Auditory Fine Arts

This is the homepage for the Auditory Fine Arts category, a subcategory of The Arts.

German

• Bach

  • Brandenburg Concertos

    • 6 concertos for Margrave Christian Ludwig

  • The Musical Offering

    • A collection of keyboard canons and fugues (et al) all based on a theme by, and dedicated to Frederick the Great (II) of Prussia

  • The Goldberg Variations

    • One aria, then 30 variations on a theme

  • The Art of Fugue

  • The Well-Tempered Clavier

    • 24 parts, one in each key

  • Toccata and Fugue

• Handel

  • Music for the Royal Fireworks

    • Contracted by George II of Great Britain to accompany the fireworks in Green Park, in celebration of the end of the war of Austrian Succession

  • Water Music

    • In response to King George I’s request for music on the river Thames

  • Messiah

    • “Hallelujah” chorus, “and he shall reign forever and ever”

  • The Harmonious Blacksmith

  • See Qwiz5’s article for more information

• Schubert

  • Der Erlkonig

    • Named after a Goethe poem, has 4 characters: the narrator, father, son, and the Erlking, a European legend creature

  • “Unfinished” Symphony (no. 8)

    • Schubert didn’t die, it’s not certain why he didn’t finish this symphony

  • Death and the Maiden

    • AKA String Quartet No. 14, named after the theme borrowed from one of his earlier pieces named Death and the Maiden

  • The Trout Quintet

    • Piano quintet in A major named Die Forelle

• Beethoven

  • The Moonlight Sonata

    • Named by Ludwig Rellstab regarding the reflection off of Lake Lucerne at night

  • Fur Elise

  • Symphony No. 5

    • Short-short-short-long

  • Eroica Symphony

    • Symphony no 3, Op. 55, dedicated to “the memory of a great man”(refers to Napoleon)

  • Pastoral Symphony

    • Symphony no 6, Op. 68

  • Choral Symphony

    • Symphony no 9, Op. 125, used Friedrich Schiller’s Ode to Joy

  • Creatures of Prometheus

  • Pathétique sonata

    • Same name as Tchaikovsky’s symphony

  • Opera

• Brahms

  • Hungarian Dances

    • 21 of them

  • A German Requiem

  • Tragic Overture

    • Meant to contrast with the companion piece: Academic Festival Overture, not to be confused with Mahler’s Tragic Symphony

  • Academic Festival Overture

    • Written for the University of Breslau, which Brahms received an honorary degree from

  • (his first symphony is called “Beethoven’s 10th Symphony”

  • (composed a famous lullaby)

• Schumann

  • Rhenish Symphony

    • Symphony no 3

  • Spring Symphony

    • Symphony no 1, inspired by the Cologne Cathedral

  • Scenes from Childhood

  • Papillons

  • Dichterliebe

  • Carnaval

    • Depicted parts of himself as “Florestan” and “Eusebius”

  • (husband of Clara Wieck)

• Wagner

  • Ride of the Valkyries

    • Part of Die Walkure, an opera in the Ring Cycle

  • Operas

• Mendelssohn

  • A Midsummer Night’s Dream

    • Incidental music to the Shakespeare play

  • Wedding March

    • Included in A Midsummer Night’s Dream

  • Hebrides Overture

    • Originally called A Lonely Island, and often called Fingal’s Cave

  • Scottish Symphony

  • Italian Symphony

  • Reformation Symphony

  • Songs Without Words

    • (Lieder Ohne Worte)

• Richard Strauss

  • Also Sprach Zarathustra

    • Opens with “Sunrise,”and used in 2001: A Space Odyssey

  • Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks

    • Tone poem

  • Operas

• Pachelbel

  • Canon in D

    • Aka Pachelbel’s Canon

Italian

• Vivaldi

  • The Four Seasons

  • The Contest Between Harmony and Invention

    • Set of 12 concerti that includes the Four Seasons, “The Hunt,”and “Pleasure”

  • (nicknamed “the red priest”

• Paganini

  • 24 Violin Caprices

    • Includes “The Hunt” and “Devil’s Chuckle”

  • (originally composed La Campanella, but be careful because they’re almost always looking for Liszt’s version, which borrowed from Paganini’s)

  • (Rachmaninoff composed a Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini)

  • (believed to have made a deal with the devil for ridiculous skill, which is now sometimes attributed to Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome)

• Rossini

  • William Tell Overture

  • The Thieving Magpie

  • Tancredi

  • Operas

Austrian

• Haydn

  • Surprise Symphony

    • Sudden Gmaj chord

  • Farewell Symphony

    • Musicians put out candles and walk off stage

  • Clock Symphony

    • “Ticking” rhythm throughout the second movement

  • 12 London Symphonies

  • Palindrome Symphony

  • Emperor quartet

    • String quartet which was adopted into the German national anthem

  • (“father of the string quartet,”and “father of the symphony”

• Mozart

  • Jupiter Symphony

    • The last of 41 he composed

  • Little and Great G Minor Symphonies

    • Only two of his in G Minor

  • Eine Kleine Nachtmusik

    • “A little night music”

  • Requiem Mass

    • Uncompleted, as Mozart died while writing it

  • Operas

• Johann Strauss II

  • On the Beautiful Blue Danube

    • Waltz

  • The Emperor Waltz

  • (known as the “Waltz King”)

• Schoenberg

  • Pierrot Lunaire

  • Transfigured Night

  • (Anton von Webern and Alban Berg were his pupils)

  • (founded the second Viennese school)

  • (developed the 12-tone system)

    • Music avoids being in a key by equalizing the importance and usage of each chromatic note

    • Not to be confused with 12 tone equal temperament

• Berg

  • Lyric Suite

  • Chamber Concerto

  • (colleague of Anton von Webern, both studied under Schoenberg)

English

• Elgar

  • The Enigma Variations

    • “Dorabella,”“Nimrod”

  • Pomp and Circumstance

  • The Dream of Gerontius

    • Based on a poem by Cardinal Newman

  • The Land of Hope and Glory

• Williams, Ralph Vaughan

  • Fantasia on Greensleeves

  • The Lark Ascending

  • Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis

    • “Why Fum’th in Fight”

• Britten

  • The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra

    • Adapted a theme from Purcell’s Abdelazer

  • Peter Grimes

    • Title fisherman is accused of killing his apprentices

  • War Requiem

  • See Qwiz5’s article for more information

• Holst

  • The Planets

    • “Mars, the Bringer of War”

    • “Venus, the Bringer of Peace”

    • “Mercury, the Winged Messenger”

    • “Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity”

    • “Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age”

    • “Uranus, the Magician”

    • “Neptune, the Mystic”

Russian/Soviet

• Tchaikovsky

  • The 1812 overture

    • Celebratory piece that uses a cannon, also has “La Marseillais” theme that represents the invading French army

  • Pathétique symphony

    • Same name as Beethoven Sonatas

  • Swan Lake

    • Von Rothbart places a spell on Odette which causes her to be a swan during the day, evil sorceress Odile

• Rimsky-Korsakov

  • “The Flight of the Bumblebee”

    • In The Tale of Tsar Saltan, mostly just a chromatic scale

  • Scheherazade suite

    • Based on Arabian Nights

  • “The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship”

    • In the Scheherazade Suite

  • Russian Easter Festival Overture

  • The Snow Maiden

  • The Tale of Tsar Saltan

  • Capriccio Espagnol

  • (one of the Russian Mighty Five)

• Rachmaninoff

  • Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

    • 24 variations on Paganini’s 24th Caprice

  • 4 piano concerti

  • The Isle of the Dead

    • Inspired by Bockin’s namesake painting, uses the Dies Irae theme

  • The Bells of Moscow

• Mussorgsky

  • Night on a Bald Mountain

    • About a witch’s sabbath

  • Pictures at an Exhibition

  • See Qwiz5’s article for more information

• Stravinsky

  • Petrushka

    • Names the Petrushka chord

  • The Rite of Spring

    • High bassoon solo, caused a riot at its premier in Paris

    • “The Adoration for the Earth” and “The Sacrifice”

  • The Soldier’s Tale

  • The Firebird

• Shostakovich

  • Leningrad Symphony

    • Symphony no 7 that includes a 22 bar snare ostinato called it’s “invasion” theme

  • Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District

    • (criticized in an article titled “Muddle Instead Music”)

• Prokofiev

  • The Love for Three Oranges

  • Peter and the Wolf

    • Each character represented with different instruments, bird = flute, duck = oboe, cat = clarinet, grandfather = bassoon, wolf = three horns, Peter = string quartet, the hunters’gunshots are represented with kettle and bass drums

  • Lieutenant Kije suite

French

• Berlioz

  • Symphonie Fantastique
    • See Qwiz5’s article for more information
  • The Damnation of Faust

• Saint-Saens

  • Le Carnaval des Animaux

    • “Le Cygne,” “fossils,”

  • Danse Macabre

    • Uses a xylophone to represent bones/skeletons, which Saint-Saens also does in “Fossils”

• Ravel

  • Bolero

    • Commissioned by Ida Rubenstein, ostinato with repetitive snares

  • Le Tombeau de Couperin

  • Daphnis et Chloe

  • Gaspard de la Nuit

  • See Qwiz5’s article for more information

• Debussy

  • Suite Bergamasque

    • Includes Claire de Lune as movement 3

  • “Claire de Lune”

    • Inspired by Verlain’s poem of the same name

  • Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun

    • 24 preludes, inspired by a Mellarme poem

  • La Mer

  • Children’s Corner

    • “Golliwogg’s Cakewalk,”“Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum”

• Satie

  • Gymnopedies

American

• Copland

  • Appalachian Spring

    • Choreographed by Martha Graham, uses the Shaker song “Simple Gifts”

  • Rodeo

  • A Lincoln Portrait

  • El Salon Mexico

  • Fanfare of the Common Man

• Barber

  • Adagio for Strings

    • Broadcast over the radio announcement of Roosevelt’s death

  • Vanessa

  • Knoxville: Summer of 1915

• Ives

  • Concord Sonata

    • Inspired by the transcendentalist ideas in concord, has movements “Emerson,”“Hawthorne,”“The Alcotts,”and “Thoreau”

  • The Unanswered Question

    • Solo trumpet poses the “Perennial Question of Existence,”to which a woodwind quartet of “Fighting Answerers” grows more dissonant and eventually fail to answer

  • Central Park in the Dark

  • Three Places in New England

• Cage

  • 4 minutes, 33 seconds

    • Sit in silence for 4m33s

  • Imaginary Landscape No. 4

    • Uses 12 radios

  • As Slow as Possible

    • An organ in St. Burchardi church in Halberstadt, Germany, the next note will play on Feb 5 2024, and it is scheduled to end in 2640

  • (invented the “prepared” piano, which involves the use of rubber bands and screws)

• Ellington

  • Mood Indigo

  • It Don’t Mean a Thing (if it Ain’t got that Swing)

  • Takin’the A Train

  • (often collaborated with Billy Strayhorn)

  • (his band played at the Cotton Club)

  • (piano player)

• Gershwin

  • Rhapsody in Blue

    • Opening clarinet gliss

  • An American in Paris

  • Opera

  • (piano player)

• Parker

  • Yardbird Suite

  • Ornithology

  • Scrapple from the Apple

  • (helped develop Bebop)

  • (known as “Bird”

  • (alto, tenor, and other sax player)

• Coltrane

  • Giant Steps

  • A Love Supreme

  • Jazz rendition of “My Favorite Things”

  • (style called “sheets of sound”

  • (saxophone–primarily tenor–player)

• Goodman

  • Sing, Sing, Sing

  • (called the “King of Swing”

  • (greatest jazz clarinetist)

• Armstrong

  • Hello Dolly

  • Cover of When the Saints go Marching in

  • Heebie Jeebies

  • (known for scat singing)

  • (sang “What a Wonderful World”

  • (nicknamed “Satchmo”

  • (played trumpet as well)

• Davis

  • Kind of Blue

    • Album including “So What?”and “Freddie Freeloader”

  • Sketches of Spain

  • Birth of the Cool

  • Bitches’Brew

  • (trumpet player)

• Joplin

  • Treemonisha

  • Maple Leaf Rag

    • Associated with Sedalia, MO

  • The Entertainer

  • (known as the “King of Ragtime”)

  • (piano player)

• Sousa

  • Stars and Stripes Forever

    • Piccolo solo in its trio section

  • Semper Fidelis

  • (sousaphone, which is effectively a tuba you can play while standing easier, is named for him)

  • (known as the “March King”

• Bernstein

  • Music for West Side Story

  • Opera

• Williams, John

  • Jaws film score

  • Indiana Jones score

  • Star Wars score

• Brubeck

  • Time Out

    • Album including “Take Five” and “Blue Rondo a la Turk”

  • (piano player)

• Fitzgerald

  • A-Tisket A-Tasket

  • Ella and Louis (w Armstrong)

  • (“First lady of song,”female singer known for scat singing)

• Gillespie

  • Salt Peanuts

  • A Night in Tunisia

  • (known for his bent trumpet)

Other

• Mahler (Austro-Bohemian)

  • Titan Symphony

    • Symphony No. 1, parodies “Frere Jacques” in a minor key as a funeral march in movement 3

  • Resurrection Symphony

    • Symphony No. 2

  • Tragic Symphony

    • Symphony No. 6, not to be confused with Brahms’Tragic Overture, utilizes a hammer as a percussion instrument, it has 3 hits which represent tragedy in his life, but he revised it to only have 2

  • Symphony of a Thousand

    • Symphony No. 8

• Grieg (Norwegian)

  • Peer Gynt

  • “In the Hall of the Mountain King”

  • “Morning Mood”

  • “Solveig’s Song”

• Liszt (Hungarian)

  • La Campanella

    • Inspired by Paganini’s work of the same name, written for piano

  • 12 Transcendental Etudes

  • Mephisto Waltz

  • 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies

  • (made the symphonic poem)

• Bartok (Hungarian)

  • Duke Bluebeard’s Castle

  • Mikrokosmos

  • The Miraculous Mandarin

• Chopin (Polish)

  • Minute Waltz

    • Not actually a minute

  • Revolutionary Etude

    • Written after the November Uprising

  • Fantaisie-Impromptu

  • Winter Wind Etude

  • Heroic Polonaise

  • (wrote many nocturnes (night), polonaises (polish processional dance), and mazurkas (polish form based on folk dances))

• Sibelius (Finnish)

  • Finlandia

  • The Swan of Tuonela

    • Tone poem in the Lemminkainen suite, a cor anglais (English Horn in NA) is the voice of the swan

  • Lemminkäinen Suite

• Dvorak (Czech)

  • New World Symphony

    • African-American and Native-American inspired, the scherzo is in 3/4 and is influenced by Longfellow’s The Song of Hiawatha, a famous cor anglais solo was adapted into the song “Goin’Home”

  • Slavonic Dances

  • See Qwiz5’s article for more information