MUS 15 Study Guide - Final Guide: Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill, La Campanella
MUS15 - Possible Short Answer Questions
Question 1
Please compare Liszt’s “La Campanella Etude” with either Felix Mendelssohn’s Song
without Words, Fanny Hensel’s “September” from Das Jahr, or Chopin’s Mazurka.
Describe the compositional circumstances and intended audience for each. In each case,
how specifically was music utilized to communicate to the audience?
Although both Fanny Hensel and Liszt were composers of the 1850s, their musical styles
contrasted greatly and served different purposes. Starting with Liszt’s “La Campanella”, we can
note how he makes use of fingering techniques and fast-paced tempos to illustrate his virtuosity.
He would perform in front of large audiences and blow them away each time with his
ostentatious techniques in performance as inspired by perhaps one of the most quintessential
virtuosos of the era, Niccolo Paganini. Many people would go as far to compare Liszt’s talents to
Paganini's satanically astounding talents too. Contrastingly, Fanny Mendelssohn’s piece
“September” was more so a character piece. Although it was simpler than Liszt’s piece,
“September” was still more advanced than the average song piece as to reveal a bit of Fanny’s
skills on the piano. This piece is more semi-private and relatable, and meant for a smaller
audience like a salon and evokes memories and emotions from the audience member.
However, even though these two pieces have different audiences and intents, interestingly
enough, they both are meant to draw imagery to a specific sound or scene. “La Campanella” is
meant to resemble a bell, and in the same way as a bell, the techniques he uses call an
audience members attention not allowing intellectual processing but rather drawing attention to
his virtuosity. “September” is meant to evoke imagery of a waterfall, and quite accordingly,
Fanny’s notes are smooth and flowing, allowing for intellectual stimulation among the private
audience.
Question 2
The works of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht were often concerned with issues of social
responsibility. Discuss this using The Threepenny Opera. How does the work engage
with ideas of social responsibility? What is the work’s goal? How do Weill and Brecht try
to accomplish this goal? How specifically does the music help to further these goals?
Document Summary
Please compare liszt"s la campanella etude with either felix mendelssohn"s song without words, fanny hensel"s september from das jahr, or chopin"s mazurka. Describe the compositional circumstances and intended audience for each. Although both fanny hensel and liszt were composers of the 1850s, their musical styles contrasted greatly and served different purposes. Starting with liszt"s la campanella , we can note how he makes use of fingering techniques and fast-paced tempos to illustrate his virtuosity. He would perform in front of large audiences and blow them away each time with his ostentatious techniques in performance as inspired by perhaps one of the most quintessential virtuosos of the era, niccolo paganini. Many people would go as far to compare liszt"s talents to. September was still more advanced than the average song piece as to reveal a bit of fanny"s skills on the piano.
