Beethoven, The Most Influential Composers In Western Classical Music

Born in December 1770 in Bonn, Germany, Beethoven was a great composer and pianist. Considered to be one of the most influential composers in Western Classical Music, he wrote nine symphonies, nine concerti and a variety of orchestral work, overtures and incidental music and other occasional work.

Beethoven started learning music at a very young age from renowned musicians of those times. With his extraordinary talent, he captured the attention of several famous musicians and made his first public appearance at Vienna in 1795 where he was to play his own work. This was followed by a tour to Prague, Dresden, Leipzig and Berlin. He had debuted with a piano concerto in the same year in Budapest. Till then he had established himself as a piano virtuoso.

Beethoven Piano Concertos

Beethoven Piano Concertos were admired throughout the world and are still known as masterwork. He wrote several concertos out of which seven are very famous. These include Piano Concerto No. 1 in 1796-97, Piano Concerto No. 2 in 1795, Piano Concerto No. 3 in 1800-01, Triple Concerto for violin, cello and piano in 1805, Piano Concerto No.4 in 1805-06, Piano Concerto No. 5 in 1809-10 and an unpublished Piano Concerto in 1815. The last one was performing version and was incomplete. It was later on completed by Nicholas Cook. Along with this, he had also written Violin Concerto in 1806 and Romance in E minor for three soloists and orchestra.

Beethoven Sonatas

Beethoven Sonatas constitute a great treasure that have been researched and studied by numerous pianists and musicologists. He had written thirty-two piano sonatas creating a new and impressive form of art. He played an important role in transforming and evolving of the sonata form. He had imposed his personality and joys and sorrows of his own life on the sonatas.

Beethoven Symphonies

Beethoven had also composed nine symphonies including Symphony No. 1 in 1799-1800, Symphony No. 2 in 1801-02, Symphony No. 3 in 1803-04, Symphony No. 4 in 1806, Symphony No. 5 in 1804-08, Symphony No. 6 in 1804-08, Symphony No. 7 in 1811-12, Symphony No. 8 in 1812 and Symphony No.9 in 1817-24. He also intended to write the tenth symphony but because of his ill health, he could not do so. 

Other Works

His other works include five orchestral works, around ten overtures and incidental music composition, chamber music including string trios, piano trios, sonatas for violin, works with wind instruments and cello with piano. String quarters, string quintets and trio for piano, flute and Bassoon, and so on are some other noticeable works of Beethoven.

In 1801, Beethoven confessed to his worry of becoming deaf but he carried on with his music compositions and explored many other musical domains. His handicap was getting worse day by day and in later years he stopped talking to people. It was during this time that he wrote exceptional sonatas and symphonies for piano music, his greatest work. He also wrote one opera, Fidelio.

Beethoven was bedridden during last of months of his life and died on March 26, 1827 during a thunderstorm. His funeral was attended by around 30,000 people.

Grammy-Nominated Conductor Christopher Lyndon-Gee Returns to Long Island to Lead Adelphi Symphony Orchestra in Grand Style

International conductor and Adelphi Associate Professor Christopher Lyndon-Gee will have a homecoming when he returns to the podium in the Concert Hall of the Adelphi University Performing Arts Center (AU PAC), 1 South Avenue, Garden City, NY on Friday, April 8, 2011, at 8:00 p.m. Maestro Lyndon-Gee has spent the past year on sabbatical leave from the University, having performed a series of concerts in Europe and Australia, while working on new compositions. He has chosen a program that is both grand in scale and dramatic in style.

 

The concert opens with the complete incidental music of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Egmont, Op. 84, written for Goethe’s play of the same title. A special dimension will be narrations of Goethe’s text in both English and German, read respectively by actor and Adelphi Associate Professor Brian Rose and Professor Patrick Kelly; and two movements for soprano sung by Adelphi music junior Hannah Hockett.

 

The program continues with the great Mexican composer Manuel Ponce’s Concierto del sur for Guitar and Orchestra, written for Segovia, and features renowned soloist William Zito. The grand finale will be Dmitry Shostakovich’s spectacular Symphony No. 2 in B flat (To October) with the Adelphi Chorus under the direction of Adelphi’s Director of Music Michael Hume.

 

Among Lyndon-Gee’s recordings are the ground-breaking complete works of Igor Markevitch, which brought Lyndon-Gee the first of five Grammy Award nominations, for Best Orchestral Performance, in 1998. His recording of Respighi “Ancient Airs and Dances” was awarded a Rosette for eight consecutive years by the Penguin Guide to Compact Discs, and was an “Editor’s Choice” recording of London’s Gramophone magazine. A disc of Varese with the Polish National Radio Symphony gained international acclaim during 2001. While music director of the Canberra Pro Arte Orchestra (Australia), he was named ‘Artist of the Year’ by the National Critics Circle, and ‘Best Conductor’ for his work with the Australian Opera at Sydney Opera House; he has held similar posts, as well as principal guest conductorships in four countries.

 

Maestro Lyndon-Gee joined the Adelphi music faculty in 2002, and serves as music director of the Adelphi Symphony Orchestra, which is comprised of students and faculty as well as professional musicians.

 

Tickets for the April 8 concert are with discounts available for students and seniors. To learn more about AU PAC’s 2010-2011 season, please visit aupac.adelphi.edu or call the AU PAC Box Office at (516) 877-4000.


Therapeutic Approach Of Indian Classical Music

 

                   The Indian culture and life style is derived from Vedas which are the epic that tells the rules and ways for a prosperous life. They tell the ideas of great values. This is very true that if one let himself abide by the discipline mentioned in Vedas, will reach the ultimate goal of life. His heart will be true abode of everlasting pleasure and he will achieve health with pure mind and so wealth. That is the individual will have all those things which are necessary for a happy life.

Music is one of the greatest disciplines described in Vedas. The classical music has sound positive effect in the universe. There are so many examples that support the view that music possesses enormous energy that can create so many effects on us.

In other words, we can say that nature governs its creation by music . The notes of music are derived from the nature only.

Swara             Expansion     Meaning           Animal         Chakra                        God

Sa                     Shadja            Sagar             Peacock     muladhara(Anus)           Brahman

Re                   Rishabha      Bull/skylark        Bull                Svadhisthana                  Agni 

Ga                   Gandhara       Gagan           Goat                  manipura                     Rudra

Ma                Madhyama       Middle          Dove/heron           anahata                      Vishnu

Pa                  Panchama       Fifth         Cuckoo/nightingale    visuddha (throat)     Naarada

Dha                 Dhaivata        Dharti         Horse                    ajna (Third eye)         Ganesha

Ni                    Nishada    Outcast/hunter   Elephant                 sahasrara              Surya

This shows how music affects the human life in spiritual as well as physical prospects.

The notes, Ragas of classical music also plays a vital role in metabolism of human body, music provides ultimate and true piece to soul and mind. It is commonly known that Yoga affects the physical and mental level of human being and we can say classical music is a kind of yoga. In Vedas seven chakras of body are mentioned that control co-ordinates and stimulate the different functions of body. These chakras refer to different nadis of body and these Nadis get stimulated by yoga as well as by music. The seven notes of classical music influence the 7 chakras. Therefore music has frequently been used as a therapeutic agent from ancient time. Music is a kind of yoga through the medium of well defined system of notes i.e. Ragas which act upon the human organism and awakens and develops their proper function to extent of self realization. This is the ultimate goal of the Hindu philosophy and religion.

Melody is the key note of Indian music. The raga is the basis of melody, various ragas have been found to be very effective in treatment of many diseases.

Music increases the metabolic activities within the human body. It accelerates the respiration, influences the internal secretion, improves the muscular activities and as such affects the central nervous system and circulatory system of listener and performer.

The effect of music on heart and brain of an individual can be seen by electric signals on ECG and EEG. It has been found that few ragas have their positive effect in treatment of few diseases. Few of them are as follows:

              Disease                                                                                Ragas

        Madness/Mental disability                                               Rag Bahar, Bageshri

                Fit ( Mirgi)                                                                  Rag Vihag, dhani

                Headache                                                          Rag Sohani, Todi, Bhairavi

             Blood pressure                                                            Rag Purvi, Todi, Bhoopal

                  Hysteria                                                               Khamaj, Darabari, Puria

Now music is not the subject of entertainment only. The entire subject is new in the experimental and implementation stage and the ancient system is gradually being transformed in to modern science.

          It has been observed that ragas of Indian classical music have healing effects. They stimulate brain, give relax in stress and remove fatigue. The effect of music thereby depends upon some factors like the mental condition of the person, environment and the type of music and     of course the selection of Raga .Although we can not establish a particular Raga for a particular disease. Different types of Ragas are applied in each different case.

          Music therapy is based on scientific and clinical approach and has to be used with great care and deep study of nature of illness. Music thereby also depend on correct intonation and right use of the basic elements of music viz: notes, rhythm, volume, beats and piece of melody. There are countless Ragas of course with countless characteristics.

          The modern revival of music therapy has not yet sufficiently progressed to indicate its full utility. Under existing circumstances , it is important to explore the information and concept of music thereby .Also it needs a heartily and deep research works to make it popular.

          The research and generalization of music and music therapy is important for not only to advance the ethical and moral rights of the human being, but also to prevent, if possible, the negative and destructive influences which may be due to ignorance of the laws of governing the effects of sound and rhythm.

 

      

The Five Faces of Metallica

These are five different songs that opened Metallica up to different audiences.  Metallica has so many fans, of so many different groups, and these groups discovered Metallica through these songs:

5 – Dyers Eve – And Justice for All…

A lightning quick song that amazed thrash and speed metal fans.  This song is so fast that the Metallica today has a very hard time trying to play it like they did those 20 years ago.  Though it is not often played live, it has been played a few times on select tours.  This song, known for it’s speed and powerful chords, opened the heavy metal, thrash metal, and speed metal fans up to Metallica’s ability.

4 – Hero of the Day – Load

One of Metallica’s first slower paced songs.  Though it picks up tempo in the middle, it was rejected at first by Metallica’s fan-base for being too slow and “rockish”.  The Load album was the first of Metallica’s alternative rock experiment and many fans did not approve.  However, many alternative rock fans found this song to be very good and it is now known as one of Metallica’s most famous songs.

3 – Until it Sleeps – Load

A new voice took the reins in the Load album, the secular voice.  The song “Until it Sleeps” was written to tackle some of the popular religious beliefs that James was struggling with.  James’ mother had just died after refusing life-saving medication because she thought that “God would save her”.  James comments on the illogical and showcases the popular, conflicting arguments between science and religion.  This song helped to get Metallica noticed by the atheistic community and the intellectuals who found the song to be an enriching caricature on the debate they were dealing with.

2 – No Leaf Clover – S & M  symphony

Over the years leading up to Metallica’s performance with the San Fransisco orchestra, James was playing around with a few new riffs he hadn’t fit into a song yet.  When the album S & M started recording and Metallica was accompanied by a full orchestra, James’ new riffs found a home in “No Leaf Clover”.  This song was created for the orchestra album and show.  It helped showcase Metallica as not only metal-heads, but as intelligent artists who knew how to create brilliant songs.

1 – Master of Puppets – Master of Puppets

A truly amazing masterpiece of metal banging performance.  This 8 minute song is one of the most popular in the bands history and helped bring Metallica to fame when it was released.  Who couldn’t love the powerful riff, the clever lyrics, or the interesting middle section.  The song topped charts and brought Metallica out in the open for the world to see.

Music Players|portable Electronics

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introduces fantastic portable electronics | music players you’ll hardly have the luck of finding elsewhere. Stock up on the swank, new and must-have slick gizmos at unbeatable prices and uncompromised functionality. Take your music places with our state of the art music players – mp3 players, mp4 players (yes, them video ones) and portable media players (they only sound complicated, but they’re cartloads of fun to use). Lined up on this website are our music players which have created a sound of their own in the digital market.

As accessories for your portable electronics and music players, we also have some cool FM Transmitters. What are these? These are gizmos that can transmit files in the audio format from your music player to any radio device wirelessly! So now play your own favourite mp3 music on a set frequency of your choice on your FM receiver.

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Music Licensing- Provides Recognition to Hidden Talents

World do not lack talents. But most of these talents remain hidden forever due to not getting an appropriate platform to showcase their talents to the outer world. Recently the music industry is in boom, but there are very few individuals notice the talents and give them their required opportunity. In spite of being immense talented, several of artists do not get chance to enter into the entertainment world. The singers, lyricist and composers who are already established in this industry earn huge profits, while others individuals who may be more talented than them face failure during the struggling period. Music licensing is a procedure which provides these unknown artists opportunity to earn significant amount by letting the producers make use of their music in their films. However, music licensing for film also assists these artists get separate identification by popularizing their symphonies through these flicks. Music licensing helps the individuals by providing them with the right to take necessary legal actions in case any deceptive individual copies his creation.

The procedure of music licensing assists these artists Even if the unknown artists and allows these composers to get paid for effort which these people put in to derive these beautiful symphonies even if they not acquire positive results after an elongated struggle to reach a respectable position in the industry of music. These days, it is evident that the industry of music is not truly being able of producing unique symphonies which could be appealing to the audience. Very few of these musics are capable of attracting the focus of a greater segment of audience successfully. In fact, in maximum cases, the present compositions are either remixed version of the old or copied from some other sources. But the audiences are smart enough to catch these copy cats trying to misguide. As an outcome of this, the producers seek hidden talents possessing original and copyrighted music of their own. With the assistance of music licensing for film, the movie makers are permitted to make use of the unique creations of these artists in lieu of money.

Individuals struggle a lot but face failure. But now these talented individuals need not to get disappointed. Individuals with originality and real talent need not to approach the people rather producers themselves will approach them. But still, if individuals desire something in life, they certainly have to put in to some effort to attain it. Individuals are required to make the movie makers aware of their distinct symphonies. Unless these producers know about it, the uniqueness may not be noticed ever. With the obtainable online facilities it has become much easier to make their creation visible to these producers who require it. For enabling music licensing, individuals should publish their musical pieces on several sites which are used for these purposes. The movie makers would notice these impressible and soothing symphonies and try to get that product which could suit sequence of their films. After making their final decision, these movie makers would contact artist of that symphony for music licensing for film.

These days, numerous companies have come into focus which help people in music licensing in order to protect their original creation. The proficient experts operating in this field of music licensing enable individuals to go through the step wise procedure so that the movie makers could notice their melodious symphonies and opt for the music licensing for film.

Play music in your web using an online flash music player with different skin

With more and more web surfers switching their dial-up connection to broadband, and available software program to easily put multimedia content online, multimedia content is changing the face of many websites.

Many creative professionals and artist are embedding flash music player and flash video player on their website to broadcast multimedia content online.

Multimedia content including music, movie trailers and video clips are added to website to attract new visitors.

More and more artists and musicians are embracing the idea of demonstrating their music, songs and videos online, so visitors cam listen to their creations and even buy a single music track online, before their album is officially released.

As most visitors to these websites would have known about the musician’s previous work already, they are likely to be interested in new creation and releases from the same musician.

Buying music and songs directly from the artist’s website is relatively new, however the advantage is very obvious as evident by the popularity of iTunes. People like to listen to songs online, like to get in the mood instantly and also be able to purchase the song right away.

By adding a flash music player on the website, playing a snippet of the songs for visitors to listen to, with a Paypal button next to it, artists can significantly increase the exposure of their new music creation. In addition, interested buyers can purchase the song they like instantly online, so to bring revenue directly to the musician without any middleman in between. Online shoppers would also tell their friends that they bought the song directly from the artist, which is much more personal and carries more weight, and in return, will bring the artist more new and return visitors.

Another benefit of playing and selling music from your own website is reducing music piracy. We all know how piracy is very hard to control on the Internet. By offering your music directly from your website, you protect your music from being copied and redistributed. Also most Internet users like freebies, so allowing your visitors to listen to a full song will make them come back to your website and spread the word about it.

How to add music to a website by embedding a flash music player?

You might not have an experienced webmaster or IT person to help you with setting up a music player online. However, if you are already able to publish your website using one of the popular authoring tools, such as Dreamweaver, or Frontpage, then you can add a flash music player to your website very easily.

With the availability of website flash mp3 player and software tools, you can now showcase your music over the Internet to global audience without having to write one single line of code. No any programming knowledge is required, and you can use different flash music players skins to integrate with your existing website nicely.

When choosing the a website music player, you should make sure you select a flash music player, instead of using a Java or other type of plug-ins. Flash player from Adobe is installed by 98% Internet users, and supports PC, Mac, Linux and Smart phones. By using a flash music player, it ensures all your users can listen to your online music without having the need to download extra plug-ins or use a specify browser. You should also select a website music player which can support MP3 format directly — this way you do not have to convert your music files to different formats.

Music In Prague

The first time we went to Prague it was to see the city and its history, but music in Prague is part of the fabric of the city. I remember saying I had never seen a city where everyone seemed to be walking around with a musical instrument of some type under their arm.

The first thing we did when we got to Prague wasn’t to go and see the Charles Bridge or the Castle… it was to go to an opera…. and that’s what we suggest to all of our friends.

Whoa… wait a minute, you’re saying. “I’m not an opera buff.” We’re not either, and we don’t usually go looking for musical performances when we travel, but music in Prague just called out to us.

Back to that opera… We went to see “Don Giovanni” in the Estates Theatre Prague. This jewel box of a theater opened in 1783. This is the theater where Mozart himself conducted the world premiere of his opera Don Giovanni in 1788, back when the theater was called the Nostiz Theatre. The building was beautifully restored for the movie Amadeus. According to their website, this is the only theater in the world that is still in its original condition.

To see Don Giovanni performed in the Estate Theatre is to share in history as well as sharing great music. Whether you’re an opera buff or not, it’s a fun experience. We were lucky to get great seats for a matinee on the day of the performance…, but if your time in Prague is short, you might want to buy tickets ahead of time online.

If you want your opera in a really different setting, you could see one at the National Marionette Theater or a handful of other puppet theaters.

It seemed like there were several inexpensive concerts every evening. Many churches had concerts, and there are several concert halls. If you love classical music, you’ve got to get to Prague. There are concerts with the “best of” classical pieces, so even if you’re not “into” classical music, you’ll hear music that you’re familiar with. You can hear organ concerts, chamber music concerts, or full orchestras.

There are concerts with show tunes and popular music too. They are not long drawn out affairs. They are about hour-long concerts for reasonable prices and a great way to spend an evening before you go for an evening stroll in the old town or on the Charles Bridge.

In the summer there are concerts on the steps of the National Museum and some of the gardens.

There are even musical groups on the corners and in the squares, livening up the afternoon and early evenings for a few euros or dollars in donations.

There also seem to be many small jazz clubs and music clubs scattered around the city.

The biggest annual musical event is the Prague Spring International Music Festival. It includes musical artists, symphony orchestras and chamber music ensembles from all over the world. For an event like that, you should probably by your tickets in advance.

It’s like we said at the beginning… music in Prague seems to be everywhere… so why not enjoy it.

Classical Guitar Set Up

Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to the music embedded in the traditions of every art and culture. It spans over a time length ranging from 9th century and the 21st century.


The term is often used as a synonym of Western music traditions and includes within its fold a vast range of music styles, an traditions ranging from compositional techniques to issues related to entertainment. Classical music has included within its genre also classical instruments especially the classical guitar, which has finally carved a niche for itself and has become a name to reckon within the world of music.


Guitar is perhaps one of the most alluring musical instruments whose charm has spread far and wide. Surpassing other musical instruments guitar has found a unique niche for itself. The set up of a guitar is very important. Even the most high sounding, sophisticated guitar may be hard to play.


Traversing a long interesting road guitars have emerged as the most popular musical instrument. It has become an integral part of the entire musical journey globally.


The most important aspect of the classical guitar set up is its playability factor. Touring concert artists now mostly prefer guitars, which are easy to handle. Classical guitar set up is similar to that of the steel strings or electrics. There is only a difference in tension, bridge and neck design. Only the principles differ a little in certain respects.


A good classical guitar set up should have the following elements in it


Good tension in the strings.

Good adjustability of the nut.

Capability to adjust with the nut.

Thickness in the neck.

Good pitching in the soundboard and the bridge.

Adjustability according to the player’s style.

Tone production quality.

String’s active vibrating length.

Freedom of performance it gives to its guitarists.

It should have low tension in the strings of the neck and should be made entirely of wood and not of steel struss rod.

It should have greater volume and longer sustainable capability.


There are various types of classical guitars. The most common of them are


Multi-string classical guitar

Classical electric guitar


Some of the famous classical guitarists who have dominated the musical landscape globally are as followed


Francisco Tarrega

Fernando Sor

Jose Feliciano

Christopher Parkening

John Williams

Julian Bream

Carl Volk

More Resources

Marcos Vinicius

Sharon Wayne

Maro Razi

Lynn Harting-Ware

Aniello Desiderio

Andrew York

Progetto Avanti

John McLaughlin

Sharon Isbin

David Tanenbaum

Eliot Fisk

Nigel North

Pepe Romero

Richard Alcoy


Classical guitar has always dominated the traditional musical scene for ages. Its history is almost four centuries old. Classical guitarists are capable of producing great music with excellent sound quality at one single stroke of the hand. A perfect classical guitar set up usually assists in adding that old world charm.


Therefore, having a proper classical guitar set up is absolutely essential for the beginners. Many classical guitar museums offer excellent classical guitar set ups for guitar enthusiasts. They host many a unique collection of playable instruments.

Making Music History Lessons Attractive

Music history, as a subject, have had never attracted many people. However, all learners are well conscious of the fact that for mastering their skills, they need to delve into the history of a subject. Music being a common language has a diverse historical background and is imperative for a student to associate himself to the rich heritage of music world.

Learners usually don’t feel the importance for comprehending the music of great music composers. To them, the work of these composers are either too cumbersome to understand or they are too boring. In either case, the person would not imbibe knowledge of music completely. For understanding things clearly, it’s imperative to know about a sound’s origin and music history lesson plans deals with this fact.

Teaching music history is complicated and boring and for making music history interesting, several learning and teaching methods and music history lesson plans are designed. Using a piece from an audio clip is good and helps students to quickly associate them to the music. But since it’s often difficult to collect these from the past, it’s good to refer to other songs like advertisement jingles etc, for giving them a greater understanding.

Highlighting some points about a composer and his work, in an interactive and interesting way could motivate students in turning over the pages of their music history lesson plans. It’s always good when music history lesson plans are coupled with practical experience. It has been observed that while practicing, if the learning has an association to the lesson, the students tend to immediately grasp their lessons with full clarity.

Several times, what’s taught in the class, escapes the student’s mind and then recovering the complete details become time consuming and cumbersome. Music history lesson plans should be lucid and mustn’t pack in too much information.