Program Music

Description

Program music was one of the most flexible and contentious novelties of the long nineteenth century, covering a diverse range that included the overtures of Beethoven and Mendelssohn, the literary music of Berlioz and Schumann, Liszt's symphonic poems, the tone poems of Strauss and Sibelius, and compositions by groups of composers in Russia, Bohemia, the United States, and France. In this accessible Introduction, Jonathan Kregor explores program music's ideas and repertoire, discussing both well-known and less familiar pieces by an array of nineteenth- and twentieth-century composers. Setting program music in the context of the intellectual debates of the period, Kregor presents the criticism of writers like A. B. Marx and Hanslick to reveal program music's growth, dissemination, and reception. This comprehensive overview features numerous illustrations and music examples and provides detailed case studies of battle music, Shakespeare settings, and Goethe's Faust. Half title page Cambridge Introductions to Music Title page Copyright page Contents List of figures List of music examples List of tables Acknowledgments Note on the text Introduction Music and meaning Repertoire and scope Historiography and structure Chapter 1 Characters, topics, and the programmatic battlefield Program music’s building blocks: topics and character pieces Dittersdorf’s “Ovid” symphonies The art of war in music (I): historical battles The art of war in music (II): fighting back Chapter 2 Expression, musical painting, and the concert overture Beethoven and the overture Excursette: Shakespeare’s Hamlet A.B. Marx, Felix Mendelssohn, and musical painting Chapter 3 Berlioz and Schumann on music and literature Berlioz and the programmatic symphony Roméo et Juliette and the semi-symphony Programmatic modes of music criticism Schumann and the programmatic piano cycle Chapter 4 Liszt and the symphonic poem From overture to symphonic poem Symphony and poetry in the symphonic poem Between mythology and history: Liszt’s character studies History and literature “in pictures and tones” Chapter 5 The New German School and beyond Toward a “Beethoven of the future”: Liszt’s “Dante” Symphony The New German School Hanslick on music and meaning Forging a tradition: Liszt’s programmatic protégés Disillusioned disciples: Joachim, Bülow, and Raff Liszt’s New German legacy The New Russian School Chapter 6 Excursus: Faust Goethe’s Faust: origins, themes, legacy Symphonic metamorphoses (I): Wagner, Liszt Symphonic metamorphoses (II): Rubinstein, Mayer Faust for one: Gregoir, Alkan Chapter 7 Programmatic paths around the fin de siècle: Mahler and Strauss Strauss as heir to the New German School Mahler and the end of the programmatic symphony Strauss and the end of the characteristic Chapter 8 Programming the nation Mendelssohn’s Scottish complex and Liszt’s German Hungaria Bohemia The Boston Six Sibelius Chapter 9 “Ars Gallica” Saint-Saëns and the symphonic poem César Franck and the “Bande” The challenge of the instrumental ballad A return to musical painting? Debussy and Ravel Notes Guide to further reading Index