Classical Music Essays

Most Americans find it difficult to accept that classical music is at risk. Despite some people underestimating its significance, the truth remains that modern musical technology and financial constraints are among the reasons for the decreasing attendance at orchestra concerts. However, there are also internal issues within classical music that need to be resolved. Symphony […]

Music has evolved in diverse ways over time and space, evoking emotions in its listeners across different eras. The popularity of different musical styles over time allows us to classify composers and pieces into specific eras based on distinctive musical features. One such era is the Classical Period, spanning from 1720-1820. While its duration was […]

The definition of music as we know today would not have been the same without the exceptional composer Ludwig Van Beethoven (Vienna, 1712-1827). He marked the Classical period with his innovative exploration of the human soul capable of transforming his passion into pieces, taking the power of music to a different level. One of his […]

In 1829, Mendelssohn and his friend Carl Klingemann traveled to Oban by paddle steamer while in Scotland. They then journeyed to Tobermory and stayed in accommodations where Mendelssohn wrote a letter titled ‘On one of the Hebrides’ to his home. In this letter, he included the famous sentence and 20 bars of music, explaining how […]

In this essay, we aim to investigate how Shostakovich and his music can be employed as a medium for examining the ideas of tradition and dissent. While these expressions are commonly utilized, it is especially fascinating to clarify their explanations in this specific situation. When it comes to music, tradition and dissent are often talked […]

Sonata in E Flat major, Hob XVI/49, can be said to embody both the Viennese keyboard style and many of the musical ideas that Haydn gathered in the cosmopolitan capital of England. Written in 1789, it is one of his last piano sonatas and is quite representative of works composed in his late period. Most […]

Music, much like most of what human beings have declared to be a form of art, has gone through thousands of years of evolution that it now no longer resembles much of what its pioneers intended to be. Indeed, the definition of music in itself along with Its performance and significance may vary according to […]

Each period in the history of music and humanities has its own distinctive style, closely linked to the society from which it originates. The 19th and 20th centuries saw significant events like two world wars and technological advancements. These advancements included inventions such as the telephone, television, electronic light, computers, cassette tapes, synthesizers, and CDs. […]

There are almost as many different types of music as there are people. From the simple harmonies chanted in monasteries before even the five-lined staff was invented to songs of modern pop culture and everything in between, music has been a huge part of life for as long as people can remember. There’s music for […]

Renaissance and Baroque Periods Music has changed dramatically over the centuries. Beginning in the Middle Ages, from 400 to 1475, music took the form of the so-called Gregorian chant. Tools were used very rarely at that time. Since the songs during this period were either troubadour or disturbing, there was no real harmony in these […]

The two music pieces chosen for this exercise are JS Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto 4 (First Movement – Allegro) and Joseph Haydn’s London Symphony (No.104 First Movement). These two pieces were chosen on account of the sharp differences between them in terms of style, texture, genre, period, etc. For example, Bach’s piece is written for a […]

I attended an opera by Mozart titled Cosi Fan Tutte with my grandparents. It was in Houston Tx. at the Houston Grand Opera House September 22 from 7:00-10:30. The performers were Elizabeth Futral as Fiordiligi, Uliana Alexyuk as Dorabella, Jason Graae as Don Alfonso, Joseph Kaiser as Ferrando, Liam Bonner as Guglielmo, Dannielle DuBose as […]

Leonard Bernstein was born as Louis Bernstein in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He was the son of Ukrainian Jewish parents who were Jennie and Samuel Joseph Bernstein; His father was a supplies wholesaler from Rovno, which is now Ukraine. Despite of his family name, he was not related to film composer Elmer Bernstein. His family spent summers […]

The music of the so-called Hispanized lowland Christian, and village peoples of Luzon, Visayas, Mindoro, and Palawan. Their culture is essentially Southeast Asian, fused with a strong animistic core, though with elements of Latin culture (Mexican, Italian or Hispanic). The lowland folk are composed mostly of farmers, fishermen, artisans, vendors and traders, and common folk. […]

I attended Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons concert on Sunday April 17, 2011 at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church performed by the SCC chamber orchestra. Vivaldi was a baroque composer and the Four Seasons is considered to be a great masterwork in all Western Art. The Four Seasons is a series of four concertos; […]

On April 23rd, 2011, I went to Simon Sun’s concert at Presbyterian Church, Williamsburg. Simon Sun is a senior at the College of William and Mary majoring in Neuroscience and music. He has played piano for almost seventeen years and was a finalist in the Young Artists International Piano Competition. I was so impressed by […]

A child prodigy is a person who shows his/her extraordinary abilities in early age. These children usually are very good at different things; however, especially their amazing skills in a certain area make them be prodigies. For example, Abigail Sin, a Singaporean young pianist, is also very good at math. Nevertheless, she won in international […]

Mozart’s K 333 Sonata in B-flat Major was composed in November 1783. It was written in Vienna while Mozart was there for a period. He wrote this in his “early phase” while he was in Vienna. This sonata was not really written into a group of sonatas, but could be grouped with the other nine […]

The Life and Story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart better known as just Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was baptised January 27, 1756 in Salzburg on Getreidegasse street in the ninth house, which at the time was a part of the Holy Roman Empire but is now Austria. He was born to Leopold […]

1. When the topic of classical music arises, Beethoven often comes to mind first. Could you explain this common connection? Likewise, in discussions about “rock music,” who do you think of as the prime artist and what is your rationale for this selection? 2. In the 19th century, art songs or “lied” underwent significant evolution, […]

Nel cor piu non mi sento Brillar la gioventu; Cagion del mio tormento, Amor, sei colpa tu. Mi pizzichi, mi stuzzichi, Mi pungichi, mi mastichi; Che cosa e Questo ahime? Pieta, pieta, pieta! Amore e un certo che, Che disperar mi fa. Nel Cor Piu Non Mi Sento. Giovanni Paisiello was the most popular comic […]

I had an opportunity to attend a concert by the University Symphony Orchestra. The university orchestra was the only performer of the day. And it performed “An Evening of Handel, Schubert, and Haydn” on 0ctober 4th. The concert was held at the school’s Boss Recital room. The look of the architecture of the room is […]