Music @ New Canaan Library: Music in the German-speaking Lands

Musicologist and music theorist Gil Harel returns to New Canaan Library for a fascinating lecture series on the influences that shaped European music of the 19th century. His series, Music and Nationalism in the 19th Century, offers three lectures on different regions and composers across Europe of that century. From the Hungarian Rhapsodies of Liszt, to the melodically driven sounds of Bel Canto opera, this lecture series will immerse the listener in the intersection of art and national identity.

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With the death of Beethoven in 1827, German-speaking composers sought to emerge from the shadow of “The Maestro.” Some, such as Mendelssohn and Brahms, composed in a traditional style that utilized the forms and genres of Beethoven’s classical era. For Wagner, inspiration was drawn not only from Beethoven, but from philosophers such as Schopenhauer and Nietzsche. The clarity of the former composers’ styles lead many to call them “conservatives”; meanwhile, Wagner’s tonally nebulous music would have people describing him as “progressive.”

Save the date for the rest of the series:

Music in Italy (Verdi, Puccini)  – Thursday, 4/19/2018, 6:30-7:30pm

Music in England and France (Elgar, Vaughn Williams, Debussy) – Thursday, 4/26/2018, 6:30-7:30pm