Introduction to Musical Listening: A Guide to Recorded Classical Music, Part I: Chamber Music to the Nineteenth Century

This month BFL is pleased to inaugurate a special six-part classical music review-series, by Dr. John Hospers. The first two installments will deal with chamber music, the next two with orchestral music, and the last two with vocal and choral music. Dr. Hospers will recommend those recordings which he regards as the best available of the works he discusses. Unfortunately, the number of recommended recordings is so great that BFL cannot carry them all. However, with Dr. Hospers' advice, we will make available to you a “cream-of-the-crop” selection. In addition, we are now carrying three excellent music appreciation books; you will find these reviewed on page 4 of this issue. BFL hopes this series and the wonderful recordings we will offer over the next few months will give you many hours of reading and listening pleasure.

My main purpose in writing this series is to share with you those works of music which I have found especially rewarding, having listened to recorded music every day during most of my life, and played some of it as well. In this way you may discover—as many of my students have discovered—vast musical treasures that you did not previously know existed.

It is much easier to hear musical sounds than to listen to them. Hearing, like seeing, is passive; listening, like looking, is active. To listen requires the full use of one's attentive faculties. When you listen to good music, it should not be as background to other activities: it requires your full attention, particularly when you are listening to it the first few times. “Full attention or silence” is a good rule to observe, one which pays large dividends in future enjoyment.

Most people who listen to classical music at all seem to pay attention only to music written for large orchestras, as if the greater the volume of sound the better the music must be. Santayana once ironically defined music as “a drowsy reverie interrupted by nervous thrills.” And the nineteenth-century Viennese music critic Edouard Hanslick said in his excellent The Beautiful in Music that “most hearers are content simply to be inundated by the sheer flow of sound.” In so doing, they are unlikely to pay much attention to the various elements of which the total flow is composed. And thus they miss much more than they know of the fascinating things that are constantly going on in a musical composition.

MUSIC FOR LUTE, GUITAR, MANDOLIN (5 records) / BFL Price $9.95 THE COMPLETE STRING QUINTETS OF MOZART (3 records) / BFL Price $10.45 FOUR FAVORITE TRIOS (3 records) / BFL Price $11.95 BAROQUE MASTERS OF VENICE, NAPLES, AND TUS- CANY (3 records) / BFL Price $10.45

In chamber music one cannot do this: here the form stands naked. That is why chamber music really provides the best mode of introduction to music: the interplay of parts assigned the various instruments is immediately evident, and one soon learns, especially when the melodies being intertwined are tuneful or “catchy,” to follow them as they progress and interact with each other.

In chamber music, there is only one instrument carrying a melodic line, rather than a group of them—for example, one violin instead of an entire group of violins playing the same notes as in an orchestra. Chamber music will at first strike a listener accustomed to a barrage of sound as rather thin, but he will very quickly get over this impression and be rewarded by the interplay of tones which stand out so clearly.

Chamber music is so called because it was quite literally played in a chamber—living room or drawing room—after dinner by a single instrument or a small ensemble. Bach's “Bandenberg Concertos,” at least as played today, do not count as chamber music because they are played by an entire orchestra. But solo compositions for piano, harpsichord, organ, violin, or any other instrument do count as chamber music; violin-andpiano sonatas and other duo combinations are also chamber music; so are trios (usually for violin, cello, and piano), string quartets (two violins, viola, cello), string quintets (the above plus an added cello), piano quartets (three strings plus piano), piano quintets (string quartet plus piano), and so on. Octets are about as large an instrumental ensemble as one gets in chamber music.

Let us begin with the string quartet. The German composer Franz Josef Haydn (1732-1809) was not the founder of the string quartet, but he developed it into a major musical form almost single-handedly. Haydn wrote 82 string quartets, as well as numerous trios and piano sonatas an output of staggering quantity and inexhaustible variety. A few weeks of listening would be well spent on Haydn quartets before moving on to the next step.

These quartets convey a variety of moods: sometimes pensive, sometimes playful, by turns lilting and humorous and melancholy, most often energetic and vigorous, but always tuneful, and always full of the sense of delight of the four instrumentalists playing together. There is a dazzling series of quartets which constitute Opus 20; another beautiful set in the Opus 33 series; the Opus 54 series are pure inspiration, with more of the same in Op. 64, Op. 76, and Op. 77. I suggest beginning with the third (slow) movement of the last one, Op. 77 no. 2. The tune is stately with a touch of melancholy; see how it is stated, then repeated, then repeated again with a difference; then note the transition to the next musical theme, how it interacts with the first, and what fascinating variations are played upon it to keep the attention constantly alert in the midst of the returning original theme.

After you have sated yourself with this movement, I suggest that you listen to the entire quartet Op. 76 no. 5; every movement has its own marvelous melodic lines, shifting, turning, returning, intertwining with others, sometimes waxing incandescent with verve and enthusiasm. Listen to it all the way through several times, until you feel like whistling some of the main tunes, and by that time I think you will be hooked on either Haydn or string quartets, or both.

But the best is yet to come. I have not yet mentioned the quartets which take you to the most ecstatic heights which Haydn has provided in this medium: Op. 20, nos. 4 and 5; Op. 33 no. 3; Op. 54 nos. 1 and 2; Op. 64 nos. 3 and 4; and Op. 74 no. 2. Each listener will have his own favorite melodies and movements from this collection of quartet masterpieces. But I suggest that when you listen to one you do so several times before turning to another.

Since the Quartetto Italiano has by far the best Haydn performances available, I suggest that you get what you can of these. They are on Philips records, but unfortunately, they have recently been discontinued, although many of them are still available in record stores. (You can tell which records are currently available at any given time by consulting the monthly Schwann catalog, available at any record dealer.)

We now turn to Wolfgang A. Mozart (1756-1791), that tremendous musical genius who, when he died at the age of 35, left us a vast legacy of great chamber music, concertos, symphonies, masses, and operas. Continuing the great tradition established by Haydn, but proceeding always further toward the romanticism that sprang into full flower in the nineteenth century, we have the six great “Haydn quartets” (dedicated to Haydn), which are probably Mozart's greatest works in this genre, particularly the no. 17 in B-flat (K. 458, “The Hunt”), no. 19 (K. 465, “Dissonant”), no. 20 in D (K. 499), and no. 21 in D (K. 575). (Whenever possible, get the Quartetto Italiano recordings on the Philips label.)

From these, I suggest going on to the two great piano quartets (piano plus three strings), the no. 1 in G-minor (K. 478)—one of the most joyous pieces of music in the entire literature, and one of my two favorites among Mozart's chamber pieces—and the no. 2 in E-flat (K. 493). Also worthwhile is the lovely Quintet in A for clarinet and strings (K. 581), and the K. 407 quintet for horn and strings. (The K. 478 quartet is among those in the set of three records, RCA Victor LSC-6184, which I strongly recommend for purchase as an introduction to chamber music.)

Having heard these, you will now be ready for the great string quintets, K. 515 in C, K. 516 in G-minor, K. 593 in D, and K. 614 in E-flat. My own favorite among all of Mozart's chamber works is the K. 516, whose two great slow movements have reduced many a listener to tears—and even those who do not respond that overtly to music find it the epitome of quiet serenity and tender nostalgic melancholy, with a serene beauty that can carry one through many otherwise troubled hours. Excellent renditions of these quintets are available on the three-record set, “The Complete String Quintets of Mozart” (Seraphim S-6028).

The next major figure in historical order is Beethoven, but I suggest waiting just a bit for his chamber music and turning to the next “great” of chamber music, Franz Schubert (1797-1828), because his music is so melodic and so instantly accessible even to the untrained listener. (In fact, if Mozart and Haydn do not grab you at once, you might do well to start your journey into chamber music with Schubert.) In Schubert’s 30 years of life he wrote such a profusion of memorable works, mostly chamber works, that it is hard to believe that one person could have achieved so much at such a consistently high level in so short a time.

Of the many great chamber works by Schubert, I recommend beginning with the work that one of his contemporaries called “the ne plus ultra of energy and passion,” the great Trio no. 1 in B-flat for piano, violin, and cello (Op. 99, D. 898). The great fun of playing (and hearing) chamber music is nowhere more evident than in this marvelous work. It is well played on the three-record introduction to trio music, Columbia D3S-799, “Four Favorite Trios.”

Then turn to his tender and romantic String Quartet no. 14 (D. 810), “Death and the Maiden”; I recommend the recording on Philips 900139. You will find the Quartet no. 13 (Op. 29, D. 804) to be equally worth listening to. Then turn to his “nobly profound” chamber work, the great String Quintet in C (Op. 163, D. 956), on RCA Victor LSC-2737, which many consider to be the capstone of Schubert’s work in this genre. Equally tuneful and much lighter in tone is the famous “Trout” quintet for piano and strings (Op. 114, D. 667). (I recommend Deutsche Grammofon 136488.) There are many other excellent Schubert chamber works available, but these I consider the cream of the crop.

Another aspect of Schubert’s genius in chamber music is evident in his numerous piano sonatas. Of these, the very greatest, in my opinion, are the three posthumously published ones (Op. Posth.): the C-minor, the A-major, and the B-flat major. To say that these are deeply moving is to understate the fact. If you have to pick only one of these, listen to the monumental Sonata in B-flat major (D. 960). Get the Brendel recording on Philips 6500285, or, better still—if you can find them—any of the Artur Schnabel performances on the Victor labor.

There was, of course, a tremendous quantity of chamber music written prior to Haydn, but most of it is played today for small orchestra (chamber orchestra). Moreover, the greater part of this early music is for the human voice (either a cappella or with instrumental accompaniment). These forms will be discussed later in this series.

However, to select just a few of the highlights of chamber music prior to Haydn, I would suggest the following as very rewarding listening:

1. Hear the simple but moving melodies of early composers in the album “Instrumental Music of the Year 1600 of France, England, Italy, and Germany” (Bach Guild 626)—or any of a number of similar collections on records put out by Bach Guild, Turnabout, and Nonesuch records. At once you will be in a different world, both in musical idiom and instrumentation. But it is a very listenable world, and once you unlock the doors of this early music, you will find it just as rewarding as any of later periods.
2. Then listen to the superb chamber works of the great English composer Henry Purcell (1659-1695), especially the sonata for trumpet and strings, on Nonesuch 71027, the Chacony in G-minor, on Oiseau-Lyre 60002, and the trio sonatas on Oiseau-Lyre S-319.
3. Much of the solo harpsichord music of this period is exquisite. Try some of these collections of the early harpsichord solo music: Turnabout 34243, Columbia MS-7326, Mercury 90411, Nonesuch 71265 and 71229, and the fine performances by Kipnis on the three-record set, Columbia M3X-31521. And do not ignore the “Masters of Baroque” harpsichord record, Mace 9010.
4. Then listen to some chamber music by two or more instruments including harpsichord. A marvelous gem by the totally neglected Spanish composer Antonio Soler (1719-1783) is on Bach Guild 5069—some compositions for two harpsichords, some for harpsichord and organ. You will also enjoy Rame’s trios for flute, cello, and harpsichord on Westminster WGS-8155, and his “Pièces de clavecin en concert” on Nonesuch 71063 and Telefunken S-9578, as well as Couperin’s “La Parnasse” on DG-2533067, and violin-and-continuo sonatas by Archangelo Corelli (1653-1713) on two DG disks, ARC-2533132/3. An excellent introduction to this music is the three-record set, “Baroque Masters of Venice, Naples, and Tuscany” (Nonesuch HC-73008). The world of these works is of such consummate purity and clarity that you may come to prefer it to anything else.
5. Johann Sebastian Bach (1684-1750) wrote extensively for solo harpsichord: for example, “The Well-Tempered Clavier” (S. 846-93), the “English Suites” for harpischord (S. 806-11), the fantasias for harpsichord, the six “French Suites” for harpsichord (S. 812-17), the “Italian Concerto,” and the “Goldberg Variations” (S. 988). Be sure in every case that you get a harpsichord performance, not a piano transcription. Try also his sonatas for unaccompanied violin and his suites for unaccompanied cello.
6. And then there are thousands of fine compositions for solo organ— virtually a lost art since the eighteenth century. I suggest beginning with works by Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707) on Telefunken S-9436 and TK- 11521. Then turn to the works of the undisputed master of organ composition, Bach. Any of the famous ones will do: the tremendous Passacaglia and Fugue for Organ (S. 582), the Toccata and Fugue in D-minor (S. 565), the Choral Preludes for organ, the Fantasia and Fugue for organ (S. 542), and the Toccatas and Fugues in D-minor and F-major. (This does not even begin to exhaust Bach’s tremendous output of organ compositions!) As you listen to these compositions, remember that, great as they are, the very greatest of Bach’s works, and certainly those with the most overwhelming emotional impact, are yet to come. But by listening to these smaller-scale compositions now, you will be building a solid base for the proper appreciation of his larger masterworks.

In closing, I would like to recommend, as the best recorded introduction to early chamber music, “Music for Lute, Guitar, Mandolin,” Turnabout TV-34195-99, a five record set containing uniformly delightful music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (with a couple of selections from the nineteenth century thrown in). It features various chamber-music combinations, such as harpsichord, lute, guitar, mandolin, flute, and violin, and is available from BFL for only $9.95 (list price is $17.50). (Next month: Chamber Music of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries.)

WHAT TO LISTEN FOR IN MUSIC By Aaron Copland MUSIC IN WESTERN CIVILIZATION By Paul Henry Lang THE ENJOYMENT OF MUSIC By Joseph Machlis There is only one way to learn to appreciate music, and that is to listen to it over and over again. There is no substitute for personal exposure to the music. That’s a general limitation on “how to do it” books: you cannot really learn to swim from a book—you have to get experience in the water.

Still, it is possible to use a book to give you a better idea of what to look for. One way to do this is to study the techniques of music. For this, there are many books on harmony, counterpoint, and musical composition in general. But these require you to become something of a specialist, and they all presuppose an ability to read music from the printed page. Another way is to study the history of music. There are countless books on this, of which Paul Henry Lang’s Music in Western Civilization is perhaps the most comprehensive and among the best. But the appreciation of music is different from both of these, and it is something very difficult to write a book on. Most such books turn out to be a mixture of music history and musical forms and techniques, and presumably that is not exactly what the readers of BFL want. What they want is a kind of “aid to listening,” which will help them get into the music more easily and help them discover some clues to intelligent listening. Aaron Copland is one of America’s most noted contemporary composers, and it is interesting that a man who is himself a composer should be the one who has written the best nontechnical guide to music listening.

There is an interesting chapter on the listening process, followed by a chapter on each of the main elements of music: rhythm, melody, harmony, and timbre (tone-color). This is followed by a discussion of musical texture and musical structure, and analyses of some of the main musical forms: sonata, fugue, theme-and-variation, and so on. There is a chapter on music accompanied by words (particularly opera), one on music for film, and one on the special problems of appreciating contemporary music.

Copland's book does not contain analyses of specific musical works. For this, you must go on to more detailed studies. Of these, the six-volume Essays in Musical Analysis, by Sir Donald F. Tovey, has never been surpassed. He does not analyze every musical work you might be interested in (for example, he has many detailed analyses of Beethoven works but none on those of Mahler), but those works on which he does focus his microscope are superlatively illuminated. The proof of the pudding is in the eating: if you listen, for example, to a Beethoven quartet, and cannot make much sense of it at first, then turn to Tovey's analysis of it; I believe that whatever patience you have to exert in doing so will be rewarded.

Also worthwhile for those who wish to go more deeply into music appreciation, is Joseph Machlis' The Enjoyment of Music. And for those who would like historical background material on the period of music they are listening to, there are many volumes, among which I recommend Gustave Reese's Music in the Middle Ages and Music in the Renaissance and Oliver Strunk's The Baroque Era.

There are many books on the works of each major composer as well as biographies, of which I particularly recommend J.W.N. Sullivan's Beethoven: His Spiritual Development. Two particularly interesting books are Greatness in Music, by Alfred Einstein—Albert's musician-brother—and The Shaping Forces in Music—on the various elements in a musical composition—by the contemporary composer Ernst Toch.

On the aesthetics of music, particularly the nature of musical expression and the connection between music and the life of feeling, I recommend Eduard Hanslick's The Beautiful in Music; an anthology of essays on expression entitled Artistic Expression, edited by myself; two systematic accounts of the nature of expression, Mind and Art, by Guy Sir-cello, and The Concept of Expression, by Alan Tormey, and (exclusively on musical expression) two books by Leonard Meyer, Emotion and Meaning in Music and Music, the Arts, and Ideas.

But for a brief introduction to music appreciation that may spur you on to listen carefully and enjoyably, you cannot do better than Aaron Copland's What to Listen for in Music.

Reviewed by John Hospers / What To Listen For In Music (192 Pages) / BFL Price $.95 / Music In Western Civilization (1,107 Pages) / BFL Price $15 / Enjoyment Of Music (682 Pages) / BFL Price $8.95