A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group. The string quartet is one of the most prominent chamber ensembles in classical music. The string quartet is widely seen as one of the most important forms in chamber music, with most major composers, from the late 18th century onwards, writing string quartets.

History

David Wyn Jones traces the origin of the string quartet to the Baroque trio sonata, in which two solo instruments performed with a continuo section consisting of a bass instrument (such as the cello) and keyboard. A very early example is a four-part sonata for string ensemble by Gregorio Allegri (1582–1652) that might be considered an important prototype string quartet. By the early 18th century, composers were often adding a third soloist; and moreover it was common to omit the keyboard part, letting the cello support the bass line alone. Thus when Alessandro Scarlatti wrote a set of six works entitled "Sonata à Quattro per due Violini, Violetta [viola], e Violoncello senza Cembalo" (Sonata for four instruments: two violins, viola, and cello without harpsichord), this was a natural evolution from existing tradition.

Wyn Jones also suggests another possible source for the string quartet, namely the widespread practice of playing works written for string orchestra with just four players, covering the bass part with cello alone.

A composition for four players of stringed instruments may be in any form, Quartets written in the classical period usually have four movements with a large-scale structure similar to that of a symphony: the outer movements are typically fast, the inner movements quartet consisting of a slow movement and a dance movement of some sort (e.g., minuet or scherzo), in either order. Substantial modifications to the typical structure were already achieved in Beethoven's later quartets, and despite some notable examples to the contrary, composers writing in the twentieth century increasingly abandoned this structure.

The string quartet arose to prominence with the work of Joseph Haydn. Haydn's own discovery of the quartet form appears to have arisen essentially by accident. The young composer was working for Baron Carl von Joseph Edler von Fürnberg sometime around 1755-1757 at his country estate in Weinzierl, about fifty miles from Vienna. The Baron wanted to hear music, and the available players happened to be two violinists, a violist, and a cellist. Haydn's early biographer Georg August Griesinger tells the story thus:

: ''The following purely chance circumstance had led him to try his luck at the composition of quartets. A Baron Fürnberg had a place in Weinzierl, several stages from Vienna, and he invited from time to time his pastor, his manager, Haydn, and Albrechtsberger (a brother of the celebrated contrapuntist Albrechtsberger) in order to have a little music. Fürnberg requested Haydn to compose something that could be performed by these four amateurs. Haydn, then eighteen years old, took up this proposal, and so originated his first quartet which, immediately it appeared, received such general approval that Haydn took courage to work further in this form.''

Haydn went on to write nine other quartets around this time. These works, published as his Op. 1 and Op. 2, have five movements and take the form: fast movement, minuet and trio I, slow movement, minuet and trio II, and fast finale. As Finscher notes, they draw stylistically on the Austrian divertimento tradition.

Franz Schubert's string quartets No. 12 in C minor, "Quartettsatz", No. 13 in A minor "Rosamunde", No. 14 in D minor, "Death and the Maiden" and his final No. 15 in G major

Felix Mendelssohn's six string quartets

Robert Schumann's three string quartets

Louis Spohr's 36 string quartets, including four double string quartets for two ensembles

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 11, known for its second movement "Andante cantabile"

Bedřich Smetana's String Quartet No. 1 in E minor, "From my Life"

Johannes Brahms's three string quartets

Antonín Dvořák's String Quartets No. 11-14, particularly String Quartet No. 12 in F major, "American"

Alexander Borodin's two string quartets, especially String Quartet No. 2 in D major, known for its third movement "Notturno"

Edvard Grieg's String Quartet in G minor

Giuseppe Verdi's only String Quartet in E minor

Giacomo Puccini's ''Crisantemi''

Claude Debussy's only String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10

Gabriel Fauré's String Quartet in E minor, Op. 121

Hugo Wolf's ''Italian Serenade'' (he also arranged it for string orchestra)

Arnold Schoenberg's four string quartets

Maurice Ravel's only String Quartet in F major

Jean Sibelius's String Quartet in D minor, Op. 56, "Voces intimae"

Leoš Janáček's String Quartet No. 1, "Kreutzer Sonata", inspired by Leo Tolstoy's novel ''The Kreutzer Sonata''

Edward Elgar's String Quartet Op. 83 (1918)

Béla Bartók's six string quartets

Alban Berg's ''Lyric Suite'', originally composed for string quartet

Anton Webern's early ''Five Movements for String Quartet'', Op. 5 and later serial String Quartet, Op. 28

Paul Hindemith's String Quartets No. 1-7, particularly No. 4

Heitor Villa-Lobos's 17 string quartets

Bohuslav Martinů's eight surviving string quartets (Nos. 1-7 and the unnumbered "Three Horsemen") as well as his Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra

Sergei Prokofiev's two string quartets, the String Quartet No. 1 of which was commissioned by the Library of Congress

Dmitri Shostakovich's 15 string quartets, in particular the String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110

Elliott Carter's five string quartets are among the most widely acclaimed series in recent years

Samuel Barber's String Quartet, Op. 11, known for its second movement, which is commonly heard in its string orchestra arrangement, the ''Adagio for Strings''.

Benjamin Britten's three numbered string quartets, especially No. 2 (1945) and No. 3 (1975)

Michael Tippett's five quartets

Giacinto Scelsi's five quartets

Witold Lutosławski's String Quartet (1964)

György Ligeti's String Quartet No. 2 (1968)

George Crumb's string quartet ''Black Angels'' (1970), which inspired the formation of the Kronos Quartet.

Henri Dutilleux's String Quartet ''Ainsi la Nuit'' (1976)

Iannis Xenakis' ''ST/4'' (1962)

Luigi Nono's String Quartet ''Fragmente-Stille, An Diotima'' (1980)

Helmut Lachenmann's 3 string quartets, "Gran Torso" (1971-72/78/88), "Reigen seliger Geister" (1989) and "Grido" (2001/2)

Morton Feldman's 2nd String Quartet (1983), at 5-6 hours, the longest continuous ever

Philip Glass's five string quartets

Peter Maxwell Davies' ten "Naxos" Quartets

Horaţiu Rădulescu's ''Fourth String Quartet'' – "infinite to be cannot be infinite, infinite anti-be could be infinite" (1976–87) for 9 string quartets, i.e. one in the center and 8 with spectral scordatura around the audience (more commonly performed with 8 pre-recorded string quartets)

Steve Reich's pieces for multiple string quartets, most notably ''Different Trains'', ''Triple Quartet'' and ''WTC 9/11''

R. Murray Schafer's eleven string quartets.

String quartets (ensembles)

For the purposes of performance, groups of string players sometimes group together to make ad hoc string quartets. Other groups continue playing together for many years, sometimes changing their members but retaining their name. Well-known string quartets can be found on the list of string quartet ensembles.

See also

String trio

String quintet

String sextet

String octet

List of string quartet composers

List of string quartet ensembles

Footnotes

References

Finscher, Ludwig (2000) ''Joseph Haydn und seine Zeit''. Laaber, Germany: Laaber.

Griesinger, Georg August (1810/1963) ''Biographical Notes Concerning Joseph Haydn''. Leipzig: Breitkopf und Härtel. English translation by Vernon Gotwals, in ''Haydn: Two Contemporary Portraits''. Milwaukee: University of Wisconsin Press.

Webster, James, and Georg Feder (2001), "Joseph Haydn", article in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (New York: Grove, 2001). Published separately as a book: ''The New Grove Haydn'' (New York: Macmillan 2002, ISBN 0-19-516904-2).

Wyn Jones, David (2003) "The origins of the quartet. in Robin Stowell, ed., ''The Cambridge companion to the string quartet''. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-00042-4.

Further reading

Francis Vuibert (2009). ''Répertoire universel du quatuor à cordes'', ProQuartet-CEMC. ISBN 978-2-9531544-0-5

David Blum (1986). ''The Art of Quartet Playing: The Guarneri Quartet in Conversation with David Blum'', New York: Alfred A. Knopf Inc. ISBN 0-394-53985-0,

Arnold Steinhardt (1998).''Indivisible by four'', Farrar, Straus Giroux. ISBN 0-374-52700-8

Edith Eisler (2000). ''21st-Century String Quartets'', String Letter Publishing. ISBN 1-890490-15-6

Paul Griffiths (1983). ''The String Quartet: A History'', New York: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-500-01311-X

David Rounds (1999), ''The Four & the One: In Praise of String Quartets'', Fort Bragg, CA: Lost Coast Press. ISBN 1-882897-26-9.

Robin Stowell, ed (2003) ''The Cambridge Companion to the String Quartet'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-00042-4. A general guide to the history of string quartet ensembles, their repertory, and performance.

Charles Rosen (1971). ''The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven'', Faber & Faber. ISBN 0 571 10234 4 (soft covers): ISBN 0 571 09118 0 (hardback).

Reginald Barrett-Ayres (1974). ''Joseph Haydn and the String Quartet'', Schirmer Books. ISBN 0 02 870400 2.

Hans Keller (1986). ''The Great HAYDN Quartets - Their Interpretation'', J M Dent. ISBN 0 460 86107 7.

External links

Greg Sandow - Introducing String Quartets

A brief history of the development of the String Quartet up to Beethoven

Beethoven's string quartets

Art of the States: string quartet works for string quartet by American composers

String Quartet Sound-bites from lesser known composers E.G. Onslow, Viotti, Rheinberger, Gretchaninov, A.Taneyev, Kiel, Busoni & many more.

European archive String quartet recordings on copyright free Lp's at the European Archive (for non-American users only).

Shostakovich: the string quartets

Quartet compositions and performers since about 1914 and the connections between them

Category:Chamber music Category:Musical groups 4 String

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name	Maurice Ravel
birth name	Joseph Maurice Ravel
birth date	March 07, 1875
birth place	Ciboure, France
death date	December 28, 1937
death place	Paris
resting place	Levallois-Perret
nationality	French
occupation	Composer
partner	None
relatives	Marie Delouart, Joseph Ravel }}

Joseph-Maurice Ravel (March 7, 1875December 28, 1937) was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects. Much of his piano music, chamber music, vocal music and orchestral music has entered the standard concert repertoire.

Ravel's piano compositions, such as ''Jeux d'eau'', ''Miroirs'', ''Le tombeau de Couperin'' and ''Gaspard de la nuit'', demand considerable virtuosity from the performer, and his orchestral music, including ''Daphnis et Chloé'' and his arrangement of Modest Mussorgsky's ''Pictures at an Exhibition'', uses a variety of sound and instrumentation.

Ravel is perhaps known best for his orchestral work ''Boléro'' (1928), which he considered trivial and once described as "a piece for orchestra without music."

According to SACEM, Ravel's estate earns more royalties than that of any other French composer. According to international copyright law, Ravel's works have been in the public domain since January 1, 2008, in most countries. In France, due to anomalous copyright law extensions to account for the two world wars, they will not enter the public domain until 2015.

Biography

Early life

Ravel was born in the Basque town of Ciboure, France, near Biarritz, close to the border with Spain, in 1875. His mother, Marie Delouart, was of Basque descent and grew up in Madrid, Spain, while his father, Joseph Ravel, was a Swiss inventor and industrialist from French Haute-Savoie. Both were Catholics and they provided a happy and stimulating household for their children. Some of Joseph's inventions were quite important, including an early internal-combustion engine and a notorious circus machine, the "Whirlwind of Death," an automotive loop-the-loop that was quite a success until a fatal accident at the Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1903. Joseph delighted in taking his sons to factories to see the latest mechanical devices, and he also had a keen interest in music and culture. Ravel substantiated his father's early influence by stating later, “As a child, I was sensitive to music—- to every kind of music.”

Ravel was very fond of his mother, and her Basque heritage was a strong influence on his life and music. Among his earliest memories are folk songs she sang to him. The family moved to Paris three months after the birth of Maurice, and there his younger brother Édouard was born. Édouard became his father’s favorite and also became an engineer.

Though obviously talented at the piano, Ravel demonstrated a preference for composing. He was particularly impressed by the new Russian works conducted by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov at the Exposition Universelle in 1889. The foreign music at the exhibition also had a great influence on Ravel’s contemporaries Erik Satie, Emmanuel Chabrier, and most significantly Claude Debussy. That year Ravel also met Ricardo Viñes, who would become one of his best friends, one of the foremost interpreters of his piano music, and an important link between Ravel and Spanish music. The students shared an appreciation for Richard Wagner, the Russian school, and the writings of Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Baudelaire, and Stéphane Mallarmé.

The Conservatoire and early career

Ravel’s parents encouraged his musical pursuits and sent him to the Conservatoire de Paris, first as a preparatory student and eventually as a piano major. His teachers included Émile Descombes. He received a first prize in the piano student competition in 1891. Overall, however, he was not successful academically even as his musicianship matured dramatically. Considered “very gifted”, Ravel was also called “somewhat heedless” in his studies. He dressed like a dandy and was meticulous about his appearance and demeanor. Short in stature, light in frame, and bony in features, Ravel had the "appearance of a well-dressed jockey". His large head seemed suitably matched to his great intellect. He was well-read and later accumulated a library of over 1,000 volumes.

After failing to meet the requirement of earning a competitive medal in three consecutive years, Ravel was expelled during 1895. He turned down a music professorship in Tunisia then returned to the Conservatoire in 1898 and started his studies with Gabriel Fauré, determined to focus on composing rather than piano playing. He studied composition with Fauré until he was dismissed from the class in 1900 for having won neither the fugue nor the composition prize. He remained an auditor with Fauré until he left the Conservatoire in 1903. Ravel found his teacher’s personality and methods sympathetic and they remained friends and colleagues. He also undertook private studies with André Gedalge, whom he later stated was responsible for "the most valuable elements of my technique." Ravel studied the ability of each instrument carefully in order to determine the possible effects, and was sensitive to their color and timbre. This may account for his success as an orchestrator and as a transcriber of his own piano works and those of other composers, such as Mussorgsky, Debussy and Schumann.

His first significant work, ''Habanera'' for two pianos, was later transcribed into the well-known third movement of his ''Rapsodie espagnole'', which he dedicated to Charles-Wilfrid de Bériot, another of his professors at the Conservatoire. His first published work was ''Menuet antique'', dedicated to and premiered by Viñes. In 1899, Ravel conducted his first orchestral piece, ''Shéhérazade'', and was greeted by a raucous mixture of boos and applause. The critics were somewhat unfavorable, ''e.g.'' reviling him as "a jolting debut: a clumsy plagiarism of the Russian School" and terming him a “mediocrely gifted debutante ... who will perhaps become something if not someone in about ten years, if he works hard.” As the most gifted composer of his class and as a leader, with Debussy, of avant-garde French music, Ravel would continue to have a difficult time with the critics for some time to come. Around 1900, Ravel joined with a number of innovative young artists, poets, critics, and musicians who were referred to as the ''Apaches'' (hooligans), a name coined by Viñes to represent his band of "artistic outcasts". The group met regularly until the beginning of World War I and the members often inspired each other with intellectual argument and performances of their works before the group. For a time, the influential group included Igor Stravinsky and Manuel de Falla. One of the first works Ravel performed for the Apaches was ''Jeux d'eau'', his first piano masterpiece and clearly a pathfinding impressionistic work. Viñes performed the public premiere of this piece and Ravel's other early masterpiece ''Pavane pour une infante défunte'' during 1902.

During his years at the Conservatoire, Ravel tried numerous times to win the prestigious Prix de Rome, but to no avail; he was probably considered too radical by the conservatives, including Director Théodore Dubois. One of Ravel's pieces, the String Quartet in F, probably modeled on Debussy’s Quartet (1893), is now a standard work of chamber music, though at the time it was criticized and found lacking academically. After a scandal involving his loss of the prize during 1905 to Victor Gallois, despite being favored to win, Ravel left the Conservatoire. The incident – named the "Ravel Affair" by the Parisian press – engaged the entire artistic community, pitting conservatives against the avant-garde, and eventually caused the resignation of Dubois and his replacement by Fauré, a vindication of sorts for Ravel. Though deprived of the opportunity to study in Rome, the decade after the scandal proved to be Ravel's most productive, and included his "Spanish period".

Ravel and Debussy

Ravel met Debussy during the 1890s. Debussy was older than Ravel by some twelve years and his pioneering ''Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune'' was influential among the younger musicians including Ravel, who were impressed by the new language of impressionism. During 1900, Ravel was invited to Debussy’s home and they played each other’s works. Viñes became the preferred piano performer for both composers and a go-between. The two composers attended many of the same musical events and were performed at the same concerts. Ravel and the Apaches were strong supporters of Debussy’s controversial public debut of his unconventional opera ''Pelléas et Mélisande'', which garnered Debussy both fame and scorn. Even though they worked independently of one another, because they employed differing means to similar ends, and because superficial similarities and even some more substantive ones are evident, the public and the critics associated them more than the facts warranted.

Ravel wrote that Debussy’s “genius was obviously one of great individuality, creating its own laws, constantly in evolution, expressing itself freely, yet always faithful to French tradition. For Debussy, the musician and the man, I have had profound admiration, but by nature I am different from Debussy.” Ravel further stated, “I think I have always personally followed a direction opposed to that of the symbolism of Debussy.” As Ravel said, “It is probably better after all for us to be on frigid terms for illogical reasons.”

Early major works

The next of Ravel’s piano compositions to become famous was ''Miroirs'' (Mirrors, 1905), five piano pieces which marked a “harmonic evolution” and which one commentator described as “intensely descriptive and pictorial. They banish all sentiment in expression but offer to the listener a number of refined sensory elements which can be appreciated according to his imagination.” Next was his ''Histoires naturelles'' (Nature Stories), five humorous songs evoking the presence of five animals. Two years later, Ravel completed his ''Rapsodie espagnole'', his first major "Spanish" piece, written first for piano four hands and then scored for orchestra. Though it employs folk-like melodies, no actual folk songs are quoted. It premiered during 1908 to generally good reviews, with one critic stating that it was "one of the most interesting novelties of the season", while Pierre Lalo (as usual) reacted negatively, calling it "laborious and pedantic". Next followed Ravel's music for the opera ''L'heure espagnole'' (The Spanish Hour), full of humor and rich in color, employing a wide variety of instruments and their characteristic qualities, including the trombone, sarrusophone, tuba, celesta, xylophone, and bells. The libretto was by Franc-Nohain, after his own comedy of the same name.

Ravel further extended his mastery of impressionistic piano music with ''Gaspard de la nuit'', based on a collection by the same name by Aloysius Bertrand, with some influence from the writings of Edgar Allan Poe, particularly in the second part. Viñes, as usual, performed the premiere but his performance displeased Ravel, and their relationship became strained from then on. For future premieres, Ravel replaced Viñes with Marguerite Long. Also unhappy with the conservative musical establishment which was discouraging performance of new music, around this time Ravel, Fauré, and some of his pupils formed the Société musicale indépendante (SMI). During 1910, the society presented the premiere of Ravel’s ''Ma mère l'oye'' (Mother Goose) in its original piano duet version. With this work, Ravel followed in the tradition of Schumann, Mussorgsky, and Debussy, who also created memorable works of childhood themes. During 1912, Ravel's ''Ma mère l'oye'' was performed as a ballet (with added music) after being first transcribed from piano to orchestra. Looking to expand his contacts and career, Ravel made his first foreign tours to England and Scotland during 1909 and 1911.

''Daphnis et Chloé''

Ravel began work with impresario Sergei Diaghilev during 1909 for the ballet ''Daphnis et Chloé'' commissioned by Diaghilev with the lead danced by the famous ballet dancer and choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky. Diaghilev had taken Paris by storm the previous year in his Parisian opera debut, ''Boris Godunov''. In frustration, Diaghilev nearly cancelled the project. The ballet had an unenthusiastic reception and lasted only two performances, only to be revived to acclaim a year later. Igor Stravinsky called ''Daphnis et Chloé'' "one of the most beautiful products of all French music" and author Burnett James claims that it is "Ravel's most impressive single achievement, as it is his most opulent and confident orchestral score". The work is notable for its rhythmic diversity, lyricism, and evocations of nature. The score utilizes a large orchestra and two choruses, one onstage and one offstage. So exhausting was the effort to score the ballet that Ravel's health deteriorated, with a diagnosis of neurasthenia soon forcing him to rest for several months. During 1914, just as World War I began, Ravel composed his Piano Trio (for piano, violin, and cello) with its Basque themes. The piece, difficult to play well, is considered a masterpiece among trio works.

War years

Although he considered his small stature and light weight an advantage to becoming an aviator, and he tried every means of securing service as a flyer, during the First World War Ravel was not allowed to enlist as a pilot because of his age and weak health. Instead, he became a truck driver stationed at the Verdun front. At one point Ravel's unit engaged a German unit that included a young Adolf Hitler. With his mother’s death during 1917, his fondest relationship ended and he began a “horrible despair”, adding to his ill health and the general gloom over the suffering endured by the people of his country during the war. However, during the war years, Ravel did manage some compositions, including one of his most popular works, ''Le tombeau de Couperin'', a commemoration of the musical ideals of François Couperin, the early 18th century composer, which premiered during 1919. Each movement is dedicated to a friend of Ravel's who died in the war, with the final movement dedicated to the deceased husband of Ravel’s favorite pianist Marguerite Long.

1920s

Around 1920, Diaghilev commissioned Ravel to write ''La valse'' (The Waltz), originally named ''Wien'' (Vienna), which was to be used for a projected ballet. The piece, conceived many years earlier, became a waltz with a macabre undertone, famous for its “fantastic and fatal whirling”. However, it was rejected by Diaghilev as “not a ballet. It’s a portrait of ballet”. Ravel, hurt by the comment, ended the relationship. Subsequently, it became a popular concert work and when the two men met again during 1925, Ravel refused to shake Diaghilev's hand. Diaghilev challenged Ravel to a duel, but friends persuaded Diaghilev to recant. The two never met again.

During 1920, the French government awarded Ravel the Légion d'honneur, but he refused it. The next year, he retired to the French countryside where he continued to write music, albeit even less prolifically, but in more tranquil surroundings. He returned regularly to Paris for performances and socializing, and increased his foreign concert tours. Ravel maintained his influential participation with the SMI which continued its active role of promoting new music, particularly of British and American composers such as Arnold Bax, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Aaron Copland, and Virgil Thomson. With Debussy’s death, Ravel became perceived popularly as the main composer of French classical music. As Fauré stated in a letter to Ravel in October 1922, “I am happier than you can imagine about the solid position which you occupy and which you have acquired so brilliantly and so rapidly. It is a source of joy and pride for your old professor.” During 1922, Ravel completed his ''Sonata for Violin and Cello''. Dedicated to Debussy’s memory, the work features the thinner texture popular with the younger postwar composers. Ravel was fully aware of this, and was mostly effective in preventing a serious breach between his generation of musicians and the younger group. These trends posed challenges for Ravel, always a slow and deliberate composer, who desired to keep his music relevant but still revered the past. This may have played a part in his declining output and longer composing time during the 1920s. Around this time, he also completed ''Chansons madécasses'', the summit of his vocal art.

During 1927, Ravel’s String Quartet received its first complete recording. By this time Ravel, like Edward Elgar, had become convinced of the importance of recording his works, especially with his input and direction. He made recordings nearly every year from then until his death. That same year, he completed and premiered his Sonata for Violin and Piano, his last chamber work, with its second movement (titled “Blues”) gaining much attention.

Ravel also served as a juror with Florence Meyer Blumenthal in awarding the Prix Blumenthal, a grant given between 1919 and 1954 to young French painters, sculptors, decorators, engravers, writers, and musicians.

American tour

After two months of planning, during 1928 Ravel made a four-month concert tour in North America, for a promised minimum of $10,000 The noted critic Olin Downes wrote, “Mr. Ravel has pursued his way as an artist quietly and very well. He has disdained superficial or meretricious effects. He has been his own most unsparing critic.” Ravel conducted most of the leading orchestras in the U.S. from coast to coast and visited twenty-five cities.

He also met the American composer George Gershwin in New York and went with him to hear jazz in Harlem, probably hearing some of the famous jazz musicians such as Duke Ellington. There is a story that when Gershwin met Ravel, he mentioned that he would like to study with the French composer. According to Gershwin, the Frenchman retorted, "Why do you want to become a second-rate Ravel when you are already a first-rate Gershwin?" The second part of the story has Ravel asking Gershwin how much money he made. Upon hearing Gershwin's reply, Ravel suggested that maybe ''he'' should study with Gershwin. This tale may well be apocryphal: Gershwin seems also to have told a near-identical story about a conversation with Arnold Schoenberg, and some have claimed it was with Igor Stravinsky. (See George Gershwin.) In any event, this had to have been before Ravel wrote ''Boléro'', which became financially very successful for him.

Ravel then visited New Orleans and imbibed the jazz scene there as well. His admiration of jazz, increased by his American visit, caused him to include some jazz elements in a few of his later compositions, especially the two piano concertos. The great success of his American tour made Ravel famous internationally.

Final years

After returning to France, Ravel composed his most famous and controversial orchestral work ''Boléro'', originally called ''Fandango''. Ravel called it “an experiment in a very special and limited direction”. He stated his idea for the piece, “I am going to try to repeat it a number of times on different orchestral levels but without any development.” He conceived of it as an accompaniment to a ballet and not as an orchestral piece as, in his own opinion, “it has no music in it”, and was somewhat taken aback by its popular success. Ravel made one of the few recordings of his own music when he conducted his ''Boléro'' with the Lamoureux Orchestra in 1930.

Remarkably, Ravel composed both of his piano concertos simultaneously. He completed the Concerto for the Left Hand first. The work was commissioned by Austrian pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who had lost his right arm during World War I. Ravel was inspired by the technical challenges of the project. As Ravel stated, “In a work of this kind, it is essential to give the impression of a texture no thinner than that of a part written for both hands.” At the premiere of the work, Ravel, not proficient enough to perform the work with only his left hand, played two-handed and Wittgenstein was reportedly underwhelmed by it. But later Wittgenstein stated, “Only much later, after I’d studied the concerto for months, did I become fascinated by it and realized what a great work it was.” In 1933, Wittgenstein played the work in concert for the first time to instant acclaim. Critic Henry Prunières wrote, “From the opening measures, we are plunged into a world in which Ravel has but rarely introduced us.” Ravel dedicated the work to his favorite pianist, Marguerite Long, who played it and popularized it across Europe in over twenty cities, and they recorded it together during 1932. EMI later reissued the 1932 recording on LP and CD. Although Ravel was listed as the conductor on the original 78-rpm discs, it is possible he merely supervised the recording.

Ravel, ever modest, was bemused by the critics' sudden favor of him since his American tour, “Didn’t I represent to the critics for a long time the most perfect example of insensitivity and lack of emotion?... And the successes they have given me in the past few years are just as unimportant.” However, afterwards he began to experience aphasia-like symptoms and was frequently absent-minded. He had begun work on music for a film, ''Adventures of Don Quixote'' (1933) from Miguel de Cervantes's celebrated novel, featuring the Russian bass Feodor Chaliapin and directed by G. W. Pabst. When Ravel became unable to compose, and could not write down the musical ideas he heard in his mind, Pabst hired Jacques Ibert. However, three songs for baritone and orchestra that Ravel composed for the film were later published under the title ''Don Quichotte a Dulcinée'', and have been performed and recorded. This accords with an earlier article, published in a journal of neurology, that closely examines Ravel's clinical history and argues that his works ''Boléro'' and Piano Concerto for the Left Hand both indicate the impacts of neurological disease. This is contradicted somewhat, however, by the earlier cited comments by Ravel about how he created the deliberately repetitious theme for ''Boléro''.

In late 1937, Ravel consented to experimental brain surgery. One hemisphere of his brain was re-inflated with serous fluid. He awoke from the surgery, called for his brother Édouard, lapsed into a coma and died shortly afterwards at the age of 62. Ravel probably died as a result of the brain surgery, with the underlying cause arguably being a brain injury caused by the automobile accident in 1932, and not from a brain tumor as some believe. This confusion may arise because his friend George Gershwin had died from a brain tumor only five months earlier. Ravel was buried with his parents in a granite tomb at the cemetery at Levallois-Perret, a suburb of northwest Paris.

Personal life

Ravel is not known to have had any intimate relationships, and his personal life, and especially his sexuality, remains a mystery. Ravel made a remark at one time suggesting that because he was such a perfectionist composer, so devoted to his work, he could never have a lasting intimate relationship with anyone. However, according to close friend and student Manuel Rosenthal, he asked violinist Hélène Jourdan-Mourhange to marry him, although she dismissed him, saying 'No, Maurice, I'm extremely fond of you, as you know, but only as a friend, and I couldn't possibly consider marrying you.'. He is quoted as saying "The only love affair I have ever had was with music". Some of his friends suggested that Ravel frequented the bordellos of Paris, but no factual evidence has ever been found to substantiate this rumor.

A recent hypothesis presented by David Lamaze, a composition teacher at the Conservatoire de Rennes in France, is that he hid in his music representations of the nickname and the name of Misia Godebska, transcribed into two groups of notes, Godebska = G D E B A and Misia = Mi + Si + A = E B A. He was invited onto her boat during a 1905 cruise on the Rhine after his failure at the Prix de Rome, for which her husband, Alfred Edwards, organized a scandal in the newspapers. This same man owned the Casino de Paris where the Ravel family had a number staged, ''Tourbillon de la mort'' (A Car Somersault). The family of her half-brother, Cipa Godebski, is said to have been like a second family for Ravel. In 1907 on Misia's boat ''L'Aimée'', Ravel completed ''L'heure espagnole'' and the ''Rapsodie espagnole,'' and at the premiere of ''Daphnis et Chloé'', Ravel arrived late and did not go to his box but to Misia's, where he offered her a Japanese doll. In her memoires, Misia hid all these facts.

Musicality

Musical sources

Active during a period of great artistic innovations and diversification, Ravel benefited from many sources and influences, though his music defies any facile classification. As Vladimir Jankélévitch notes in his biography, "no influence can claim to have conquered him entirely […]. Ravel remains ungraspable behind all these masks which the snobbery of the century has attempted to impose."

Ravel's musical language was ultimately very original, neither absolutely modernist nor impressionist. Like Debussy, Ravel categorically refused this description of “impressionist” which he believed was reserved exclusively for painting.

Ravel was a remarkable synthesist of disparate styles. His music matured early into his innovative and distinct style. As a student, he studied the scores of composers of the past methodically: as he stated, "in order to know one's own craft, one must study the craft of others." Though he liked the new French music, during his youth Ravel still felt fond of the older French styles of Franck and the Romanticism of Beethoven and Wagner. Following the teachings of Gédalge, Ravel placed high importance on melody, once stating to Vaughan Williams, that there is "an implied melodic outline in all vital music." He was inspired by various dances, his favorite being the minuet, composing the ''Menuet sur le nom d'Haydn'' during 1908, to commemorate the centenary of the death of Joseph Haydn. Other forms from which Ravel drew material include the forlane, rigaudon, waltz, czardas, habanera, passacaglia, and the boléro.

He believed that composers should be aware of both individual and national consciousness. For him, Basque music was influential. He intended to write an earlier concerto, ''Zazpiak Bat'', but it was never finished. The title is a result of his Basque heritage: meaning 'The Seven Are One' (see ''Zazpiak Bat''), it refers to the seven Basque regions, and was a motto often used in association with the idea of a Basque nation. Instead, Ravel abandoned the piece, using its nationalistic themes and rhythms in some of his other pieces. Ravel also used other folk themes including Hebraic, Greek, and Hungarian.

Ravel has almost always been considered one of the two great French impressionist composers, the other being Debussy. In reality Ravel was much more than an Impressionist (and in fact he resented being labelled as such). For example, he made extensive use of rollicking jazz tunes in his Piano Concerto in G Major in the first and third movements. Ravel also imitates Paganini's and Liszt's virtuoso gypsy themes and technique in ''Tzigane''. In his ''À la manière de...Borodine'' (''In the manner of...Borodin''), Ravel plays with the ability to both mimic and remain original. In a more complex situation, ''A la maniere de...Emmanuel Chabrier/Paraphrase sur un air de Gounod ("Faust IIème acte")'', Ravel takes on a theme from Gounod's ''Faust'' and arranges it in the style of Chabrier. He also composed short pieces in the manner of Haydn and his teacher Fauré. Even in writing in the style of others, Ravel's own voice as a composer remained distinct.

Ravel considered himself in many ways a classicist. He often relied on traditional forms, such as the ternary form, as well as traditional structures as ways of presenting his new melodic and rhythmic content, and his innovative harmonies. Ravel stated, "If I were called upon to do so, I would ask to be allowed to identify myself with the simple pronouncements made by Mozart ... He confined himself to saying that there is nothing that music cannot undertake to do, or dare, or portray, provided it continues to charm and always remain music." He often masked the sections of his structure with transitions that disguised the beginnings of the motif. This is apparent in his ''Valses nobles et sentimentales'' – inspired by Franz Schubert's collections, ''Valses nobles'' and ''Valses sentimentales'' – where the seven movements begin and end without pause, and in his chamber music where many movements are in sonata-allegro form, hiding the change from developmental sections to recapitulation.

From his own experience, Ravel was cognizant of the effect of new music on the ears of the public and he insightfully wrote:

On the initial performance of a new musical composition, the first impression of the public is generally one of reaction to the more superficial elements of its music, that is to say, to its external manifestations rather than to its inner content…often it is not until years after, when the means of expression have finally surrendered all their secrets, that the real inner emotion of the music becomes apparent to the listener.

Methods

His own composing method was craftsman-like and perfectionistic. Igor Stravinsky once referred to Ravel as "the most perfect of Swiss watchmakers", a reference to the intricacy and precision of Ravel's works. Ravel might work on a piece over several years to develop it to the best possible result, “My objective, therefore, is technical perfection. I can strive unceasingly to this end, since I am certain of never being able to attain it. The important thing is to get nearer to it all the time.”

More specifically he stated:

”In my own compositions I judge a long period of conscious gestation necessary. During this interval I come progressively, and with growing precision, to see the form and the evolution that the final work will take in its tonality. Thus I can be occupied for several years without writing a single note of the work, after which composition goes relatively quickly. But one must spend much time in eliminating all that could be regarded as superfluous in order to realize as completely as possible the definitive clarity so much desired. The moment arrives when new conceptions must be formulated for the final composition, but they cannot be artificially forced for they come only of their own accord, often deriving their original from some far-off perception and only manifesting themselves after long years.” For example, ''Gaspard de la nuit'' can be viewed as an extension of Liszt’s virtuosity and advanced harmonics. Even Ravel’s most difficult pieces, however, are marked by elegance and refinement. Walter Gieseking found some of Ravel’s piano works to be among the most difficult pieces for the instrument but always based on “musically perfectly logical concepts”; not just technically demanding but also requiring the right expression. In writing for the other sections, he often preferred to score ''in tutti'' to produce a full, clear resonance. To add surprise and added color, the melody might start with one instrument and be continued with another.

Because of his perfectionism and methods, Ravel’s musical output over four decades is quite small. Most of his works were thought out over considerable lengths of time, then notated quickly, and refined painstakingly. When a piece would not progress, he would abandon a piece until inspired anew. There are only about sixty compositions in all, of which slightly more than half are instrumental. Ravel’s body of work includes pieces for piano, chamber works, two piano concerti, ballet music, opera, and song cycles.

Ravel crafted his manuscripts meticulously, and relentlessly polished and corrected them. He destroyed hundreds of sketches and even re-copied entire autographs to correct one mistake. Early printed editions of his works were prone to errors so he worked painstakingly with his publisher, Durand, to correct them. One London critic stated "His baton is not the magician's wand of a virtuoso conductor. He just stood there beating time and keeping watch." As to how his music was to be played, Ravel was always clear and direct with his instructions.

Though never a paid critic as Debussy had been, Ravel had strong opinions on historical and contemporary music and musicians, which influenced his younger contemporaries. In creating his own music, he tended to avoid the more monumental composers as models, finding relatively little kinship with or inspiration from Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Hector Berlioz, or Franck. However, as an outspoken commentator on the Romantic giants, he found much of Beethoven "exasperating", Wagner's influence "pernicious" and Berlioz's harmony "clumsy". He had considerable admiration for other 19th century masters such as Chopin, Liszt, Mendelssohn, and Schubert. Despite what he considered its technical deficiencies, Ravel was a strong advocate of Russian music and praised its spontaneity, orchestral color, and exoticism.

Notable compositions

''Menuet antique'' (piano, 1895, orchestrated in 1929)

''Shéhérazade (ouverture de féerie)'' (1897)

''Pavane pour une infante défunte'' ("Pavane for a dead infanta") (piano 1899, orchestra 1910)

''Jeux d'eau'' (piano, 1901)

String Quartet in F major (1902–3)

''Shéhérazade'' (orchestral song cycle, 1903) Setting poems by his friend Tristan Klingsor

''Sonatine'' (piano, 1903–1905)

''Introduction and Allegro'' (pedal harp, flute, clarinet, string quartet, 1905)

''Miroirs'' ("Reflections") (piano, 1905):

*''Noctuelles'' ("Night moths")

*''Oiseaux tristes'' ("Sad birds")

*''Une barque sur l'océan'' ("A boat on the ocean"; orchestrated 1906)

*''Alborada del Gracioso'' ("Dawn song of the jester"; orchestrated 1918)

*''La vallée des cloches'' ("Valley of the bells")

''Histoires naturelles'' ("Tales from nature") (song cycle for voice and piano, text by Jules Renard, 1906)

''Pièce en forme de Habanera'' (bass voice and piano, 1907)

''Rapsodie espagnole'' ("Spanish Rhapsody") (orchestra, 1907)

''L'heure espagnole'' ("The Spanish Hour") (opera, 1907–1909)

''Gaspard de la nuit'' ("Demons of the night") (piano, 1908)

''Ma Mère l'Oye'' ("Mother Goose") (piano duet 1908–1910, orchestrated 1911, expanded into ballet 1912)

''Daphnis et Chloé'' ("Daphnis and Chloé") (ballet, 1909–1912)

''Trois Poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé'', (voice, piano, flute/piccolo, clarinet/bass clarinet and string quartet, 1913)

''Valses nobles et sentimentales'' ("Noble and Sentimental Waltzes") (piano 1911, orchestra 1912)

Piano Trio A minor (1914)

''Le Tombeau de Couperin'' ("Tombeau for Couperin"; piano 1914–1917; movements I, III, IV and V orchestrated 1919)

*I. Prelude

*II. Fugue

*III. Forlane

*IV. Rigaudon

*V. Minuet

*VI. Toccata

''La Valse'' (choreographic poem, 1906–1914 and 1919–1920)

Sonata for Violin and Cello in C Major (1920–1922)

''Chansons Madécasses'' ("Songs of Madagascar") (voice, flute, cello and piano, text by Evariste Parny, 1926)

''L'enfant et les sortilèges'' ("The Child and the Spells", lyric fantasy, 1920–1925, libretto by Colette 1917)

''Tzigane'' (violin and piano, 1924)

Sonata for Violin and Piano in G major (1923–1927)

''Fanfare'' (1927; for the children's ballet ''L'Éventail de Jeanne'', to which ten French composers each contributed a dance)

''Boléro'' (ballet, 1928)

Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D major (1929–1930; composed for Paul Wittgenstein)

Piano Concerto in G (1929–1931)

''Don Quichotte à Dulcinée'' ("Serenade of Don Quixote to Dulcinea"; voice and piano, 1932–1933)

Media depictions

Canadian filmmaker Larry Weinstein has produced two documentaries about Ravel, ''Ravel'' (1987) and ''Ravel's Brain'' (2001). The second of these two films dramatizes the musician's illness and death.

Maurice Ravel is played as a "bit role" by actor Oscar Loraine in the 1945 Gershwin film biography ''Rhapsody in Blue''.

See also

Compositions by Maurice Ravel

Expressionism

Impressionist music

Ravel scale

Notes

References

Further reading

External links

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Free Scores

www.kreusch-sheet-music.net – Free Scores by Ravel

Miscellaneous

Maurice Ravel Frontispice at www.maurice-ravel.net

Epitonic.com: Maurice Ravel featuring a track from ''Miroirs'' and ''Gaspard De La Nuit''

Biography of Maurice Ravel

The mystery of the missing Bolero millions – an artist's rights saga! – and a tale of greed?

Many quotations about Ravel's personality

Maurice Ravel "Vocalise Etude en form de Habanera" sung by Varda Kotler.

Recordings

Piano Rolls (The Reproducing Piano Roll Foundation)

Maurice Ravel on Wikilivres

Category:1875 births Category:1937 deaths Category:People from Labourd Category:French people of Basque descent Category:French people of Swiss descent Category:French composers Category:Opera composers Category:20th-century classical composers Category:Expressionism Category:Modernist composers Category:Neoclassical composers Category:French classical pianists Category:French-Basque people Category:Ballet composers Category:Honorary Members of the Royal Philharmonic Society Category:Légion d'honneur refusals Category:Prix Blumenthal Category:Jurors of the International Chopin Competition Category:Basque classical musicians

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Franz Joseph Haydn (31 March 173231 May 1809), known as Joseph Haydn (; ), was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms. He was also instrumental in the development of the piano trio and in the evolution of sonata form.

A lifelong resident of Austria, Haydn spent much of his career as a court musician for the wealthy Esterházy family on their remote estate. Isolated from other composers and trends in music until the later part of his long life, he was, as he put it, "forced to become original". At the time of his death, he was one of the most celebrated composers in Europe.

Joseph Haydn was the brother of Michael Haydn, himself a highly regarded composer, and Johann Evangelist Haydn, a tenor. He was also a close friend of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and a teacher of Ludwig van Beethoven.

Life

Childhood

Joseph Haydn was born in Rohrau, Austria, a village near the border with Hungary. His father was Mathias Haydn, a wheelwright who also served as "Marktrichter", an office akin to village mayor. Haydn's mother Maria, née Koller, had previously worked as a cook in the palace of Count Harrach, the presiding aristocrat of Rohrau. Neither parent could read music; however, Mathias was an enthusiastic folk musician, who during the journeyman period of his career had taught himself to play the harp. According to Haydn's later reminiscences, his childhood family was extremely musical, and frequently sang together and with their neighbors.

Haydn's parents had noticed that their son was musically gifted and knew that in Rohrau he would have no chance to obtain any serious musical training. It was for this reason that they accepted a proposal from their relative Johann Matthias Frankh, the schoolmaster and choirmaster in Hainburg, that Haydn be apprenticed to Frankh in his home to train as a musician. Haydn therefore went off with Frankh to Hainburg (seven miles away) and never again lived with his parents. He was about six years old.

Life in the Frankh household was not easy for Haydn, who later remembered being frequently hungry as well as constantly humiliated by the filthy state of his clothing. However, he did begin his musical training there, and soon was able to play both harpsichord and violin. The people of Hainburg heard him sing treble parts in the church choir.

There is reason to think that Haydn's singing impressed those who heard him, because he was soon brought to the attention of Georg von Reutter, the director of music in St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, who happened to be visiting Hainburg. Haydn passed his audition with Reutter, and in 1740 moved to Vienna, where he worked for the next nine years as a chorister, after 1745 in the company of his younger brother Michael.

Haydn lived in the Kapellhaus next to the cathedral, along with Reutter, Reutter's family, and the other four choirboys. He was instructed in Latin and other school subjects as well as voice, violin, and keyboard. Reutter was of little help to Haydn in the areas of music theory and composition, giving him only two lessons in his entire time as chorister. However, since St. Stephen's was one of the leading musical centers in Europe, Haydn was able to learn a great deal simply by serving as a professional musician there.

Like Frankh before him, Reutter did not always bother to make sure Haydn was properly fed. As he later told his biographer Albert Christoph Dies, Haydn was motivated to sing very well, in hopes of gaining more invitations to perform before aristocratic audiences—where the singers were usually served refreshments.

Struggles as a freelancer

By 1749, Haydn had matured physically to the point that he was no longer able to sing high choral parts—the Empress herself complained to Reutter about his singing, calling it "crowing". One day, Haydn carried out a prank, snipping off the pigtail of a fellow chorister. He had the good fortune to be taken in by a friend, Johann Michael Spangler, who for a few months shared with Haydn his family's crowded garret room. Haydn was able to begin immediately his pursuit of a career as a freelance musician.

During this arduous time, Haydn worked at many different jobs: as a music teacher, as a street serenader, and eventually, in 1752, as valet–accompanist for the Italian composer Nicola Porpora, from whom he later said he learned "the true fundamentals of composition". He also was briefly in Count Friedrich Wilhelm von Haugwitz's employ, playing the organ in the Bohemian Chancellery chapel at the Judenplatz.

When he was a chorister, Haydn had not received serious training in music theory and composition, which he perceived as a serious gap. To fill it, he worked his way through the counterpoint exercises in the text ''Gradus ad Parnassum'' by Johann Joseph Fux, and carefully studied the work of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, whom he later acknowledged as an important influence.

As his skills increased, Haydn began to acquire a public reputation, first as the composer of an opera, Der krumme Teufel "The Limping Devil", written for the comic actor Johann Joseph Felix Kurz, whose stage name was "Bernardon". The work was premiered successfully in 1753, but was soon closed down by the censors. Haydn also noticed, apparently without annoyance, that works he had simply given away were being published and sold in local music shops. Between 1754 and 1756 Haydn also worked freelance for the court in Vienna. He was among several musicians who were paid for services as supplementary musicians at balls given for the imperial children during carnival season, and as supplementary singers in the imperial chapel (the ''Hofkapelle'') in Lent and Holy Week.

With the increase in his reputation, Haydn eventually was able to obtain aristocratic patronage, crucial for the career of a composer in his day. Countess Thun, having seen one of Haydn's compositions, summoned him and engaged him as her singing and keyboard teacher. In 1756, Baron Carl Josef Fürnberg employed Haydn at his country estate, Weinzierl, where the composer wrote his first string quartets. Fürnberg later recommended Haydn to Count Morzin, who, in 1757, became his first full time employer.

The years as Kapellmeister

thumb|Haydn portrait by Ludwig Guttenbrunn, painted ca. 1791-2, depicts Haydn ca. 1770 Haydn's job title under Count Morzin was Kapellmeister, that is, music director. He led the count's small orchestra and wrote his first symphonies for this ensemble. In 1760, with the security of a Kapellmeister position, Haydn married. His wife was the former Maria Anna Aloysia Apollonia Keller (1729–1800), the sister of Therese (b. 1733), with whom Haydn had previously been in love. Haydn and his wife had a completely unhappy marriage, from which the laws of the time permitted them no escape; and they produced no children. Both took lovers.

Count Morzin soon suffered financial reverses that forced him to dismiss his musical establishment, but Haydn was quickly offered a similar job (1761) by Prince Paul Anton, head of the immensely wealthy Esterházy family. Haydn's job title was only Vice-Kapellmeister, but he was immediately placed in charge of most of the Esterházy musical establishment, with the old Kapellmeister, Gregor Werner, retaining authority only for church music. When Werner died in 1766, Haydn was elevated to full Kapellmeister.

As a "house officer" in the Esterházy establishment, Haydn wore livery and followed the family as they moved among their various palaces, most importantly the family's ancestral seat Schloss Esterházy in Eisenstadt and later on Eszterháza, a grand new palace built in rural Hungary in the 1760s. Haydn had a huge range of responsibilities, including composition, running the orchestra, playing chamber music for and with his patrons, and eventually the mounting of operatic productions. Despite this backbreaking workload, the job was in artistic terms a superb opportunity for Haydn. The Esterházy princes (Paul Anton, then from 1762–1790 Nikolaus I) were musical connoisseurs who appreciated his work and gave him daily access to his own small orchestra.

During the nearly thirty years that Haydn worked at the Esterházy court, he produced a flood of compositions, and his musical style continued to develop. His popularity in the outside world also increased. Gradually, Haydn came to write as much for publication as for his employer, and several important works of this period, such as the Paris symphonies (1785–1786) and the original orchestral version of The Seven Last Words of Christ (1786), were commissions from abroad.

Haydn also gradually came to feel more isolated and lonely, particularly as the court came to spend most of the year at Esterháza, far from Vienna, rather than the closer-by Eisenstadt. Haydn particularly longed to visit Vienna because of his friendships there.

Of these, a particularly important one was with Maria Anna von Genzinger (1754–93), the wife of Prince Nikolaus's personal physician in Vienna, who began a close, platonic, relationship with the composer in 1789. Haydn wrote to Mrs. Genzinger often, expressing his loneliness at Eszterháza and his happiness for the few occasions on which he was able to visit her in Vienna; later on, Haydn wrote to her frequently from London. Her premature death in 1793 was a blow to Haydn, and his F minor variations for piano, Hob. XVII:6, may have been written in response to her death.

Another friend in Vienna was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whom Haydn had met sometime around 1784. According to later testimony by Michael Kelly and others, the two composers occasionally played in string quartets together. Haydn was hugely impressed with Mozart's work and praised it unstintingly to others. Mozart evidently returned the esteem, as seen in his dedication of a set of six quartets, now called the "Haydn" quartets, to his friend. For further details see Haydn and Mozart.

The London journeys

In 1790, Prince Nikolaus died and was succeeded as prince by his son Anton. Following a trend of the time, Anton sought to economize by dismissing most of the court musicians. Haydn retained a nominal appointment with Anton, at a reduced salary of 400 florins, as well as a 1000-florin pension from Nikolaus. Since Anton had little need of Haydn's services he was willing to let Haydn travel elsewhere, and the composer accepted a lucrative offer from Johann Peter Salomon, a German impresario, to visit England and conduct new symphonies with a large orchestra.

The visit (1791–1792), along with a repeat visit (1794–1795), was a huge success. Audiences flocked to Haydn's concerts; Haydn augmented his fame and made large profits, thus becoming financially secure. Charles Burney reviewed the first concert thus: "Haydn himself presided at the piano-forte; and the sight of that renowned composer so electrified the audience, as to excite an attention and a pleasure superior to any that had ever been caused by instrumental music in England."

Musically, the visits to England generated some of Haydn's best-known work, including the ''Surprise'', ''Military'', ''Drumroll'', and ''London'' symphonies, the ''Rider'' quartet, and the "Gypsy Rondo" piano trio. The only misstep in the venture was an opera, ''L'anima del filosofo'', which Haydn was contracted to compose, but whose performance was blocked by intrigues. Haydn made many new friends and was involved for a time in a romantic relationship with Rebecca Schroeter.

While traveling to London in 1790, Haydn had met the young Ludwig van Beethoven in his native city of Bonn. On Haydn's return, Beethoven came to Vienna and during the time up to the second London visit was Haydn's pupil. For discussion of their relationship, see Beethoven and his contemporaries.

Final years in Vienna

Haydn returned to Vienna in 1795. Prince Anton had died, and his successor Nikolaus II proposed to revive the Esterházy musical establishment with Haydn serving again as Kapellmeister. Haydn took up the position, though only on a part-time basis. He spent his summers with the Esterházys in Eisenstadt, and over the course of several years wrote six masses for them. But by this time Haydn had become a public figure in Vienna. He spent most of his time in his own home, a large house in the suburb of Gumpendorf, and wrote works for public performance. In collaboration with his librettist and mentor Gottfried van Swieten, and with funding from van Swieten's Gesellschaft der Associierten, Haydn composed his two great oratorios ''The Creation'' (1798) and ''The Seasons'' (1801). Both were enthusiastically received. Haydn frequently appeared before the public, often leading performances of ''The Creation'' for charity benefits. He also composed instrumental music: the popular Trumpet Concerto and the last nine in his long series of string quartets, including the ''Fifths'', ''Emperor'', and ''Sunrise'' quartets.

During the later years of this successful period Haydn faced incipient old age and fluctuating health, and he had to struggle to complete his final works. By about 1802, his condition had declined to the point that he became physically unable to compose. This was doubtless very difficult for him because, as he acknowledged, the flow of fresh musical ideas waiting to be worked out as compositions did not cease. Haydn was well cared for by his servants, and he received many visitors and public honours during his last years, but they could not have been very happy years for him. During his illness, Haydn often found solace by sitting at the piano and playing Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser, which he had composed himself as a patriotic gesture in 1797. This melody later was used for the Austrian and German national anthems.

A final triumph occurred on 27 March 1808, when a performance of ''The Creation'' was organized in Haydn's honor. The very frail composer was brought into the hall on an armchair to the sound of trumpets and drums, and was greeted by Beethoven, by Salieri (who led the performance), and by other musicians and members of the aristocracy – many of whom probably sensed that they were saying goodbye to the elderly composer. Haydn was both moved and exhausted by the experience, and had to depart at intermission.

Haydn lived on for another year. He died, aged 77, at the end of May 1809, shortly after an attack on Vienna by the French army under Napoleon. Among his last words was his attempt to calm and reassure his servants when cannon shot fell in the neighborhood: "My children, have no fear, for where Haydn is, no harm can fall." Two weeks later, a memorial service was held in the Schottenkirche on 15 June 1809, at which Mozart's Requiem was performed.

Character and appearance

James Webster writes of Haydn's public character thus: "Haydn's public life exemplified the Enlightenment ideal of the ''honnête homme'' (''honest man''): the man whose good character and worldly success enable and justify each other. His modesty and probity were everywhere acknowledged. These traits were not only prerequisites to his success as Kapellmeister, entrepreneur and public figure, but also aided the favourable reception of his music." Haydn was especially respected by the Eszterházy court musicians whom he supervised, as he maintained a cordial working atmosphere and effectively represented the musicians' interests with their employer; see Papa Haydn and the tale of the "Farewell" Symphony.

Haydn had a robust sense of humor, evident in his love of practical jokes and often apparent in his music, and he had many friends. For much of his life he benefited from a "happy and naturally cheerful temperament", but in his later life, there is evidence for periods of depression, notably in the correspondence with Mrs. Genzinger and in Dies's biography, based on visits made in Haydn's old age.

Haydn was a devout Catholic who often turned to his rosary when he had trouble composing, a practice that he usually found to be effective. He normally began the manuscript of each composition with "in nomine Domini" ("in the name of the Lord") and ended with "Laus Deo" ("praise be to God").

Haydn was short in stature, perhaps as a result of having been underfed throughout most of his youth. He was not handsome, and like many in his day he was a survivor of smallpox, his face being pitted with the scars of this disease. His biographer Dies wrote, "he couldn't understand how it happened that in his life he had been loved by many a pretty woman. 'They couldn't have been led to it by my beauty'".

Haydn also suffered from nasal polyposis for much of his adult life; this was an agonizing and debilitating disease in the 18th century, and at times it prevented him from writing music.

Works

James Webster summarizes Haydn's role in the history of classical music as follows: ''"He excelled in every musical genre… He is familiarly known as the 'father of the symphony' and could with greater justice be thus regarded for the string quartet; no other composer approaches his combination of productivity, quality and historical importance in these genres."''

Structure and character of the music

A central characteristic of Haydn's music is the development of larger structures out of very short, simple musical motifs, often derived from standard accompanying figures. The music is often quite formally concentrated, and the important musical events of a movement can unfold rather quickly.

Haydn's work was central to the development of what came to be called sonata form. His practice, however, differed in some ways from that of Mozart and Beethoven, his younger contemporaries who likewise excelled in this form of composition. Haydn was particularly fond of the so-called "monothematic exposition", in which the music that establishes the dominant key is similar or identical to the opening theme. Haydn also differs from Mozart and Beethoven in his recapitulation sections, where he often rearranges the order of themes compared to the exposition and uses extensive thematic development.

Haydn's formal inventiveness also led him to integrate the fugue into the classical style and to enrich the rondo form with more cohesive tonal logic (see sonata rondo form). Haydn was also the principal exponent of the double variation form—variations on two alternating themes, which are often major- and minor-mode versions of each other.

Perhaps more than any other composer's, Haydn's music is known for its humor. The most famous example is the sudden loud chord in the slow movement of his "Surprise" symphony; Haydn's many other musical jokes include numerous false endings (e.g., in the quartets Op. 33 No. 2 and Op. 50 No. 3), and the remarkable rhythmic illusion placed in the trio section of the third movement of Op. 50 No. 1.

Much of the music was written to please and delight a prince, and its emotional tone is correspondingly upbeat. This tone also reflects, perhaps, Haydn's fundamentally healthy and well-balanced personality. Occasional minor-key works, often deadly serious in character, form striking exceptions to the general rule. Haydn's fast movements tend to be rhythmically propulsive and often impart a great sense of energy, especially in the finales. Some characteristic examples of Haydn's "rollicking" finale type are found in the "London" symphony No. 104, the string quartet Op. 50 No. 1, and the piano trio Hob XV: 27. Haydn's early slow movements are usually not too slow in tempo, relaxed, and reflective. Later on, the emotional range of the slow movements increases, notably in the deeply felt slow movements of the quartets Op. 76 Nos. 3 and 5, Symphony No. 98, Symphony No. 102, and piano trio Hob XV: 23. The minuets tend to have a strong downbeat and a clearly popular character. Over time, Haydn turned some of his minuets into "scherzi" which are much faster, at one beat to the bar.

Evolution of Haydn's style

Haydn's early work dates from a period in which the compositional style of the High Baroque (seen in Bach and Handel) had gone out of fashion. This was a period of exploration and uncertainty, and Haydn, born 18 years before the death of Bach, was himself one of the musical explorers of this time. An older contemporary whose work Haydn acknowledged as an important influence was Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach.

Tracing Haydn's work over the six decades in which it was produced (roughly, 1749 to 1802), one finds a gradual but steady increase in complexity and musical sophistication, which developed as Haydn learned from his own experience and that of his colleagues. Several important landmarks have been observed in the evolution of Haydn's musical style.

In the late 1760s and early 1770s Haydn entered a stylistic period known as "Sturm und Drang" (storm and stress). This term is taken from a literary movement of about the same time, though it appears that the musical development actually preceded the literary one by a few years. The musical language of this period is similar to what went before, but it is deployed in work that is more intensely expressive, especially in the works in minor keys. James Webster describes the works of this period as "longer, more passionate, and more daring." Some of the most famous compositions of this time are the "Trauer" (Mourning) Symphony No. 44, "Farewell" Symphony No. 45, the piano sonata in C minor (Hob. XVI/20, L. 33), and the six string quartets of Op. 20 (the "Sun" quartets), all from ca. 1771–1772. It was also around this time that Haydn became interested in writing fugues in the Baroque style, and three of the Op. 20 quartets end with such fugues.

Following the climax of the "Sturm und Drang", Haydn returned to a lighter, more overtly entertaining style. There are no quartets from this period, and the symphonies take on new features: the scoring often includes trumpets and timpani. These changes are often related to a major shift in Haydn's professional duties, which moved him away from "pure" music and toward the production of comic operas. Several of the operas were Haydn's own work (see List of operas by Joseph Haydn); these are seldom performed today. Haydn sometimes recycled his opera music in symphonic works, which helped him continue his career as a symphonist during this hectic decade.

In 1779, an important change in Haydn's contract permitted him to publish his compositions without prior authorization from his employer. This may have encouraged Haydn to rekindle his career as a composer of "pure" music. The change made itself felt most dramatically in 1781, when Haydn published the six string quartets of Opus 33, announcing (in a letter to potential purchasers) that they were written in "a new and completely special way". Charles Rosen has argued that this assertion on Haydn's part was not just sales talk, but meant quite seriously; and he points out a number of important advances in Haydn's compositional technique that appear in these quartets, advances that mark the advent of the Classical style in full flower. These include a fluid form of phrasing, in which each motif emerges from the previous one without interruption, the practice of letting accompanying material evolve into melodic material, and a kind of "Classical counterpoint" in which each instrumental part maintains its own integrity. These traits continue in the many quartets that Haydn wrote after Opus 33.

In the 1790s, stimulated by his England journeys, Haydn developed what Rosen calls his "popular style", a way of composition that, with unprecedented success, created music having great popular appeal but retaining a learned and rigorous musical structure. An important element of the popular style was the frequent use of folk or folk-like material, as discussed in the article Haydn and folk music. Haydn took care to deploy this material in appropriate locations, such as the endings of sonata expositions or the opening themes of finales. In such locations, the folk material serves as an element of stability, helping to anchor the larger structure. Haydn's popular style can be heard in virtually all of his later work, including the twelve London symphonies, the late quartets and piano trios, and the two late oratorios.

The return to Vienna in 1795 marked the last turning point in Haydn's career. Although his musical style evolved little, his intentions as a composer changed. While he had been a servant, and later a busy entrepreneur, Haydn wrote his works quickly and in profusion, with frequent deadlines. As a rich man, Haydn now felt he had the privilege of taking his time and writing for posterity. This is reflected in the subject matter of The Creation (1798) and The Seasons (1801), which address such weighty topics as the meaning of life and the purpose of humankind, and represent an attempt to render the sublime in music. Haydn's new intentions also meant that he was willing to spend much time on a single work: both oratorios took him over a year to complete. Haydn once remarked that he had worked on ''The Creation'' so long because he wanted it to last.

The change in Haydn's approach was important in the history of music, as other composers soon were following his lead. Notably, Beethoven adopted the practice of taking his time and aiming high.

Identifying Haydn's works

Haydn's works are listed in a comprehensive catalogue prepared by Anthony van Hoboken. This Hoboken catalogue provides each work with an identifying number, called its Hoboken number (abbreviation: H. or Hob.). The string quartets also have Hoboken numbers, but are usually identified instead by their opus numbers, which have the advantage of indicating the groups of six quartets that Haydn published together; thus for example the string quartet Opus 76, No. 3 is the third of the six quartets published in 1799 as Opus 76.

Media

See also

Works

Hoboken catalogue

List of concertos by Joseph Haydn

List of masses by Joseph Haydn

List of operas by Joseph Haydn

List of piano trios by Joseph Haydn

List of solo piano compositions by Joseph Haydn

List of string quartets by Joseph Haydn

List of symphonies by Joseph Haydn

Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser (''God save Franz, the Emperor;'' the melody was later used in ''Das Lied der Deutschen,'' which is still Germany's national anthem.)

The Creation

The Seasons

Baryton, for the baryton trios Haydn wrote for prince Nikolaus Esterházy

Contemporaries

Marianne von Martinez—as a child one of Haydn's first students; as an adult a friend and an eminent musician in her own right

Johann Peter Salomon—organizer of the London journeys

Gottfried van Swieten—the librettist of The Creation and The Seasons

List of Austrians in music

Other topics

Haydn and folk music

Haydn's head—how it was stolen after his death

Joseph Haydn's ethnicity—an old controversy: was Haydn a Croatian?

List of residences of Joseph Haydn

"Papa" Haydn

Mannersdorf am Leithagebirge—where Haydn visited and built his career during summer 1753

Notes

References

;Biographical sources A translation from the original German: "Biographische Nachrichten von Joseph Haydn nach mündlichen Erzählungen desselben entworfen und herausgegeben" ("Biographical accounts of Joseph Haydn, written and edited from his own spoken narratives") (1810). Camesinaische Buchhandlung, Vienna. One of the first biographies of Haydn, written on the basis of 30 interviews carried out during the composer's old age. Highly detailed discussion of life and work; in German. The first edition was published in 1946 with Karl Geiringer as the sole author. A translation from the original German: "Biographische Notizen über Joseph Haydn" (1810). Leipzig. Like Dies's, a biography produced from interviews with the elderly Haydn. Originally published in 1950. Gives a sympathetic and witty account of Haydn's life, along with a survey of the music.

Jones, David Wyn (2009a) ''The Life of Haydn''. Oxford University Press. Focuses on biography rather than musical works; a up-to-date study benefiting from recent scholarly research on Haydn's life and times.

Jones, David Wyn (2009b) ''Oxford Composer Companions: Haydn''. Oxford University Press. A one-volume encyclopedia with detailed contributions from many Haydn scholars.

An extensive compilation of original sources in five volumes. Biography chapters by Robbins Landon, excerpted from Robbins Landon (1976–1980) and rich in original source documents. Analysis and appreciation of the works by Jones. Published separately as Published separately as a book: Careful scholarship with little subjective interpretation; covers both life and music, and includes a very detailed list of works.

;Criticism and analysis sources On jokes in Haydn and Beethoven. Covers each of the genres Haydn composed in as well as stylistic and interpretive contexts and performance and reception. A brief (55 page) introduction to Haydn's string quartets. First edition published in 1971. Covers much of Haydn's output and seeks to explicate Haydn's central role in the creation of the classical style. The work has been influential, provoking both positive citation and work (e.g., Webster 1991) written in reaction.

Sisman, Elaine (1993) ''Haydn and the classical variation''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 067438315X.

Covers not just Op. 50 but also its relevance to Haydn's other output as well as his earlier quartets. This book focuses on a single work, but contains many observations and opinions about Haydn in general.

External links

Albert Christoph Dies: (German) ''Biographische Nachrichten von Joseph Haydn. Wien: Camesinaische Buchhandlung'', 1810.

Haydn's Late Oratorios: The Creation and The Seasons by Brian Robins

Full text of the biography ''Haydn'' by J. Cuthbert Hadden, 1902, from Project Gutenberg. The end of book contains documentary material including a number of Haydn's letters. Alternatively scanned copy ''Haydn'' at archive.org.

No Royal Directive: Joseph Haydn and the String Quartet by Ron Drummond

''musicologie.org'', with biography

'Haydn – Quartet in F minor, Op.20 No.5', Lecture by Professor Roger Parker, with the Badke Quartet, Gresham College, 8 April 2008 (available for video, audio and text download).

Haydn anniversary page on Bachtrack, includes lists of live performances

Scores and recordings

www.kreusch-sheet-music.net – Free Scores by Haydn

Free scores at the Mutopia Project

Kunst der Fuge: Franz Joseph Haydn – Hundreds of MIDI files

Haydn's page at Classical Archives

Franz Joseph Haydn on Naxos Records

Haydn Symphonies from the British Library Sound Archive

Complete recording of Joseph Haydns Pianosonatas on a sampled Walther Pianoforte

Complete recording of Joseph Haydns Pianosonatas on a sampled Steinwy D

* Category:18th-century Austrian people Category:18th-century composers Category:Austrian Roman Catholics Category:Classical era composers Category:Viennese composers Category:National anthem writers Category:The Enlightenment Category:People from Bruck an der Leitha District Category:Harrach family Category:House of Esterházy Category:Austrian expatriates in Hungary Category:1732 births Category:1809 deaths

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name	Oh Land
background	solo_singer
birth name	Nanna Øland Fabricius
birth date	May 02, 1985
birth place	Copenhagen, Denmark
genre	Pop, electronic, experimental
occupation	Singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer
years active	2008–present
label	Fake Diamond, Epic
website	}}

Nanna Øland Fabricius (born 2 May 1985), better known by her stage name Oh Land, is a Danish singer-songwriter and record producer. She is currently living in Brooklyn, New York City.

Personal life

Oh Land was born in Copenhagen, the daughter of Bendt Fabricius, an organist, and Bodil Øland, an opera singer. She is the great-great-grandchild of missionary and ethnographer Otto Fabricius, who published ''Fauna Groenlandica'' in 1780, the first zoological observations of Greenland. She is a former student of the Royal Danish and Royal Swedish Ballet schools. However, an injury caused by a slipped disc and spinal fracture put an end to her dancing career, which eventually led her to start making music. Oh Land has a small dog named Ujan that travels with her sometimes. She has been living in the Brooklyn neighbourhood of Williamsburg since January 2010.

Career

Oh Land's debut album, ''Fauna'', was released in her native Denmark on 10 November 2008 by Danish independent label Fake Diamond Records. For her eponymous follow-up album, she worked with producers Dan Carey, Dave McCracken, Lester Mendez and Alexis Smith. The album was released on 14 March 2011 and peaked at number five on the Danish Albums Chart. It also served as her debut in the United States, where it was released on 15 March 2011 by Epic Records, reaching number 184 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. An EP with the same name was previously released on 19 October 2010, containing four tracks from the full-length album. On 7 April 2011, she was given the Brink of Fame: Music Artist award at the 2011 NewNowNext Awards.

Oh Land made her US television debut performing "Sun of a Gun" on ''Late Show with David Letterman'' on 2 March 2011. She also performed it on ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' on 24 March 2011 and on ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' on 25 May. Oh Land toured North America as the supporting act for Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark in March 2011, and will support Sia on North American dates of her We Are Born tour in July and August 2011. She is also due to open for Katy Perry on select US dates of her California Dreams Tour in August 2011, and will later join Perry again in October and November on the tour's second leg in the UK and Ireland.

As an actress, Oh Land had a supporting role as Sara in the 2007 Danish psychological drama film ''Hvid nat''.

Discography

Studio albums

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1" ! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Album Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Album details ! scope="col" colspan="1"| Chart |- ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| DEN |- ! scope="row" | ''Fauna'' |

Released: 10 November 2008

Label: Fake Diamond

Format: CD, Digital download

| — |- ! scope="row" | ''Oh Land'' |

Released: 14 March 2011

Label: Epic Records

Format: CD, Digital download

| 5 |- |}

Extended plays

''Oh Land'' (2010)

Singles

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1" ! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year ! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Single ! scope="col" colspan="1"| Chart ! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Album |- ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"| DEN |- | 2008 ! scope="row"| "Heavy Eyes" | — | ''Fauna'' |- | 2010 ! scope="row"| "Sun of a Gun" | — | rowspan="3"| ''Oh Land'' |- | rowspan="2"| 2011 ! scope="row"| "Rainbow" | — |- ! scope="row"| "White Nights" | 28 |- |}

References

External links

Fashion Meets Music: Oh Land

Category:1985 births Category:Danish electronic musicians Category:Danish female singers Category:Danish pop singers Category:Danish record producers Category:Danish singer-songwriters Category:English-language singers Category:Epic Records artists Category:Living people Category:People from Copenhagen

da:Oh Land de:Oh Land es:Oh Land fr:Oh Land it:Oh Land pl:Oh Land