Book Report #38 – The Symphony
Begin: 7/10/2024
Finish: 7/19/2024
Title: The Symphony
Author: Professor Robert Greenburg
San Francisco Performances
Why I choose to Read this book:
Fine arts and music especially music appreciation has eluded me during my academic and professional career. Learning about symphony will broaden my horizon in music appreciation.
What I learned from this book:
In ancient Greek, the word symphonos meant “sounding together”, “harmonious”, “in agreement” or “sounds in concordance”. The Romans appropriated the word, converting it to symphonia. The Latin word became, in old French, symphonie; in old English symphonye; and in modern Italian, sinfonia.
The symphony is the most important genre of orchestral music. It evolved from certain instrumental practices of early opera – its two essential Baroque precursors were the Italian Overtures and the Ripieno Concerto. By 1730’s, Italian style opera overtures had evolved as multisection Sinfonias, substantial enough to be performed independently of the opera they were originally created to precede. The influence of the Italian Opera Sinfonia was felt in Vienna, Austria, where during 1740’s, composers began creating self standing, three part orchestral works. By the 1760 – 1770, the Baroque Italian Overture had evolved into the Classical – Era Symphony.
In the hands of Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Mozart – the Classical Era Symphony became an art form. It was a work for a large instrument ensemble (an orchestra) and consisted of four distinct sections or movements, but some have only one and others have as many as ten. The first movement of most symphony is moderately fast. The second movement is the slowest, and the third has a dance like quality. The fourth movement is a lively or triumphant conclusion. Joseph Haydn wrote more than 100 symphonies in the 1700’s. Th last four symphonies by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart written in 1786-1788 are examples of Classical Symphonies.
Many composers of the 1800’s and early 1900’s model their work after Ludwig Van Beethoven of Germany. His symphonies influenced composers as Hector Berlioz of France; Franz Liszt of Hungary; Anton Bruckner, Gustav Mahler, and Franz Shubert of Austria; Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann of Germany; and Jean Sibelius of Finland. The symphonies of Schumann influenced Johannes Brahms of Germany, Antonin Dovrak of Czech Republic, and Peter Tchaikovsky of Russia.
Leading symphony composers of the 1900’s include Serge Prokofiev, Dimitri Shostakovich, and Igor Stravinsky of Russia: Aaron Copland, Roy Harris and Charles Ives of the United States.
How will this class contribute to my success upon release:
Knowledge of how symphony evolved, allow me to appreciate music and understand it better. Reading this book helps me develop how the material is presented and communicated to the readers. This will help my communication skills upon my release. Also this knowledge will be conveyed to other communities when I volunteer my services.
