Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven ( i/ˈlʊdvɪɡ væn ˈbeɪ.toʊvən/; German: [ˈluːtvɪç fan ˈbeːt.hoːfən] ( Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of the Holy Roman Empire, Beethoven displayed his musical talents at an early age and was taught by his father Johann van Beethoven and Christian Gottlob Neefe. During his first 22 years in Bonn, Beethoven intended to study with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and befriended Joseph Haydn. Beethoven moved to Vienna in 1792 and began studying with Haydn, quickly gaining a reputation as a virtuoso pianist. Biography Background and early life Prince-Elector's Palace (Kurfürstliches Schloss) in Bonn, where the Beethoven family had been active since the 1730s Beethoven was born of this marriage in Bonn. Beethoven's first music teacher was his father. A portrait of the 13-year-old Beethoven by an unknown Bonn master (c. 1783) Beethoven was introduced to several people who became important in his life in these years. Establishing his career in Vienna
Sonata (Music) definition of Sonata (Music) in the Free Online Encyclopedia. sonata(sənä`tə), in music, type of instrumental composition that arose in Italy in the 17th cent. At first the term merely distinguished an instrumental piece from a piece with voice, which was called a cantata. Thus many early concertos, suites, and sets of variations were called sonatas. As the various instrumental forms acquired differentiated characteristics during the baroque period, the term began to identify two specific types: the sonata de chiesa, or church sonata, and the sonata da camera, or chamber sonata. In the late 17th cent. these two types merged into the outstanding baroque chamber music form, the trio sonata. The Italian operatic overture, called sinfonia, was standardized by Alessandro Scarlatti at the end of the 17th cent...... The classical sonata's movements are usually fast-slow-fast, and a minuet or scherzo is often inserted before the last movement. sonata form. See critical studies of the composers mentioned; W. sonata Warning! Sonata Popova, T.
Franz Schubert 1875 oil painting by Wilhelm August Rieder, after his own 1825 watercolor portrait Franz Peter Schubert (German pronunciation: [ˈfʁant͡s ˈʃuːbɐt]; 31 January 1797 – 19 November 1828) was an Austrian composer. In a short lifespan of less than 32 years, Schubert was a prolific composer, writing some 600 Lieder, ten complete or nearly complete symphonies, liturgical music, operas, incidental music and a large body of chamber and solo piano music. Biography[edit] Early life and education[edit] Schubert was born in Himmelpfortgrund (now a part of Alsergrund), Vienna, on 31 January 1797. The house in which Schubert was born, today Nussdorfer Strasse 54, in the ninth district of Vienna. At the age of six, Franz began to receive regular instruction from his father and a year later was enrolled at his father's school. Teacher at his father's school[edit] At the end of 1813, he left the Stadtkonvikt and returned home for teacher training at the Normalhauptschule. Supported by friends[edit]
Sonata Sonata (/səˈnɑːtə/; Italian: [soˈnaːta], pl. sonate; from Latin and Italian: sonare, "to sound"), in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian cantare, "to sing"), a piece sung. The term, being vague, evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms until the Classical era, when it took on increasing importance, and by the early 19th century came to represent a principle of composing large scale works. It was applied to most instrumental genres and regarded—alongside the fugue—as one of two fundamental methods of organizing, interpreting and analyzing concert music. Though the musical style of sonatas has changed since the Classical era, most 20th- and 21st-century sonatas still maintain the same structure. Usage of sonata[edit] The term sonatina, literally "small sonata", is often used for a short or technically easy sonata. Instrumentation[edit] Brief history of the usage of sonata[edit] The Baroque sonata[edit]
Frédéric Chopin Photograph of Chopin by Bisson, c. 1849 Frédéric François Chopin (/ˈʃoʊpæn/; French pronunciation: [fʁe.de.ʁik ʃɔ.pɛ̃]; 22 February or 1 March 1810 – 17 October 1849), born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin,[n 1] was a Romantic-era Polish composer. A child prodigy, Chopin was born in what was then the Duchy of Warsaw. Both in his native Poland and beyond, Chopin's music, his status as one of music's earliest 'superstars', his association (if only indirect) with political insurrection, his amours and his early death have made him, in the public consciousness, a leading symbol of the Romantic era. Life[edit] Childhood[edit] Chopin was born in Żelazowa Wola,[1] 46 kilometres (29 miles) west of Warsaw, in what was then the Duchy of Warsaw, a Polish state established by Napoleon. In October 1810, six months after Chopin's birth, the family moved to Warsaw, where his father acquired a post teaching French at the Warsaw Lyceum, then housed in the Saxon Palace. Chopin's Polish residences Education[edit]
Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Prokofiev in New York, 1918 Biography[edit] Early childhood and first compositions[edit] Formal education and controversial early works[edit] As a member of the Saint Petersburg music scene, Prokofiev developed a reputation as a musical rebel, while getting praise for his original compositions, which he performed himself on the piano.[28][29] In 1909, he graduated from his class in composition with unimpressive marks. He continued at the Conservatory, studying piano under Anna Yesipova and continuing his conducting lessons under Tcherepnin.[30] In 1910, Prokofiev's father died and Sergei's financial support ceased.[31] Fortunately he had started making a name for himself as a composer and pianist outside the Conservatory, making appearances at the St Petersburg Evenings of Contemporary Music. In 1911, help arrived from renowned Russian musicologist and critic Alexander Ossovsky, who wrote a supportive letter to music publisher Boris P. The first ballets[edit] Life abroad[edit] Notes
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Portrait of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in 1898 by Valentin Serov (detail) Rimsky-Korsakov believed, as did fellow composer Mily Balakirev and critic Vladimir Stasov, in developing a nationalistic style of classical music. This style employed Russian folk song and lore along with exotic harmonic, melodic and rhythmic elements in a practice known as musical orientalism, and eschewed traditional Western compositional methods. However, Rimsky-Korsakov appreciated Western musical techniques after he became a professor of musical composition, harmony and orchestration at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in 1871. He undertook a rigorous three-year program of self-education and became a master of Western methods, incorporating them alongside the influences of Mikhail Glinka and fellow members of The Five. His techniques of composition and orchestration were further enriched by his exposure to the works of Richard Wagner. Biography[edit] Early years[edit] Rimsky-Korsakov's birthplace in Tikhvin
Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (sometimes spelled Strawinsky or Stravinskii; Russian: Игорь Фёдорович Стравинский, transliterated: Igorʹ Fëdorovič Stravinskij; Russian pronunciation: [ˌiɡərʲ ˌfʲjodɐrɐvʲɪt͡ɕ strɐˈvʲinskʲɪj]; 17 June [O.S. 5 June] 1882 – 6 April 1971) was a Russian (and later, a naturalized French and American) composer, pianist and conductor. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the 20th century. Life and career[edit] Early life in the Russian Empire[edit] Igor Stravinsky, 1903 In 1905 he was betrothed to his cousin Yekaterina Gavrilovna Nosenko (called "Katya"), whom he had known since early childhood.[13] In spite of the Orthodox Church's opposition to marriage between first cousins, the couple married on 23 January 1906: their first two children, Fyodor (Theodore) and Ludmila, were born in 1907 and 1908, respectively.[14] Life in Switzerland[edit] Vaslav Nijinsky as Petrushka in 1910–11 Life in France[edit] Vera de Bosset Sudeikin