Viennese classics: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven. Vienna Classical School

The Viennese classics entered the world music history as the greatest reformers of the musical genre. Their work is not only unique in itself, it is also valuable because it determined the further development of musical theater, genres, styles and directions. Their compositions laid the foundation of what is nowadays considered to be classical music.

General characteristics of the era

These authors are united by what they did at the turn of two major cultural and historical eras: classicism and romanticism. The Viennese classics lived in a transitional period, when there was an active search for new forms not only in music, but also in fiction, painting, and architecture. All this largely determined the direction of their activities and the problems of their writings. XVIII - the first half of the XIX century were marked by serious political upheavals, wars, which literally turned the map of Europe and exerted a strong influence on the minds of the modern intelligentsia and the educated circles of society. The Viennese classics were no exception. For example, it is a well-known fact that Napoleonic wars greatly influenced the work of Beethoven, who in his famous 9th symphony (Choral) conducted the idea of universal unity and peace. This was a kind of response to all those cataclysms that shook the European continent in the time we are considering.

Cultural life

The Viennese classics lived during the period when the baroque was receded into the background, and a new direction began to play a leading role. It strived for harmony of forms, unity of composition and therefore abandoned the magnificent forms of the previous era. Classicism began to determine the cultural appearance of many European states. But at the same time, there was already a tendency towards overcoming the rigid forms of this trend and creating strong works with elements of drama and even tragedy. These were the first signs of the emergence of romanticism, which determined the cultural development of the entire 19th century.

Reform of the opera

The Viennese classics played a decisive role in the development of all musical genres of the period under consideration. Each of them, if I may say so, specialized in any one style or musical form, but all their achievements entered the golden fund of world music. Gluck (composer) was the largest and one of the most famous authors of his time. His role in the development of the theater can not be overemphasized: it was he who gave the genre of the opera that finished form in which we know it now. The merit of Christopher Gluck is that he first walked away from understanding the opera as a work for demonstrating vocal abilities, but subordinated the musical beginning of drama.

Value

Gluck is a composer who made the opera a real play. In his works, as well as in the writings of his followers, the vocals began to depend largely on the word. The plot and composition, and most importantly - the drama, began to determine the development of the musical line. Thus, the opera ceased to be an exclusively entertaining genre, but it turned into a serious kind of musical creation with complex dramaturgy, interesting from the psychological point of view, characters, fascinating composition.

Composer's works

The Viennese classical school formed the basis of the entire world musical theater. Much credit for this belongs to Gluck. His opera Orpheus and Eurydice was a breakthrough in this genre. In it, the author focused not on the virtuosity of the performance, but on the drama of the characters, thanks to which the work received such a sound and is performed until now. Another opera, "Alcesta", was also a new word in world music. The Austrian composer again emphasized the development of the story line, thanks to which the work received a powerful psychological coloring. The composition is still performed on the best scenes of the world, which indicates that the reform of the opera genre, conducted by Gluck, was of fundamental importance for the evolution of the musical theater as a whole and determined the further development of the opera in this direction.

The next stage of development

The Austrian composer Haydn also belongs to the famous pleiad of authors, who made a significant contribution to the reform of musical genres. He is known primarily as the creator of symphonies and quartets. Thanks to them, the maestro gained wide popularity not only in Central European countries, but also abroad. The most widely known are his works, which entered the world repertoire called "Twelve London Symphonies". They are distinguished by a sense of optimism and cheerfulness, which, incidentally, is characteristic of almost all the works of this composer.

Features of creativity

A characteristic feature of the works of Joseph Haydn was their connection with folklore. In the works of the composer, it is very often possible to hear the song and dance motifs, which made his works so recognizable. This reflected the author's worldview, which in many ways imitated Mozart, considering him the best composer in the world. He also borrowed joyful light melodies from him, which made his works unusually expressive and vivid in sound.

Other works of the author

Haydn's operas do not enjoy such wide popularity as his quartets and symphonies. Nevertheless, this musical genre occupies a prominent place in the work of the Austrian composer, so a number of his works of this kind should be mentioned, especially since they are a notable stage in his creative biography. One of his operas is called "Apothecary" and was written for the opening of a new theater. A few more works of this kind Haydn also created for the new theater buildings. He wrote mostly in the style of the Italian opera-buffa and sometimes combined comic and dramatic elements.

The most famous works

Quartets Haydn is rightly called the pearl of world classical music. The main principles of the composer united in them: elegance of form, virtuosity of performance, optimistic sound, thematic diversity and original way of performance. One of the known cycles is called "Russian", because it is dedicated to the crown prince Pavel Petrovich, the future Russian emperor Paul I. Another group of quartets is intended for the Prussian king. These compositions were written in a new manner, since they were distinguished by their unusual flexibility in sounding, the richness of contrasting musical tones. It is with this kind of musical genre that the name of the composer has become world-wide. Here it should be noted that the author often resorted to the so-called "surprises" in his works, making unexpected musical passages in places where the public least expected it. Among such unusual works belongs Haydn's Children's Symphony.

General characteristics of Mozart's work

This is one of the most famous authors of music, which still enjoys the unusual popularity of fans of the classics and is loved all over the world. The success of his works is explained by the fact that they differ in logical harmony and completeness. In this regard, many researchers attribute his work to the era of classicism. However, others believe that the Viennese composer became a harbinger of Romanticism: after all, his works clearly show a tendency to depict strong and outstanding images, as well as a profound psychological study of the characters (in this case we are talking about opera). Be that as it may, the compositions of the maestro differ in depth and at the same time with an extraordinary ease of perception, drama and optimism. They are easy and accessible for everyone's perception, but at the same time they are very serious and philosophical in their content and sound. This is the phenomenon of his success.

The opera of the composer

The Vienna classical school played a decisive role in the development of the opera genre. A huge achievement in this belongs to Mozart. The performances staged for his music still enjoy immense popularity and love not only for music lovers, but also for the mass audience. Perhaps, this is the only composer whose music is known to everyone in one way or another, even if they have the most remote idea of his work.

The most famous opera, perhaps, is the "Wedding of Figaro". This is probably the most cheerful and at the same time an extraordinary funny composition of the author. Humor sounds almost in every game, which provided him with such popularity. The famous aria of the protagonist the next day became a real hit. Mozart's music - bright, playful, playful, but at the same time unusually wise in its simplicity - immediately won universal love and recognition.

Another famous opera of the author is Don Giovanni. By popularity, it is perhaps not inferior to the above: the production of this performance can be seen in our time. Indicative is the fact that the composer presented the rather complicated history of this man in a very simple and at the same time serious form, thereby demonstrating once again his deep understanding of life. In this work the musical genius managed to show both dramatic and optimistic components, which in all his works are inseparably linked with each other.

In our time, the opera The Magic Flute is no less famous. Mozart's music reached its apogee in its expressiveness. In this work it is light, airy, cheerful and at the same time extraordinarily serious, so it remains to be surprised how the author managed to convey a whole philosophical system in such simple, harmonious sounds. There are also other opera by the composer, for example, now you can periodically hear "Titus's Mercy", both in theatrical and in concert. Thus, the opera genre occupied one of the main places in the work of the genius composer.

Selected Works

The composer worked in various directions and created a large number of musical works. Mozart, "Night Serenade" which, for example, has long gone beyond concert performances and gained wide popularity, wrote in a very simple and accessible language. Perhaps that is why it is often called the genius of harmony. Even in tragic works the motive of hope sounded. In "Requiem" he expressed his thoughts about a better future life, so that, despite the tragic tone of music, the work leaves a feeling of enlightened appeasement.

Mozart's concert also features a harmonious harmony and logical completion. All parts are subject to a single theme and are united by a common motive, which sets the tone for the entire work. Therefore, his music is heard in one breath. In this type of genre embodied the main principles of the composer's work: a harmonious combination of sounds and parts, bright and simultaneously virtuosic sound of the orchestra. No one else could build his musical work in such a harmonious way, like Mozart. The "night serenade" of the composer is a kind of standard of a harmonious combination of parts different in sound. Cheerful and loud passages are very rhythmically replaced by hardly audible virtuoso parts.

Separately, it should be said about the masses of the author. They occupy a prominent place in his work and, like other works, are imbued with a sense of bright hope and enlightened joy. We should also mention the famous "Turkish Rondo", which went beyond concert performances, so that it can often be heard even in advertisements on television. But the greatest sense of harmony, perhaps, has Mozart's concert, in which the principle of logical completeness reached the highest degree.

Briefly about the work of Beethoven

This composer belongs wholly to the era of the domination of Romanticism. If Johann Amadeus Mozart stands as if on the threshold of classicism and a new direction, then Ludwig van Beethoven completely switched to the image of strong passions, powerful feelings and outstanding personalities in his works. He became, perhaps, the most outstanding representative of romanticism. Indicative is the fact that, referring to dramatic, tragic topics, he wrote only one opera. The main genre for him was symphonies and sonatas. He deserves credit for reforming these works, just as Gluck at one time transformed the opera performance.

A striking feature of the composer's work was that the main theme of his works was the image of the powerful, titanic will of the personality, which overcomes the difficulties and all obstacles with a huge effort of will. Also a lot of space, L. V. Beethoven in his writings assigned the topic of struggle and confrontation, as well as the motive for universal unity.

Some facts of biography

He came from a family of musicians. His father wanted the boy to become a famous composer, so he studied with him, resorting to rather harsh methods. Perhaps, that is why the child grew dark and stern by nature, which subsequently affected his work. Beethoven worked and lived in Vienna, where he studied with Haydn, but these classes very quickly disappointed both the pupil and the teacher. The latter drew attention to the fact that the young author is dominated by rather gloomy motives, which at that time was not accepted.

Biography of Beethoven briefly narrates about the period of his enthusiasm for the liberation struggle. Napoleonic wars, he initially took with enthusiasm, but later, when Bonaparte proclaimed himself emperor, refused to write a symphony in his honor. In 1796, Ludwig began to lose his hearing. However, this did not interrupt his creative activity. Already completely deaf, he wrote his famous 9th symphony, which became a real masterpiece in the world musical repertoire. Biography of Beethoven (briefly, it is impossible to say) also contains information about the friendship of the maestro with the outstanding people of his time. Despite the closed and harsh nature, the composer was friends with Weber, Goethe and other figures of the era of classicism.

The most famous works

We have already said that the characteristic feature of LV Beethoven's creative activity was the desire to portray strong, emotional characters, the struggle of passions, the overcoming of difficulties. Among the works of this genre, the "Appassionata", which, according to the glow of feelings and emotions, is perhaps one of the strongest. When the composer was asked about the idea of its creation, he referred to Shakespeare's play The Storm, which, he said, was the source of inspiration. The author made a parallel between the motives of the titanic impulses in the composition of the playwright and his musical interpretation of the topic.

One of the author's most popular works is the "Moonlight Sonata", which, on the contrary, is imbued with a sense of harmony and pacification, as if in opposition to the dramatic melody of his symphonies. Indicative is the fact that the name itself was given to the work by the composer's contemporaries, perhaps because the music was reminiscent of the sea overflows on a quiet night. It was such associations that arose in the majority of listeners when listening to this sonata. No less, and perhaps even more popular, is the famous work "To Elise", which the composer dedicated to the wife of the Russian Emperor Alexander I Elizabeth Alekseyevna (Louise). This composition strikes an amazing combination of light motifs and serious dramatic passages in the middle. A special place in the work of the maestro is occupied by his only opera "Fidelio" (translated as "Faithful" from the Italian language). This work, like many others, is permeated with the pathos of freedom and the call for freedom. "Fidelio" still does not come off the scenes of the world's leading opera houses, although the recognition of the opera was received, as it almost always happens, not immediately.

The Ninth Symphony

This work is, perhaps, the most famous among the rest of the work of the composer. It was written three years before his death, in 1824. The ninth symphony completes the long and many years of searching for the composer in creating the perfect symphony piece. It differs from all previous ones in that, firstly, it introduces the choral part (for the famous "Ode to Joy" by F. Schiller), and secondly, in it the composer reformed the structure of the symphonic genre. The main theme is gradually revealed through each part of the work. The beginning of the symphony is rather gloomy, heavy, but even then the distant motif of reconciliation and enlightenment sounds, which grows with the development of the musical composition. Finally, in the very finale, a rather powerful choral vocal sounds, calling all the people of the world to unite. Thus, the composer further emphasized the main idea of his work. He wanted his thought to be expressed as clearly as possible, so he did not limit himself only to music, but also introduced singers. The symphony was a resounding success: at the first performance the audience gave the composer a standing ovation. Indicative is the fact that L. V. Beethoven composed it, being already completely deaf person.

The importance of the Viennese school

Gluck, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven became the founders of classical music, having had a huge impact on the entire subsequent musical history of not only Europe but also the world. The importance of these composers and their contribution to the reform of the musical theater can not be overemphasized. Working in a variety of genres, they created the backbone and form of works on the basis of which their followers composed new works. Many of their creations have long gone beyond concert performances and have received wide sound in movies, on television. "Turkish Rondo", "Moonlight Sonata" and many other works of these authors are known not only to music lovers, but even to those who are not familiar with classical music. The Vienna stage of the development of classics, many researchers rightly called defining in the history of music, because it was during this period that the main principles of the creation and writing of operas, symphonies, sonatas and quartets were laid.