(MRCP) Romantic Period Music Lesson

Romantic Period Music Lesson

Romantic Period Music is a term describing a style of Western classical music that occurred between 1820 and 1900.

Romanticism does not necessarily refer to romantic love, though that theme was prevalent in many works composed during this time period in literature, painting, and music. Romanticism followed a path that led to the expansion of formal structures for a composition set down or at least created in their general outlines in earlier periods, and the end result is that the pieces are "understood" to be more passionate and expressive, both by 19th century and today's audiences. Because of the expansion of form (those elements pertaining to form, key, instrumentation and the like) within a typical composition, and the growing expressiveness of the new composers from the new century, it thus became easier to identify an artist based on his work or style.

Romantic music attempted to increase emotional expression and power to describe deeper truths or human feelings, while preserving the formal structures from the classical period. In other cases, new musical forms were created that were deemed better suited to the new subject matter. The subject matter in the new music was now not only purely abstract, but also frequently drawn from other art-form sources such as literature, or history (historical figures) or nature itself.

The effects of Romanticism in music were many and some of them were:

A freedom in form and design; a more intense personal expression of emotion in which fantasy, imagination and a quest for adventure play an important part.
Emphasis on lyrical, songlike melodies; adventurous modulation; richer harmonies, often chromatic, with striking use of discords.
Greater sense of ambiguity: especially in tonality or harmonic function, but also in rhythm or meter.
Denser, weightier textures with bold dramatic contrasts, exploring a wider range of pitch, dynamics and tone-colors.
Expansion of the orchestra, sometimes to gigantic proportions; the invention of the valve system leads to development of the brass section whose weight and power often dominate the texture.
Rich variety of types of piece, ranging from songs and fairly short piano pieces to huge musical canvasses with lengthy time-span structures with spectacular, dramatic, and dynamic climaxes.
Closer links with other arts lead to a keener interest in program music (music that tells a story).
Shape and unity brought to lengthy works by use of recurring themes (sometimes transformed/developed
Greater technical virtuosity - especially from pianists, violinists and flautists.
The idea of instrumental music composed without reference to anything other than itself.
The elevation of the performer as genius as demonstrated through the virtuosity of Paganini and Liszt.

Important Composers

A list of composers as seen in the presentation are below for your reference:

Ludwig van Beethoven - German regarded by many as the first Romantic era composer, famous for his nine symphonies, thirty-two piano sonatas, sixteen string quartets, ten violin sonatas and piano trios. Beethoven bridged the Classical Period to the Romantic Period so he can be considered a part of both eras of music.
Niccolò Paganini - Italian composer and virtuoso violinist, wrote the 24 Caprices for violin, five concerti for violin, string quartets and works for violin and guitar.
Franz Schubert - Austrian composer, regarded as the first significant lieder writer, also known for his chamber music, piano works and symphonies.
Gioachino Rossini - Italian prolific opera composer, best known for The Barber of Seville and overtures to various other operas.
Hector Berlioz - French composer famous for his programmatic symphony, the Symphonie Fantastique.
Johann Strauss II - Austrian composer known as "The Waltz King", composed The Blue Danube and opera Die Fledermaus
Felix Mendelssohn - German conductor, music-director, composer and pianist, known for his Violin Concerto and the Wedding March from A Midsummer Night's Dream, also wrote five symphonies including the Symphony No. 4, Italian, and several piano pieces, including the famous Songs without Words.
Robert Schumann - German composer and pianist, a significant lieder writer, a prolific composer, wrote many short piano pieces, four symphonies, concerti and chamber music.
Franz Liszt - Hungarian composer and a virtuoso pianist, wrote a number of tone poems and extended piano technique, famous for his Hungarian Rhapsodies and other solo piano works, one of the most influential and distinguished pianist composers of the Romantic era.
Giuseppe Verdi - Italian major opera composer, best known for Nabucco, Rigoletto, La Traviata and Aida.
Richard Wagner - German major opera composer (Der Ring des Nibelungen, Lohengrin, Tristan und Isolde, Parsifal among others), also famous for the widely used Bridal Chorus in marriages.
Johannes Brahms - German composer; his most influential works include the four symphonies, Violin Concerto (Brahms), two piano concertos, and Double Concerto in A minor for Violin, Cello and Orchestra (1887), aside from his other orchestral works, numerous chamber music and piano music pieces and lieder.
Georges Bizet - French composer of the opera Carmen.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Russian composer, known for his ballets (The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, "Sleeping Beauty"), his operas (Eugene Onegin), the 1812 Overture, his First Piano Concerto, his Violin Concerto and his symphonies.
Antonín Dvořák - Czech composer, known for the "New World" Symphony.
Edvard Grieg - Norwegian composer known for his Piano Concerto, Lyric Pieces for the piano, and incidental music to Peer Gynt.
Edward Elgar - English composer, known for his Enigma Variations, Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos for violin and cello, two symphonies, and oratorio The Dream of Gerontius.
Giacomo Puccini - Italian major opera composer, known for his verismo style operas including La bohème, Madama Butterfly, Tosca, and Turandot.
Claude Debussy - French composer, one of the most prominent figures working within the field of Impressionist music, known for his compositions Clair de Lune (from Suite bergamasque), Deux Arabesques, and many others.
Richard Strauss - German composer, known for Also sprach Zarathustra ("Thus Spoke Zarathustra"), wrote many tone poems, operas and lieder.
Sergei Rachmaninoff - Russian composer, conductor and virtuoso pianist, wrote three symphonies, four piano concertos, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and solo piano music.
Frederic Chopin - Polish composer and virtuoso pianist, his output includes nocturnes, ballades, scherzos, etudes, and a number of Polish dances such as mazurkas, polonaises, and waltzes (including the Minute Waltz).

Be sure to view the video presentation below before moving forward in the module. Then take the quiz below.

Important Composers Quiz

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