Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/11/22
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]"...IMHO the Romantic composers begin with, say, Schubert who bridges the Classic and Romantic styles. When I grew up in Vienna I was taught that Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven were THE classic composers. Of course that was a long time ago, and musicologists (which I'm not) or music lovers (which I am) may have as many opinions on this topic as Leicaphiles have on lenses etc. Oliver Bryk" It is a bit of a question of what you wish to emphasize about Beethoven's music whether you see him as of the classical tradition (which he certainly was) or as a proto-Romantic. In terms of forms and techniques, he stretched the classic tradition to it's limit. Poetically, he went further. Just consider a couple titles. We have Haydn's symphony "The Clock," so called because of - I don't remember - a tick-tock motif in one part? Contrast that with the title for Beethoven's 3rd, "Eroica." The historical, social and philosophical meanings that underlay that title, and the extramusical meaning of the piece which would have been astonishing to Haydn, places Ludwig in a whole new era. You could say that Schubert and the rest tried to make the musical language catch up to the poetic possibilities that Beethoven introduced. In that sense of technical development, Schubert was a transitional figure, though it's not fair to ignore other's contributions or the general tide of music in that period. It seems that most of us were taught about these things in terms of rigid boundaries between styles and periods, whether it was painting or music or whatever. Often, too much emphasis was put on the few outstanding figures, making it seem they were solely responsible what came to be. But that approach was mostly for the convenience of teachers. Much more meaning can be found in trying to appreciate the gradual changes and simultaneous currents that is the real experience of artists. Best wishes, Carl (also not a musicologist) - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html