Hayden, Beethoven, and Scarlatti
Hayden, Beethoven, and Scarlatti
The concert features classical, music performances including Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, Joseph Haydn’s Cello Concerto, and Domenico Scarlatti’s Sonata (Broyles, 2011). Domenico Scarlatti, Ludwig Van Beethoven, and Joseph Haydn are fascinating, historical figures of classical music. There is no doubt that these composers’ work is, surely, in the realm of the keyboard sonata. The classical maestros composed using musical styles most revered in the 18th century continental Europe (Keefe, 2005). For instance, the world regards Ludwig Van Beethoven among the greatest masters of a musical composition. He would sometimes design the architecture of movement before deciding upon the subject matter.Classical music is a style of music, in which form plays a significant role than the traditional styles (Miller, 2007). The use of the sonata form is the defining feature for this style of music. The sonatas were immensely popular and pervasive in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. The sonatas invaded many music genre of the time including church music and opera. The three classical artists discussed here made compositions that a hybrid of different genres of music.
In relation to the sorrowful classical music, these artists delivered sonatas and concertos that bring emotions and soothes the soul. The theme comprises reference to occurrences such as lost love. These are experiences that we go through on the daily life practices. Beethoven’s moonlight sonatas, Scarlatti’s concerto, and Haydn’s sonatas bring this theme nicely in musical presentation (Sutcliff, 2003). The hybrids came about through the blend of variation form and Rondo, and the sonata form. In simple terms, the sonatas begin with simplicity and tonal stability. It becomes intense towards the middle section. They reduce in complexity and tension, in the last section. The climax comes at the middle the point at which the most complex textures appear, in addition to significant changes, in key and rhythmic patterns.
Joseph Haydn was a master of the sonata form even though he did not create it. His mastery of form and use of false recapitulation was exceptional. Haydn regularly surprised the listener by using unexpected twists and turns. He employed unexpected key changes; sudden shifts of harmony or rhythm; or change in phrases are some of the tricks used by Haydn. Beethoven liked the combination of Mozart’s multiple themes and Haydn’s monothematic technique. He achieved it by creating a theme different from the first theme. He inherited the sonata form from Haydn and Mozart and created his diverse classical approach.
Scarlatti was conservative and disciplined than Haydn, in terms of following the rules of music. He was less dramatic, yet his music is exceptional and incomparable. Haydn was dramatic, surprising, and shocking to the listeners. Domenico Scarlatti’s music is ordinary. However, they are exceptional masterpieces. Beethoven, Haydn, and Scarlatti are the first composers to use interlocking thematic devices to achieve unity between movements, in music involving long compositions. They created new styles and innovations in virtually everything, on which they laid their hands. They composed a wide variety of music including keyboard sonatas, opera, symphonies, and instrumental sonatas.
The concert’s selection of the artists represents the 18th century heroes of classical music. Their pieces are soul music that soothes the heart providing consolation for the various life troubles. For instance, Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata is a musical dedication to his pupil, Giulietta Guicciardi, (Miller, 2007). The two would fall in love soon after starting the lessons. She would accept Beethoven’s proposal for marriage, only to realize that one of her parents did not approve of the friendship, forbidding him from marrying her. The sorrowful experience culminated in the scripting of Beethoven’s classical masterpiece. Beethoven’s sonatas have three separate notes or movements: Adagio sostenuto, Allegretto, and Presto agitato are the three parts of the Sonata.
Musical Notes
The composers used three movements in their various long compositions (Miller, 2007). In his classical piece, Cello Concerto, C Major, Hob Vllb: 1, Haydn used three movements Allegro, Andante, and Allegro. The movements represent the steps and transitions in long compositions. Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata also has three movements; Adagio Sostenuto, Allegretto, and Presto Agitato constitute the three movements of the Moonlight Sonata (Miller, 2007). The first note is hugely popular, but mysterious (Ibid).
It has a dark, whisper-like melody. It has its form condensed so that it starts the main melody, builds it, and repeats it again like the original melody. The second movement is a comical and developed to move fast. The composition is in the form of scherzo, applied in place of Minuet and trio during Beethoven’s time.The second movement uses D flat major, which is irrelevant to C#, the general key. The third note is unique and different from the other twonotes. It is powerful and rejuvenating due the sharp progression from note to note. Domenico Scarlatti’s Sonata comprises two brief movements. Scarlatti used many daring and complex devices including intricate hand-crossings, repeated trills, notes, and skips. His work is different from the subsequent works of Haydn and others like Mozart, perfected by Beethoven. Scarlatti’s Sonata is different and incomparable, in terms of technical capacity. It is only the work of Fredrick Chopin that can rival his technical composition.
Beethoven, Haydn, and Scarlatti used diverse modes of expression. They were dramatic and sometimes playful and humorous (Ibid). Their music is powerful and dramatic that it makes your skin crawl. These are three maestro music composers that were innovative, diverse, and dynamic. The popularity of their music cuts across time and that is why performances of these musical classics are still popular today. They constitute finest performances across the entertainment settings across the world. The concert brings the memories of the 18th century experiences told from artist’s personal experiences. The theme draws from Beethoven’s loss of love to Haydn’s loss of a friend to death. There is no other way to express these emotional events, in an entertaining manner, than through classical masterpieces.
References
Broyles, M. “Beethoven in America”. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2011.
Keefe, S. “The Cambridge Companion to the Concerto”. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
Miller, N. “Beethoven: Piano Sonata 14- Moonlight Movement”. Neill Miller Analyzed Editions, 2007.
Sutcliffe, B. “The Keyboard Sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti and Eighteen- Century Music Style”. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
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