© 1999-2024 by Joseph L. Monzo
Around 1900, Vienna was paradoxically both
the strongest bastion of musical conservatism and simultaneously
(along with Paris) the birthplace of the most radical new ideas
in Western music.
map of central Europe in 2005. The red star designates Vienna, Austria
central Vienna in 1999
At that time, with only a few exceptions,
Europe, and places colonized by European
countries, were the only cultural areas whose music
was characterized by the use of
harmony.
A clearly-defined system had been established whereby
one particular note was felt to be the central,
primary note over all the others, and a piece would
be said to be "in the key of" that note. This type
of music is referred to as "tonal".
After several centuries (c. 1500-1900) of this, a few bold composers began writing music which did not give a single note primacy. The two earliest significant examples were Charles Ives, in America (notably, his Unanswered Question, composed originally in 1906), and Arnold Schoenberg, in Vienna. I find it interesting that Schoenberg and Ives were born within about a month of each other.
The first truly atonal pieces were Schoenberg's 2nd Quartet 4th movement, 3 Piano Pieces, and song-cycle Book of the Hanging Gardens, all written in 1908. Ives's work could really be characterized more as 'polytonal', while Schoenberg preferred the term 'pantonal' for the pieces he composed which disregarded traditional ideas about tonality.
It was Schoenberg's belated but extreme admiration for Mahler's work and ideals, not to mention Mahler's selfless support, that encouraged Schoenberg to be true to himself, stick to his radical inspirations, and not be swayed by criticism; he also learned from Mahler the importance of a polyphonic mode of composition, something that stayed with Schoenberg the rest of his life.
Apparently Schoenberg's student Webern was the one who really stimulated Schoenberg into giving full rein to his most progressive tendencies and into finally abandoning traditional concepts of tonality. From what I've been able to deduce, the pivotal period, when all this really began to emerge, was the summer of 1905 (which is when Mahler wrote the piece that opens with this page).
Here is a detailed chronology, centered mainly around Mahler's life,
with several decades of background sketched in, and the years after
World War I as an epilog. The "century" in the title refers roughly
to the period 1803-1908 (Beethoven's Eroica to Schoenberg's
first atonal pieces), and the entire period covered in detail,
from the French Revolution to World War 1, corresponds surprisingly
closely to the "long 19th century" defined by historian Eric Hobsbawm.
Most of the events take place during the
reigns of Napoleon and the
Habsburg Emperors. This work is not strictly limited to
descriptions of musical life in Vienna -- because of the important role
it played in the arts during the Romantic period, I inevitably had to include
many of the events that occurred in Paris. In particular, Liszt had
little association with Vienna but was too important to leave out.
I've used the present tense in
an attempt to convey the sense of excitement surrounding these events.
This webpage also documents, more completely than any other source I know of, something which really surprised me as I learned more and more about it... the interest in Viennese musical circles in my other favorite musical subject (besides Mahler and Schoenberg): microtonality.
While the facts presented here have been taken from a very wide variety of sources (many of them still remaining to be cited, those which are have been listed at the bottom of this page), there is much original speculative material of mine sprinkled throughout the documentable chronology. Some examples:
* The likelihood that Mahler intended meantone tuning to be used for his symphonies, at least partly, based on the possibility of his familiarity with the teachings of Josef Petzval on 31-edo during Mahler's stay at the University of Vienna, and on his later remarks to Schoenberg lamenting that "European music, in giving up Meantone tuning, had suffered a great loss".
* Mahler's possible re-use of material from his abandoned opera project Rübezahl in his Symphonic Poem [1st Symphony], and the likelihood that his original conception of the piece was as a 4-movement work without the 'Blumine' movement, and that adding 'Blumine' was an afterthought over which he changed his mind back and forth several times.
* The influence the success of Strauss's early Symphony in F minor had on Mahler just before the latter completed his Symphonic Poem [1st Symphony].
* The possibility that what later became the base layer of Mahler's 1893 "Hamburg" manuscript of Titan [1st Symphony], was originally written out in 1891 as a Stichvorlage ['engraver's model'] of what he was still calling a Symphonic Poem, now with the title From the Life of a Lonely One, in hopes of getting it published by Schott, and that in this form it was again a 4-movement work that did not include the 'Blumine' movement.
* The influence Brahms had on Mahler at several various times as their personal friendship deepened. This relates to some of Mahler's important early compositional decisions (concerning Mahler's 1st and 2nd Symphonies) as well as his habit of secluding himself in the country during the summer to compose.
* The influence Tanaka's pseudo-just-intonation (really 53-edo) "Enharmonium" may have had on Bruckner's harmonic experiments in his 9th Symphony.
* The possibility that Hanslick's death in August 1904 may have been the catalyst for Mahler to end his 6th Symphonic as a tragedy - the only one of his symphonies which does so.
* The "program" of Mahler's 7th, influenced by Mahler's fascination with the program of Strauss's Sinfonia Domestica.
* The influence Schoenberg had on Mahler before the latter composed the 3rd, 5th, and 1st movements (in that order) of his 7th Symphony during the summer of 1905, and the influence this Mahler piece in turn had on Schoenberg when he wrote his Kammersymphonie the following spring and summer.
* The influence Webern had on Schoenberg in the fall of 1905 when the latter was composing his 1st Quartet and Webern brought his single-movement String Quartet to Schoenberg for his composition lessons.
* The possibility that Mahler's comment about "being too old to have the ears for Schoenberg's music" and the argument that the two of them had about klangfarbenmelodie, were connected to Mahler's possible loss of high-frequency hearing from his listening to large orchestras every day.
* The possibility that the opening of Das Lied von der Erde was Mahler's rendering in music of the horrible wheezing he heard as his 5-year-old daughter Maria lay dying after her tracheotomy (as documented in Alma's book).
* The possible influence Scott Joplin may have had on Mahler while they both lived in New York 1907-1911 (reflected in a motive and harmonic progression very typical of a Joplin ragtime near the end of Mahler's 10th Symphony, and possibly also in the irregular meters of the 2nd movement of the same symphony).
* The possibility that the sonic inspiration for the dissonant 9-note chord (the infamous "nonachord") at the climax of the first and last movements of Mahler's 10th Symphony may have been the sound of the orchestra tuning-up before a performance, because of the long-held "A" and the seemingly random dissonance of the chords, and because of the way the chord first builds up in sections, then after another held "A", the whole orchestra plays the dissonance.
* The possibility that Schönberg knew of Mahler's association since childhood of the popular Viennese tune "Ach, du lieber Augustin" with tragedy, because of Schoenberg's use of this tune in his 2nd Quartet, written as Schoenberg was dealing with his marital crisis.
* The experimentation with microtones by Schoenberg and Webern in 1909 leading to the development of sprechstimme ['speech-voice'] the following year.
* The influence of Möllendorf on Hába and Wycschnegradsky to adopt the use of quarter-tones.
population of Vienna, 1800-2005
1781
On March 13, in Bath [England], 42-year-old astronomer William Herschel, who is also a composer and proficient musician -- and whose musical studies led him to his interest in mathematics, astronomy, and telescope-building -- discovers the 7th planet, Uranus. This momentous event marks the first planet discovered with the telescope (i.e., not visible to the naked eye), and hence the first planet not known to the ancients.
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Aerial view of Esterháza Palace
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20 years into his 29-year residence and employment at Esterháza [now in Fertöd, Hungary], the 126-room palace built in 1760 by the Esterházy family, 49-year-old Franz Joseph Haydn composes:
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In March, 25-year-old composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who had been a famous child prodigy, is dismissed from his position at the court in his native Salzburg [Austria], and moves to Vienna to live as a freelance composer. In this year Mozart composes:
1782
50-year-old Haydn composes:
26-year-old Mozart composes his opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail ['the abduction from the Seraglio'], in Singspiel style (i.e., containing only set pieces, with spoken dialog between them, and no recitative), produced on 16 July at the Burgtheater in Vienna. Previously, only imitations or translations of foreign works have been successful at this theater, and this opera fulfills the Emperor's longtime wish to produce a successful German opera. It also establishes Mozart's reputation in his new hometown.
Other major works by Mozart this year:
1783
27-year-old Mozart composes the following pieces (among others) this year in Vienna (with the exception of the 36th Symphony, composed in Linz, Austria):
During the summer, in Bonn [Germany], capital of the Electorate of Cologne (one of numerous small states of the Holy Roman Empire), 12-year-old Ludwig van Beethoven, a promising young Court musician, composes the second of his acknowledged works: 3 piano sonatas (the "Electoral Sonatas", WoO 47) dedicated to the Elector of Cologne, Maximilian Friedrich, and these are published in October. In the fall, Beethoven goes with his mother on a trip to Rotterdam [Netherlands], and for his performance in a concert is paid more than any of the other participating artists, 63 florins (equivalent in 2007 buying power to about US$2,000).
1784
Sometime this year, Haydn and Mozart meet and establish a good friendship, each of them admiring the other's compositions, and occassionally play together in a string quartet for informal gatherings.
52-year-old Haydn composes:
28-year-old Mozart composes 6 piano concertos this year, and a few other important works:
1785
53-year-old Haydn composes:
29-year-old Mozart composes 3 piano concertos this year, among other works:
1786
54-year-old Haydn composes:
30-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composes his opera Le nozze di Figaro ['the marriage of Figaro'], K.492 and premières it in Vienna on 1 May. In addition he composes the following other works:
Mozart also gives harmony and counterpoint lessons to young English composer Thomas Atwood. Atwood's notebooks survive, and show that Mozart taught that there should be two different sizes of semitone, with the sharps lower in pitch than the flats, indicating a form of meantone tuning. Mozart's father had taught this in his own violin method, and wrote a letter to his son citing Tosi as an authority on tuning, leading to the conclusion that the variety of meantone which Mozart had in mind was approximately 55-edo or 1/6-comma.
On 14 December, Iwan Müller (also spelled Mueller) is born in Reval [now Tallinn, Estonia]. He will go on to make great improvements to the "classical" clarinet.
1787
55-year-old Haydn composes:
Due primarily to constant warfare, the French government has been spending more than its annual revenue, principally by borrowing. The royal government proposes a series of major reforms to raise taxes and reduce expenses, which meet with great resistance from many French people across a variety of social classes. There is a demand for greater representation in government.
In late March, in Bonn, 16-year-old Beethoven goes to Vienna [Austria] to study with famous 31-year-old Mozart. But Beethoven has to cut his trip short to return home in April because of his mother's failing health. His mother dies from tuberculosis on 17 July at age 40, and on 25 November his 1-year-old baby sister also dies, leaving only Ludwig and his younger brothers Johann and Carl. Beethoven's father slips deeper into alcoholism, and Ludwig as the eldest surviving child eventually has to take on the responsibility of caring for the family. Beethoven will remain in Bonn for 5 more years, and during this time the French Revolution occurs, inspiring Beethoven to uphold the ideals of "liberty, fraternity, equality" for the rest of his life.
Important compositions completed this year by Mozart include:
Mozart gives the première of Don Giovanni in Prague on 29 October.
55-year-old Joseph Haydn composes his Symphony No. 89 in F-major.
Europe in 1788
1788
56-year-old Joseph Haydn composes:
During the summer, 32-year-old Mozart composes his great last 3 symphonies,
among other works:
1789
In Paris [France] in May, the Estates-General (a body of advisors to the King)
meets for the first time since 1614 to decide how to manage the French government's
fiscal responsibility. The differences between deputies of the
nobles and commoners grow deeper, and leading deputies from the Third Estate
decide that they have to seize power. On 17 June 1789, they declare
that they alone represent the "nation", calling themselves the "National Assembly",
and thus beginning the French Revolution. On July 14, a mob of citizens takes over
the Bastille (a fortress serving as a prison holding those
who displease king Louis XVI), turning the Revolution into a popular uprising.
On August 26, the National Assembly publishes the
Declaration of the Rights of Man, declaring that all men are free and equal.
33-year-old Mozart composes:
57-year-old Joseph Haydn composes his 92nd Symphony in G-major,
the "Oxford".
On 20 November, 18-year-old Beethoven obtains a legal order by which
his father's salary is continued despite the father's inability
(due to his alcoholism) to carry out his job responsibilities, and
half of his father's salary is paid directly to Beethoven to enable him
to support the family, in addition to Beethoven's
own income from his job as a violist in the court orchestra.
He becomes familiar with three of Mozart's operas performed at court in this period.
1790
At the Burgtheater in Vienna on 26 January, the day before his 34th birthday, Mozart
premières his opera Cosi fan tutte ['thus do all (women)'
or 'women are like that'], which had been suggested to him by
Emperor Joseph II. Mozart's other important works this year include:
Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, ruler of Austria (and brother of Marie Antoinette),
dies on 20 February at age 48, and is succeeded by his 42-year-old brother Leopold II.
Leopold secures peace negotiations and quiets the revolutions in Netherlands
and Hungary, and tries to prevent war with France.
In Paris on 12 July, the National Assembly passes the Civil Constitution of the Clergy,
which reorganizes the Catholic Church in France. This measure
makes the clergy elective and makes them salaried employees
of the revolutionary government, thus cancelling royal and
papal powers to appoint clergy. The roughly 15 percent of French land
formerly owned by the church becomes "national property,"
which the assembly starts selling off to pay its debts. One result of
this law is the formulation of an illegal underground Church loyal to the Pope,
alongside the official Church controlled by the government. This situation
will last until 1801.
On 28 September, Prince Nicklaus Esterházy dies. His son
and heir Anton is not interested in retaining the Esterháza
palace because of its remoteness, and thus 58-year-old Haydn's employment ends.
But Haydn has become the most popular composer in England, and he accepts
a lucrative offer from impressario Johann Peter Salomon to visit England
and conduct new symphonies there. Haydn leaves Vienna on 15 December,
and passing thru Bonn, meets Beethoven just after his 20th birthday.
Crossing the English Channel by boat, Haydn sees the sea for the first time.
1791
In Paris in June, the French National Assembly finally drafts a new constitution,
greatly limiting king Louis XVI's power. Louis has tried to
go along with the revolution and has remained popular, but
now he and his supporters turn against revolutionary factions.
Louis attempts to flee France, is arrested and returned to Paris,
and accepts the new consitution. In September new elections
are held for a Legislative Assembly.
In the Carribean, a slave revolt begins on August 22 in the French
colony of Saint Domingue [today Haiti], leading to a civil war which
will eventually establish the new Republic of Haiti.
59-year-old Haydn composes the first four of his 12 "London" symphonies:
35-year-old Mozart composes:
La Clemenza di Tito is Mozart's last opera, composed to satisfy
a commission he receives in July for an opera seria
to celebrate the coronation of Leopold II as King of Bohemia.
On 30 September at the Theater-an-der-Wien outside Vienna,
Mozart premières Die Zauberflöte,
and it is a huge success.
Mozart is unable to complete his last composition,
his Requiem [mass for the dead], K.626,
as he becomes ill and dies suddenly in Vienna on December 5 at the age of 35,
and is buried in an unmarked communal grave. Contrary to
popular belief, this was not a mass grave, nor was he a pauper
at his death -- his difficulties with money stemmed from his
habit of spending his fortune lavishly.
1792
Leopold II of Austria dies on 1 March at age 44,
and is succeeded by his 23-year-old son Francis II.
Attempting to stop the slave revolt in Saint Domingue [now Haiti],
in March, the Legislative Assembly of France grants
civil and political rights to free men of color in the French colonies.
The other European powers and the United States are shocked by this decision.
6,000 French soldiers are also dispatched to the island,
with Léger-Félicité Sonthonax in charge.
On April 20, France declares war on Austria, which lasts until 1797.
With Prussia as Austria's ally, this is the War of the First Coalition,
and France soon occupies the land up to the Rhine, including Bonn.
From now until 1815 France is involved in a nearly continuous
series of wars, a period sometimes called the "Great French War".
In France itself, revolutionary reforms prove to be largely unpopular,
and a counter-revolution begins almost immediately. King Louis XVI
is deposed by a mob on August 10, the new consitution is invalidated,
and the Legislative Assembly dissolved. A National Convention
is convened beginning on September 20 to draft a new consitution ruling
France as a republic, to form a new ruling assembly, and to
decide the fate of the king, who is stripped of his title
and sentenced to death. "Year I" of the new French Republican Calendar
begins on September 22.
60-year-old Haydn composes the fifth and sixth of his 12 "London" symphonies:
and then returns to Vienna.
In Bonn, 21-year-old Beethoven completes the score of a concerto
which will eventually become known as his
Piano Concerto No. 2, op.19 in Bb-major.
With Bonn temporarily occupied by France and the war raging,
on 2 November, Beethoven leaves Bonn again and
returns to Vienna, planning to study with Haydn.
About a month after his arrival in Vienna, Beethoven's father dies
in Bonn on 18 December.
Beethoven embarks upon a period of study of counterpoint and violin,
and establishes a reputation as a piano virtuoso and improviser
in the salons of the nobility, often playing the preludes and fugues
of J. S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier.
Gioacchino Antonio Rossini is born in Pesaro, Italy on 29 February.
His father is the town trumpeter and his mother is a singer.
1793
In Paris during the winter and spring there are food riots
and mass hunger. In January, "Citizen Capet" (formerly king Louis XVI)
is beheaded at the guillotine. Supporters of the Revolution view
it as liberation, while detractors see it as stupid and cruel.
Spain and Portugal join Prussia in the coalition against France in January.
On February 1 France declares war on Great Britain and the Dutch Republic.
In Haiti, this has the effect of the white planatation owners joining
with Britain to fight French rule. Spain, who controls the other side of the island
of Hispaniola, joins with Britain against France, invades Saint Domingue,
and is joined by the revolting slaves. To prevent military disaster,
a French commissioner frees the slaves in his jurisdiction
On April 6 the National Convention, having until now been preoccupied
with war, creates the Committee of Public Safety, headed by
Maximilien Robespierre, to deal with the problems inside France.
Until the middle of 1794, the Revolutionary ideals are twisted into
the paranoid "Reign of Terror" (led by Robespierre), as anyone suspected of
being counterrevolutionary is sent to the guillotine.
On August 29 in the French colony of Saint Domingue [now Haiti], Sonthonax
proclaims the freedom of the slaves in the north province.
In September and October, emancipation is extended to the whole colony.
61-year-old Haydn composes the seventh of his 12 "London" symphonies:
the 99th Symphony in Eb-major.
In Vienna 22-year-old Beethoven rewrites the score, previously composed before
he left Bonn, of a concerto which will eventually become known as his
2nd Piano Concerto, op.19 in Bb-major.
Beethoven is also inspired to set Schiller's 'Ode to Joy' to music
-- a project which will occupy his mind on-and-off for 30 years
before finally being realized in his 9th Symphony.
1794
On February 4, the French National Convention ratifies Sonthonax's
emancipation of all slaves in Saint Domingue [today Haiti],
and applies it to all French colonies, marking it as a momentous event.
22-year-old Beethoven finishes his lessons with
62-year-old Haydn, who leaves for his second trip to London.
Haydn composes the 8th, 9th, and 10th of his 12 "London" symphonies:
With Haydn gone from Vienna, the Elector of Bonn
expects 23-year-old Beethoven to return home. Beethoven
instead chooses to remain in Vienna, continuing the instruction in
counterpoint with Johann Georg Albrechtsberger and other teachers.
His stipend from the Elector has expired, but many Viennese noblemen,
among them Prince Joseph Franz Lobkowicz, Prince Karl Lichnowsky,
and Baron Gottfried van Swieten, already recognize his talent and
offer him financial support. For Beethoven, Albrechtsberger proves to be a better
teacher than Haydn. Some time this year or earlier
Beethoven completes his String Trio, op.3.
On June 26, in the Battle of Fleurus, French forces under Jourdan
defeat an Austrian army under Saxe-Cobourg a decisive battle, and France
occupies the Rhineland. The French use of the reconnaissance balloon
l'Entreprenant ['The Enterprise'] marks the first military use
of an aircraft that has a decisive influence on the outcome of the battle.
In Paris, on July 27 (9 Thermidor Year II, in the French Republican Calendar),
a reaction against Robespierre and his allies results in a
concerted and organized attack from other members of the Committee of Public Safety.
The next day Robespierre is tried and executed,
ending the Reign of Terror and paving the way for the rise of Napoleon.
1795
63-year-old Haydn composes the last two of his 12 "London" symphonies,
which are his last two symphonies:
At the end of March, 24-year-old Beethoven bursts onto the scene,
making his public debut as composer and performer, performing his
2nd Piano Concerto, op.19 in Bb-major. His 3 Piano Trios, op.1
are his first published work, selling for 1 ducat per copy, of which
241 are printed, and at least 125 are sold. After paying his fee to the publisher
of 1 gulden per copy, his profit (in 2007 buying power) is approximately
US$100 per copy, earning a total somewhere between $13,000 and $24,000.
Beethoven works on his next concerto, the one eventually known
as 1st Piano Concerto, op.15 in C-major, and also completes
his first published sets of piano sonatas:
Also around this time, Beethoven composes two "Easy Sonatas",
probably for his students, which he does not intend to publish,
but which his brother Caspar Carl later will publish. At that time
they are named the Sonatas, op.49 and today are known as
the 19th and 20th Sonatas.
Haydn returns to Vienna from his second trip to England, and is now
widely recognized as a celebrity. He moves into a large house in the
Vienna suburb of Windmühle. Prince Anton Esterházy had died,
and his successor Nikolaus II wishes to revive the musical activity
at court with Haydn leading it. Haydn accepts on a part-time basis and spends
the summers with the Esterházys at Eisenstadt. During these
years he composes 6 masses for them.
In France there is a royalist uprising which is put
down by the army under Napoleon's direction. A new constitution
is adopted on October 5 which creates the Directory.
1796
25-year-old Beethoven undertakes a concert tour of Germany,
performing in Prague, Dresden, Leipzig and Berlin.
While in Berlin he composes his Cello Sonatas, op.5
for King Frederick William II of Prussia, who played the cello.
He also first begins to realize that he is
slowly losing his formerly very acute sense of hearing.
In October, 64-year-old Haydn begins composing his oratorio
The Creation (in English).
1797
Franz Schubert is born in Vienna on January 31.
26-year-old Beethoven is engaged for most of the year in
composition of his 3 Piano Sonatas, op.10.
In this year he publishes several of his early works:
Around this time a new dance craze sweeps Europe: the waltz.
It is strikingly different from the former predominant 3-beat dance,
the Minuet -- the tempo is livelier; the partners hold each other in a close embrace,
which many detractors find scandalous; and they glide across the floor
hardly lifting their feet. Other than its long reign as the new king of dances
in popular music, the main effect of this shift on concert music is that
the 3rd movement of the sonata and symphony, which Haydn had established as a Minuet,
becomes much faster in Beethoven's hands -- not really a waltz, but rather
a new creation which he labels "scherzo".
The Treaty of Campo Formio, between France and Austria, is signed on October 17.
It marks the collapse of the "First Coalition", the victorious conclusion to Napoleon's
campaigns in Italy and the end of the first phase of the Napoleonic Wars.
The treaty passes a number of Austrian territories into French hands,
including the Austrian Netherlands (Belgium) and certain islands in the
Mediterranean and Corfu and other Venetian islands in the Adriatic.
Venice and its territories (Venetia) are divided between
the two states: Venice, Istria and Dalmatia are turned over to Austria.
Austria recognizes the Cisalpine Republic and the newly-created Ligurian Republic
(formed of Genovese territories) as independent powers.
The borders of France are extended up to the Rhine, the Nette, and the Roer.
Free French navigation is guaranteed on the Rhine, the Meuse, and the Moselle.
Europe in 1797
1798
In April, 66-year-old Haydn completes his oratorio
The Creation (in English), considered by many
to be his greatest masterpiece. It was immediately so successful
that it inspired Haydn to begin composition of another large
oratorio, The Seasons.
27-year-old Beethoven completes:
and has them published in July. By this time he has probably
also completed his 8th Piano Sonata, op.13 ("Pathetique").
During the summer he begins
sketching his 3rd Piano Concerto, op.37 in C-minor.
Then he embarks on the composition of his first set of string quartets,
the 6 quartets, op.18, working on them to the exclusion
of almost anything else until the end of 1799.
At some point during this year, Beethoven also stops sketching
his compositions on loose sheets of manuscript paper, instead
starting the habit, which will last the rest of his lifetime,
of writing down his musical ideas in large bound sketchbooks,
which he keeps at home. In addition, he carries smaller books
of music paper on his long walks, jotting down ideas which are
then transferred to the larger workbooks.
Napoleon and France occupy Egypt until 1803, which has the
lasting result of an extensive European interest in Africa.
1799
28-year-old Beethoven composes:
The "Pathetique" marks many innovations in both structure and style,
and is considered today to be the first really mature work by Beethoven.
In the Scherzo (2nd movement) of the 9th Sonata, at the first cadence
Beethoven uses what is essentially what later became known as the
"Hendrix Chord", 168 years before Jimi Hendrix did it.
He also begins work on his 1st Symphony.
Returning from his campaign in Egypt, Napoleon leads the army
in an overthrow of the Directory on November 9, and establishes
the Consulate, installing himself as ruler of France.
1800
29-year-old Beethoven composes:
In the spring, Beethoven travels to Hungary to
perform in Budapest, and to visit the Brunsvik estate.
On April 2, at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Beethoven holds
the first concert for his own benefit, and the program concludes
with the première of his 1st Symphony.
While Beethoven's piano sonatas have by now become
quite adventurous, his first symphony still shows the
strong influence of Haydn and Mozart.
In London, James Wood patents a means of boring woodwind-instrument
holes with a brass ring lining them. Putting a light coat of oil
on the inside of the bare brass keys ensures a tight seal, but the
metal-to-metal contact makes a loud noise.
1801
In Cornwall (England), 30-year-old inventor Richard Trevithick builds a
full-size steam road locomotive near the present day Fore Street at Camborne,
the first verified demonstration of a steam-powered vehicle.
On February 9, France and Austria sign a peace treaty, and during the
rest of the year Napoleon negotiates peace with the Papacy, ending the
shism between the official French Church and the underground Church,
and also with Britain and the Ottoman Empire.
68-year-old Haydn completes his oratorio The Seasons.
30-year-old Beethoven composes four piano sonatas: the
The op.27 sonatas again display bold innovations. Beethoven also takes on Ferdinand Ries and Carl Czerny as students.
Beethoven's hearing begins to deteriorate markedly. He suffers a severe form of tinnitus, a "roar" in his ears that makes it hard for him to appreciate music.
In France, 49-year-old Joseph Marie Jacquard exhibits his newly invented improved loom. Its final form will be revealed a few years later.
1802
Approaching age 70 and feeling the effects of old age, and sometimes in poor health, Haydn completes his last major work, the Harmoniemesse, the last of his 6 masses composed for the Esterházys.
31-year-old Beethoven's deafness has progressed to the point where,
on October 6, he writes the Heiligenstadt Testament
to his brothers Carl and Johann, to be opened and read after
his death, in which he says
Beethoven completes his:
but Beethoven resolves to write "a new kind of music" -- a desire which explodes into fruition with his next symphony. |
Beethoven |
1803
Oberdöbling, outside Vienna
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In Vienna, during 2 weeks in March,
32-year-old Beethoven composes his oratorio
Christus am Oelberge ['Christ on the Mount of Olives']
and premières it on April 5,
and also premières his 9th Violin Sonata ("Kreutzer"), op.47
on May 17. Beethoven begins teaching piano and composition to
Archduke Rudolf (youngest son of Emperor Leopold II), a relationship
which will last nearly all of Beethoven's life, until 1824.
Many operas of Etienne-Nicolas Méhul and Luigi Cherubini are performed in Vienna during 1802 and 1803. This post-revolutionary French music exerts a profound influence on Beethoven. He spends the summer in Oberdöbling and begins his 3rd Symphony, in E-flat, which he calls the 'Bonaparte Symphony' (later renamed 'Eroica' ['heroic']). The monumental 1st movement is inspired by his admiration of Napoleon, whose wars seem to Beethoven to be a liberation from old-fashioned tyranny, and the symphony is dedicated to him. |
By the end of the year Haydn's condition has deteriorated to the point where he is no longer able to compose He complains that musical ideas constantly continue to come to him, but he is unable to organize them into proper works.
1804
On January 1, Dessalines officially declares the independence of the former French colony of Saint Domingue, renaming it "Haiti" after the indigenous Arawak name. This major loss is a decisive blow to France and its colonial empire.
In Wales on February 21, a steam locomotive built by 32-year-old Richard Trevethick carries 10 tons of iron, 5 wagons and 70 men a distance of 9.75 miles (16 km) in 4 hours and 5 minutes, an average speed of nearly 5 mph (8.0 km/h). This is the first demonstration of a practical steam railway.
Beethoven completes his Bonaparte Symphony [Eroica] by the spring.
Napoleon |
34-year-old Napoleon crowns himself Emperor of France on May 18.
In accord with his feelings, Beethoven composes a monumental funeral march for the 2nd movement of his Bonaparte Symphony, and submits the work for publication in August. When the symphony is finally published, it is listed as a "Sinfonia Eroica, composta e festeggiare il Sovvenire di un grand Uomo" ['Heroic symphony, composed to celebrate the memory of a great man'], op.55." Note Beethoven's conspicuous use of Italian in that dedication instead of French, probably intended as an affront to Napoleon. |
|
When Napoleon actually carries out his coronation as Emperor in December, a disgusted Beethoven angrily yells:
and he scratches the name "Bonaparte" off of the dedication on the title page of his new symphony so violently that he creates a hole in the paper. |
Eroica Symphony manuscript - title page |
Motivated by the grandeur of his new conceptions, and by his rage at Napoleon, Beethoven also begins the sketches for a symphony in C-minor (which will eventually become his 5th Symphony), and his only opera Leonore [now known as "Fidelio"], and he composes:
1805
After being summoned to Paris and seeing the automated loom which had been invented in 1745 by Jacques de Vaucanson, 53-year-old Jacquard will make further improvements on his own design. The Jacquard Loom uses strings of punched cards to allow the loom to automatically weave the pattern on the cards. This idea will later inspire Charles Babbage to invent his Difference Engine and Analytical Engine, and will ultimately lead to the "stored program" concept used on modern computers.
Beethoven's 'Eroica' Symphony is premièred in Vienna on April 7. The symphony's length and highly dramatic style stun the audience, an mark a boldly innovative approach to concert music, being the first large-scale work of 'absolute' music (i.e., no text or programmatic story-line) to incorporate dramatic narrative, using purely musical means.
In the spring, Beethoven is in love with Josephine Brunsvik, who is now a widow. However, she refuses his proposal of marriage, and within a short time Beethoven's feelings towards her cool off.
On November 13, Napoleon's armies invade and occupy Vienna.
Napoleon appoints 44-year-old Luigi Cherubini as music director in Vienna, a post which will last about a year. During this time Cherubini conducts several of his own compositions in Vienna. As a composer, Beethoven considers Cherubini to be his greatest contemporary.
34-year-old Beethoven interrupts work on his C-minor symphony (the 5th) and composes:
Then Beethoven gets back to work on his C-minor symphony.
On December 26, the Treaty of Pressburg is
signed between France (Napoleon) and Austria (Holy Roman Emperor Francis II).
Austria loses much territory to France: Italy and Bavaria are ceded;
certain Austrian holdings in Germany are given to French allies - the King of Bavaria,
the King of Württemberg and the Elector of Baden; and
Istria, Dalmatia and the Bay of Kotor
are handed over to France as the "Illyrian provinces".
The treaty marks the effective end of the Holy Roman Empire.
Francis II declares himself Emperor Franz I of Austria, thus creating
the modern Austrian Empire.
1806
In January the French troops leave Vienna.
After just over 1000 years of existence, the Holy Roman Empire officially comes to an end, as Napoleon reorganizes it into the "Confederation of the Rhine", a loose confederation of over 30 relatively independent German states.
During the rest of the year, a triumphant Napoleon conquers Naples, Holland, Prussia, and Warsaw, leaving members of his family in charge of each new territory.
35-year-old Beethoven again interrupts composition of his C-minor symphony (the 5th), to revise his opera Fidelio, replacing the "Leonore Overture No. 2" with the "Leonore Overture No. 3", and produces the new version on March 29, but it is again withdrawn quickly.
On May 25, Beethoven's brother Carl becomes the first of the three brothers to marry, to Johanna Reiss. On September 4, their son Karl is born -- this nephew Karl will eventually be the source of a tragic destructive force in Beethoven's later life.
Beethoven uncharacteristically spends the summer in the city, staying in Vienna rather than going to the country as he usually would. He composes his Violin Concerto, op.61, in D-major, which is premièred on December 23, then again resumes work on the C-minor symphony.
Woodwind instrument maker Iwan Müller invents key-pads glued to the insides of the keys, the metal clarinet ligature with screws to tie the reed to the mouthpiece, and the thumb-rest to help hold up the clarinet and oboe.
14-year-old Rossini enters the Bologna Acadamy.
1807
36-year-old Beethoven once again interrupts (for the third time) composition of his Symphony in C-minor (the 5th) to compose:
Then Beethoven resumes his final work on the C-minor symphony, now numbered as the 5th.
1808
Beethoven |
In Vienna, 37-year-old Beethoven Beethoven finally completes his 5th Symphony, op.67, in C-minor (whose sketches go back to 1804), a work which introduces several formal and orchestral innovations subservient to its dramatic narrative. While finishing the last movements of the 5th, Beethoven also composes his 6th Symphony, op.68, in F-major, the "Pastoral", the first work for the concert-hall of important musical quality which has a programmatic story-line behind it. In the spring, Beethoven also writes down a theme in the "Pastoral" sketch-book which he later uses as the main section for his piano piece now known as Für Elise. |
Beethoven moves in with Countess Erdödy, but it is unclear today if this was a love relationship or just a very good friendship. He composes the 5th ("Ghost") and 6th Piano Trios of op. 70 while living with her. Beethoven also composes the Fantasia op. 80 ("Choral Fantasy"), which will serve as a sort of rough draft for the last movement of his 9th Symphony 15 years later.
On 22 December, in a massive concert lasting over four hours, Beethoven premières both his 5th and 6th Symphonies (but with their numbering reversed on this concert) along with the "Choral Fantasy" and several other works.
Goethe writes Part 1 of Faust.
Fredrick Nolan receives British patent 3183 on November 26 for his invention of the brille, a key-ring for woodwind instruments which simultaneously depresses a key-with-pad which closes a hole at some distance from the fingered key-ring. The brille will later become the basis of the innovative flute redesign by Theobald Boehm (see below, 1830), and will then be used on all other new woodwind key-systems.
1809
On January 7, Beethoven agrees to become Kapellmeister in Kassel. His friends create an alternative contract to try to keep him in Vienna. He begins work on the 5th Piano Concerto, the Emperor. On February 26, Prince Lobkowitz, Prince Kinsky, and 22-year-old Archduke Rudolph agree to pay Beethoven an annuity of 4000 florins per year for life, the only condition being that he stays in Vienna. Beethoven agrees, and abandons his plans to go to Kassel. The Archduke is the youngest brother of Emperor Franz, and it is primarily Beethoven's friendship with Rudolph which enables him to meet many people who belong to the highest echelon of Viennese society.
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy is born in Hamburg on February 3, into a well-to-do Jewish family involved in banking.
Realizing that Napoleon will not be content to have the Austrian Empire in the midst of his own European empire, Austria acts on the offensive and declares war on France on April 9. In May, Napoleon's armies bombard Vienna, which surrenders and becomes a French city.
During the seige of Vienna, Beethoven composes his 26th Piano Sonata, op.81a, in Eb-major, the "Les Adieux" or "Lebewohl", as a farewell present for his patron the Archduke Rudolph, who is forced to leave Vienna along with the rest of the royal family as the French army advances. Beethoven promises not to write the final movement, Das Wiedersehen ['the Welcome Home'] until the Archduke returns to Vienna, which he does the following year.
From September to November, Beethoven composes his 10th String Quartet, op.74, the "Harp".
On May 31, Franz Joseph Haydn dies at his home in Vienna at age 77.
1810
In April Beethoven composes:
and begins composing the Archduke Trio. E. T. A. Hoffman calls Beethoven one of the three great "Romantic" composers, and his 5th Symphony "one of the most important works of the age".
Fryderyk Chopin is born in Poland, in the town of Zelazowa Wola (near Sochaczew, Masovia region, part of the Duchy of Warsaw), probably on March 1 (his baptismal certificate lists February 22, a week earlier, but this is probably an error), to a Polish mother and French father.
Robert Schumann is born on June 8 in Zwickau, Saxony.
In October, the Chopin family moves to Warsaw.
Carl Baermann is born on 24 October in Munich. He will go on to become an important clarinet teacher, and with Ottensteiner, design an improved key-system for the Müller-system clarinet.
1811
On March 15, Austria's currency is devalued to 20% of its former value.
The devaluation of Austrian currency drastically reduces the income which Beethoven receives under his annuity. He completes the 7th Piano Trio, op.97, in Bb-major, the "Archduke", this spring, and begins his 7th Symphony. Now almost completely deaf, Beethoven's failed attempt to perform his Piano Concerto No. 5 ("Emperor") ends his career as a performer.
Franz Liszt is born October 22 at Doborján [now Raiding, Austria], a village near Sopron, Hungary, in the Austrian Empire.
1812
During the French occupation of Austria, and most likely a result of Napoleon's cultural policies, the Vienna Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde ['Society of Friends of Music'], generally known as the Musikverein ['music association'], is created, to provide the city with a concert society, music school (Conservatory), and music library.
41-year-old Beethoven composes his:
and also writes the famous letter to his "Immortal Beloved". In November Prince Kinsky, one of Beethoven's 3 patrons, is thrown from his horse and dies. Archduke Rudolph increases his share in Beethoven's annuity to cover the loss. Around this time, Beethoven is generally regarded as the greatest of all living composers.
Sketches of Beethoven's 7th Symphony show that he was already contemplating the "Symphony in D-minor" (the 9th) to follow the 7th, but he embarked immediately on the 8th, and sketches for that work now show the D-minor to follow the 8th. So he originally envisioned the 7th and 9th together as a pair, and then after starting on the 8th, all three together as a set. A letter he wrote at this time also bears this out. In the following years Beethoven makes drafts of the Scherzo of the 9th. [Nohl 1860, p 137]
The Mendelssohn family converts to Lutheranism and moves to Berlin when Felix is 3 years old.
Müller-system 13-key clarinet |
Iwan Müller invents his "13-key clarinet", which is a major improvement to the woodwind family of instruments and remains the basis of clarinet key-systems in Germany and Austria today (the "Albert" or "simple" system clarinet of the later 1800s, and the modern Oehler system, are both evolutions of Müller's). |
1813
Richard Wagner is born on May 22 in Leipzig.
Giuseppe Verdi is born.
16-year-old Schubert, whose father is a teacher and who expects his son to follow in his footsteps, has lost all interest in academic studies, and is writing many substantial compositions. In October, he composes his 1st Symphony, in D-major.
| In Venice, 21-year-old Gioachino Rossini has the first of his many operatic successes with the production of Tancredi, an opera seria, and L'Italiana in Algeri ['the Italian in Algiers'], an opera buffa. This signals a shift in the public's taste away from the heavier style of Beethoven. |
Rossini |
Georg Büchner is born in Goddelau (Hesse, Germany) on October 17. Büchner will go on to write the play that inspires Berg's opera Wozzeck a century later.
After a long and difficult seige, Napoleon enters an evacuated Moscow with his army hungry and freezing. The allied European countries defeat him, and Vienna is again under Austrian rule.
Maelzel, inventor of the metronome, convinces 42-year-old Beethoven to write a symphony commemorating Napoleon's defeat, for a mechanical instrument he invented which could play all the different parts. After re-arranging it for a regular orchestra, with real guns and cannon in the percussion parts, Wellington's Victory, op.91 (the "Battle Symphony") is wildly popular, and will be Beethoven's most financially successful piece during his lifetime.
One of Beethoven's two remaining patrons, Prince Lobkowitz, goes bankrupt and flees Vienna, leaving Archduke Rudolph as Beethoven's only remaining benefactor. Rudolph again increases his payment to cover the financial loss of Lobkowitz. In gratitude for Rudolph's generosity, Beethoven dedicates far more compositions to him than to anyone else, including some of his most important works (4th Piano Concerto, 5th Piano Concerto (Emperor), 26th Piano Sonata (Les Adieux) op.81a, 29th Piano Sonata (Hammerklavier) op.106, 32nd Piano Sonata op.111, Violin Sonata op.96, Archduke Piano Trio (named for Rudolph), Missa Solemnis, Grosse Fuge).
For the next several years, there is a sudden decline in the number of significant works Beethoven produces, prompted most likely by his bitterness over the public's neglect of his more important work while they favored Rossini and his own 'throwaway trash' (Wellington's Victory), and also by the time and energy he will spend as guardian and teacher of his reluctant nephew Karl a few years later (see 1815).
1814
On April 6, Napoleon abdicates the throne. He is allowed to remain "Emperor" of his tiny principality on the island of Elba.
Beethoven | 43-year-old Beethoven again rewrites Fidelio, and the production on May 23 is finally a success. He also composes his 27th Piano Sonata, op.90, in E-minor. |
22-year-old Rossini is engaged as music-director for both opera houses in Naples.
In Vienna, around his 18th birthday, Schubert composes his 2nd Symphony in Bb, D.125, between December 10 and the following March 24.
1815
On 9 February, Georg Ottensteiner is born in Füssen. He will go on to become an instrument maker, and together with Baermann will design an improved key-system for the M¨ller-system clarinet.
On March 1, Napoleon escapes from Elba, returns to Paris, and regains control of France for the "Hundred Days". Napoleon's final defeat occurs at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18. This time he is imprisoned on the remote island of St Helena (in the south Atlantic, about midway between Brazil and Africa), where he remains until his death in 1821.
Europe in 1815, after Napoleon's final defeat.
The end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 mark the breakup of the
Spanish empire in the New World. Between 1815 and 1822 the new republics
of Argentina, Chile, and Venezuela are born, seeking and expecting
recognition by the United States, and many Americans endorse that idea.
But President James Monroe and his secretary of state, John Quincy Adams,
are wary of risking war for nations whose survival is unsure.
Their point of view is that the United States should just let Spain
and her rebellious colonies fight it out.
Great Britain is torn between monarchical principle and a desire for
new markets, because South America at this time is a much larger market
for English goods than the United States.
When Russia and France propose that England join in helping Spain
regain her New World colonies, Britain vetoes the idea.
The Austrian province of Venetia is combined with its western neighbor into the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, until 1859. Austria regains control of Dalmatia as the Kingdom of Illyria.
With Klemens von Metternich in control as foreign minister, the Austrian Empire enters the Vormärz period of censorship and a police state, until 1848.
In Vienna, 18-year-old Schubert composes his 3rd Symphony, in D, D.200, between May 24 and July 19.
Beethoven | On November 15, Beethoven's brother Carl dies of tuberculosis. Beethoven is appointed co-guardian of his nephew Karl, along with the boy's mother Johanna. Beethoven begins a long legal battle to gain full custody of Karl. |
1816
Eugène Albert is born on 26 April in Belgium. He will go on to design his own improved key-system for the Müller-system clarinet.
In Vienna, Schubert composes his 4th Symphony (the "Tragic") , in C-minor, D.417, completing it by April 27.
In Naples, 24-year-old Rossini composes and produces his most popular opera, The Barber of Seville.
55-year-old Cherubini composes his Requiem in C-minor to commemorate the anniversary of the execution of France's King Louis XVI. It is a big success and is much admired by Beethoven.
In September and October, 19-year-old Schubert composes his 5th Symphony, in B-flat, D. 485.
45-year-old Beethoven composes his:
and also begins sketching the 1st movement of his 9th Symphony. [Nohl 1860, p 137]
Beethoven's patron Prince Lobkowitz dies on December 15, leaving only Archduke Rudolph to support Beethoven's annuity.
1817
46-year-old Beethoven begins sketching his 9th Symphony.
7-year-old Fryderyk Chopin composes and publishes two polonaises, in G minor and B-flat major, and is recognized in Warsaw as a Mozart-like prodigy.
6-year-old Franz Liszt begins taking piano lessons.
Around his 21st birthday, from August until the following February, Schubert composes his 6th Symphony, in C-major, D.589
1818
|
47-year-old Beethoven receives a gift of a Broadwood piano
from London; its increased dynamic range and extended keyboard
inspire Beethoven to begin composing his monumental
"Hammerklavier Sonata".
Beethoven also begins working on the equally large-scale Mass in D "Missa Solemnis". |
Beethoven |
Replica of Drais's original "running machine", ridden by a man in period costume. |
In December, Baron Karl von Drais files a patent application
in Baden, Germany, for his 2-wheeled "running machine", the
direct forerunner and inspiration for the later bicycle.
Having been discouraged in his attempts at creating a
mechanized human-powered 4-wheel carriage, Drais decides
that the 2-wheeled vehicle should be propelled by the "natural"
method of walking or running.
Named the "draisene" in English and "draisienne" in French, honoring his name, it is also known as the "velocipede" (from the Latin for "fast foot"), and the "hobby horse". |
1819
Johnson-type hobby horse | In England, Denis Johnson creates an improved version of the draisine and patents it under the name "pedestrian curricle". There is a brief craze for the new invention all over Europe and in America during the summer of 1819, but it fades quickly into oblivion after that, resurfacing with pedals attached only in 1863. |
Beethoven |
Beethoven, 48, finishes the 29th Piano Sonata, op.106, in Bb-major, the "Hammerklavier", in March, and continues work on Missa Solemnis and the 9th Symphony. |
Francesco Ezechiele Ermenegildo Cavaliere Suppe-Demelli born April 18 in Spalato, Dalmatia [now Split, Croatia], of Belgian ancestry. He later goes by the name of Franz von Suppé.
1820
Beethoven, 49, composes his 30th Piano Sonata, op.109, in E-major, and continues to work on his Missa Solemnis.
23-year-old Schubert, who has very little money and is able to survive only thanks to the support of his friends, begins treating them rudely and inconsiderately. In December he composes his 12th Quartet, in C-minor, D. 703, nicknamed "Quartettsatz" because it contains only a single movement.
1821
12-year-old Mendelssohn begins composing a set of 12 Symphonies for Strings over the next 2 years.
In August, 24-year-old Schubert composes a full sketch of his Symphony [No. 7] in E (numbered D. 729 after the catalog of his works by his biographer Deutsch), but never orchestrates it.
On August 31, Hermann Helmholtz is born in Potsdam, Germany.
Beethoven, 50, finishes his 31st Piano Sonata, op.110, in Ab-major, on Christmas Day, meanwhile continuing to work on his Missa Solemnis.
1822
Early in the year, 51-year-old Beethoven mentions in a letter that he is working on a string quartet (eventually op. 127), the first new one since the "Serioso" of 1810. But during most of this year, Beethoven composes his 32nd Piano Sonata, op.111, in C-minor -- his last, containing the notorious "boogie-woogie variation", and continues to work on his Missa Solemnis.
During February and March, Carl Maria von Weber visits Vienna for a production of his opera Der Freischütz, and Schubert meets him.
Joachim Raff is born on May 27 in the town of Lachen, on lake Zürich in Switzerland.
30-year-old Rossini comes to Vienna and visits Beethoven.
Antonio Salieri, Mozart's old rival, hears 11-year-old Liszt play at a private house and is astonished. Salieri offers Liszt free lessons in composition. Prince Nicholas Esterházy, the employer of Liszt's father, gives the family leave to stay in Vienna. Liszt at this time also studies piano under Beethoven's pupil Carl Czerny, but Liszt's father takes him away from Czerny after only eighteen months. For four years Liszt tours and gives concerts to amazed audiences, including princes and kings.
30-year-old Charles Babbage, in a paper to the Royal Astronomical Society on 14 June entitled "Note on the application of machinery to the computation of astronomical and mathematical tables", proposes the use of an automatic, mechanical calculator designed to tabulate polynomial functions, his "Difference Engine", an important precursor of the modern digital computer. This machine uses the decimal number system and is powered by cranking a handle.
Beethoven composes Die Weihe des Hauses ['the consecration of the house'] Overture in September.
This year marks a turning point (for the worse) for 25-year-old Schubert: his career had been starting to develop nicely, but now he begins to live hedonistically and has serious financial trouble. He is diagnosed with syphilis late in the year, and as a result the remaining 6 years of his life will be filled with illnesses. However, it is also from around this time that his music becomes imbued with a strong emotional intensity. In October, he composes his "Unfinished" Symphony in B-minor, D. 759, usually listed as the 8th, and considered by many to be his masterpiece.
In November, Prince Galitzin commissions Beethoven to compose some string quartets, which will turn out to be his last set of great compositions.
The Kingdom of Illyria is dissolved, and Dalmatia becomes a province directly under the administration of the Austrian Empire.
1823
After 5 years of work on it, 52-year-old Beethoven finishes his grandiose Mass in D-major, op.123, the "Missa Solemnis" ['solemn mass'], in February.
Later this year Beethoven also finishes his monumental 9th Symphony, op.125, in D-minor, the "Choral", on which he has also been working actively for several years, and passively for decades. The final movement sets the words of Schiller's 'Ode to Joy':
Beethoven's 9th Symphony is considered by legions of music-lovers ever since then to be the supreme achievement by a composer, and will become a huge inspiration to, among others, Bruckner and Mahler.
While finishing the 9th Symphony, Beethoven sketches a draft of the Quartet in A-minor op. 132, then resumes work on the Quartet in E-flat op. 127.
13-year-old Chopin begins schooling at the Warsaw Lyceum, where his father is a professor, and also begins getting informal instruction in music theory, figured bass, and composition from composer Józef Elsner.
This is a significant year politically as it marks the real emergence of America as a world power. With France, Spain, and the "Holy Alliance" (Russia, Prussia, Austria) wishing to retain their power in the western hemisphere, and Britain hoping to join with America against them, in James Monroe's message to Congress on December 2, 1823, (today called the Monroe Doctrine, but really the work of John Quincy Adams), the United States informs the European powers that the American continents are no longer open to European colonization, and that any effort to extend European political influence into the New World would be considered by the United States "as dangerous to our peace and safety", effectively separating America and Europe from interfering in each other's politics.
1824
27-year-old Schubert composes his 14th Quartet, in D-minor, D. 810, "Der Tod und das Mädchen" ['death and the maiden'] in March.
Bedrich Smetana is born on 2 March in Litomyšl in Bohemia, then part of the Austrian Empire.
Beethoven |
53-year-old Beethoven premières his 9th Symphony
in Vienna on May 7. Schubert is there. The symphony
is received enthusiastically by that audience, but the
repeat performance on May 23 is poorly attended.
Just after the performances of the 9th Symphony, Beethoven begins his 12th Quartet, op.127, in Eb-major, the first of his great final series of string quartets. Its composition will occupy him for the rest of the year. |
32-year-old Rossini moves to Paris and composes his final opera, Guillaume Tell ['William Tell'] (whose overture remains famous more than a century later as the theme song for "The Lone Ranger" TV show). At the height of his career, the young Rossini then inexplicably stops composing, never to write another opera, and only composing again much later in his long life.
13-year-old Liszt composes his only opera, Don Sanche, produced the following year.
15-year-old Mendelssohn composes his 1st Symphony, in C-minor, op.11, his first symphony for full orchestra.
Anton Bruckner is born in Ansfelden, near Linz, in Upper Austria, in September.
Johann Christian Woyzeck sentenced to be beheaded in Leipzig for the slaying of his mistress. Before his execution, Woyzeck is assessed by Hofrat Dr. Clarus to determine whether he could be considered responsible for his actions. Clarus determines that Woyzeck is "of sound mind and that any abberations were due to his physical constitution and moral degeneration". This becomes the basis for Georg Büchner's play Woyzeck 12 years later.
38-year-old Carl Almenraeder, assisted by physicist G. Weber, makes major changes in the positioning of the holes on the bassoon. His design is later (1874) updated by Heckel, to become the standard modern bassoon.
1825
In February, 54-year-old Beethoven completes his 12th Quartet, op.127, in Eb-major. He immediately begins work on the second of his final series of quartets, now known as the 15th Quartet, op.132, in A-minor, and also sketches ideas for the 13th Quartet, op.130, in Bb-major. Interrupted by a serious illness in April, Beethoven depicts the illness and his recovery in the long slow movement of the A-minor quartet, and finishes composing the quartet in July. (The A-minor quartet was published later, so both the quartet and opus numberings reflect dates of publication, and not of composition.)
16-year-old Mendelssohn composes his String Octet in E-flat Major, op.20, the first work which really shows his genius.
|
Probably inspired by the epic size of Beethoven's 9th Symphony,
from June to September 28-year-old Schubert composes his "Great" Symphony in C-major,
which today is variously numbered 7, 8, or 9, depending on how one considers
the status of his "Unfinished Symphony" and a hypothetical "lost" one to which
his cataloger Deutsch gave a number; the "Great" is generally known as Schubert's
9th.
Deutsch believed this "Great" Symphony to be composed in 1828, so he gave the number D. 944 to it, and numbered the hypothetical "lost" one of 1825-26 (which he called the Gmunden-Gastein Symphony) as D. 849 -- in fact, the "lost" one possibly never existed, and both Deutsch numbers may actually refer to the "Great" C-major Symphony. The "Great" Symphony is dedicated to the Vienna Philharmonic in hopes of a performance; they pay Schubert a 100 florin honorarium and read thru it in a rehearsal, but then it is not performed publicly and is not rediscovered until 11 years after his death. |
Schubert |
Between August and November, Beethoven, 54, composes his 13th Quartet, op.130, in Bb-major, with the huge Grosse Fuge as its finale. This fulfills his commission from Prince Galitzin for 3 quartets, but Beethoven evidently feels an inner need to keep composing string quartets, and soon begins his 14th Quartet, op.131, in C-sharp-minor.
Johann Strauss, Jr. (the 'Waltz King') is born in Vienna on October 25.
1826
Beethoven |
In the early part of the year 55-year-old Beethoven composes
his 14th Quartet, op.131, in C-sharp-minor,
completing it in July. He himself considers it to be his greatest piece.
On March 21, the 13th Quartet, op.130, in B-flat major is premièred with its original final movement, the piece now known independently as the Grosse Fuge, op.133, which meets with incomprehension from the audience. In July, Beethoven's nephew Karl buys two pistols and shoots himself in the head in an attempt to commit suicide. The first shot misses and the second one grazes his temple, but he lives. Beethoven takes this as the final proof of his inability to act as a father to K |
