The Musical Canon Lives on

The Musical Canon Lives On

In today’s modern world, everyone knows about the great composers of classical music: Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, etc. They have been memorialized for all eternity in what is now known as the musical canon. Because of the construction of this musical canon, the concert hall has since been transformed into a “musical museum”. This concept of the canon has created a lasting effect on composers of the generations to come, such as Johannes Brahms, Aaron Copland and John Cage, whose works can be seen as three different responses to the idea of this musical canon.

The musical canon is the idea of a “list of works considered to be permanently established as being of the highest quality (Michaels)”. The canon began to emerge mid- to the late nineteenth century when there was a predominance of virtuosic composer-performers producing at the time. Until approximately the mid-nineteenth century, the musical compositions that were being produced were mostly by virtuosi like Spohr that were creating excellent but intellectually easy music for the mass markets ( Burkholder 117). The audience at this time was adverse to these types of works because they didn’t provide any intellectual challenges and therefore found the music to be disengaging. This then prompted other more “serious”  musicians to turn back to the works of the past great composers, such as Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, both for inspiration and their performances which was the beginning the idea of “masters” and a “masterpiece” (Burkholder 117). This was a change from the original purpose of music because as Burkholder states, “the concert...took on the atmosphere of a lecture, requiring background study and concentration on the part of the audience(117)” while in the generations before it was used for entertainment or “spectacle” purposes. Music was now beginning to be written to be challenging and one notable pioneer of this movement was Ludwig van Beethoven.

More than any other composer, Beethoven is known to have set the example for all other composers to come. His music was known to be challenging and did not serve the purpose of music for entertainment. From the years 1842 to 1850, Beethoven’s works encompasses roughly 60% of the music that was performed by the Vienna Philharmonic (Frisch 177). His works and the works of many others were a part of the concert hall becoming a musical museum, a term which refers to the idea that only the works of dead composers are performed, which in turn stemmed from the musical canon. The introduction of this canon began to change the way that new, young composers were composing. Music was now being written in the hopes of being memorialized. Composers began studying the “masters”, as their sound was what was deemed to be of the highest quality, in order to imitate them while also attempting to sound unique enough to stand out. One composer that was not immune to the effects of the canon was composer Johannes Brahms.

        Brahms was born in 1833 and was praised for possessing a sound and skill that was characteristically similar to that to Beethoven. He was thought to be a successor to the musical traditions (Michaels). At the root of Brahm’s works was his historicist underpinnings. He was greatly influenced by the canon in the creation of his works and wanted to create a legacy with his music as well as live up to the shadow of Beethoven. And though his works and sound were his own, many of his works took inspiration from many other composers considered to be the “masters” of music. For example, Brahms’s Symphony No.4  in E minor, OP. 98 was based on old musical forms and gained inspiration from pieces such as J.S. Bach Partita for Solo Violin No. 2 and the finale of Eroica by Ludwig van Beethoven (Michaels). Unfortunately, this insistent pressure to make it and be the best caused Brahms to hold back from completing his first work until he was in his 40s and consistently delayed the publishing of many of his works. However, Johannes Brahms was not the only composer that was affected by the canon in his time. Aaron Copland, though influenced by the desire to be memorialized, had a different response to the canon.

        Aaron Copland was born in the United States of America in 1900 and began as a modernist composer in the 1920s. His music during this time strayed from tradition and presented a sense of discomfort to many audiences. He later developed a more “simple style” that was easier to digest by mass markets(Michaels). Though Copland also had the desire to create a legacy and be remembered as a composer, he believed in creating his own sound and thenceforth, became known as the originator of the “American” sound. His sound was known for being very distinctive and became the blueprint for anyone who wanted to compose “American”, specifically “Californian”, which was then later widely emulated by others (Michaels). One example of Copland’s distinct sounds is his Symphony No. 3. This symphony took on the general form of a traditional work during that time but was infused with Copland’s unique sound. Throughout the piece, Copland interjects his own personal flair into the music, for example, low ominous tones following what could be considered lighthearted, mellow tones. Though Copland made it a point to maintain his own voice, he still in some way conformed to the ideals of the canon while composer John Cage went completely against them.