Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony
“He (Beethoven) was a pivotal figure in the transition from 18th century musical classicism to 19th century romanticism, and his influence on subsequent generations of composers was profound” Kerman and Tyson. Beethoven’s sixth symphony (also known as the pastoral symphony) has qualities of both the classical and romantic periods and illustrates Beethoven’s revolutionary ideas as well as highlights his classical influences. The programmatic nature of the piece is the dominant romantic feature although the use of brass and percussion as well as the dramatic dynamic changes are also characteristics from this era. However there are many classical influences in Beethoven’s work such as the balanced phrasing, the dominance of the strings in various movements and especially the use of the tonic and dominant throughout the entire piece (sub-dominants were a common attribute of romantic pieces). The various classical and romantic elements of Ludwig......
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Approximate Word Count: 1147
Approximate Pages: 5 (260 words per double-spaced page) |