The Musical Memes of the Mannheim School 

I find it criminal how underrated you are!

Thanks for this. I don't know as much about Manheim as I ought to, but I feel like most (all?) of these techniques were anticipated in the high baroque. For example, Vivaldi did birds in Il Gardelino and La Primavera. Plenty of late Baroque operas, oratorios, and passions are going to have those sighing motifs (but see also the 2nd movement of the 2nd Brandenberg concerto which has them in almost every measure). Ternary sonata form seems to be more descended from operatic arias that were typically in Da Capo form, rather than from dance-inspired binary form. And see Vivaldi again for "rollers" and "rockets" (his recorder concerto in F, Tempesta di Mare, comes to mind, as well as the Four Seasons). An added 4th-movement minuet that alternates with other formats, can be seen in the first Brandenberg. It seems to me that perhaps Manheim takes what might be quirky Baroque rhetorical devices, and turns them into cliches.

Examples of Mannheim memes in Telemann: Rocket in Sarabande of Orchestral Suite La Bizarre TWV 55:G2 composed in 1720 Sighs in first and third movements Concerto in G Major (oboe/flute) TWV51:G2 composed in 1712 Birds are frequently in his music, examples in Table Music and Trio Sonata, TWV 42:G6 composed in 1739 Roller for example in Concerto for Recorder and Flute, TWV 52:e1 composed in 1712

As a musician, lots of these are very familiar to me. It is great to now know where they originated. Great video!

Please give us more Mannheim memes!!

Thanks for sharing! I had heard of Mannheim and knew that it was relatively influential yada yada, but I never realized just how influential it was to music as we know it today. Thanks Stamitz!

This is masterly done

Great video. Years back, I happened on a bargain basement CD of Stamitz and Richter and a few other associated Mannheim composers. I didn't know there were so many Mannheim memes, and I'm very grateful their careful exposition here. But I did discover the Mannheim rocket back then, and there are so many examples of that my ear has identified since. The Mannheim works are lovely in their own right, real earworms, like many from the Baroque period. Thank you to Stamitz, Richter and their colleagues, who sowed pioneering seeds that so many have cultivated since, blessing us all.

Wow, i loved this one. One of your best videos

excellent video, as always!

Just found your channel and have really been enjoying your videos!...This was very well done and I am glad to see this great period/place in music history get more attention than the mere footnote status it has had...they are also responsible for the dramatic (grand) pause...plus crescendos with a subito piano release...and the full orchestral crescendo and diminuendo effects were also highly influential on later composers, especially Rossini...please keep these great videos coming and I can't wait to explore your channel further

your officially famous enough for my teacher to show you in class

Excellent discussion!

I was just performing in a Mannheim themed concert this evening. We played Richter and Johann Stamitz. Really not known music at all, but i agree woth this video. But whilst much of it is absolutely fairly simple, it is definitely music that doesnt take itself seriously, abd its quite fun and fresh. But you can hear the composers experimenting with new ways of composing, but not quite working out how to do it really well.

Loved this video

Yessss!!!! Another quality vid!! Thanks

When I studied it in school we only talked about the rocket but there is so much more… Im impressed, thanks for this !

Great work

Terrific video!

Fantastic video!

such a great video!

"Memes, Jack: the music of the soul." I wonder if there still could have been a Second Viennese School even without the first? Considering they weren't on-board with tonal stuff like Mannheim. :P

You def deserve more views

I'm waiting for a discussion of the renowned "Mannheim Steamroller" stylistic nuance, wherein the pop sensibilities of synth, drums and bass guitar steamroll the orchestral arrangements. 😁

I once heard a funny piece of 18th century music around 6 years ago by a less famous composer and I can't remember who it was. I think it was a symphony, and it was in major, in duple or quadruple meter, about 120 beats per minute, and it opening with a subject in the upper strings that I now realize is the Mannheim birds, and it would get faster and faster. It has still stuck with me all this time and I've never been able to find it again!

I didn't know the origins of these musical memes, thanks! May I ask you the sources you used for these informations about the Mannheim school? Again, great video!

Were the sons of Bach also associated and influenced by the Mannheim school?

8:30 the score is probably from a different section of the piece than the audio excerpt. They don't match.

very interesting, I only knew about the Mannheim Rocket. does anyone know more pieces with this? I'm trying to make a collection :d

6:11 Mannheim Rocket

06:13 Manheim Rocket examples

Germany? I used to live halfway between Manheim and Heidelberg on the Nekar river.

I'm very upset I clicked on this thinking it's about how Manhheim Steamroller is a meme band. 😂

nice

Can Mannheim Rockets also go in descending motion? Example, CPE Bach, Concerto in A, Wq 168. (H 438)

I thought the Mannheim rocket was typical for starting a piece? Do you know examples at the beginnings of works by Stamitz?

O KURWA RAKETA!!!!

Is there another name for classical "memes"? I thought those are usually called "motives" or "motifs".