Music Set Works- Classical

• Born: 1732, Austria
• Death: 1809
• In service to the Eszterhazy family in VIenna- The Kappelmeister
• Famous throughout Europe (1790s) through the publication of his music & commissions outside of the Eszterhazy family- The "Paris" Symphonies
• Wrote 100+ symphonies amongst other works; 12 symphonies were written in London- The "London" symphony
• Travelled to London twice between 1791-1795 in his sixties

Haydn was brought to London from Vienna by Johann Peter salomon- a famous violinist and leader of the Opera Concert Orchestra. There were two rival orchestras in competition in London at this time: The Opera Concert Orchestra and the Professional Concert Orchestra. London had become the melting-pot of cultural life and musician flocked here to earn a living. The Drum Roll symphony was created amidst Haydn's second visit to London and was the 11th symphony of 12 nicknamed the "London" symphonies. The piece was written for an orchestra of 60 players and premiered at the King's Theatre, which seated 800+ people.  First performance: 2nd March, 1795 The piece is written in Sonata-rondo form- ABACA....... The piece is also monothematic- meaning it only has one theme, altering the structure of sonata form. The piece is created using the following devices:

• Motifs
• Pedals
• Imitaion (Antiphony)
• Repeating theme

• Time Signature: 4/4
• Tonality: Eb Major
• Tempo: Allegro con Spirit- Lively with Spirit
• Dynamics: Expressive dynamics from pp to ff with sudden accents such as sfz (sforzando) used for expression 
• Harmony: Mixture of major/minor- modulating to various keys: Dominant minor (Bb minor) & relative minor (C minor)
• Texture: Mixture of textures- Strings with woodwind accompaniment. Winds written in groups. 

Instrumentation

• Double Wind Orchestra- Including Clarinets in Bb
• Full compliments of Strings
• 2 Horns & Trumpets in Eb
• Timpani in Eb & Bb

• Born: 1770, Germany
• Death: 1827
• Accomplished composer and pianist
• Arrived in Vienna in 1792 to have lessons with Haydn
• Nicknamed the "second Mozart"
• Haydn was meant to take Beethoven to London with him but this did not happen for some unknown reason
• Beethoven wrote 9 symphonies & 7 concertos amongst other works
• Close friends with violinist Franz Clement
• Began to lose his hearing around 1796
• A slow composer, he composed using sketchbooks of ideas- drafting & redrafting melodies

Vienna was the largest German-speaking city and was the capital- ruled by the Hapsburg family who were imperial bureaucrats. They heavily promoted the arts, particularly music. These opportunities attracted musicians all over Europe. Many of Beethoven's performances and compositions were for private aristocratic society. This piece was written for a charity event to raise mony for Franz Clement- musicians often did this to supplement their wages and other musicians would offer their services for free for the concert. 

First performance: 23rd December 1806, Theater an der Wien

There were major advances in violin technology at this time including the following:

• Lengthened Neck
• Increased Sounding length of Strings
• More Between Notes- Hight notes became more practical
• Modern Bow- Made by francois Tourte
• Modern Bow- Balanced, curved inwards, more bowhair, more weight at the bottom

• Time Signature: 4/4
• Tonality: D major
• Tempo: Allegro ma non troppo- Fast but not too much
• Dynamics: Betthoven's style at this time was heading towards Romanticism with the dramatic use of crescendos and diminuendos and sudden use of Sfz
• Harmony: Myseterious D# in bar 10- creates a sense of unease in D major
• Texture: Often scored for families of instruments- particularly the woodwind as a separate entity to the rest of the orchestra

Instrumentataion

• Double wind orchestra- but only 1 flute 
• Full Compliments of strings
• Horns & trumpets in D
• Timpani in D & A
• Solo Violin

• Born: 1678, Italy
• Death: 1741
• Accomplished composer, violinist & director of operas
• Eomployed for most of his life at the Pio Ospedale della Pieta as the 'maestro di violino'- the post was renewed every year and Vivaldi wasn't always re-employed
• Travelled around Europe- but still tied to a contract, providing monthly concertos for Pieta
• Composed 500+ concertos, mostly for strings but many also for bassoon and other woodwind instruments

The Pieta was an orphanage/convent for girls which Vivaldi ran as a music conservatoire- 1 of 4 in Vienna at the time. The Bassoon Concerto was witten in ritornello form. A ritornello is a returning of the full orchestra. This concerto has memorable melodies and has a heavy use of sequence. The bassoon is written in a very virtuosic way using the following features:

• Rapid demisemiquaver arpeggios
• Wide leaps
• Trills
• chromatic passages in high register
• Rapid descending scal in demisemiquavers

• Time Signature: 4/4
• Tonality: E minor
• Tempo: Allegro Poco- a little fast and lively
• Dynamics: Simple dynamics from p to f- typical of the Baroque era
• Haromony : Chords mostly closely related to E minor- A minor, G major. Modulation to dominant B minor
• Texture Mainly full texture throughout. Sections with just solo bassoon & basso continuo

Instrumentation

• Violin I
• Violin II- Melody
• Viola
• Cello 
• Double Bass
• Basso Continuo: Harpsichord
• Solo: Bassoon