What Do We Mean By "Program?"
The term “Program” is liberally used by orchestras, including your Spartanburg Philharmonic. We use concert program to describe the music that is part of a particular performance. Program notes provide our audiences with the historical context of the music, the composer’s biographical details, and their compositional thinking. Finally, our program book is how we publicize the details of concert programs and where audiences can read our program notes. It all seems pretty self-explanatory in context and straightforward enough for even the newest symphony attendees to grasp. But then, where does program music fit?
Program music is a topic covered in most music theory courses but is perhaps unfamiliar to casual classic music enthusiasts or first-time symphony goers. The term is a bit of a departure from concert program or concert notes as program music isn’t used to describe a particular performance or selection of pieces. Instead, it refers to a musical concept used in many classical compositions.
Baker’s Dictionary of Music describes program music as “a class of instrumental compositions intended to represent distinct moods or phases of emotion, or to depict actual scenes of events.” The author, Nicolas Slonimsky, also notes that “perhaps descriptive music would be a more adequate definition,” and in the 19th century, it was often referred to as tone painting. Essentially, with program music, the composer is using music to tell a story. The composer’s inspiration can vary widely - from scenes and personal experiences to poems, legends, or even an idea. It is the musical representation of being #Extra in today’s terms. It allows composers to bring more depth, context, meaning, and often even drama to their music.
Many scholars note that program music was written as early as the 16th and 17th centuries, with William Byrd’s “The Battell” being one of the more familiar pieces. However, the concept became even more popular during the Romantic period when music became progressively more emotionally expressive. Franz Liszt and Richard Strauss are two composers most frequently associated with program music, particularly in the 19th century. Many name Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique as one of the ultimate examples of symphonic program music as it tells a semi-autobiographical story of unrequited love and is composed with a great deal of emotional expression.
It’s difficult to mention program music without mentioning the opposing idea of absolute music. A very simplified definite of absolute, or abstract, music is music for music’s sake. Proponents of absolute music argue that it is “pure,” without the intention to convey a specific idea or emotion, and doesn’t rely on a story or “gimmick” for the audience to appreciate. The concepts of program and absolute music have sparked a philosophical debate among music scholars and theorists for centuries, with composers even effectively weighing in on the conversation. Classical Era composers like Joseph Haydn and Ludwig von Beethoven are often considered to have written programmatic pieces. Beethoven’s 6th Symphony “Pastoral” paints a picture of the sunny, peaceful countryside, complete with bird song - clearly program music, right? Many critics and even Beethoven himself have dismissed the idea saying the “whole work can be perceived without description – it is more an expression of feelings rather than tone-painting,” This is perhaps why program music is not considered its own genre, as it is used in differing degrees depending on the composer and their musical objectives. Baker's Dictionary of Music also notes that “personal references and all kinds of musical aside are found galore in music literature...It must be stated that there is no objective way of determining whether a composition ‘means’ something from just listening to it.” This is where program notes come in - to offer context and insight that can shape your understanding of a piece and sharpen your experience while hearing the music.
Our program notes offer more detail, but Nicolay Rimsky-Korsakov was a prominent composer in the 19th century. His orchestral suite Scheherazade was written at the height of the Romantic era’s fascination with program music and told a fantastic tale. Rimsky-Korsav was inspired by The Thousand and One Nights (or The Arabian Nights), particularly the story of the sultan’s wife, Scheherazade. And although the names of each movement are taken from the original story, Rimsky-Korsakov himself has said that “In composing Scheherazade, I meant these hints to direct but slightly the hearer’s fancy on the path which my own fancy had traveled, and to leave more minute and particular conceptions to the will and mood of each.” So IS Scheherazade program music? Perhaps the answer is truly up to us - the listeners. What captives you most - the music or the story?
We’ll always argue that one of the most beautiful parts of classical music is its power to inspire the most profound emotions. Music hits each person differently depending on their background and life experience. And when layered on top of music-inspired feelings, it creates the most uniquely personal experiences imaginable. So whether you are attending a concert for the story or the art of music itself, let the music create its own meaning just for you, and we promise it will always be worthwhile.
Take A Deeper Dive
Read more about program music from around the ‘net
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