Demarcation and Advancement of Classical Music and Modern Music in 19th Century

By the mid-19th Century, Western Classical Music had become a phenomenon. In its prime, music was the inspiration for all other arts inspired. The inevitable paradigm shifts in music, in line with the evolution of societies, encountered slow adaption or resistance or both. Therefore, when the atmosphere of prominence and celebration of music thrived so did the critique culture of the same. These critique practices often precipitated public debates. In music history, few musical shifts attracted polarizing discourse than the Wagner versus Brahm and Tchaikovsky versus The Five of Germany and Russia, respectively.

Aesthetic separations centered on conservatism or progressivism stances, between prominent musicians, in, and around, Europe emerged in the mid-19th century. The divisions resulted in the conservative faction, who favored traditional music, and progressive factions, who preferred new musical forms. Consequently, polarizing discourse on music characterized the period. Musical structure, limits of harmony and representational, program music versus non-representational, absolute music were the main areas of contention.

In Russia, the 19th century period featured the emergence of great native classical composers. The most significant of these composers was a group known as The Five or the mighty handful. It consisted of the notable composers Alexander Borodin, Mily Balakirev, Modest Mussorgsky, Cesar Cui and Nikolai R. Korsakov. The Five differed with Pyotr Tchaikovsky due to their preference for a modern, nationalistic approach to music contrary to his preservation of traditional classical music aesthetic in his work. Tchaikovsky, the embodiment of conservatism favored western effected distinct Russian compositions. The traditional classical style of music adhered to conventional western practices, tonality and tone progression, in its structure. While it also permitted the infusion of forms of Russian folk music, it mainly sounded and maintained Western music standards. The Five preferred to produce exclusively Russian art centered music.

Meanwhile, Johannes Brahms and others, including Clara Schumann, favored the preservation of conservatism while Richard Wagner and other progressives, including Franz Liszt commandeered the “Music of the Future” or New German School. The New German School of musical thought permitted the combination of music with narrative and pictorial ideas such as poetic, visual and dramatic arts to create units of blended art while traditionalists preferred preservation of the music art traditional aesthetic and rules of engagement.

Interestingly, the Wagner versus Brahm and Tchaikovsky versus The Five discourses were both sparked by a fundamental shift in the elemental composition of music. Richard Wagner and other progressives shifted from traditional music aesthetic to modern music by producing music blended by other arts such as poetry, visual arts, and dramas while conservatives shunned what they viewed as the adulteration of music. The Five, on the other hand, sought to entirely discard traditional western music art influences in favor of a Russian culture centered music art while conservatives like Tchaikovsky opted to maintain those influences. Additionally, all the parties in these debates were primarily influenced by their respective states’ music masters. Wagner, other progressives, Braham and other conservatives revered Ludwig Van Beethoven for his contribution to the music art. Similarly, Tchaikovsky, The Five and most Russian musicians deeply valued the first Russian to achieve international recognition and the father of Russian classical music, Mikhail Glinka. Moreover, both rivalries led to the eventual compromise or relaxation of the stances. For instance, by the 1850s Liszt had reverted to the conservative writing of church Music, and Brahms first orchestral artwork leaned more t German New School rather than traditional styles.

However, the location was not the only difference. The perceived perfection of a stage precipitated the Germanic debate by crucial music artists while a state cultural shift towards nationalism catalyzed the Russian one. In Germany, the sacrifice of musical form in pursuit of description and expression favored by progressives oozed of self-heroism and grandiose as it centered their influences. Contrarily, Russian progressives mainly focused on the cultural influences as opposed to personal influences in their compositions. Ultimately, the culmination of Wagner’s, Liszt’ and others’ efforts resulted in the person based development of the music arts while those of The Five, The Mighty handful and other Russian modern musicians helped forge a robust Russian music identity.

The new school of German musical thought revolutionized the musical arts. The opinion that Beethoven had already perfected music discipline to the maximum where there could be no more improvements, expressed by Wagner and others, catalyzed the innovation of music art creation and production. Progressives adopted the total artwork concept, therefore revolutionizing the music field, by fusing the music and drama arts to produce musical dramas that they perceived as the future of the old forms of opera in Germany. Reflected in Wagner’s ‘The ring of Nibelung production was this new approach. It is a four-cycle opera drama that combined the arts of music and theatre which was marked by the unprecedented use of the leitmotifs.

Meanwhile, the new school Russian music was revolutionary because it was the first time musicians aimed to center Russian culture in their productions exclusively. Despite the war of musical aesthetic putting the best music composers at odds, the birth of Russia’s musical identity from the discourse and eventual compromise justified the means.

The change in Russian musical principles was monumental as it complimented the nationalism movement that followed the Napoleonic Wars. For centuries, French was the principal language spoken by the Russian elite, a way of distinguishing themselves from their lower-ranking counterparts, and the music performed was, predominantly, written by Germans and Italians. However, after Napoleon's defeat, Russia emerged as a political and cultural world power. The cultural crisis that followed sparked debates on the elements constituting Russian culture in fields and disciplines, including the Musical Arts. Moreover, the shift also resulted in the formation of a firm Musical Identity in Russia.

Epitomizing the importance of the changes in musical principles, embraced by progressives in the romantic wars of Germany is the long-running legacy of the works by Liszt, Wagner, and others. These changes influenced future-oriented contemporaries and shaped many ideas and trends. Among the notable contributions of the New German School approach to music is the invention of the symphonic poem, use of leitmotifs in Wagner’s works has influenced, 20th to 21st-century cinema music pieces. Finally, the advancement of harmonies, textures, orchestration tonal progression, the compositions, the writings and the dramatization among others extensively enriched the music arts.

Eventually, the result of demarcation and advancement of classical music and modern music, or nationalist music in Russia’s case, and the rich legacies born due to the lengthy debates validated the processes.