Symphonic poem

There were many rumors surrounding the royal families after the revolutions. In Russia, the people believed that Anastasia survived the brutal murder of her family by sewing jewels into her dresses. People claiming to be Anastasia, the Lost Tsarevna, of the Romanov family, kept this rumor alive. Of these imposters, the most famous was Anna Anderson. She, in 1920, came out from a canal in Berlin and claimed that she was Anastasia. The visual similarities between the two women were so uncanny that…

“Alone” is a poem, written by Edgar Allan Poe, about the loneliness of a child's life, which can be devolved using the theme and mood of the poem. First of all, the theme, or main idea, of the poem is loneliness, for example the poem states, “and all I lov'd -- I lov'd alone” (8). The main point that the poem is trying to get across it how lonely the life of the narrator’s childhood was. This is a good representation of loneliness, because the author gives an example of what the narrator had to…

Edgar Allan Poe lived a very eventful life filled with sadness, isolation, and alcohol. His sudden death at the age of 40 led to controversy surrounding the cause of his death. Poe led a tough life from when he was born to his death. His father deserted him when he was born, and his mother died when he was just three years old. Being a foster child affected him throughout his life. There are many theories as to how Edgar Allan Poe died. Some say that he was beaten to death, he suffered from…

The death of Edgar Allan Poe has always been debated, but sources believe it is because of alcoholism. Poe was very well known for all of his famous poetry such as The Raven, My Tell Tale Heart, and Annabel Lee. He started out his life with a terrible childhood, which may have an effect on his vast drinking disorder. Once he left his home, he had an even worse adulthood, and was very depressed. The theory of alcoholism is the cause behind Edgar Allan Poe’s death. The website…

There are three main types of orchestral programme music, symphonic poem also, known as the tone poem, the concert overture, and the programme symphony. The symphonic poem is musical piece written for symphonic orchestra, usually as a single long movement. Richard Strauss is one of the well-known composers who wrote many descriptive symphonic poems. One of these is Til Eulenspiegel Op. 28 (1894 - 1895) which tells of a mischievous character of German legend. Strauss uses a musical theme to…

works of the composers that have contributed to the music world and compare Program Symphony to Symphonic Poems and Impressionism to Expressionism music created by these composers. Program Music and Symphonic Poems are similar in that they play onto the imagination of the listeners of the mental pictures of the scenes or characters as they listen. Both genre are based on telling a story or poem. Although they have these similarities they use different methods of exporting these…

Hans Christian Andersen once said, “where words fail, music speaks.” I believe if we could speak with any of the composers from the Medieval, Renaissance, Classical, and Romantic periods that they would say the same also. One of the composers from the Romantic period whom I believe would agree with this statement is Bedřich Smetana. He, along with many other composers, have a way of speaking through their compositions. Bedřich Smetana was born on March 2, 1824 and died on May 12th, 1884.…

Brendel considered Wagner’s operas to be the “summit of musical attainment.” The work that shows his part in musical history the most is the four-part Ring Cycle. Like much Romantic music, it was based on a poem (an Old Norse poem about Siegfriend the Dragon-Slayer). This opera expanded on the thematic transformation of Liszt with something called a leitmotif. There are many heard throughout the operas, including the death leitmotif, the rhine river leitmotif, and the…

Franz Liszt was a Hungarian composer, pedagogue, and virtuoso pianist. He was born on October 22, 1811 and died July 31, 1886. For many years, up through the 19th century, he was regarded as the world’s best pianist. Liszt was renowned for his unparalleled piano technique. Liszt extensively toured Europe, celebrated as the world’s best pianist. Liszt saw both fame and fortune in his career. He died in Germany due to complications from pneumonia. Liszt was born in Raiding, Austria on…

Totentanz or Dance of the Dead Paraphrase on Dies Irae for pianoforte and orchestra, S. 126 is a symphonic piece written for piano and orchestra by the Hungarian composer Franz Liszt (1811 – 1886). Liszt initially planned the piece in 1838 and finished the first version in 1849. In 1853 and 1859 he revised it before finally publishing it in 1865. Hans von Bülow, to whom Liszt dedicated the work, was the soloist in the April 15, 1865, premiere with the Diligentia Musical Society of The Hague,…