Beethoven’s Imaginary Journey Into the Future, Essay Example

Ludwig van Beethoven is best known for his contribution to classical music and the variety of style he was able to enact within the pieces he produced. Considered a musical genius during his time, he was often able to put little effort into the creation of pieces of music that are still known today. Towards the end of his life, Beethoven went deaf but was still able to produce a high caliber of music by still being able to hear music in his head and then instantly recording down the songs on a piece of paper. While Beethoven was remarkably talented for his time and contributed to the character of the music enjoyed from 1780 to 1827, he was very heavily influenced by the music that was created before him. He incorporated many of the elements from the songs he learned as a child into his own music, which allowed him to personalize the types of music that he enjoyed the most. It is equally likely that if Beethoven were to be exposed to music created after his time, he would incorporate some of these musical elements into his own style to produce pieces that would be enjoyable to individuals living in each of these distinct time periods.

If Beethoven were to journey to different periods using a time machine, his first stop would be to Paris in 1830 to hear the premiere of Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique at the Paris Conservatory. Beethoven would have been surprised to hear the quality of sound of this music, even though it was produced just three years after his death. This music was characteristic for using more than 1,000 musicians to produce sound, which was a much larger number than Beethoven would have incorporated in his pieces. This allows for many different dynamic changes and contrasts between different instruments in different sections and creates a much louder sound that could be used to create dramatic effect. It is likely that Beethoven would have adapted his style during this time period to mimic the big band set up. While he would not have to change the style of his music too significantly to do so, he would have to determine how to coordinate many different musicians at one time to carry out his effect. This would be potentially challenging for Beethoven who typically coordinated smaller groups, but after mastering this concept, he would be able to excel in this type of music in the same manner of the leading artists that are responsible for producing it.

Beethoven’s second stop on his journey would be to Vienna in 1883 to hear Brahm’s Third Symphony in the Vienna Philharmonic. The aspect of this piece that would have stood out the most to Beethoven was the use of repeating motifs in the song that provided it with a certain character. These motifs make the song highly memorable, and even though that listen to it today would recognize the repeating notes. Therefore, it is likely that Beethoven would use this knowledge to make certain aspects of his music more likely to be remembered to the listener. The ability of an audience to remember distinct parts of music helps to market the piece and make it more highly in demand among its listeners.

The third stop on Beethoven’s itinerary is a visit to Carnegie Hall in New York City in 1893 to hear the premier of Dvoraks “New World Symphony”. Beethoven would be shocked by such as song because of the great contrast in dynamics it provides. The composer is very talented at creating low, soft noises and then frightening the audience by making the sound suddenly loud. The piece is brilliant because it demonstrates how the same motifs can be played again and again and still create an entertaining sound with use of dynamics. It is likely that Beethoven would reconsider his use of dynamics after hearing this song to create more stark contrasts in the volume of his music.

On the last stop of his journey, Beethoven attended the 1953 premiere of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10 at Bolshoi Hall of the Conservatory in Moscow. The most interesting aspect of this piece compared to the types of music that Beethoven encountered prior to this music is that it makes use of many new kinds of instruments that hadn’t been previously introduced to Europe, including the tam-tam and xylophone. The use of these instruments added an interesting component of percussion sound to music and such a beat was not present during the classical period. After hearing this music, it is likely that Beethoven would attempt to incorporate these instruments into his own sound, which would create a new twist on classical music.

Finally, when Beethoven arrives in 2015, he would be somewhat confused by the sound produced. Most of the music listened to today makes use of the motif element of post-classical music but makes no attempts to vary the dynamics used. Furthermore, a majority of the sounds produced are made electronically, which would be a difficult concept for Beethoven to grasp due to his lack of understanding of modern technology. This would be the hardest type of music for Beethoven to mimic despite his musical genius because the way it is created is significantly different than the way that traditional compositions are made. Ultimately, it does not seem that Beethoven would be willing to mimic this type of music, or if he did desire to, he would have to spend a very long time conversing with modern artists to be able to do so. While Beethoven would create music in his head and then put it down on paper for musicians to perform, modern musicians create music similarly using complex digital devices as they think. Therefore, Beethoven would require specialized training in order to be able to produce this type of music. He may be unwilling to do this due to the lack of variety and the intense structure seen in modern music, and he may not even find our modern styles of music to be enjoyable compared to the artistry of music that was present during his own time period.

Overall, it appears that Beethoven would be able to incorporate much of what he’s learned about music throughout his time journey into his own compositions, which the exception of the modern era. It is clear that technology has changed the type of music performed over time, and the greatest change to this music has occurred over the past several decades. It is likely that the music that is enjoyed in 100 years would be virtually unrecognizable by us as well.