Classical Considerations: Harmony and Hostility
Today on TheClassicalStation we’re looking at some of the great rivalries of classical music history and asking you, the listeners, to determine who you think came out ahead! Far from the serene and contemplative world that some of your favorite classical music might suggest, the world of the golden age of classical music was often marked by fierce disagreements and opposing factions vying for aesthetic supremacy. As with all things art, it was not always clear who the winners of these disagreements were. So this week, we’ve gone into the classical station’s library and found pieces that we believe exemplify what made these composers come to loggerheads. We want you to be the deciders, give the following pieces a listen and let us know, who do you think is vindicated by history?
These two great French impressionists saw their relationship wax and wane over their creative careers with both personal and musical differences causing tension between them. While it’s doubtless true that the two composers bore some animosity towards one another over the treatment of Debussy’s estranged wife Lilly, Ravel led a small group in supporting her financially after her husband’s abandonment, it’s also the case that the two were being constantly compared in the musical press.1 Musically the distinction between the two has always been between Debussy’s instinctual composition on the one hand and Ravel’s structured and studied work on the other. As American musicologist Arbie Orenstein said: “Debussy was more spontaneous and casual in his composing while Ravel was more attentive to form and craftsmanship.”2
You can hear this difference in their music, too: Debussy’s compositions are, generally, more ambiguous and experimental, preferring more atmospheric and fragmentary melodies to Ravel’s more coherent and straightforwardly emotional themes.
By way of contrast we present Debussy’s haunting and tentative Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (1894) and Ravel’s achingly beautiful Jeux D’eau (1901). Which do you prefer?
Perhaps the most famous rivalry on this list and certainly the only one to have its own name, the “War of the Romantics” was a disagreement played out in German classical music between the traditionalists, epitomized by Johannes Brahms, and the so-called “New German School” in the form of Richard Wagner.3 Brahms, a genius talent by all metrics, was dedicated to refining and evolving the musical landscape he inherited. This project came to be known as “absolute music” which held that all the emotional and philosophical power of music should be contained in the musical elements themselves e.g. the name of a song should not give a listener a model for how to interpret it.4 Against this proposal came Wagner’s great works, including his operatic works which mixed narrative, acting, literary symbolism and visual art with music to achieve something highly mediated and completely different from the proceeding musical world. Wagner’s revolutionary approach came to be known as “program” music and his supporters in the New German School believed that it charted a path for music to transcend its previous bounds and become something more emotional, philosophical, and inspirational than it had been before.5
To exemplify Brahms’ “absolute music” we’ve selected his Symphony No. 4 in E minor (1885), a piece which values traditional forms (it’s a classic example of a four-movement symphony) while showing off the composers deep well of genius in the complex motivic development it displays. In contrast we have Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll (1870) which, while not an operatic piece, exemplifies Wagner’s programmatic approach: its title blends personal and mythological references, its structure consists in a single evolving movement, and it employs Wagner’s own “leitmotif technique” to create an internal narrative for the piece. Give them a listen, which do you prefer?
Our final head-to-head involves Russian composers Sergei Prokofiev and Igor Stravinsky. The disagreement between these two classical music greats originates in how each of them viewed emotionality in music: Stravinsky abhorred the idea that one would listen to music for its emotional content rather than beauty or intellectual fascination and likened it to someone trying to escape into drug-induced intoxication.6 Prokofiev disagreed vehemently with this instinct of Stravinsky’s and his compositions reflect an aesthetic much more in keeping with the prevailing sensibilities of the time. As the two composers helmed the ship of Russian classical music quarreling broke out with Stravinsky insisting that Prokofiev was “wasting his time” pursuing his emotionally charged operatic visions, to which Prokofiev responded that Stravinsky “was in no position to lay down a general artistic direction” this disagreement would drive a wedge between them for the majority of their careers.7
To highlight the differences between the intellectual and innovative Stravinsky and the more traditional and deeply emotive compositions of Prokofiev we’ve selected The Rite of Spring (1913) and The Love for Three Oranges: VI. Flight (1919) from each of their repertoires. Listening back to these wonderful pieces it’s clear just how different two geniuses of their craft can be when starting from different ideological positions!
As you can see the world of classical music is full of disagreement, and that’s not even considering the personal lives of all involved! We hope you enjoyed the opportunity to hear some of the rivalries your favorite composers had with their peers and we’d love to know how you came down in some of our head-to-head matchups! Please feel free to contact us and let TheClassicalStation know who you think won out!
-Matthew Young
Many of the composers referenced above, including Johannes Brahms, Richard Wagner, and Sergei Prokofiev, are featured this fall on TheClassicalStation.org. Please take a look at our Fall 2024 Highlights to see when to tune in, or request a piece directly via one of our Request Programs!
1 https://mahlerfoundation.org/mahler/contemporaries/joseph-maurice-ravel/ ↑
2 https://mahlerfoundation.org/mahler/contemporaries/joseph-maurice-ravel/ ↑
3 https://www.classical-music.com/features/composers/what-was-war-romantics ↑
4 https://www.classical-music.com/features/composers/what-was-war-romantics ↑
5 https://www.classical-music.com/features/composers/what-was-war-romantics ↑
6 https://theoryofmusic.wordpress.com/2008/10/10/stravinsky-on-expression-in-music/ ↑
7 https://theoryofmusic.wordpress.com/2008/10/10/stravinsky-on-expression-in-music/ ↑