The Symphony Of The Key Of Change - 3582 Words

Christina Cheng Professor Davidson MUSIC 89S: Composers of Influence November 12, 2014 The Symphony in the Key of Change: The Evolving Symphonic Landscape as Beethoven Influenced It The famed American pianist and composer Les Baxter once said, â€Å"Any good music must be an innovation.† Indeed, the works of Beethoven and the successors that he influenced have lived on because they possess a certain quality of enduring musical entrepreneurship. As Beethoven straddled the line between the Classical and Romantic period, he himself acted as both a messenger and a craftsman: translating the techniques of the Classical era to the early Romantic period, only to then transform these techniques into masterpieces that were considered to be radically†¦show more content†¦However, before the Romantic symphonists made further innovations to orchestration, which is the combination of instruments to produce various timbres and colors in any composition, Beethoven had completely revolutionized the ways in which future composers would come to think of how to construct a symphony. During the Classical pe riod, prominent composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Joseph Haydn came to define what the symphony was and how it should be orchestrated. In the eighteenth century, the orchestra was typically composed of strings (first and second violins, violas, cellos, and double basses), a limited woodwind section (two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets and two bassoons), a relatively small brass section (two to four horns and two trumpets), and a minor percussion section with only two timpani (Erb). The string section was considered to be the most important section, and the woodwinds would usually double with the strings to play the melody. This practice, in turn, made it so that there was great balance and clarity within pieces of the Classical era, though little diversity among the different instruments (â€Å"History of Classical Music†). As concert halls grew larger and classical music became more democratic, music began to change. These facts, coupled with the