Development of instrumental music from Classical through to 20C

Harmony
Classical Beethoven Romantic Contemporary
Key assigned to works Key assigned to many Assignation of key becoming less and less
works common

Note key ambiguity of

‘Kreutzer’ Sonata: no
key designation and
unclear whether A
major or minor
dominates
Tonic-dominant polarity Used I-V polarity Use of multiple types of harmonic
language, e.g. tonal, atonal, 12 tone, other
Also explored serial, modal, microtonal.
alternatives to
dominant, e.g. I-IV, or
chains of third
relationships
Solo piano sonata/instrumental sonata
Classical Beethoven Romantic Contemporary
Haydn: mostly Early: sonatas used in Genre of sonata no longer predominant
written as teaching performance career solo/chamber form, but still composed by
music numerous composers during 20C, e.g.
Mid-late: began to express Hindemith, Ravel, Debussy, Ives, Copland,
Mozart: used for more personal material in Sessions, Scriabin, Prokofiev, Shostakovich,
students as well as sonatas Boulez
own performances,
commissions Note ambiguity of ‘Kreutzer’
Sonata subtitle: ‘Sonata for
piano with violin obbligato
in the style of a concerto’
Average length: 10- Length: anywhere from 15- Length: anything from 10 min (Berg Sonata) to 4
15 minutes 30 minutes hours (Sorabji’s Opus Clavicembalisticum, multi-
movement solo work for piano)
Absolute music Absolute music Mixture of absolute (e.g. Hindemith) and
program (e.g. Janacek’s 1.X.1905, Ives’ Concord)
Three or four Early: often 4 movements Any number of movements, e.g.
separate using Classical template (ii
movements: and iii often swapped) One movement:
Berg: Sonata Op. 1
i Sonata form; most Mid-late: Scriabin: piano sonatas 5-10
important - often three movements, Op. Prokofiev: Op. 1
movement 111 has only two
ii slow movement - linked movements (Op. 57, Two movements:
iii min/trio Op. 109, Op. 110) Ligeti: Solo Cello sonata
iv rondo or sonata; - emphasis on last Janacek: 1.X.1905
fun/light movement as most
important (e.g. Op. 109, 110, Three or more movements:
111) Ives Piano Sonata no. 2
Cage: Sonata for Clarinet
Prokofiev: 6, 7, 8 (and others)
Sonata form Sonata form used Sonata form still in use, but other structures very
dominates: prevalent, e.g. variation, thematic
Exposition (two Included variation form: e.g. transformation, various ABA structures that
subjects: i in I plus ii Op. 26, Op. 57, Op. 109, Op. evoke sonata form but do not necessarily
related key) 111 conform exactly to it.
Development
(develops i and ii in Also integrated fugal
various keys, ends writing: Op. 109, Op. 110,
on V) Op. 111
Recapitulation
(begins in I and
ends in I)
Concerto

Classical Beethoven Romantic Contemporary

Used by Haydn and Used by Beethoven to Composers can write for own performance, e.g.
Mozart to spotlight further his career; did not Bartok, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff
soloists write any more piano
concerti after he stopped Concerti often written as commissions by
Mozart used to performing soloist or orchestra
further his own
career
One to three One to three soloists plus Any number of soloists, e.g.
soloists plus orchestra; note ‘Choral Messiaen: Concert à quatre
orchestra Fantasy’ for piano solo, Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra, Lutoslawski:
chorus and orchestra Concerto for Orchestra
Opposition/contrast Opposition/contrast Roles of soloist and orchestra less defined e.g.
between soloist and between soloist and Strauss: Don Quixote (orchestra with prominent
orchestra orchestra cello solo); Britten: Cello Symphony; Prokofiev:
Symphony-Concerto; John Adams Violin
Concerto uses soloist almost continually with
little use of orch/solo contrast
Three separate Often three separate Any number of movements, e.g.
movements movements, but some Prokofiev First Piano Concerto (three
exceptions: ‘sections’); John Adams Saxophone Concerto
Triple Concerto & Violin (two parts); Schoenberg Piano Concerto (four
Concerto: ii attacca into iii movements all connected); Schoenberg Violin
5th Piano Concerto: ii Concerto (in Classical 3 movt form, although 12
linked to iii tone in language)
Orchestral Often follows Classical Use of orchestra-only exposition very rare
exposition before practice however, in
soloist entrance 4th Piano Concerto: soloist Form and language totally variable; e.g. Berg
begins entire work alone Violin Concerto uses 12 tone row that
before orchestral entrance incorporates tonal and whole tone elements;
Hindemith Clarinet Concerto follows Classical
template while using 20C language;

Cadenzas are Cadenzas are composed Cadenzas composed but differing in concept,
improvised but Beethoven would often e.g. Philip Glass Violin Concerto no. 2 offers solo
improvise in concert pieces before each movement instead of a
cadenza
Note use of aleatoric elements in Lutoslawski
Cello Concerto
Symphony/symphonic music
Classical
Orchestral work Orchestral
Length on average: 15-25
minutes
Began as instrumental
interlude or ‘filler’ item;
mainly because of Haydn (and
then Mozart) the symphony
gained importance as a genre
during Classical period
Absolute
Four separate movements:
i Sonata form; most important
movement
ii slow movement
iii min/trio
iv rondo or sonata; fun/light
Sonata form predominant
Beethoven
9: orchestra plus
chorus
3: 45 minutes
Beethoven used the
symphony to express
profound and epic
utterances
3: extra-musical
reference to Napoleon
6: descriptive names
given to each
movement
5: iii transitions into iv
6: five movements
Sonata form used
alongside variation
form (e.g. 3 iv, 5 ii, 7 ii,
9 iii) and fugal writing
(9)
Experimentation with
form in 9 iv includes
ambiguous form plus
thematic
transformation
Romantic Contemporary
Wide variation in instrumentation,
e.g. Mahler 8: two choirs, children’s
choir, vocal soloists, large orchestra,
off stage brass section
Elliott Carter: Symphony for three
Orchestras
Wide variation, e.g.
Mahler 3: 100 minutes
Sibelius 7: 23 minutes
The symphony and symphonic works
still seen as serious expression of
composer’s work
Mixture of absolute (e.g. Prokofiev,
Shostakovich) and programmatic
(e.g. Britten Spring, Messiaen
Turangalîla-Symphonie)
Wide variation, e.g.
Schoenberg Chamber Symphony (1
movt); Strauss Alpine Symphony (22
sections)
Sonata form used but no longer
predominant; wide use of many
other structures, e.g. variation,
thematic transformation
String Quartet
Classical
Established and elevated by
Haydn
Mozart used this genre as
mode of personal expression
and experimentation, e.g. K
465 ‘Dissonance’
Absolute music
15 – 20 minutes on average
Four separate movements:
i Sonata form; most important
movement
ii slow movement
iii min/trio
iv rondo or sonata; fun/light
Beethoven Romantic Contemporary
Early 4tets dedicated to The string 4tet output lessened slightly during 19C because The quartet still considered to be a serious
Haydn many composers felt that Beethoven’s late 4tets were the expression of composer’s intent, therefore
pinnacle of the genre; e.g. Schubert’s comment after hearing many 20/21C composers explore this genre.
Late 4tets express some Beethoven’s Op. 131: ‘After this, what is left for us to write?’
of Beethoven’s most Wide variation in concept, e.g.
profound and personal Barber: Dover Beach (includes vocal soloist)
feelings, e.g. Op. 130- Stockhausen: Helicopter String Quartet
135 Crumb: Black Angels (electric 4tet)
Steve Reich: Different Trains (quartet plus
tape)
Absolute Some absolute (e.g. Schumann, Brahms) Mixture of absolute (e.g. Bartok 4tets,
Shostakovich) and programmatic (e.g. Reich
Op. 132 iii ‘Holy Song of Programmatic: Different Trains, 4tets by Kurtag and Maxwell
Thanksgiving of the Mendelssohn 6: ‘Requiem for Fanny’ written for M’s late Davies)
Convalescent to the sister
Deity’ Smetana 1: ‘From my Life’ depicts scenes of the composer’s
life
Dvorak 12: ‘American’ deliberately evokes Americana in
musical material
Op. 130: 50 min Wide variation, e.g. Wide variation, e.g.
Op. 131: 40 min Faure: 22 Shostakovich: 8 (20 min)
Brahms 2: 35 Morton Feldman: 2 (5+ hours)
Borodin 1: 38 min
Schubert 14: 41
Early 4tets are four Mendelssohn 2: cyclical element of three-note motif present Wide variation, e.g.
movements in all movements; also includes fugal writing Babbitt 3: one movement
Shostakovich 15: six movements
Late 4tets: Tchaikovsky 2: begins with introduction (in no key
Op. 130: 6 movts signature), then segues into main body of first movement Sonata form used, but many and varied ways
Op. 131: 7 linked movts (in F). Includes cadenza-like writing within the movements. of structuring works, e.g. Ives 1 (includes
Op. 132: 5 movts Second movement is in mixed meter with many ambiguous fugal writing and does not exhibit sonata
rhythmic effects. form at all), Cage’s String Quartet in Four
Sonata form used in Parts which uses separate harmonic groups
conjunction with Debussy Quartet: cyclical, exhibits thematic transformation to create texture and to prevent any sense of
variation and fugal rather than sonata form progression, string techniques progression
writing become integral part of the musical language, used rhythmic
effects as part of language, harmonic language moves away
from diatonic integrating pentatonic and modal.