Querelle des bouffons

The last few weeks our discussions have centered on musical controversies within 20th-century music. This week, let’s take a step further back in time to 18th-century France and explore a dispute over Italian and French opera that lasted two years.

During the 18th century, operas with both serious and comic plots grew in popularity. While those with serious plots had similar characteristics across borders, comic operas differed depending on the country in which they originated. Librettists always wrote the texts in their native tongue and included national traits. A librettist is the author of the text of the opera, as opposed to the composer, who writes the music. Italian comic operas, for instance, contained melodic arias (expressive solo sections) alternated with recitatives (style of singing that resembles speech), while many other countries included spoken dialogue throughout.

In 1752 the performance of La serva padrona, Pergolesi’s Italian intermezzo (a short, comic opera inserted between the acts of a serious opera) sparked a pamphlet dispute amongst literary intellects in Paris. Known as the Querelle des bouffons (“Quarrel of the comic actors”), this “war” between supporters of Italian opera tradition (opera buffa) and French opera tradition (opera comique) involved well-known voices including Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Friedrich Melchior Grimm. While many people wanted to stand firm for their native style of opera, others noticed the way Italian composers created memorable and expressive melodies.

Did the Querelle des bouffons ever resolve? Yes, it did resolve in 1754 when the Bouffons left Paris. It may sound like a silly controversy but to the people of that time, they believed they should support national styles in music. As a result, this led to the formation of various national traditions prevalent during the following century. 

Shostakovich's Response to Criticism

Following the denunciation of Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth in 1936, the composer set to work on what historians consider to be a response to the Pravda’s remarks, calling his Fifth Symphony “a Soviet artist’s reply to just criticism.” While the work followed the rules set by socialist realism using the standard four-movement format and accessible tonal structure, Symphony No. 5 also exhibits a sense of sadness possibly felt by the composer following his opera controversy. The slow movement, for example, portrays the sounds of Russian funeral music, creating sorrowful sentiments for audiences. This symphony brought Shostakovich back under good terms with the government while still allowing him to secretly display his emotions.

Listen to Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 here. After hearing Shostakovich’s story, do you share his sentiments?

What ever happened to Lady Macbeth? Well, the opera remained untouched until 1956 when Shostakovich revised and renamed it Katerina Izmaylova. It is still performed in opera houses today.

Controversy and Shostakovich

On Monday we discussed the initial success of Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth that quickly turned into a controversy. Following Stalin’s attendance of a performance in 1936, the work was denounced in an article published in Pravda, the Communist Party newspaper, calling it “chaos instead of music.” The government accused the opera saying it contained modernist elements and an obscene portrayal of sexual and violent circumstances. Here is an excerpt from the article:

“From the first minute, the listener is shocked by deliberate dissonance, by a confused stream of sounds. Snatches of melody, the beginnings of a musical phrase, are drowned, emerge again, and disappear in a grinding and squealing roar. To follow this ‘music’ is most difficult; to remember it, impossible.” 

Following the publication of this article, Shostakovich feared for his life as the government often times banished or executed people they felt produced work not in line with socialist realism.

How did Shostakovich respond to this criticism? By writing more music, of course! Join me tomorrow as I discuss the follow-up to this denunciation. 

Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth

Dmitry Shostakovich lived in the Soviet Union during a time when the state enforced socialist realism, a government-approved system demanding that artists create in a clearly-defined style that portrays an idealized lifestyle within their nation. Under this system, many artists felt restricted and unable to fully display their creativity.

During this time, Shostakovich wrote his opera, Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District that premiered on January 22, 1934 in Leningrad and on January 24, 1934 in Moscow. 

                                                          

At first, the opera experienced great success with performances occurring internationally. Critics considered Lady Macbeth a major achievement, one only a Soviet composer could successfully produce. Two years following its premiere, however, Shostakovich’s success took a turn for the worse. Stalin attended a performance and controversy ensued. Read more about what followed when I post on Wednesday!

Irony in Kindertotenlieder

Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder is filled with irony. The first song begins with the phrase “Now will the sun so brightly rise again.” Though a positive text, the soloist sings in a sad manner. You can find a performance of Matthias Goerne singing at the BBC Proms here.

How does this piece make you feel? Does it move your “affections” (or emotions) in a certain way? Do you think this piece is indeed ironic or do you think that Mahler clearly conveys the depth of emotion experienced by a parent after losing a child?

Controversy Behind Kindertotenlieder

On Monday we began the story of Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder. How is this work controversial? After his marriage to Alma in 1902, Mahler took another two years to complete his orchestral song cycle. Though Alma believed it was understandable that her husband began the work as a single man in 1901, she insisted that he was tempting fate by continuing a composition related to dying children now that he was a husband and father. Three years following the completion of his song cycle, Mahler’s daughter died of diphtheria and scarlet fever. Was Alma right? Did Mahler tempt fate by insisting upon completing his Kindertotenlieder?

I had the pleasure of chatting with Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Music Director Louis Langree in the WGUC studio about this piece. When asked whether or not Mahler tempted fate by completing Kindertotenlieder, the Maestro immediately responded with a fascinating story. At one point in his past, he had agreed to conduct this very piece for an orchestra several years in advance. Before the concert date arrived, however, the birth of his daughter caused him to reconsider. Though certainly not one to cancel appointments, Langree said he felt “scared” of the Mahler “curse” and felt that he would be taking a real “gamble” if he followed through with the commitment. He confirmed that he is not typically the superstitious type but still could not bring himself to conduct this fateful piece of music.

Did Mahler tempt fate? What would you have done in Maestro Langree’s situation? Let me know your thoughts!

Mahler's Kindertotenlieder

Controversy surrounds the music of Gustav Mahler, with one great example being his Kindertotenlieder (“Songs on the Death of Children”). Mahler first began work on this orchestral song cycle in 1901. An orchestral song cycle is a group of songs meant for performance as a unit and accompanied by an orchestra. The texts that Mahler chose for his song cycle were taken from poems by Friedrich Rueckert, who originally wrote these poems along with many others as a form of mourning the death of his children. Mahler felt a special connection to the poetry as one of Rueckert’s children (Ernst) shared a name with his deceased brother.                                                              

Not long after he began work on Kindertotenlieder, Mahler met the woman who would become his wife the following year. His marriage to Alma Mahler and the birth of two daughters fairly quickly would change the circumstances surrounding his song cycle, resulting in a strong difference in opinion between the composer and his new bride and a haunting story for the Mahler family.

Join me on Wednesday for more on the eerie tale surrounding Kindertotenlieder.

What Stravinsky had to say about The Rite of Spring

Previously we discussed Stravinsky’s famous The Rite of Spring. We know that this piece quickly became one of the most well-known works of the early 20th century. But why so controversial? At the premiere of the ballet in 1913, a riot began amongst members of the audience. Historians believe that it was the choreography created by dancer Vaclav Nijinsky that provoked the majority of controversy rather than Stravinsky’s score. Years following this scandalous premiere, here is what Stravinsky had to say about the experience:

“That the first performance of The Rite of Spring was attended by a scandal must be known to everybody. Strange as it may seem, however, I was unprepared for the explosion myself…

                                               

Mild protests against the music could be heard from the very beginning of the performance. Then, when the curtain opened on the group of knock-kneed and long-braided Lolitas jumping up and down, the storm broke. Cries of “Shut up!” came from behind me. I heard Florent Schmitt shout “Be quiet, you bitches of the sixteenth”; the “bitches” of the sixteenth arrondissement were, of course, the most elegant ladies in Paris. The uproar continued, however, and a few minutes later I left the hall in a rage; I was sitting on the right near the orchestra, and I remember slamming the door. I have never again been that angry. The music was so familiar to me; I loved it, and I could not understand why people who had not yet heard it wanted to protest in advance. I arrived in a fury backstage, where I saw Diaghilev flicking the house lights in a last effort to quiet the hall. For the rest of the performance I stood in the wings behind Nijinsky holding the tails of his frac, while he stood on a chair shouting numbers to the dancers, like a coxswain.”

Listen to Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring here and let me know if you can understand why it was controversial in 1913. Also, does the piece move your “affections” (emotions) in any particular way? If so, how? Did your enjoyment of the piece change now that you know the story behind the music?

Controversy Behind The Rite of Spring

Controversy in music? Many would be surprised at how often controversial circumstances surrounded the music and composers we enjoy most. This month, join me as I discuss four fascinating examples found in prominent works throughout history.

You may be familiar with Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. A Russian nationalist composer at the start of his career, Stravinsky had his first great success with The Firebird in 1910. The work was written as a ballet commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev, the impresario for the Ballets Russes based in Paris. Shortly after this, Stravinsky began work on The Rite of Spring, a ballet based on prehistoric Russia and primitivism. The plot revolves around a young girl who is chosen as a sacrifice and forced to dance until she dies.

Stravinsky used The Rite of Spring as a means to develop his unique voice in the classical music world. Known for its irregular meter, frequent alternations of notes and rests, and use of dissonant scales, Stravinsky’s composition is a powerful display of his avant-garde capabilities.

To those accustomed to 18th and 19th-century repertoire, this ballet may have crude subject matter and include unusual compositional techniques. But why do we consider it to be one of the controversial pieces in music history? Find out on next time when I blog about what Stravinsky had to say following the premiere of his work.

John Cage and Aleotoricism

This week we’re taking a step away from our monthly themes and exploring the question “what is music?” by focusing in on several compositional theories introduced in 20^th-century music. Last time we looked at the early 20^th-century composer Arnold Schoenberg and his twelve-tone method which stretched the concept of music based in tonality. Today, let’s look at a major musical movement that occurred in the last century known as aleotoricism.

Aleotoric is a term used to describe the use of chance to create something. Influenced by Zen Buddhism, composer John Cage often used aleotoric methods in his work, believing music with structure that creates a sense of emotion or imagery for a listener was old news. His approach opened up opportunities for audiences to hear sounds as they are, leaving it up to chance to determine the performance outcome. One example of this method can be found in his Music of Changes, a piano work that uses the Chinese I-Ching method of tossing coins to determine the outcome.

Another aspect of aleotoric music is indeterminacy. Indeterminacy leaves certain aspects of a piece unspecified so that the outcome is up to the performer’s interpretation. The composer may provide various graphics or instructions in the score but the performance will vary each time it is played. Cage’s infamous 4’33’’ discussed in one of my January blog posts is a great example of this.

Here is Cage’s Music of Changes. So what do you think? Music?

What is music?

What is music? In his original 1826 dictionary, Webster defined music as “melody or harmony; any succession of sounds so modulated as to please the ear, or any combination of simultaneous sounds in accordance or harmony. Music is vocal or instrumental.” A secondary definition describes it as “the art of combining sounds in a manner to please the ear. This is practical music or composition.”

Is Webster’s definition one that stands the tests of time? Or is it possible that methods of composition or manners of listening could change in generations following Webster that could stretch and even alter the true sense of what actually defines music?

This week we’ll hit on a few 20^th-century composers and musical theories that stretched Webster’s perception of what constitutes music. After exploring these composers and their works, I’ll be curious whether or not you hold true to music as defined by Webster or whether your beliefs gravitate toward a more modern approach.

Early 20^th-century composer Arnold Schoenberg is one example of a composer who began to redefine what some may consider music. An advocate of atonality, a term used to describe music that avoids a tonal center, and the twelve-tone method, a form of atonality based on various orderings of the twelve notes in the chromatic scale, Schoenberg was rejected by many while others found his theoretical approach fascinating.

Schoenberg’s Piano Suite is an example of his twelve-tone method. Give it a listen and let me know…do you still consider this music? Is it on an equal plain with Beethoven, Berlioz, or Brahms? Or do you consider it an interesting concept but not something you desire to listen to? Webster says music “please[s] the ear.” Do you agree?

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from Clef Notes and 90.9 WGUC, Cincinnati’s Classical Public Radio! If you’re looking for great music to accompany your New Year’s Day morning, join us from 11am until 1pm for the annual New Year’s Day from Vienna.

What are some of your favorite musical memories from this past year?

Have a wonderful start to your 2018!