How Did Beethoven Influence Modern Music

Without the works of many famous composers like Mozart, Beethoven, modern music would cease to exist. In fact, the notion of self-expression through music and composing was heavily emphasized during the times of Mozart and Beethoven. In addition, modern music is and was heavily influenced by the musical components of these vary distinct artists. Modern musicians such as Morten Lauridsen help maintain and revive the demand and expectations for classical music. A lot of their past issues, struggles and accomplishments are incorporated into their music, including a higher-pitched song when describing a happier event and a slower-pitched tune when discussing hardships. Each of these composers embody a unique style that differentiates themselves …show more content…
During this period, the arts became much more respected and the public began to develop a profound appreciation for artists. His music was often inspired by the political environment and also complimented the changing times in Europe. Family pressures and expectations allowed him to focus and improve his music, sparking a passion within him in which he wanted to pursue as he got older. After already “gaining a reputation throughout Europe as a composer of instrumental music, opera was still the royal road to fame.” Vienna was the center of music in Europe at that time, and after given the opportunity to play there, Beethoven impressed people and attracted many to his music. Despite his recent success, turmoil in Beethoven’s emotional life influenced a lot of his works, as his darker and deeper melodies mirrored the pain and suffering he experienced during the death of his Father and sister. One of many notable characteristics of Beethoven is his deafness, an amusing attribute given the fact that he has been able to produce such well-known music like the Fidelio despite lacking the ability to hear. Beethoven’s beautiful “lyrical melodies, extensive use of forceful, marked, and even stark rhythmic patterns throughout his compositions” differentiate his music from the later and earlier musicians of his time. Following Beethoven’s death, his successors began …show more content…
Having resided on a remote island off the northern coast of Washington State, Lauridsen finds a calmer environment as an ideal location to write music. Away from civilization and modern technology, the serenity of the island and closeness with nature stimulates his creative process. According to Lauridsen, “my music takes shape in my mind while on the island each summer and then is rigorously worked out on paper…like that of a farmer tilling the soil, planting, and harvesting” his compositions are directly inspired by nature and his trip allows him to cultivate his passions into something much greater. Much of his music’s attraction stems from his ability to capture the poet’s vision in a musical sense. The fusion of musical and poetic imagery correlates to his descriptiveness of the text, creating appealing to both senses of sight and hearing. Often times his music is considered to be a “text-painting” reflecting his essence of art and being. His music is regarded as “unabashedly, even fearlessly tonal, and his chiming harmonies serve as underpinning for gently swaying melodic lines” instilling a sincere and heartfelt emotion to those who listen to him. In essence, Morten Lauridsen is considered to be one of the greatest modern composers in the world, with an abstract approach to creating his music and life in which allows him to create such gifted pieces of