The period of classicism mainly started from the 1850s to the 1830s. This stage was affected by changes in the external social environment, which had a profound impact on the creative style and artistic characteristics of music creators. As a master of many piano schools, the classical piano school has a strong creative style and performance characteristics. During the analysis period, relevant personnel should connect with the background of the times at that time, recognize the characteristics of the creative style from multiple angles, and inject more fresh vitality into the development of modern art vision.
1 Brief introduction to the reasons for the emergence of the classical piano art school
1.1 The change in thinking
The classical piano art school was born in the second half of the 18th century. Important changes have taken place. Western civilization at this stage is also developing towards a new stage. The influence of this external material environment has brought new impacts on the thinking and cognition of scholars at that time. A wave of ideology began to appear in some countries in Western Europe. For example, the “Enlightenment Movement” dominated by the “Encyclopedia” in France emerged in this era. This school advocated “freedom and equality” and opposed the feudalism that existed at that time. In Germany, the “Hurricane Movement” appeared, mainly to emancipate the mind and pursue freedom.
From the ideological movements in these countries, it can be seen that Western Europe in the 18th century advocated reason and pursued the truth, goodness and beauty of human nature. Since the industrial revolution has brought about major changes in people’s lifestyles, driven by technology, people’s thinking has risen to new heights. The supremacy of ideals had become the mainstream of the times at that time, which also had a great impact on the development of the art industry. Whether it is architecture, sculpture, literature or music, this rational spirit has fully penetrated.
1.2 Different cultural needs
Under the background of Western European classicism and the influence of ideology in the field of music, people’s cultural needs have also changed. Because of the emergence of technology and various inventions, the middle class group was expanded and developed in a new direction, gradually changing the social pattern at that time. The emergence of this situation caused the social atmosphere at that time to continue to change, and people’s demand for “functional” music was also increasing. From the princes and nobles to the common people, they all want to find corresponding emotions in music and form a kind of ideological resonance [1]. This change in music demand puts forward more requirements on the creative ability of musicians. In the process of creation, they need to realize the appreciation style of the royal family, and also need to understand the rigor of the church, and pay attention to highlighting the thoughts and expressions of the people.
In response to this change in the creative environment, some musicians began to choose music topics to develop towards the lives of ordinary people, and created more secular music. And some new content has been added to it to meet the needs of the royal family. The emergence of this phenomenon is also an important reason for the rise and development of the classical piano art genre. Therefore, when analyzing, relevant personnel can explore from different angles and realize the differences brought about by these social changes.
2 The creative characteristics of the classical piano art school
2.1 The continuous evolution of the texture
The classical piano art school has a relatively complicated period of existence, and there are many waves of ideology in the entire social environment. The creative style of musicians has undergone many changes. Judging from the Baroque period, which prevailed before, it mainly emphasized the creation of polyphonic music, while the classical piano art school was different during its creation period. They emphasized single melody as the main line of music creation[2]. Based on this, the main tone music is formed by means of harmony accompaniment. During the period of analysis and research, from the point of view of texture, the action before the main melody replaced the previous polyphonic melody is not only a change of music style, but also a reform of music creation from vertical space to horizontal time .
In the period of classicism, there were more sonatas in piano works. Combined with the analysis of the movement patterns of these works, it can be seen that the theme between each movement is relatively clear. This creative style makes the musical structure and musical content of the piano works more clear. At that time, a common accompaniment method was popular, which was called “Alberti Bass”. This accompaniment method was deeply valued and loved by music masters at that time. For example, the three masters of the Viennese classical music school that we are more familiar with, one is using this accompaniment method, and it has been inherited by people in subsequent creations, and has continued until the 19th century. You can still see this in some works now. A form of accompaniment.
2.2 The melody structure has a certain squareness When musicians in the
classical period created music works, the overall melody structure was relatively complete and balanced. This structure is different from the fluid melody in the Baroque period. The melody structure of piano music in classicism It has strong squareness and balance. When we analyze works in classicism, the common musical phrase structure is usually created according to the “4+4” method. To put it simply, this kind of creative style is four bars as a phrase, and then the second phrase is also four bars, acting as a parallel phrase, and the next eight bars can be regarded as a phrase. Although some music works choose the “8+8” mode during the creation period, the characteristics of these music creations are relatively distinct and have a certain degree of squareness.
The bars that appear in these music creations are not static, and will follow the creator’s emotions, and there will be some phenomena of expansion and reduction. If we look at the overall form of music creation, this model will not affect the overall structure of the work [3]. At the same time, the piano art works created in the classicism period also have certain characteristics. When musicians create works, their melodies are mostly developed in the form of harmony, and they can often be seen in chords. In this way of creation, we can see the progress of melody in functional chords in musical works.
2.3 Harmony has a certain format
In the period of classicism, when musicians created works, they had already determined the major and minor scale systems, and also had a relatively complete functional harmony system. From the piano music works at that time, we can see that the harmony of the accompaniment part of the piano works is mainly moving in a regular direction. The common form is mainly the “main-subordinate-subordinate-main” way, and external factors of chords are rarely used. Generally, during the accompaniment, composers basically use the “Alberti Bass” and block chords mentioned above. This way of harmony allows people to perceive the harmony and balance in classical music piano works, understand the difference in melody, and point out the future development direction for the audience during the appreciation period. This kind of formatted harmony creation is closely related to the ideological trend of “returning to nature” advocated by the “Enlightenment Movement” at that time, and the harmony part directly presents a more natural and harmonious scene.
3 Performance characteristics of the classical piano art school
3.1 Changes in the way of touching the keys Simply speaking, the way of
touching the keys is also an expression of the performance method. From the perspective of the current music performance methods, it can be divided into four types, namely legato, staccato Play, non-legato, half staccato. Different ways of touching keys have different effects when playing classicism. When relevant personnel study the playing style of classical music works, they can analyze from these four angles. Moreover, the timbre of the piano in the classical period also changed. Unlike the single timbre of the Baroque period, the piano of this period can play legato with a better style, and in some works of Beethoven, we can appreciate the legato. For example, when people play legato, they need to realize that the fingers and the keys cannot be separated, especially when facing some score of legato phrases, they need to pay attention to the complete contact between the fingers and the keys. Legato is a way of performance that emphasizes the sense of phrases. In addition to the short pause at the “breathing”, the player must maintain a continuous way in some legato lines, which is more demanding on the wrist. high. At the same time, there is also a certain continuity between the notes. Generally, there will be a certain continuous part between the first syllable and the second syllable.
In addition, the staccato playing method is also called staccato. For beginners, this playing method can easily form the piano sound into a sharp sound. Therefore, in the process of playing, people should pay attention to maintaining the integrity and unity of the lines, and avoid the phenomenon of hasty performance. In the process of playing, it is best to grasp half the value of the original note. When touching the keys, try to recognize the force technique of skipping notes, reduce the pressure on the wrist, and try to maintain a relaxed state[ 4]. The non-legato playing method is relatively simple, requiring the player to recognize the rising and falling speed of the third joint. The playing method of half staccato requires the player to ensure that there is a certain interval between notes and notes during the performance, but there is a disconnected relationship between the two, which requires the player to do it with the strength of the wrist. Precise control.
3.2 How to use the pedal
In the classical piano art school, the pedal is an important part of the performance period. According to the pedal division of modern pianos, it can be divided into sustain pedal, soft pedal and sustain pedal. Different pedals have different performance characteristics. The sustain pedal is generally used in performance activities at the end of the performance. According to different usage methods, it can be roughly divided into two parts: the syncopation pedal and the rhythm pedal. When using pedals, classical musicians seldom clearly marked the purpose of these pedals. After the appearance of “Moonlight Sonata”, they began to require players to keep their hands and feet consistent and use different pedals as reasonably as possible. .
Generally, when playing the piano in the classical period, two principles for using pedals should be recognized. One is to prohibit stepping on the sustain pedal when descending syllables or descending through the middle of a sentence. If this happens, it can easily lead to a cloudy musical state in the final musical composition. The other is that during the player’s performance, if there is a unison line across bars or long sounds, this situation requires the player to use the finger pedal. This kind of pedal does not rely on more mechanical equipment, basically through the application of fingers, to show the composer’s artistic expression emotion. Generally, when playing classical piano works of art, one should understand the content of the score and make a comprehensive analysis, especially the marks of each pedal.
3.3 Changes between speed and strength
In terms of speed, the piano art works in the classical period are basically moving in the direction of expansion at both ends. Compared with the performance speed of the Baroque period, the performance speed of the classical period is faster, which has a direct impact on the development of key music. Like Beethoven, a common representative of music, in his sonata performance, compared with Haydn and Mozart, he presents a lighter characteristic, and in the Adagio chapter, he has a certain tension and drama. Therefore, when people play these classical piano works of art, they should be aware of the changes in rhythm and speed, and maintain a stable and even state as a whole.
In addition, during the period of classicism, the advent of modern pianos brought more changes to musicians during their performances. Compared with the traditional piano, the sound range and volume have been greatly expanded. But judging from the actual playing effect, compared with the modern piano, there is still a certain gap. For example, the ff in classical piano works is basically equivalent to the f key of modern pianos, and the p key is equivalent to the current pp key. Therefore, during the performance, people should pay attention to the change of music scheduling, and try to control the intensity within the common range, so as to effectively retain the sound expression effect of the original work and restore the creation quality of the work at that time.
4 Conclusion
From the above analysis, we can see that the period of classicism was a prosperous period of piano art development, and it was also the peak stage of piano art creation, which had a profound effect and significance on later generations. The piano art genre in the classical period has its own creative style and performance characteristics, and it still affects the creative style of music writers. Therefore, in the process of analysis, relevant personnel should connect with the ideological and cultural background and social environment at that time, so as to be able to Interpret classical piano works better and experience the characteristics of the creative style. In addition, due to the certain differences between classical pianos and modern pianos, relevant personnel must grasp the differences from multiple angles during performance, so as to better appreciate the charm of classical piano works of art.
