After the fading of the baroque era, which was associated with composers such as Monteverdi, Vivaldi, Hendel and Bach, Hayden—the father of symphony and the string quartet, and the teacher of Mozart and Beethoven with whom he sharpens the heyday of classic—was born on March 31, 1732.
In 1809, the year Napoleon—who largely affected the border of Europe—invaded the city of Vienna, the amiable and generous papa Hayden passed away at the age of 77.
Meanwhile, along with Mendelssohn (1809), Schumann (1810), Wagner (1813) and Berlioz (1803) (all who represented Romanticism after the death of Beethoven (27 march 1827)), Chopin (1810), the poet of the piano, and Franz Listz (1811), the piano master, were born.
Before the invention of the piano, during the age of Hendel and Bach (the early 18th century), cembalo and clavichord was widely used as keyboard instruments. These instruments, however, were only used for Basso Continuo—chamber music and orchestra—because it was not only difficult to deliver loud volume and dynamics, but was also not able to sustain the notes.
In 1709, Cristofori invented the present day piano which produces sound when a hammer strikes the steel strings and sustains the notes by having a stepping sustain pedal. It was then named ‘piano forte’, referring to its function to control dynamics—‘forte’ and ‘piano’.
By the mid 18th century, around the time Hendel and Bach were about to pass away and around the time Mozart was born; the piano began to be manufactured widely.
It was a transition period for the piano, however, when the young Mozart started his music career as a prodigy, naturally composing his music with the piano that he fell in eternal love with.
The sound as depicted in an old Korean commercial copy describes it as a “Clear sound, beautiful sound, young chang piano… young change” (Samik piano: “Sound of Depth and Abundance”). It then gets completed in the era of Romanticism when Listz and Chopin started pursuing their careers (the early 19th century).
It was their innate flair that contributed to their phenomenal performance and composition. On the other hand, the further development of the piano was a vital contribution, and these two geniuses did not let go of that opportunity.
Mesmerized by the performance of Paganini, the genius violinist, Listz, became the protégé of Czerni (who himself was the protégé of Beethoven and the pioneer of the piano textbook) with the aspiration of becoming “The Paganini of piano”. He later established his reputation as a pianist—“Mozart for composition, Listz for Piano.’
The famous Danish writer in contemporary time with Listz, Hans Christian Anderson—well-known for his work “The Little Match Girl”—has written after watching Listz’s performance, ”As if piano alone has become a perfect orchestra..“
Behind the rich outcome of radical development and progress of the movements of the fingers on both hands, plus the effects of the pedal, were Czerni, Beyer, Hanon and Clarke who are famous for their textbooks that are still widely used nowadays.
Composition was Chopin’s contribution. He spent his lifetime composing music for piano. His work manifests unique techniques and laws of harmony that couldn’t be found in any other works from any other composers—containing various color and sophisticated poetic sentiments. That is why we still call him “the Poet of the piano” today.
Introverted Chopin met a female writer, George Sand, who was six years his senior, in a salon in Paris. They were introduced by his friend Listz and he fell in love with her until two years before he died of tuberculosis.
The early death of Chopin, who dedicated his life to composition of music for piano, at the age of 39 truly is tragic. It is, however, noteworthy to see how Schubert died at the age of 31, Mendelssohn 38, Mozart 35.
In Boston, along with the Harvard medical school, dental school and pharmacy school, all the hospitals are located near Long Wood Medical Academic Area *(LMA).
In addition with the Museum of Fine Art, Massachusetts college of Art, Boston Symphony Orchestra, the first jazz music school, Berklee (not to be confused with the *university of California, Berkeley despite the similar pronunciation), is located in this area as well. I guess “Art” can replace one “A” in the acronym “LMA”.
The singer Sting, who sang the original sound track “Shape of My Heart” from the movie “Leon”, said in his commencement address at Berklee College on May 15, 1994, “So what I'm getting round to saying is that as musicians, whether we're successful, playing to thousands of people every night, or not so successful, playing in bars or small clubs, or not successful at all, just playing alone in your apartment to the cat, we are doing something that can heal souls, that can mend us when our spirits are broken. Whether you make a million dollars or not one cent, music and silence are priceless gifts, may you always possess them. May they always possess you.”
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