Question

Listening Log, Week 1
Classical Music
(40 points)
Part 1: In-Depth Focus on a Composer
A composer is a musician with special talent for creating new music. Usually, a composer has strong background in music theory, experience with composition, and a keen sense of harmony. A composer writes original pieces of music, so he must be creative and willing to try out new ideas. Most composers are passionate about music, and many have unique musical skills and gifts. For this assignment you will conduct research on one famous composer, selected from this list: Bach, Beethoven, or Mozart. Then answer the questions.
Composer:
1. What forms of music is this composer is most often associated with? Are you familiar with any of his work?
Answer:
2. Where was this composer born? In what country (or countries) did this composer live and write music? What musical training did he receive?
Answer:
3. Name three or more of this composer's well-known musical works.
Answer:
4. During his lifetime, how did this composer support himself or earn a living? Was he employed by an organization, private business, or religious institution? Was he financially successful? Was his source(s) of income stable during his adult years? Provide details in your answer.
Answer:
5. How would you describe the enduring legacy of this composer? What contributions or innovations is he known for that have influenced those who came after him? Was his music appreciated when he was alive?
Answer:
Part 2: Composition
Select one of your composer’s best-known pieces and research this music. You may find that many pieces that we hear frequently today have interesting histories. Answer these questions about that piece of music.
Title of the piece:
Composer:
1. Why did you select this piece? What do you like about it?
Answer:
2. When did the composer create this music? How old was the composer when he wrote the piece? How long did it take him to write it?
Answer:
3. Did the composer write the piece to satisfy a commission from a person or an institution? In other words, was the composer paid to write the piece? If so, by whom and for what purpose? Do you think this person or institution had an influence on the final product? Explain your answer.
Answer:
4. Was this piece of music well liked when it was released? In your opinion, is it more important for a composer to impress the critics or the general public? Why?
Answer:
5. What form of music does this piece represent? Use music terms and be specific in your description.
Answer:

Answer 1

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

Part 1: In-Depth Focus on a Composer

1. What forms of music is this composer most often associated with? Are you familiar with any of his work?
Answer:
- Beethoven is most often associated with symphonies, piano sonatas, string quartets, piano concertos, violin concerto, and one opera (Fidelio). He is also known for choral-orchestral music (notably the Ninth Symphony) and many shorter piano works (e.g., bagatelles).
- Yes — familiar examples include Symphony No. 5, Symphony No. 9 (the “Ode to Joy”), the “Moonlight” Sonata (Piano Sonata No. 14), Für Elise, and the Violin Concerto.

2. Where was this composer born? In what country (or countries) did this composer live and write music? What musical training did he receive?
Answer:
- Born in Bonn (then in the Electorate of Cologne, part of the Holy Roman Empire) on December 16, 1770.
- He spent his adult professional life primarily in Vienna (Austrian Empire), where he lived and wrote most of his mature works.
- Training: early lessons from his father Johann and from Christian Gottlob Neefe in Bonn; after moving to Vienna he studied briefly with Joseph Haydn and received important instruction in counterpoint from Johann Albrechtsberger and lessons in vocal composition from Antonio Salieri. He was largely self-driven in study and composition as well.

3. Name three or more of this composer's well-known musical works.
Answer:
- Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
- Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 (“Choral,” with “Ode to Joy”)
- Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2 (“Moonlight”)
- Für Elise (Bagatelle in A minor WoO 59)
- Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61
- Fidelio (opera)

4. During his lifetime, how did this composer support himself or earn a living? Was he employed by an organization, private business, or religious institution? Was he financially successful? Was his source(s) of income stable during his adult years? Provide details.
Answer:
- Beethoven was not permanently employed by a court or church in the way many earlier composers were. He was essentially a freelance composer and musician who earned money from a mix of sources: teaching (giving piano lessons), publishing and sales of compositions, income from concerts (both performing and organizing subscription concerts), and aristocratic patronage/annuities from patrons (notably Archduke Rudolph, Prince Lichnowsky, and Prince Lobkowitz at various times).
- He negotiated occasional financial arrangements (pensions/annuity agreements) with nobles that gave him some stability, but his income was never uniformly steady; he managed periods of both financial difficulty and success. By the 1810s–1820s he had achieved significant fame, received better publishing deals and concert revenues, and obtained some reliable patron support, but he continued to have money management and health complications that affected his finances.

5. How would you describe the enduring legacy of this composer? What contributions or innovations is he known for that have influenced those who came after him? Was his music appreciated when he was alive?
Answer:
- Legacy and contributions: Beethoven is often considered the bridge from the Classical to the Romantic era. He expanded the scale, harmonic language, orchestration, and emotional range of forms such as the symphony, sonata, and string quartet. Innovations include extended motivic development (e.g., the use of short motives as structural drivers), expanded formal structures (longer developments, integrated cyclic elements), greater use of dramatic contrast and personal expression, and the integration of voices in a symphony (Symphony No. 9). These developments deeply influenced later composers (Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Wagner, Mahler and many others).
- Reception in his lifetime: He was famous and highly respected in his lifetime — admired for his heroic public persona and celebrated works — though some of his late works were controversial or regarded as eccentric by contemporaries. Major works (e.g., later string quartets, Ninth Symphony) created strong reactions and sometimes puzzled critics, but overall he enjoyed considerable recognition and influence before his death.

Part 2: Composition — Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125

Title of the piece: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 (“Choral”)
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

1. Why did you select this piece? What do you like about it?
Answer:
- I selected the Ninth Symphony because of its monumental scope and unique combination of symphony and chorus. The final movement’s setting of Schiller’s “An die Freude” (“Ode to Joy”) is musically powerful and emotionally uplifting. I appreciate its dramatic contrasts, the way themes transform across movements, its intense energy (first and second movements), lyrical warmth (third movement), and the boldness of ending a symphony with voices — an innovation that broadened what a symphony could be.

2. When did the composer create this music? How old was the composer when he wrote the piece? How long did it take him to write it?
Answer:
- Beethoven worked on the Ninth Symphony roughly between 1822 and 1824; sketches for ideas exist earlier, and he completed the score in 1824.
- He was born in 1770, so he was about 52–54 years old while composing it.
- Composition time: the main concentrated work on the Ninth took about two years, though Beethoven had been collecting and experimenting with relevant materials and sketches over a longer span; the final preparation and rehearsals occurred in 1823–1824 before the premiere.

3. Did the composer write the piece to satisfy a commission from a person or an institution? Was the composer paid to write the piece? If so, by whom and for what purpose? Do you think this person or institution had an influence on the final product? Explain.
Answer:
- The Ninth Symphony was not written as a straightforward commission in the usual sense; it was a major personal project. Beethoven did have professional ties with and occasional commissions from societies such as the Philharmonic Society of London for other works, but the Ninth itself arose from Beethoven’s own artistic impulse and from a desire to push the symphonic form further.
- He did, however, benefit financially from public concerts and subscriptions associated with its preparation and premiere; the 1824 Vienna benefit concert for Beethoven included the premiere and produced income.
- Because the Ninth was driven primarily by Beethoven’s artistic goals rather than a patron’s specific brief, external institutions had limited influence on its artistic content. The scope and daring of the work reflect Beethoven’s personal vision more than a commissioning body’s demands.

4. Was this piece of music well liked when it was released? In your opinion, is it more important for a composer to impress the critics or the general public? Why?
Answer:
- At its premiere (May 7, 1824, Vienna) the Ninth Symphony was met with enthusiastic public applause; the audience reacted strongly to its grandeur and the choral finale. Contemporary critics were mixed: many praised its grandeur and novelty, while some found parts bewildering or too radical. Over a short period, public admiration grew and the work became a cornerstone of the repertoire.
- Opinion on critics vs public: both matter but for different reasons. Critical assessment can help place a work in an artistic and historical context and can encourage rigorous standards, while public appreciation ensures the music is heard and has cultural impact. Ideally a composer should remain true to artistic goals rather than tailoring solely to critics or popular tastes, because lasting works tend to combine integrity with communicative power. In short: artistic integrity first, but communicating to the public is essential for a piece to have life and influence.

5. What form of music does this piece represent? Use music terms and be specific in your description.
Answer:
- The Ninth is a symphony in four movements, but it expands traditional symphonic form by adding vocal soloists and a chorus in the final movement.
- Movement I: Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso — a large-scale sonata-allegro structure with extended development and dramatic motivic work.
- Movement II: Molto vivace — a vigorous scherzo (in 2/4) with strong rhythmic drive and fugal/contrapuntal elements; Beethoven treats the scherzo as a central, energetic contrast to the opening movement.
- Movement III: Adagio molto e cantabile — a slow, lyrical movement featuring expansive melodies and lyrical variations; often described as a set of variations/sonata-adagio style.
- Movement IV: Presto — begins with orchestral recitative-like sections that lead into the presentation of the “Ode to Joy” theme; the movement functions as a combination of theme-and-variations, fugato sections, and culminating full choral and solo vocal settings of Schiller’s poem. The finale incorporates fugue, variation, and hymn-like chorus, and unifies material from earlier movements (cyclic technique).
- Orchestration: standard Classical orchestra expanded for dramatic effect (including trombones in the finale, chorus, and vocal soloists). The work is notable for its large-scale formal innovations, motivic unity across movements, and the unprecedented merger of symphonic and vocal forces.

(Recommended listening note: typical performance time is about 65–75 minutes depending on tempos.)