Great video! Although in some ways it is a bit overly simplistic. Yes these composers were in some ways ahead of or behind their time in a broad stylistic sense - but each of them was doing something massively unique. Rachmaninoff's idol was Tchaikovsky who was of course a late-romantic but Rachmaninoff's harmonic style is far more rich and sumptuous. He was still innovating, while retaining a broadly Romantic style. The same could be said for Bach - who was composing as the early Galant period was emerging - the streamlining of music we see in the Classical period. Bach was composing Fugues when they were already considered "Old-School". The reason he is still a musical giant, and considered a genius innovator? Well - he formulated a unique, rich, and extremely advanced contrapuntal style - the most advanced form of Baroque music - as Classical period music was already surpassing it in popularity! In fact Bach was not that widely known to the public until Mendelssohn began to popularized his music around 1830 or so - 80 years after Bach's death! I say all this because I believe that there is still life in old forms and old styles - you can do something unique and individual with them. You don't have to be modern, don't have to follow the "trends of your day". If you love older styles - go with your heart, and find a way to create a unique voice of your own with it. Radical innovation is overrated - subtly forging your own path is underrated!
I would add Charles Ives. His string quartet no. 2 is forward looking for 1911, you’d think it’s mid-century. Also, Richard Strauss, like Rachmaninoff, often sound Romantic. I would also include select trends of composers looking back that weren’t necessarily outside their era, such as Mozart’s fugues in his Requiem or the Dies Irae plainchant in Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique.
I know what I am going to say is very controversial, but I always had the feeling that Mozart is actually one of the first romantic composer. Of course a lot of his work are purely classicaly inspired, but when you listen to his late works, where he truly unleash his feelings, it is almost like Beethoven was born in these pieces. Here, I think about the fantasia in D minor, and even more striking to me, the one in C minor. The late concerti like 24, 23, or even 20, etc... Obviously I will never say that Mozart belong to the romantic period, but I feel like he truly has written with the same idea of sensibility of emotions as the romantics after him
What about Bach? I mean, his approach to music was very old-fashioned, very different from any mainstream music of his time. At the time simplistic galante-style was starting to prevail, he was composing ricercares in 6 voices and 3-4-subject fugues. Don't these qualify him as "out of his time"? Or what about Ives? He used quarter tones before Haba and Wyschnegradsky, atonality before Schönberg along with polytonality and very often "pastiché" like references to other works, which would only appear as something mainstream with post-modernism! Or what about Wolf-Ferrari, Alkan, Debussy, Schönberg, Monteverdi... But great video anyway.
Good choices, yeah I mentioned Bach too. I think Bach was technically "behind his time" but also ahead of his time in many subtle ways. I mean very little Baroque period music is as INSPIRING as Bach - in the sense that you can play around with it and generate creative ideas. Chopin took only one book with him when writing his Preludes in Mallorca - Bach's Well Tempered Clavier! Proving that Bach's music is a fountain of inspiration - even for music of other periods and styles.
Great video! Although in some ways it is a bit overly simplistic. Yes these composers were in some ways ahead of or behind their time in a broad stylistic sense - but each of them was doing something massively unique. Rachmaninoff's idol was Tchaikovsky who was of course a late-romantic but Rachmaninoff's harmonic style is far more rich and sumptuous. He was still innovating, while retaining a broadly Romantic style.
The same could be said for Bach - who was composing as the early Galant period was emerging - the streamlining of music we see in the Classical period.
Bach was composing Fugues when they were already considered "Old-School".
The reason he is still a musical giant, and considered a genius innovator?
Well - he formulated a unique, rich, and extremely advanced contrapuntal style - the most advanced form of Baroque music - as Classical period music was already surpassing it in popularity!
In fact Bach was not that widely known to the public until Mendelssohn began to popularized his music around 1830 or so - 80 years after Bach's death!
I say all this because I believe that there is still life in old forms and old styles - you can do something unique and individual with them. You don't have to be modern, don't have to follow the "trends of your day". If you love older styles - go with your heart, and find a way to create a unique voice of your own with it. Radical innovation is overrated - subtly forging your own path is underrated!
Last time I was this early, Haydn was still pranking his patrons
I would add Charles Ives. His string quartet no. 2 is forward looking for 1911, you’d think it’s mid-century. Also, Richard Strauss, like Rachmaninoff, often sound Romantic. I would also include select trends of composers looking back that weren’t necessarily outside their era, such as Mozart’s fugues in his Requiem or the Dies Irae plainchant in Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique.
Chromaticism in Gesusldo.
Bortkiewicz comes to my mind
H. I. F. Biber is another one
I know what I am going to say is very controversial, but I always had the feeling that Mozart is actually one of the first romantic composer. Of course a lot of his work are purely classicaly inspired, but when you listen to his late works, where he truly unleash his feelings, it is almost like Beethoven was born in these pieces. Here, I think about the fantasia in D minor, and even more striking to me, the one in C minor. The late concerti like 24, 23, or even 20, etc...
Obviously I will never say that Mozart belong to the romantic period, but I feel like he truly has written with the same idea of sensibility of emotions as the romantics after him
Chopin and Bach would be some respectable Jazz composers if they lived in that time. And let's not forget Medtner
What about Bach? I mean, his approach to music was very old-fashioned, very different from any mainstream music of his time. At the time simplistic galante-style was starting to prevail, he was composing ricercares in 6 voices and 3-4-subject fugues. Don't these qualify him as "out of his time"? Or what about Ives? He used quarter tones before Haba and Wyschnegradsky, atonality before Schönberg along with polytonality and very often "pastiché" like references to other works, which would only appear as something mainstream with post-modernism! Or what about Wolf-Ferrari, Alkan, Debussy, Schönberg, Monteverdi... But great video anyway.
Good choices, yeah I mentioned Bach too. I think Bach was technically "behind his time" but also ahead of his time in many subtle ways. I mean very little Baroque period music is as INSPIRING as Bach - in the sense that you can play around with it and generate creative ideas. Chopin took only one book with him when writing his Preludes in Mallorca - Bach's Well Tempered Clavier! Proving that Bach's music is a fountain of inspiration - even for music of other periods and styles.
litty!!!
I don't think Mozart and Chopin belonged to their periods. If so, why did they release their works in 2024?