Music Appreciation (Test 3) Essay Example

Music Appreciation (Test 3) Essay Example Music Appreciation (Test 3) Paper Music Appreciation (Test 3) Paper Essay Topic: Poetry What did Liszt create? Symphonic (tone) poem. Symphonice (tone) poem 1 movement orchestral work, flexible form. Program music Instrumental music associated with story, poem, idea, scene. Understanding the music enhanced through reading program or viewing associated work. Nationalism Music with a national identity. Exoticism Intentionally imply foreign culture. Characteristics of Romantic Music Individuality of style, expressive aims and subjects, nationalism and exoticism, program music, expressive tone color, colorful harmony How does nationalism manifest itself in music? They have to create an identity and they have to create that identity through folk songs and dances. Romantic composers Demise of the patronage system. Composers of the free artists (Beethoven). Loss of aristocrats fortune-wars. Urban middle-class audience. Many orchestras, opera groups and music conservatories found. Public captivated by virtuosity. Private music making. Piano in middle-classes homes. Erlkonig (the Erlking), 1815 by Schubert Is an art song. Same music through music composed. Says My Father, My Father and has a stomping horse. Art Song Composition for solo voice. Accompaniment integral part of song. Composers interpret poems, translating, mood, atmosphere, imagery into music. Strophic form and through-composed. Sometimes modified strophic form used (3 stanzas.) Strophic form Repeating same music for each stanza of poem (ex. hymn) Through-composed Writing new music for each stanza. Fraz Schubert (1797-1828) Born in Vienna, early Romantic period. Larger output (600 songs.) Aslo symphonies, string quartets, other chamber music, masses, operas, piano works. Robert Schumann (1810-1856) German, early/mid Romantic composer. Works intensely autobiographical and have descriptive titles, texts, programs. Gifted wroter and music critic. Piano pieces (10 years); 1840 (marries Clara Woeck): art songs. After 1840: symphonies and chamber music. Clara Wieck Schumann (1819-1896) German pianist; premiered works by husband Robert and friend Johannes Brahms. Also plauyed works by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven/ Important female composer (stopped at age 36.) Considered herself primarily performer. Wrote songs, piano pieces. Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) Polish born musician; to Paris at 21. Perferred intimate settings, not concert halls. Piano teacher to daughters of the rich. Pieces are exquisite miniatures. Mazurkas and polonaises-capture Polish spirit. Singing piano tone (pedals, ornaments.) Nocture (night piece) E flat major, Op. 9, no.2 by Chopin (1830-31). Slow, lyrical, intimate piece for piano. Note: expressive, emotional presentation with subtle shifts in tempo and dynamics. Tempo changes (rebato.) In the Romantic period what is used or spoke about? Nature, Shakespeares plays, fantasys and supernatural, etc. Expand and contrast in what period? Romanticism Etude in C minor, op. 10, no.12 by Chopin Study piece for left hand. Franz Liszt Hungarian composer, pianist. At 36, became court conductor at Weimar. Later wrote oratoriors and masses in Rome. New ways to exploit piano. Daring leaps, rapid octaves, run, dynamic range. Inspired by Goethe and Dante. Typifies romantic movement stupendous performer, innovative composer, charismatic personality. Transcendental Etude No.10 in F minor By Liszt. virtuosic piano piece. Difficult left-handed passages. ABA- coda form. Pianist Boris Berezovksy performing live at International Piano Competition July 2002. Non program music Called absolute music. Program Symphony Multi-movement orchestral work Incidental music For use before or during a play Hector Berlioz French, Mid-Romantic composer. Symphonie Fantastique (1830) started Parisians (autobiographical, orchestration, depiction of diabolical.) Unconventional music irritated establishment. Music journalist/critic. One of the first great conductors. Berliozs music Passionate and unpredictable (contrasts.) Imaginative, innovative orchestrations. Most works for orchestra (some add chorus, vocal soloists)- dramatic and programmatic. Symphonie fantastique (fantastic symphonie) By Berlioz. Program symphonie. Czech nationlism. The Moldau By Smetana. Symphonic poem depicting the main river that flows through the Bohemian (Czech) countryside. Example of nationalism in music. Note: Program material and how composer related to the music. Strongest impact in countries dominated by music of? Germany, Austria, Italy, and France. 19th century American music Americans embody Romantic characteristics. Unlike writers/ artists American composers look to Europe (Germany) for inspiration/instruction. Choral societies: 1815- Boston Handel and Haydn Society. Rural folk music. Secular music. Lowell Mason Reform American music (sound more European.) Hymn writer. Music education. Star Spangles Banner Written by Francis Key Scott during War of 1812. Patriotic music. Romantic text to British drinking song by John Stafford Smith. Minstrel show Most popular entertainment before civil war. Imitation of songs, dances, dialect of stereotypical African-Americans. James A. Bland First well-known black songwriter. Stephen Foster Composer of minstrel songs, songs about love, home. Nonsense songs; Oh, Susanna.MyOld Kentucky Home- Ky state song Concert music by Viruosis European soloists tour U.S. Jenny Lind.: Swedish song. Ole Bull: Norwegian composer/violinist. Louis Moreau Gottschalk American vituoso pianist, born in New Orleans. Studied in France (11 years); impressed Chopin. Most remembered for piano music. Le Bananier (The Banana Tree) Theme and Variations. 19th Century American music. 1798: United States Marine Band established. Americas oldest continuosly active professional musical organization. Originally 32 drums/fifes130 musicians today. Who comes after Smetana for Czech nationalist? Wagner New Earl Symphony Wagner Two Italian composers Puccini and Verdi Who did Brahms use to put his twist on things? Beethoven, Mozart, and Haydn John Philip Sousa Violinist, father in Maine Band. Director of Marine Band 1880-1892, 5 presidents. Formed own band, toured, international reputation. American March King: 136 marches. Verismo (realism) Artistic trend in 1890s, ordinary people and true to life situations. Brahms 3rd Symphony: what is he known for? Lyrist and melodies La Boheme by Pucinni. Opera set in Paris. Act 1: Scene with Rodolfo (poet) and Mimi (seamstress). Love duet. Note; Dialogue is more realistic. Tempo shifts accentuate music and text. Richard Wagner German mid/late Romantic composer. At age 15, overwhelmed by Beethovens music. Famous as opera composer and conductor. Nationalist: wrote librettos on Germanic legends and myths. Larger scale operas (music dramas.) Die Walkure (The Valkyrie) by Wagner. Act 1: Love scene, conclusion. Note; Huge production, large orchestrations. Big powerful voices required. Secral leitmotifs (Valhalla, love, sword, spring.) 20th Century Developments Violence and prgress are hallmarks. Rapid technology and science advancement. Rapid, radical changes in arts. Shock becomes a goal. Modern dance; cubism, abstract painting. Contradictory styles/tendencies coexist. Characteristics of 20th century music Tone color is more important. Unusual playing techniques for sound effects. Glissando- rapid slide up or down a scale. Also flutter tongue, col legno, extended notes. Percussion use greatly expanded. New instruments added/created; noisemakers. Piano as percussion instrument. Less emphasis on blended sound. Unusual groupings of instruments in small ensembles. Harmony- harmony and treatment of this have changed. Rhythm- expanded, irregularity and unpredicatability, shifting meters and irregular meters. Melody- no longer tied to traditional chords, major/minor keys. Polychord Two traditional chords sounding at the same time. Quartal/quintal harmony tones are a fourth/fifth apart instead of a third. Third cluster chord made up of tones only a half step or whole step apart. Polytonality Use of two keys at once. Atonality Absense of tonality or key. 12 tone system Systematic approach to atonal composition. Equal prominence to each 12 chromatic tones. Ostinato Motive or phrase repeated persistently at same pitch throughout a section. Polyrhythm Two or more constructing, independent rhythms at the same time. French Impressionist Painting Concern with effects of light, color. Atmospher- with impermanence, change, fluidity. French Symbolish Poetry Perferred to suggest (symbolize their ropics. Basis for many impressionist musical works. Claude /debussy French Impressionist composer. Influences: Inspired by literary/pictoral ideas. Music sounds free/spontaneous, improvised. Impressionism: stress on tone color, atmosphere, fluidity in music. Orchestra used as pallet of sounds, not tutti. Expanded harmonic vocabulary, practice. Obscured harmony, tempo, meter, rhythm, form. Prà ©lude lAprà ¨s-midi dun faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun) Claude Debussy. Free illustration of a poem by Mallarme. Impressionist program music. ABA with continuos flow. Note: Use of solo instruments disguished meter. Extended harmonic style. Arnold Schoenberg born in Vienna, self taught musician. Teacher of Alban Berg, Anton Webern. Moved to U.S (UCLA) Schoebergs music 1908: Antonality. 12 tones used without regard to traditional relationships. Dissonances do not resolve to consonances. Sprechstimme. The 12-tone system. Antonality Music with no key center. Sprechstimme Vocal style halfway between speaking and singing. The 12-tone system Equal importance to all 12 tones. Pitches arranged in a tone row, series, pr set. Row is the source of every melody and chord. Composition is built by manipulating the tone row. A survivor from Warsaw By Arnold Schoenberg. Cantata for narrator, male chorus, and orchestra. Tells story of Nazi treatment and murder oj Jews in occupied Poland. Note: Sprechstimme- song/speech style12 tone technique, English and German text with Hebrew prayer, and Expressionist music and text-shocking. Anton Webern Born in Vienna, student of Schoenberg. Music riducled during lifetime, influential later. Atonal, then 12-tone composition. Melodies built of tone colors, atomized into 2 or 3 note fragments. Five Pieces for Orchestra Third Piece by Anton Webern. Note: Traditional melody placed by tone color melodies. Dynamics never get above pp. Less relying on expectation in what Century? 20th Romanticism, as a stylistic period in western art music, encompassed the years? 1820-1900 Which of the following is not characteristic of romanticism? An emphasis on balance and clarity of structures. Of all the inspirations for romantic art, none was more important than? Nature. Drawing creative inspiration from cultures of lands foreign to the composer is known as? Exoticism. Program music is? Instrumental music associated with a story, poem, idea, or scene. The deliberate intent to draw creative inspiration from the composers own homeland is known as? Nationalism. The orchestra in the romantic period was? Larger and more varied in tone color than the classical orchestra. A slight slowing down or speeding up of the tempo, characteristically employed in the performance of much romantic music, is? Rubato. Which of the following statements is not true? Romantic musicians often composed to execute a commission or meet the demands of an aristocratic or church patron. The composer whose career was a model for many romantic composers was? Ludwig van Beethoven. A very important musical part of every middle-class home during the romantic period was the? Piano. An art song is a musical composition for? Solo voice and piano. When the same music is repeated for each stanza of a poem, the form is known as? Strophic. When a composer writes new music for each stanza of a poem, the form is known as? Through-composed. Schuberts songs number more than? 600. Schubert was eighteen years old when he composed the song Erlkà ¶nig, set to a poem by? Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The form of The Erlking is? Through-composed. The Erlking, in Schuberts song of that name, is a romantic personification of? Death. The pianos relentless rhythm in Erlkà ¶nig (The Erlking) unifies the episodes of the song and suggests the? Galloping horse. How does Schubert portray a galloping horse in the piano introduction? Fast repeated notes. In the first section we hear the narrator describing the father riding on the horse, his sick child in his arms. Then after a brief piano passage, the father sings (beginning with the words Mein Sohn..) and is answered by his son. How does Schubert distinguish between father and son in the music? The father sings lower pitches. In this section we hear The Erlking sing for the first time. What is different about his music? All three are different. during the next section of the song you will hear the son cry out Mein Vater, Mein Vater three times. How do these three cries differ? Each is higher in pitch. In this final section the narrator tells the end of the story. We hear the horse slow down as the father arrives at his destination. How does the piano accompany the dramatic ending line In seinen armen das Kind war todt (in his arms the child was dead)? 3 chords. During the first ten years of his creative life, Robert Schumann published only? Piano pieces. Clara Wieck Schumann frequently performed the works of her husband and of her close friend? Johannes Brahms A leading pianist of the nineteenth century, Clara Wieck Schumann? Did some composing, but considered herself primarily a performer. Romanze (romance) in the nineteenth century was often used for a(n)? Short, lyrical piece for piano or solo instrument with piano accompaniment. Chopin expressed his love of Poland by composing polonaises and? Mazurkas. While in Paris, Chopin? Earned a good living by teaching piano to the daughters of the rich. Most of Chopins pieces? Are exquisite miniatures. A slow, lyrical, intimate composition for piano, associated with evening and night time, is the? nocturne. A study piece, designed to help a performer master specific technical difficulties, is known as? An etude. Which of the following statements is not true? Chopins piano à ©tudes, compositions designed to help a performer master specific technical difficulties, are primarily technical exercises without much musical value. As a youth, Franz Liszt was influenced by the performances of? Niccolà ² Paganini. Until the age of thirty-six, Franz Liszt toured Europe as a virtuoso? Pianoist. Liszt abandoned his career as a traveling virtuoso to become court conductor at __________, where he championed works by contemporary composers. Weimar. Liszts piano works are characterized by? An unprecedented range of dynamics, rapid octaves and daring leaps, and arpeggios Liszt typified the romantic movement because he? Had a charismatic personality, was a stupendous performer, and was an innovative composer. Liszt created the ______________, a one-movement orchestral composition based to some extent on a literary or pictorial idea. Symphonic poem. The Stars and Stripes Forever by? J.P. Sousa Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, I Dvork. Adagio. Allegro Molto. Le Sacre du printemps, Part I, Introduction Stravinsky Concerto for Orchestra Bartok. A ____________ is an instrumental composition in several movements based to some extent on a literary or pictorial idea. Program symphony A ________________ is a one-movement orchestral composition based to some extent on a literary or pictorial idea. Symphonic poem. The composer who developed the symphonic poem was? Franz Liszt. Music intended to be performed before and during a play to set the mood for scenes or highlight dramatic action is known as? Incidental music. In order to support his family, Berlioz turned to? Musicial journalism. Outside France, Berlioz enjoyed a great career as a(n)? Conductor. Berlioz was extraordinarily imaginative in treating the orchestra, creating ____________ never before heard. Tone colors. The contrasting episodes of Berliozs Fantastic Symphony are unified by the recurrence of a theme known as the? Idà ©e fixe. The fourth movement of Berliozs Fantastic Symphony depicts a? March to the scaffold. The citizens sense of national identify and patriotic feelings were intensified by? Romanticism, which glorified love for ones national heritage, common bonds of language, culture, and history. Also military resistance to Napoleon. Composers expressed musical nationalism in their music by? Using the rhythms of the dances of their homelands, using their national legends as subject matter, and basing their music on the folk songs of their country. Which of the following statements is not true? The strongest impact of musical nationalism was felt in Italy, France, Germany, and Austria. The founder of Czech national music was? BedÃ…â„¢ich Smetana. Even though Smetana was deaf at the time, he composed a musical work depicting Bohemias main river as it flows through the countryside. The name of the river, and the musical composition, is the? Moldau. Verdis first great success, an opera with strong political overtones, was? Nabucco. Critics were often scandalized by the subject matter of Verdis operas because they? Seemed to condone rape, suicide, and free love. Giuseppe Verdi mainly composed his operas to? Entertain a mass public. The soul of a Verdi opera is? Expressive vocal melody. Verdis later operas differ from his earlier ones in that they have? Less difference between aria and recitative, greater musical continuity, and more imaginative orchestrations. An artistic trend of the 1890s, in which operas dealt with ordinary people and true-to-life situations, was known as? Verismo. Some of Puccinis operas feature exoticism, as in his use of melodic and rhythmic elements derived from Japanese and Chinese music in his operas? Madame Butterfly and Turandot. Giacomo Puccinis opera La Bohà ¨me takes place in? Paris. In Puccinis La Bohà ¨me, Rodolfo is a young? Poet. Mimi and Rodolfo meet for the first time in La Bohà ¨me because she has come to his door to ask for a? Light for her candle. Who sings the aria Che gelida manina (What a cold little hand) in La Bohà ¨me? Rodolfo. The composer who had an overwhelming influence on the young Wagner was? Ludwig van Beethoven. The librettos to The Ring of the Nibelung were written by? Wagner himself. A short musical idea associated with a person, object, or thought, used by Richard Wagner in his operas, is called? Leitmotif. Valhalla, in Wagners Ring cycle, is? Wotans castle. At the end of the first act of Wagners opera Die Walkà ¼re, what happens? Sieglinde recognizes the stranger as her brother and renames him Siegmund, Siegmund draws the magical sword Nothung from the tree, and Siegmund embraces Sieglinde with passionate fervor. Which of the following statements is not true? Twentieth-century music follows the same general principles of musical structure as earlier periods. The most famous riot in music history occurred in Paris in 1913 at the first performance of? Igor Stravinskys The Rite of Spring. Composers in the twentieth century drew inspiration from? Folk and popular music from all cultures, the music of Asia and Africa, and European art music from the Middle Ages through the nineteenth century. In twentieth-century music, what? String players are sometimes called on to use the wood instead of the hair on their bows, percussion instruments have become very prominent and numerous, and dissonance has been emancipated. The glissando, a technique widely used in the twentieth century, is? A rapid slide up or down a scale. In modern music, what? Instruments are played at the very top or bottom of their ranges, uncommon playing techniques have become normal, and noiselike and percussive sounds are often used. The combination of two traditional chords sounding together is known as? A polychord. A chord made of tones only a half step or a whole step apart is known as? A tone cluster. To create fresh sounds, twentieth-century composers used? Scales borrowed from nonwestern cultures, scales they themselves invented, and ancient church modes. The technique of using two or more tonal centers at the same time is called? Polytonality. The absence of key or tonality in a musical composition is known as? Atonality. The use of two or more contrasting and independent rhythms at the same time is known as? Polyrhythm. Ostinato refers to a? Motive or phrase that is repeated persistently at the same pitch throughout a section. Radio broadcasts of live and recorded music began to reach large audiences during the? 1920s. The first opera created for television was Gian-Carlo Menottis? Amahl and the Night Visitors. Impressionist painting and symbolist poetry as artistic movements originated in? France. The most important impressionist composer was? Claude Debussy. Which of the following characteristics is not usually associated with impressionism? Clearly delineated forms. Debussys music tends to? Sound free and almost improvisational. Impressionism in music is characterized by? A stress on tone color, atmosphere, and fluidity. A scale made up of six different notes each a whole step away from the next is called a ________ scale. Whole-tone. The poem that inspired the Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun was written by? Stà ©phane Mallarmà ©. The faun evoked in Debussys famous composition is a? Creature who is half man, half goat. The neoclassical movement in music roughly encompassed the years? 1920-1950. Which of the following is not characteristic of neoclassicism? Misty atmosphere. Neoclassical compositions are characterized by? Forms and stylistic features of earlier periods. Neoclassicism was a reaction against? Romanticism and impressionism. Stravinskys life took a sudden turn in 1909, when he met the director of the Russian Ballet, which is who? Sergei Diaghilev. The immense success of Stravinskys 1910 ballet ________ established him as a leading young composer. The Firebird. The famous riot in 1913 was caused by the first performance of Stravinskys ballet? The Rite of Spring Stravinskys enormous influence on twentieth-century music is due to his innovations in? Rhythm, harmony, and tone color. During the period about 1920 to 1951, Stravinsky drew inspiration largely from? Eighteenth-century music. In the 1950s Stravinsky dramatically changed his style to favor? The twelve-tone system. The deliberate evocation of primitive power through insistent rhythms and percussive sounds is known as? Primitivism. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring) is an example of? Primitivism. Igor Stravinskys Rite of Spring is scored for? An enormous orchestra. The expressionist movement in music and art flourished in the years? 1905-1925. The twentieth-century artistic movement that stressed intense, subjective emotion was called? Expressionism. Expressionism as an artistic movement was largely centered in? Germany and Austria. Which of the following statements is not true? Expressionist artists favored pleasant subjects, delicate pastel colors, and shimmering surfaces. Expressionism is an art concerned with? Social protest. The expressionists rejected? Conventional prettiness. Expressionist composers did what? Avoided tonality and traditional chord progressions. Schoenbergs teacher was? Himself. Alban Berg and Anton Webern were Arnold Schoenbergs? Students. When Schoenberg arrived in the United States after the Nazis seized power in Germany, he obtained a teaching position at? UCLA Schoenberg developed an unusual style of vocal performance, halfway between speaking and singing, called? Sprechstimme. The ordering of the twelve chromatic tones in a twelve-tone composition is called a? Series, tone row, and set. The text of A Survivor from Warsaw was/is? Written by Schoenberg, is partly based on a direct report of a survivor of the Warsaw ghetto, and is set to a kind of speech-singing. A Survivor from Warsaw used three languages: English, German, and? Hebrew. Alban Bergs most famous work is his opera? Wozzeck. Weberns melodic lines are? atomized into two- or three-note fragments. Weberns Five Pieces for Orchestra are scored for? A chamber orchestra of eighteen soloists. A great twentieth-century composer who was also a leading scholar of the folk music of his native land was? Bà ©la Bartà ³k. Bà ©la Bartà ³ks principal performing medium was? The piano. From 1907 to 1934 Bà ©la Bartà ³k taught __________ at the Budapest Academy of Music, and gave recitals throughout Europe. Piano. Bà ©la Bartà ³k was a leading authority on? Peasant music. Bà ©la Bartà ³k evolved a completely individual style that fused folk elements with? Changes of meter and a powerful beat, twentieth-century sounds, and classical forms. While not rejecting any influence, Bà ©la Bartà ³k emphasized that the strongest influence on his music was? Hungarian. While remaining within the framework of a tonal center, Bà ©la Bartà ³k often used _________ in his music. Harsh dissonances, polychords, and tone clusters. Bà ©la Bartà ³ks Concerto for Orchestra is or did what? Is his most popular work, received its title because it was written for an orchestra of virtuosi, and is romantic in spirit because of its emotional intensity, memorable themes, and vivid contrasts of mood.

A Ginkgo Trees Profile and Planting Tips

A Ginkgo Trees Profile and Planting Tips Ginkgo is nearly pest-free and is resistant to storm damage. Young trees are often very open but they fill in to form a denser canopy as they mature. It makes a durable street tree where there is enough overhead space to accommodate the large size. Ginkgo tolerates most soil, including compacted, and alkaline, and grows slowly 75 feet or more tall. The tree is easily transplanted and has a vivid yellow fall color which is second to none in brilliance, even in the south. However, leaves fall quickly and the fall color show is short.  See Ginkgo Photo Guide. Quick Facts Scientific name: Ginkgo bilobaPronunciation: GINK-go bye-LOE-buhCommon name(s): Maidenhair Tree, GinkgoFamily: GinkgoaceaeUSDA hardiness zones:: 3 through 8AOrigin: native to AsiaUses: Bonsai; wide tree lawns; recommended for buffer strips around parking lots or for median strip plantings in the highway; specimen; sidewalk cutout (tree pit); residential street tree; tree has been successfully grown in urban areas where air pollution, poor drainage, compacted soil, and/or drought are commonAvailability: generally available in many areas within its hardiness range. Form Height: 50 to 75 feet.Spread: 50 to 60 feet.Crown uniformity: irregular outline or silhouette.Crown shape: round; pyramidal.Crown density: denseGrowth rate: slow Ginkgo Trunk and Branches Description Trunk/bark/branches: droop as the tree grows, and will require pruning for vehicular or pedestrian clearance beneath the canopy; showy trunk; should be grown with a single leader; no thorns.Pruning requirement: needs little pruning to develop except during the early years. The tree has a strong structure.Breakage: resistantCurrent year twig color: brown or gray Foliage Description Leaf arrangement: alternateLeaf type: simpleLeaf margin: top lobed Pests This tree is pest-free and considered resistant to gypsy moth. The Ginkgos Stinky Fruit Female plants are wider-spreading than the males. Only male plants should be used as the female produces foul smelling fruit in late autumn. The only way to select a male plant is to purchase a named  cultivar  including ‘Autumn Gold’, ‘ Fastigiata’, ‘Princeton Sentry’, and ‘Lakeview’ because there is no reliable way to select a male plant from a seedling until it fruits. It could take as long as 20 years or more for Ginkgo to fruit. Cultivars There are several cultivars: ‘Autumn Gold’- male, fruitless, bright gold fall color and rapid growth rate‘Fairmont’ - male, fruitless, upright, oval to pyramidal form‘Fastigiata’ - male, fruitless, upright growth‘Laciniata’ - leaf margins deeply divided‘Lakeview’ - male, fruitless, compact broad conical form‘Mayfield’ - male, upright fastigiate (columnar) growth‘Pendula’ - pendent branches‘Princeton Sentry’ - male, fruitless, fastigiate, narrow conical crown for restricted overhead spaces, popular, 65 feet tall, available in some nurseries‘Santa Cruz’ - umbrella-shaped, ‘Variegata’ - variegated leaves. Ginkgo in Depth The tree is easy to care for and require only occasional water and a little high-nitrogen fertilizer that will stimulate the growth of its unique leaf. Apply the fertilizer in late fall to early spring. The tree should be pruned in late winter to early spring. Ginkgo may grow extremely slow for several years after planting, but will then pick up and grow at a moderate rate, particularly if it receives an adequate supply of water and some fertilizer. But do not overwater or plant in a poorly-drained area. Be sure to keep turf several feet away from the trunk to help trees become established. Very tolerant of urban soils and pollution, Ginkgo could be used more in USDA hardiness zone 7 but is not recommended in central and southern Texas or Oklahoma due to summer heat. Adapted for use as a street tree, even in confined soil spaces. Some early pruning to form one central leader is essential. There is some support for the trees medical use. Its seed has been recently been used as both a memory and concentration enhancer with some positive effects on Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, Ginkgo biloba has also been suggested as relieving many disease symptoms but  has never been approved by the   FDA as anything but an herbal product.