Beethoven's Unique Style
Beethoven is viewed as a transitional figure between the Classical and Romantic eras of musical history. Above all, his works distinguish themselves from those of any prior composer through his creation of large, extended structures characterized by the extensive development of musical material, themes, and motifs, usually by means of "modulation", a change in the feeling of the home key, through a variety of keys or harmonic regions. Beethoven's innovation was the ability to rapidly establish a solidity in contrasting different keys and adding unexpected notes to join them. This expanded harmonic realm creates a sense of a vast musical space through which the music moves freely, and the development of musical material creates a sense of unfolding drama in this space. In this way, Beethoven's work creates a "story' where there are ups and downs, happiness and remorse, good and evil so to say and an ending.
Although Beethoven wrote many beautiful and lyrical melodies, another radical innovation of his music, compared especially to that of Mozart and Haydn, is his extensive use of forceful, marked, and even stark rhythmic patterns throughout his compositions and, in particular, some of which are primarily rhythmic rather than melodic. Some of his most famous themes, such as those of the first movements of the Third, Fifth, and Ninth symphonies, are primarily non-melodic rhythmic figures consisting of notes of a single chord, and the themes of the last movements of the Third and Seventh symphonies could more accurately be described as rhythms rather than as melodies. This use of rhythm was particularly well suited to the primacy of development in Beethoven's music, since a single rhythmic pattern can be taken through a succession of different, even remote, keys and harmonic regions while retaining and conveying an underlying stability much easier than a melody. This allowed him to combine different features of his themes in a wide variety of ways, extending the techniques of Haydn in development.
He also continued another trend, towards larger orchestras, that went on until the first decade of the 20th century, and moved the center of the sound downwards in the orchestra, to the violas and the lower register of the violins and cellos, giving his music a heavier and darker feel than Haydn or Mozart. This sadder, more sorrowful, music helped define Beethoven as who he was. The vast majority of Beethoven's compositions contain the hint of the darker part of himself. Even in his cheery pieces there is usually a part that grabs your attention in a quick, dark manner.
Although Beethoven wrote many beautiful and lyrical melodies, another radical innovation of his music, compared especially to that of Mozart and Haydn, is his extensive use of forceful, marked, and even stark rhythmic patterns throughout his compositions and, in particular, some of which are primarily rhythmic rather than melodic. Some of his most famous themes, such as those of the first movements of the Third, Fifth, and Ninth symphonies, are primarily non-melodic rhythmic figures consisting of notes of a single chord, and the themes of the last movements of the Third and Seventh symphonies could more accurately be described as rhythms rather than as melodies. This use of rhythm was particularly well suited to the primacy of development in Beethoven's music, since a single rhythmic pattern can be taken through a succession of different, even remote, keys and harmonic regions while retaining and conveying an underlying stability much easier than a melody. This allowed him to combine different features of his themes in a wide variety of ways, extending the techniques of Haydn in development.
He also continued another trend, towards larger orchestras, that went on until the first decade of the 20th century, and moved the center of the sound downwards in the orchestra, to the violas and the lower register of the violins and cellos, giving his music a heavier and darker feel than Haydn or Mozart. This sadder, more sorrowful, music helped define Beethoven as who he was. The vast majority of Beethoven's compositions contain the hint of the darker part of himself. Even in his cheery pieces there is usually a part that grabs your attention in a quick, dark manner.
