Musical Style and Innovations of Beethoven Essay Example for Free

Musical Style and Innovations of Beethoven Essay Musical Style and Innovations Beethoven is viewed as a transitional figure between the Classical and Romantic eras of musical history. Above all, his works distinguish themselves from those of any prior composer through his creation of large, extended architectonic structures characterized by the extensive development of musical material, themes, and motifs, usually by means of modulation, that is, a change in the feeling of the home key, through a variety of keys or harmonic regions. Although Haydns later works often showed a greater fluidity between distant keys, Beethovens innovation was the ability to rapidly establish a solidity in juxtaposing different keys and unexpected notes to join them. This expanded harmonic realm creates a sense of a vast musical and experiential space through which the music moves, and the development of musical material creates a sense of unfolding drama in this space. In this way Beethovens music parallels the simultaneous development of the novel in literature, a literary form focused on the life drama and development of one or more individuals through complex life circumstances, and of contemporaneous German idealisms philosophical notion of self, mind, or spirit that unfolds through a complex process of contradictions and tensions between the subjective and objective until a resolution or synthesis occurs in which all of these contradictions and developmental phases have been resolved or encompassed in a higher unity. Beethoven continued to expand the development section of works, extending a trend in the works of Haydn and Mozart, who had dramatically expanded both the length and substance of instrumental music. As Beethovens major immediate predecessors and influences, he looked to their harmonic and formal models for his own works. However, both Mozart and Haydn placed the great weight of a musical movement in the statement of ideas called the exposition, for Beethoven the development section of a sonata form became the heart of the work. Beethoven was able to do this by making the development section not merely longer, but also more structured. The very long development section of the Eroica Symphony, for example, is divided into four roughly equal sections, making it, in effect, a sonata form within a sonata form. The first movement alone of this symphony is as long as an entire typical Italian-style Mozart symphony from the 1770s. His focus on the development would, like others of his innovations, set a trend that later composers would follow. Although Beethoven wrote many beautiful and lyrical melodies, another radical innovation of his music, compared especially to that of Mozart and Haydn, is his extensive use of forceful, marked, and even stark rhythmic patterns throughout his compositions and, in particular, in his themes and motifs, some of which are primarily rhythmic rather than melodic. Some of his most famous themes, such as those of the first movements of the Third, Fifth, and Ninth symphonies, are primarily non-melodic rhythmic figures consisting of notes of a single chord, and the themes of the last movements of the Third and Seventh symphonies could more accurately be described as rhythms rather than as melodies. This use of rhythm was particularly well suited to the primacy of development in Beethovens music, since a single rhythmic pattern can more easily than a melody be taken through a succession of different, even remote, keys and harmonic regions while retaining and conveying an underlying unity. This allowed him to combine different features of his themes in a wide variety of ways, extending the techniques of Haydn in development (see Sonata Form). He also continued another trend towards larger orchestras that went on until the first decade of the 20th century, and moved the center of the sound downwards in the orchestra, to the violas and the lower register of the violins and cellos, giving his music a heavier and darker feel than Haydn or Mozart. Gustav Mahler modified the orchestration of some of Beethovens music most notably the 3d and 9th symphonies with the idea of more accurately expressing Beethovens intent in an orchestra that had grown so much larger than the one Beethoven used: for example, doubling woodwind parts to compensate for the fact that a modern orchestra has so many more strings than Beethovens orchestra did. Needless to say, these efforts remain controversial. In his Fifth Symphony Beethoven introduced a striking motif, drawn from a late Haydn symphony, in the very opening bar, which he echoed in various forms in all four movements of the symphony. This is the first important occurrence of cyclic form. He was also fond of making usual what had previously been unusual: in the Fifth Symphony, instead of  using a stately minuet, as had been the norm for the dance movement of a four-movement work, he created a dark march, which he used as the third movement and ran into the fourth without interruption. While one can point to previous works which had one or more of these individual features, his music, combined with the use of operatic scoring that he learned from Mehul and Cherubini, created a work which was altogether novel in effect too novel, in fact, for some critics of the time. On the other hand, his contemporary Spohr found the finale too baroque, though he praised the second movement as being in good Romantic style. His Ninth Symphony included a chorus and solo voices in the 4th movement for the first time, and made extensive use of fugues, which were generally considered to be a different form of music, and again unusual in symphonies. He wrote one opera, Fidelio. It has been said that he wrote beautiful vocal music without regard for the limitations of human singers, treating the voice as if it were a symphonic instrument even though his conversation books note his desire to make his music singable and include references that indicate that he had remembered his fathers singing lessons. Beethovens development and works are typically divided into three periods: an early period in which his works show especially the influence of Mozart and Haydn; a middle, mature period in which he developed his distinctive individual style, sometimes characterized as heroic; and a late period, in which he wrote works of a highly evolved, individuated, sometimes fragmented and unorthodox style sometimes characterized as transcendent and sublime, where he tried to combine the baroque ideas of Handel and Bach with his icons Mozart and Haydn. In his late years he called Handel my grand master. In contrast to Mozart, he labored heavily over his work, leaving intermediate drafts that provide considerable insight into his creative process. Early drafts of his Ninth Symphony used rough vertical marks on the score in place of actual notes, to indicate the structure he had in mind for the melody. Studies of his sketch books show the working out of dozens of variations on a particular theme, changing themes to fit with an overall structure that evolved over time, and extensive sketching of counter-melodies.

Philosophy :: essays research papers

Philosophy â€Å"Man’s life is a line that nature commands him to describe upon the surface of the Earth without ever being able to swerve from it, even for an instant†¦His organization does in nowise depend upon himself, his ideas come to him involuntarily, his habits are in the power of those who cause him to contract them†¦He is good or bad, happy or miserable, wise or foolish, reasonable or irrational, without his will being for anything in these various states.† -D’Holbach   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I believe D’Holbach is trying to convey essentially that man is deprived of â€Å"free will.† Mankind in no way possesses any control of their actions, being, personality, or will. Every aspect of a person’s life is predetermined. He says people have only adopted the views of religion and put their faith in supreme beings such as God.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nietzsche, on the other hand, views human nature in a different perspective. He believes man originated the idea of â€Å"free will† solely for the purpose of accountability to give men authority in crime and punishment. He also writes of the injustice in common misinterpretations of causation. Nietzsche focuses mainly on the relationship between cause and effect and â€Å"free will† whereas D’Holbach speaks more assertively about man’s predetermination and ignores any opposition one might have towards his point of view. Nietzsche also believes a person cannot be held accountable for their existence or living environment (also accountability is a major part of his idea). He states â€Å"No one gives a human being his qualities: not God, not society, not his parents or ancestors, and not himself.† On the contrary, D’Holbach believes some superior being is responsible for having a â€Å"master plan† for each human and giving them their characteristics, hence â€Å"we are cogs in the universe.† I interpret the ideas of these two philosophers to be closely related. Philosophy :: essays research papers Philosophy â€Å"Man’s life is a line that nature commands him to describe upon the surface of the Earth without ever being able to swerve from it, even for an instant†¦His organization does in nowise depend upon himself, his ideas come to him involuntarily, his habits are in the power of those who cause him to contract them†¦He is good or bad, happy or miserable, wise or foolish, reasonable or irrational, without his will being for anything in these various states.† -D’Holbach   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I believe D’Holbach is trying to convey essentially that man is deprived of â€Å"free will.† Mankind in no way possesses any control of their actions, being, personality, or will. Every aspect of a person’s life is predetermined. He says people have only adopted the views of religion and put their faith in supreme beings such as God.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nietzsche, on the other hand, views human nature in a different perspective. He believes man originated the idea of â€Å"free will† solely for the purpose of accountability to give men authority in crime and punishment. He also writes of the injustice in common misinterpretations of causation. Nietzsche focuses mainly on the relationship between cause and effect and â€Å"free will† whereas D’Holbach speaks more assertively about man’s predetermination and ignores any opposition one might have towards his point of view. Nietzsche also believes a person cannot be held accountable for their existence or living environment (also accountability is a major part of his idea). He states â€Å"No one gives a human being his qualities: not God, not society, not his parents or ancestors, and not himself.† On the contrary, D’Holbach believes some superior being is responsible for having a â€Å"master plan† for each human and giving them their characteristics, hence â€Å"we are cogs in the universe.† I interpret the ideas of these two philosophers to be closely related.

Bartleby I Would Prefer Not Too

Herman Melville's â€Å"Bartleby, the Scrivener† scrutinizes the impersonal, harsh, and isolating labor conditions in America soon after the industrial revolution. Bartleby is presented as a foil to his repressed and ignorant coworkers: Turkey, Nippers, and Gingernut who participate, however dysfunctionally , in the brutal system. In contrast, Bartleby distinguishes himself to the narrator and the reader as â€Å"the strangest [scrivener] I ever saw or heard of†( ) by rejecting the mundane work of copying legal documents and proof reading them.He embodies passive resistance through the repetition of the response â€Å"l would prefer not to† when faced with a command from his employer. Through the use of key words such as â€Å"would† and â€Å"prefer†, Melville gives Bartleby the appearance of submitting to his employer's, the lawyer's, judgment and authority. This display of subordinance, however, is only an illusion. Bartleby rejects the capitalis t hierarchy on which Wall Street is built and thus also rejects the lawyer's authority. What exactly does Bartleby â€Å"prefer not to do†?He prefers not to comply with the dehumanizing reality of the American capitalist economy. As scriveners, Bartleby and his coworkers live an automaton-like existence, robotically reproducing documents written by others. Unlike Bartleby, however, his coworkers have been indoctrinated into conforming through the never-fully- satisfying reward of wages. As stated by Karl Marx, a German economic revolutionary, â€Å"Capital is dead labor, which, vampire-like, lives only by sucking living labor, and lives he more, the more labor it sucks. (Marx) By â€Å"preferring not to† , Bartleby protests against alienating, mundane labor. The life- sucking effect of capitalism is also demonstrated by Bartlebys previous occupation as â€Å"a subordinate clerk in the Dead Letter Office† ( ). This Job consisted ofa â€Å"pallid hopelessnessâ⠂¬ ( ) of â€Å"continually handling these dead letters and assorting them for the flames†( ). Both of Bartleby's jobs provide no outlet for communication, individuality, creativity or growth.The apitalistic economy has stripped him of his humanity, and he would â€Å"prefer not† to continue taking part in it. By using the phrase, â€Å"l would prefer not to†, Bartlebys also causes the lawyer â€Å"to stagger in his own plainest faith† (1 1 and to doubt the rules upon which his own society is built.

The Goal A Process Of Ongoing Improvement By Eliyahu...

Book Report: The Goal Horane Williams MGMT 430: WB1 Sp.15 University of Baltimore Eliyahu M. Goldratt s The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu M.Goldratt and Jeff Cox has changed the way organizations do business and handle constraints. The Goal tells of a guy name Alex Rogo, whom is a supervisor at a production plant how he helps save his plant. At the beginning his plant was unproductive and faced a lot of constraints within. With his help, the plant eventually began productive. There are numerous of concepts and theories that can be learned from this novel, The Goal. The main goal of a firm is to of course seek profit. The Goal is a book that focuses greatly on the theory of constraints. Eliyahu Goldratt presents to us a story that demonstrates the critical techniques that any chief or CEO ought to take after to be effectively gainful, and equipped for coming to their objectives. The book effortlessly clarifies and shows numerous achievable routes for a firm to deal with constraints and everyday problem. The book also helps any person that is dealing with business issues, systems failure, and non-productivity. This book can also help with concepts in personal lives as well. Numerous individuals accept that to succeed in a business, experienced is need, with experienced comes with the knowledge of knowing profit matters. Goldratt exhibits that is vital to concentrate on the entire organization because one part of an