Gluck's biography is interesting for understanding the history of the development of classical music. This composer was a major reformer of musical performances, his ideas were ahead of their time and influenced the work of many other composers of the 18th and 19th centuries, including Russians. Thanks to him, the opera acquired a more harmonious appearance and dramatic completeness. In addition, he worked on ballets and small musical compositions - sonatas and overtures, which are also of considerable interest to contemporary performers who willingly include their passages in concert programs.
Adolescence
Gluck's early biography is poorly known, although many scientists are actively exploring his childhood and teenage years. It is authentically known that he was born in 1714 in the Palatinate in the family of a forester and received a home education. Also, almost all historians agree that he already in childhood showed outstanding musical abilities and was able to play musical instruments. However, his father did not want him to become a musician, and sent him to a gymnasium.
However, the future famous composer wanted to connect his life with music and therefore left home. In 1731 he settled in Prague, where he played the violin and cello under the direction of the famous Czech composer and theorist B. Chernogorsky.
Italian period
Gluck's biography can be conditionally divided into several stages, choosing as a criterion the place of his residence, work and active creative activity. In the second half of the 1730s, he came to Milan. At that time, J. Sammartini was one of the leading Italian music authors. Under his influence, Gluck began to write his own compositions. According to critics, during this period of time he mastered the so-called homophonic style - a musical direction, which is characterized by the sound of one main theme, while the rest play a supporting role. The biography of Gluck can be considered extremely rich, since he worked hard and brought a lot of new things to classical music.
Mastering the homophonic style was a very important achievement of the composer, since polyphony dominated the European musical school of the time under consideration. During this period he creates a number of operas (Demetrius, Por and others), which, despite the imitation, bring him fame. Until 1751, he toured with an Italian group until he received an invitation to move to Vienna.
Opera Reform
Christophe Gluck, whose biography should be inextricably linked with the history of the formation of opera, did a lot to reform this musical performance. In the XVII-XVIII centuries, the opera was a magnificent musical spectacle with beautiful music. Much attention was paid not so much to the content as to the form.
Often, composers wrote exclusively for a specific voice, not caring about the plot and semantic load. Glitch strongly opposed such an approach. In his operas, music was subordinated to drama and the individual experiences of the heroes. In his work “Orpheus and Eurydice”, the composer skillfully combined elements of the ancient tragedy with choral numbers and ballet performances. This approach was innovative for its time, and therefore was not appreciated by contemporaries.
Vienna period
One of the greatest composers of the 18th century is Christoph Willibald Gluck. The biography of this musician is important for understanding the formation of the classical school that we know today. Until 1770, he worked in Vienna at the court of Marie Antoinette. It was during this period that his creative principles took shape and received their final expression. Continuing to work in the genre of comic opera, traditional for that time, he created a number of original operas in which he subordinated music to a poetic sense. These include the work "Alcesta", created by the tragedy of Euripides.
In this opera, the overture, which for other composers had an independent, almost entertaining value, acquired a great semantic meaning. Her melody was organically woven into the main plot and set the tone for the whole performance. This principle was guided by his followers and musicians of the 19th century.
Paris stage
The 1770s are considered the most eventful in the biography of Gluck. A brief summary of his story must necessarily include a small description of his participation in the dispute that erupted in Parisian intellectual circles over what the opera should be like. The dispute was between supporters of French and Italian schools.
The former advocated the need to bring drama and semantic harmony into a musical performance, while the latter emphasized vocals and musical improvisations. Glitch defended the first point of view. Following his creative principles, he wrote a new opera based on the play of Euripides "Iphigenia in Tauris." This work was recognized as the best in the work of the composer and strengthened his European fame.
Influence
In 1779, due to a serious illness, the composer Christopher Gluck returned to Vienna. The biography of this talented musician is impossible to imagine without mentioning his latest works. Even being seriously ill, he composed a number of odes and songs for the piano. In 1787 he died. He had many followers. The composer himself considered A. Salieri to be his best student. The traditions laid down by Gluck became the basis of the work of L. Beethoven and R. Wagner. In addition, many other composers imitated him not only in the composition of operas, but also in symphonies. Of the Russian composers M. Glinka highly appreciated the work of Gluck.