I will sing a cycle of spine-chilling songs to you. Franz Schubert Who invented the concept album? Was it Woody Guthrie with Dust Bowl Ballads (1940)? Perhpas it was Frank Sinatra in the 1950s with In the Wee Small Hours. Most settle on, as expected, The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's as the first concept album in … Continue reading Schubert and the Concept Album
Category: Classical Period
The Friday Symposium: Songwriting
Franz Schubert is the Father of Song, so it seems appropriate to pause to talk a little bit about songwriting. The oldest and most basic form of song is the strophic form, which derives from the Greek strophē (turn). In sum, a strophic song has repeating music (the so-called "AAA" structure in which all stanzas … Continue reading The Friday Symposium: Songwriting
Classical Music V: Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
So great was the shadow cast by Beethoven over the musical landscape of Vienna (and so great the popularity of Rossini among the masses) that it nearly obscured another, perhaps even more tortured, musical genius roaming its streets and haunting its taverns. Franz Schubert was born, lived and died in Vienna. He studied with Salieri, … Continue reading Classical Music V: Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
The Friday Symposium: Beethoven’s Legacy
How does one even begin to assess the legacy of Ludwig van Beethoven? The King of Harmony well-deserved his title, even if his revolutionary use of rhythmic motifs would arguably prove to be his most lasting contribution to the language of music. His symphonies are unquestionably his lasting legacy, even if I personally find his … Continue reading The Friday Symposium: Beethoven’s Legacy
Armageddon: Beethoven’s Final Statement
Do not go gentle into that good night,Old age should burn and rave at close of day;Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Dylan Thomas And now, the end. Like Bach before him, Beethoven ends (at least for this history) with a fugue. Beethoven had written a grand fugue to close his String Quartet … Continue reading Armageddon: Beethoven’s Final Statement
A Gertus History of Music 