Student Guide: What Makes Music, Music?

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What makes music, Music?

2021/22 Student Workbook

Introduction

Ludwig van Beethoven was born into a musical family during the winter of 1770. Both his father and grandfather were musicians at the Electorate of Cologne, based in his hometown of Bonn. Playing the piano created opportunities for him to perform for audiences and gain experience. Like many other composers, Beethoven traveled to Vienna, Austria, to find inspiration. He wanted to study under one of the most distinguished composers of the time, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but never had the opportunity because of Mozart’s declining health.

As an adult, he began to lose his hearing. Although this loss was devastating, he continued to compose for nearly 25 more years until his death in 1827.

Listen to all the different instruments!

F E AT U R E D W O R K

Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Allegro con brio

FUN FACTS • Beethoven was very fond of nature and often took long walks in the countryside to find inspiration.

• More than 20,000 people lined the streets of Vienna for his funeral procession.

• He often dipped his head in cold water before composing!

Ludwig van

Beethoven BORN: December 1770, in Bonn, Germany DIED: March 26, 1827, in Vienna, Austria

Jessie Montgomery is a violinist and composer raised in Manhattan, New York. She grew up in an arts-focused household: her father was a musician and her mother was a theater actress and storyteller. Following in her parents’ footsteps, she started her music career by taking violin lessons at Third Street Music School Settlement in New York, one of the oldest community organizations in the country.

A rising star in today’s classical music scene with works performed by orchestras across the country, she has made a name for herself composing music described as “wildly colorful and exploding with life.”

FORM

How the sections of music are put together... the structure F E AT U R E D W O R K

Starburst

FUN FACTS: • Jessie Montgomery maintains an active performing career in addition to composing, traveling the world playing violin.

• She attended New York University to study composition for film and multimedia.

• One of the unique aspects of her music is her use of various genres such as folk music, spirituals, improvisation, R&B, jazz, hip-hop, and elements of poetry.

Jessie

Montgomery

BORN: December 8, 1981, in New York, New York

Dynamics The softness or loudness of the sound F E AT U R E D W O R K

Overture to The Marriage of Figaro

Wolfgang Amadeus

Mozart

BORN: January 27, 1756, in Salzburg, Austria

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a child prodigy who showed promise at an early age. Watching his older sister practice the piano led to his basic understanding of musical concepts. It wasn’t long before his father, an accomplished composer and musician, tutored him to advance his playing. When he was six years old, he and his sister started performing for audiences. The stress of touring presented frequent health issues within the family and made for a difficult childhood. These obstacles didn’t stop Mozart from carrying on as a composer and a performer.

As he got older, Mozart eventually arrived in Vienna where he wrote music, taught lessons, and performed in various venues. His life wasn’t long, but he performed often and collaborated with other composers to create timeless art. He continued to write operas, string quartets, symphonies, and more until the end of his life, becoming one of the most well-known composers in history.

FUN FACTS • Mozart had many different pets, including a horse, a dog, and two songbirds: a starling and a canary.

• He was disorganized and would refuse to organize his music.

Decades later, Ludwig Ritter von Köchel catalogued everything and saw how much music Mozart had written.

• He spoke 15 languages! Traveling the world as a musician helped him pick up on languages from nearly every stop.

DIED: December 5, 1791, in Vienna, Austria

Scott

Joplin

BORN: circa 1867, in eastern Texas DIED: April 1, 1917, in New York, New York

Scott Joplin was an American composer and pianist who achieved fame for his ragtime compositions and was often referred to as the “King of Ragtime.” His father was a musician and quickly recognized his musical talent, so he started piano lessons as a child. By age 14, he was able to make a living for himself playing piano in music clubs.

As a performer, Joplin was best known for his piano rags. A “rag” is a piece of music with a unique rhythm. Instead of emphasizing the main beats, composers accent the off-beats, also known as syncopation. In a rag, it’s as if the composer took a piece of music and “ragged” it or tore it up, because when the pieces are all put together, they don’t quite match!

FUN FACTS • Ragtime was almost forgotten after the death of Joplin.

As jazz became more popular, ragtime slowly started to fade away.

• His nickname was the “King of Ragtime,” but he actually called himself “The Entertainer.”

• He had perfect pitch, or the ability to sing any pitch without having to hear it first

Rhythm

A pattern of notes of varied lengths and accents... the beat or the pulse of the music F E AT U R E D W O R K

Maple Leaf Rag

Texture The overall sound of the instruments that are playing...it’s how the music

feels

F E AT U R E D W O R K

Themes and Fanfares of Unity

Anthony Kelley is currently Associate Professor of the Practice of Music at Duke University. He joined the Duke University music faculty in 2000 after serving as Composer-in-Residence with the Richmond Symphony for three years under a grant from Meet the Composer, Inc. One of the main goals of this program was to introduce children to the idea that the word “composer” applies to people living among us today and not only people from hundreds of years ago like Bach and Beethoven.

FUN FACTS • Anthony Kelley teaches at Duke University.

• He writes movie music! A few of the movies Kelley has written music for include Kudzu Vine and The Doll. · He was inspired to pursue music as a career after hearing the second movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in high school · He grew up in Henderson, an hour north of Raleigh.

His first introduction to classical music was a field trip to see the North Carolina Symphony perform in Vance County.

In addition to his composing, Kelley has spent much of his time introducing younger people to music creation. He likes to focus on helping young composers transfer their musical ideas from their minds into notes on a page. One of the ways that he does this is through teaching in a way that allows for freedom of musical ideas, regardless of the amount of classical music training students have.

Anthony

Kelley BORN: February 28, 1965, in Henderson, North Carolina

Arturo Márquez was born in Mexico and grew up listening to a variety of musical genres. One of the avenues of exposure was from his father who was a mariachi musician. Growing up around the musical culture of Sonora, Mexico during his childhood would later influence his drive to become a composer and musician.

Márquez began his musical education at La Puente, California in 1966. Already composing at age 16, he went on to study at the National Conservatory of Music in Mexico, followed by studies with French composer Jacques Castérède in Paris. His compositions draw inspiration from the ballroom dancing born out of Cuba in the 1800s, commonly known as “danzón.” This kind of music and dance atmosphere inspired him to compose not one, but a series of eight danzónes for orchestra.

FUN FACTS • Márquez was born in the Sonoran desert, where summer temperatures can reach more than 110°F! • After completing his composition studies at the Music Conservatory of Mexico, he received a scholarship to continue his studies in Paris from the French Government.

Tempo The speed of the music... how fast or how slow F E AT U R E D W O R K

Danzón No. 2* *Performed on virtual concert only

• In addition to playing in a mariachi band, his father played the violin and worked in construction to support his family.

Arturo

Márquez BORN: December 20, 1950, in Álamos, Mexico

Edvard

Grieg

BORN: June 15, 1843, in Bergen, Norway

DIED: September 4, 1907, in Bergen, Norway

The speed of the music... how fast or how slow

Edvard Grieg was born in Bergen, Norway, in 1843. His father’s family immigrated to Norway from Scotland many years before he was born. His mother, Gesine Hagerup, belonged to a well-established Norwegian family. He studied piano with his mother starting at the age of six. After studying at the Leipzig Conservatory of Music for five years, he traveled to Copenhagen and focused on northern folk tunes.

In 1864, Grieg became one of the founders of the Copenhagen concert society, Euterpe, which promoted performances of music written by Scandinavian composers (from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden). He married Nina Hagerup in 1867, and she became an authority on interpreting his songs. His later works include incidental music, arrangements of Norwegian dances and songs, and many vocal works.

Tempo F E AT U R E D W O R K

In the Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt* *Performed on live concert only

FUN FACTS • An encounter with the violin virtuoso Ole Bull resulted in the 15-year-old Grieg’s immediate transfer to the Leipzig Conservatory.

• He was heavily influenced by Mendelssohn during his years at the Leipzig Conservatory, which Mendelssohn founded.

• He had a collection of small dolls and one of them, a “lucky frog,” was his concert companion. Before stepping onto the stage as a pianist or a conductor, he would rub his lucky frog in his pocket for good luck.

Terry

Mizesko

F E AT U R E D W O R K

America the Beautiful

BORN: September 21, 1946, in Morehead City, North Carolina The beloved song “America the Beautiful” was arranged for the North Carolina Symphony by Terry Mizesko, who was bass trombonist for the Symphony from 1971–2017. He is a native of Morehead City, North Carolina, and a graduate of East Carolina University, where he studied composition and trombone.

FUN FACTS • Terry Mizesko was the North Carolina Symphony’s bass trombonist for 46 years.

During his time with the North Carolina Symphony, he played for every music director except the founder, Lamar Stringfield.

• The North Carolina Symphony has performed his compositions and orchestrations in classical, pops, and education concerts throughout the state.

• He enjoys great art, good food, and spending time with his wife, who is a violist with the North Carolina Symphony, and their two children.

Mizesko has conducted the North Carolina Chamber Players, the Governor’s School Wind Ensemble, the Raleigh Youth Symphony, and the Duke University Wind Symphony. He also appeared as guest conductor with the North Carolina Symphony and with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra in education concerts. He taught trombone for more than 20 years at several area schools including Duke University, UNCChapel Hill, and St. Augustine’s University. He now devotes much of his time to composition and his family.

Melody

The main idea of the music... the line that you walk away singing

Finale

All elements work together to form music!

F E AT U R E D W O R K

Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Atlanta, composer Carlos Simon has written music of many styles, from large and small ensembles to film scores influenced by jazz, Gospel, and neo-romanticism. He was recently named as one of the recipients for the 2021 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, which recognizes extraordinary classical Black and Latinx musicians. Highly sought-after as a composer, he has been asked to compose music for some of the country’s largest orchestras.

Simon’s musical career started when he was just 10 years old. His father was a pastor at a church and his parents decided that Simon would play the piano for their services. Shortly after, he began writing music for services and teaching it to the congregation.

FUN FACTS • Simon often begins composing his pieces through improvisation which allows his ideas to flow freely.

• He grew up listening to and playing Gospel church music first. In fact, his parents only allowed him to listen to Gospel music; anything else was forbidden!

Fate Now Conquers* *Performed on virtual concert only

Carlos

Simon

BORN: April 13, 1986, in Washington, D.C.

Finale

All elements work together to form music!

F E AT U R E D W O R K

Aquarela do Brasil * *Performed on live concert only

Brazilian composer Ary Barroso lived an exciting life with a variety of jobs. In addition to being one of the most successful Brazilian songwriters and composers, he was a pianist, a soccer commentator, and a host of radio and television shows. He was the first composer to receive international recognition for writing sambas.

Barroso’s parents passed away at an early age due to illness, leaving him an orphan. Although his father was a singer, his introduction to music came in the form of piano lessons from one of his aunts, who was sure that he would one day grow up to be a concert pianist. Contrary to his aunt’s dream, he spent most of his early years as a musician accompanying films and playing in nightclubs. This pathway ended up paying off when he traveled to the United States and wrote some of the music for the Disney film The Three Caballeros, eventually earning an Oscar nomination and a Merit Award from the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences.

Ary

FUN FACTS • Barroso composed a total of 264 songs!

• His dream was to create a lasting legacy through his music and to build a bridge between the generations.

• In 1930, he won a song competition and used the prize money on his wedding.

Barroso BORN: November 7, 1903, in Ubá, Minas Gerais, Brazil DIED: February 9, 1964, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil