Day 241. Expressionism
Day 242. Chamber Music
Day 243. Richard Strauss (1864–1949)
Day 244. The Nutcracker
Day 245. Manon
Day 246. The Piano
Day 247. Contemporary Harmony and Polytonality
Day 248. La Scala
Day 249. The Stradivari Museum and the Ancient Instruments Collection
Day 250. Prokofiev and Lexus
Day 251. Futurism (1910–1930)
Day 252. Symphony
Day 253. Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643)
Day 254. Appalachian Spring
Day 255. Boris Godunov
Day 256. The Harpsichord
Day 257. Suspended Fourths and Quartal Harmony
Day 258. Concertgebouw
Day 259. Salzburg Festival
Day 260. Classical Music in a Sitcom
Day 261. Second Viennese School
Day 262. March
Day 263. Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975)
Day 264. A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Day 265. Cavalleria Rusticana (Rustic Chivalry)
Day 266. The Clavichord
Day 267. Sounds Like Change
Day 268. Berlin State Opera House
Day 269. Tanglewood Music Festival
Day 270. Orff and Old Spice®
Day 271. Neoclassicism
Day 272. Mass
Day 273. Jean Sibelius (1865–1957)
Day 274. Music for 18 Musicians
Day 275. I Pagliacci (Clowns)
Day 276. The Celesta
Day 277. Getting Lost in Opera
Day 278. Eszterhaza
Day 279. Marlboro
Day 280. The Barber of Seville and Ragú®
Day 281. Electronic Music/Music Concrète
Day 282. Trio Sonata
Day 283. George Frideric Handel (1685–1759)
Day 284. Symphony No. 40
Day 285. Hänsel und Gretel (Hansel and Gretel)
Day 286. The Harp
Day 287. Atonality and German Expressionism
Day 288. Walt Disney Concert Hall
Day 289. Lucerne Festival
Day 290. Turning Classical into Rock
Day 291. Contemporary Music (1945–1970)
Day 292. Rotational Form
Day 293. Franz Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)
Day 294. Meditation
Day 295. La Bohème (The Bohemian)
Day 296. The Classical Guitar
Day 297. Arnold Schoenberg and 12-Tone Music
Day 298. Opernhaus, Zurich
Day 299. American Classical Music Hall of Fame
Day 300. Rock Band Yes and Classical Music
Day 301. Postmodern Music
Day 302. Prelude
Day 303. Sir Edward Elgar (1857–1934)
Day 304. Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2
Day 305. Tosca
Day 306. The Pipe Organ
Day 307. Bloop! Bleep! Every Element Can Be Serialized!
Day 308. Teatro Carlo Felice
Day 309. Monteverdi Festival
Day 310. Classical Melodies in Rock Music
Day 311. Minimalism (1960S and ’70s)
Day 312. Chaconne
Day 313. François Couperin “le Grand” (1668–1733)
Day 314. Messiah
Day 315. Madama Butterfly (Madame Butterfly)
Day 316. The Bagpipe
Day 317. “Chance,” “Aleatory,” or “Stochastic” Music
Day 318. Mozarteum
Day 319. Bachfest Leipzig and Bach Museum
Day 320. The Beatles
Day 321. Neoromanticism (1930S, 1950S, and Now)
Day 322. Fantasia
Day 323. Robert Schumann (1810–1856)
Day 324. Träumerei
Day 325. Turandot
Day 326. The Human Voice
Day 327. The Sensuous, Whole-Tone French
Day 328. Großes Festspielhaus
Day 329. Verdi Festival
Day 330. The More, the Merrier
Day 331. Postminimalism/Totalism
Day 332. Character Piece
Day 333. Clara Schumann (1819–1896)
Day 334. Symphony No. 9 in D Minor (“Choral”)
Day 335. Salome
Day 336. The Serpent
Day 337. Musique Concrète and “Found Objects”
Day 338. National Theater and Concert Hall
Day 339. Beethoven-Haus Bonn Museum
Day 340. Sarah Brightman
Day 341. New Simplicity and New Complexity
Day 342. Cyclic Form
Day 343. Amy Beach (1867–1944)
Day 344. The Swan
Day 345. Elektra
Day 346. The Glass Armonica
Day 347. American Jazz and Rock
Day 348. Festspielhaus
Day 349. Festival of the Sound
Day 350. Classical Crossover
Day 351. Art Rock Influence
Day 352. Tone Poem
Day 353. Maurice Ravel (1875–1937)
Day 354. Mass in B Minor
Day 355. The Consul
Day 356. The Vibraphone
Day 357. Music Theory and you
Day 358. Berlin Philharmonie
Day 359. Spoleto Festival
Day 360. Classical Music’s Influence on Film and Television Composers
Day 361. World Music Influence
Day 362. Invention
Day 363. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893)
Day 364. Wiegenlied (Lullaby)
Day 365. Amahl and the Night Visitors
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