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5 - The importance of being correct

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2009

Mary Sue Morrow
Affiliation:
Loyola University, New Orleans
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Summary

Neue Zeitungen von gelehrten Sachen (1766): Christian Ernst Rosenbaum, Sechs Sonaten.

Given the pitiful appearance this composer makes, we didn't know whether to pity or look down on him. We would gladly do the former, if we thought there were any chance that he might improve. But it appears that all hope is in vain, because the chastisement we gave him about his song melodies did so little good that he is now daring to come forth with a half dozen sonatas that are even more miserable than his songs. How empty of ideas! What incorrect phrasing! Now a beat too many, now one too few! And the mistakes in Harmonie! Parallel fifths and octaves everywhere! And what about good modulation, what about the relationship of related keys to the main key? Even the ear of a Hottentot would be able to sense how unnatural most of this is. You stagger about from one key to the next, only to discover in astonishment that the piece, when the page is full, cadences again in the tonic. How masterful! … The only good thing that we can find to say about these sonatas is that they are short and didn't waste more than six sheets of paper.

Wöchentliche Nachrichten (1769): Friedrich Schwindl, Six Simphonies.

[In the first symphony], the first movement was pleasant and passionate; the varied shadings and the modulations were effective. But then came a stiff, sluggish Andante, which did have some movement in the middle voices, but was so nonotonous begining to end that it went nowhere. […]

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German Music Criticism in the Late Eighteenth Century
Aesthetic Issues in Instrumental Music
, pp. 79 - 98
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1997

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  • The importance of being correct
  • Mary Sue Morrow, Loyola University, New Orleans
  • Book: German Music Criticism in the Late Eighteenth Century
  • Online publication: 03 October 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511549427.007
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  • The importance of being correct
  • Mary Sue Morrow, Loyola University, New Orleans
  • Book: German Music Criticism in the Late Eighteenth Century
  • Online publication: 03 October 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511549427.007
Available formats
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The importance of being correct
  • Mary Sue Morrow, Loyola University, New Orleans
  • Book: German Music Criticism in the Late Eighteenth Century
  • Online publication: 03 October 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511549427.007
Available formats
×