Music of Sigfried Idyll - Essay Example

The music starts soft, with strings ushering in soft music, and later on, would crescendo into a complete expression of his love for Cosima. The events in Wagner’s life prompted the composition of the Idyll, a piece that remains to be one of his greatest masterpieces to this day! Upon listening to the music, the notes take a relaxing mood, moving into a sweet caress of the notes. In the later part of the Idyll, the notes become more melancholic, and more serious, bringing the mood back to reality, and reflecting Wagner’s struggle throughout his career. However, this struggle was lifted and made lighter by Cosima, whom Wagner referred to as his eternal support. Sigfried Idyll reflects Wagner’s romantic nature, as recounted, he held Cosima’s hands, “and she was beside him as he wrote down the last notes for the full orchestral score of Sigfried”. This brilliant composition is a very good expression of love and life – a balance of feeling blessed, and the struggles one continuously face.

Another brilliant composer, whose work remains popular up to this day, is Ludwig Van Beethoven, a German composer, and pianist. Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15 was written between 1796 and 1797 and was played for the first time in Prague, in 1798, by Beethoven himself. Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major generally has an upbeat melody, with a faint melancholic transition in the middle, and then rising once again into its upbeat spirit. This piece combines a dramatic classical style of lively contrasts and symmetrical forms.

With the forceful nature of Beethoven’s music, he gave voice to the new current of subjectivism and individualism which emerged at the coming around of the French revolution, as well as the rise of the middle class. In listening to this piece, Beethoven conveys the message of freedom and equality as the notes “demand” and “protest” with their forceful, rhythmic patterns. Piano concerto No. 1 in C Major certainly conveys the feeling of activeness and a powerful surge of emotions and energy flowing throughout the composition. During this time, Beethoven’s struggle was with the injustice and tyranny in society, and he was hoping for a political change.

Another of his compositions is Symphony No. 2 in D Major, completed in 1802. The symphony takes a more melancholic mood as compared to his prior compositions, as this was the time wherein his hearing was diminishing. Beethoven’s emotions were very much visible in his compositions. The composition conveyed a feeling of frustration while battling to stay optimistic. His forceful, rhythmic patterns are still apparent, however, the upbeat mood is now of a melancholic, even a bit angry flow of emotions throughout the musical piece. The emotion of frustration, giving slight hints of depression governs the mood of this composition. Although by nature, Beethoven’s compositions were “sunny”, hints of melancholy can be observed in his later compositions. Read More