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The Romantic Period

(1820-1900)
Romanticism in Music
The Romantic period in music extended from about 1820 to 1900. Among the most significant
romantic musicians were: Franz Shubert, Robert Schumann, Clara Wieck Schumann, Frederic Chopin,
Franz Liszt, Felix Mendelssohn, Hector Berlioz, Bedfich Smetana, Antonin Dvorak, Peter Ilych
Tchaikowsky, Johannes Brahms, Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini, and Richard Wagner. The length
of this list-and some important composers have been omitted from it- testifies to the richness and
variety of romantic and to its continuing impact on today's concert and operatic repertoire.
Composers of the romantic period continued to use the musical forms of the preceding classical
era. The emotional intensity associated with romanticism was already present in the work of Mozart
and particularly in that of Beethoven, who greatly influenced composers after him. The romantic
composers' preference for expressive, songlike melody also grew out of the classical style.
Nonetheless, there are many differences between romantic and classical music. Romantic works tend
to have greater ranges of tone color, dynamics, and pitch. Also, the romantic harmonic vocabulary
is broader, with more emphasis on colorful, unstable chords. Romantic music is linked more closely
to the other arts, particularly to literature.
Some romantic composers, such as Mendelssohn and Brahms, created works that were deeply
rooted in classical tradition, others composers, such as Berlioz, Liszt, and Wagner, were more
revolutionary.

Characteristics of Romantic Music

Individuality of style
Romantic music puts unprecedented emphasis on self-expression and individuality of style. There is
"not a bar which I have not truly felt and which is not an echo of my innermost feelings," wrote
Tchaikovsky of his 4th Symphony. A "new world of music" was the goal of the young Chopin. Many
romantics created music that sounds unique and reflects their personalities. Robert Schumann
observed that "Chopin will soon be unable to write anything without people crying out at the seventh
or eighth bar, that is indeed him".

Nationalism and Exoticism

Nationalism was an important political movement that influenced 19th century music. Musical
Nationalism was expressed when romantic composer's deliberately created music with a specific
national identity, using the folk dance songs, dances, legends, and history of their homelands. This
national flavor of romantic music-whether Polish, Russian, Bohemian, or German- contrasts with the
more universal character of classical music.
Fascination with national identity also led composers to draw on colorful materials from foreign lands,
a trend known as musical exoticism. For instance, some composers wrote melodies in an Asian style
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or used rhythms and instruments associated with distant lands. The French composer Georges Bizet
wrote Carmen, an opera set in Spain; the Italian Giacomo Puccini evoked Japan in his Madame
Butterfly; and the Russian Rimsky-Korsakov suggested an Arabian atmosphere in his orchestral work
Shehrazade. Musical exoticism was in keeping with romantics' attraction to things remote,
picturesque, and mysterious.

Expressive Tone Color

Romantic composers reveled in rich and sensuous sound, using tone color to obtain variety of mood
and atmosphere. Never before had timbre been so important.
In both symphonic and operatic works, the romantic orchestra was larger and more varied in tone color
than the classical orchestra. Toward the end of the romantic era, an orchestra might include close to
100 musicians. (There were twenty to sixty players in the classical ensemble.) The brass, woodwind,
and percussion sections of the orchestra took on a more active role. Romantic composers increased the
power of the brass section to something spectacular, calling for trombones, tubas, and more horns and
trumpets. In 1824, Beethoven had broken precedent by asking nine brasses for the ninth symphony; in
1894, the Austrian composer Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) demanded twenty-five brass instruments for
his Second Symphony. The addition valves had made it easier for horns and trumpets to cope with
intricate melodies.
The woodwind section took on new colors as the contrabassoon, bass clarinet, English horn, and
piccolo became regular members of the orchestra. Improvements in the construction of instruments
allowed woodwind players to perform more flexibility and accurately. Orchestral sounds became more
brilliant and sensuously appealing through increased use of cymbals, the triangle, and the harp.
The piano, the favorite instrument of the romantic age, was vastly improved during the 1820s and
1830s.
Expanded Range of Dynamics, Pitch, and Tempo
Romantic music also calls for a wide range of dynamics. It includes sharp contrasts between faint
whispers and sonorities of unprecedented power. The classical dynamic extremes-ff and pp- didn't
meet the needs of romantics, who sometimes demanded ffff and pppp. Seeking more and more
expressiveness, 19th century composers used frequent crescendos and decrescendos, as well as sudden
dynamic changes.
The range of pitches was extended, too, as composers reaches extremely high or low sounds. In search
of increased brilliance and depth of sound, the romantic exploited instruments like the piccolo and
contrabassoon, as well as the expanded keyboard of the piano.
Changes of mood in romantic music are often underlined by accelerandos, ritartandos, and subtle
variations of pace: there are many more fluctuations in tempo than there are in classical music.

Forms: Miniature and Monumental

The 19th century was very much an age of contradictions. Romantic composers characteristically
expressed themselves both in musical miniatures and in monumental compositions. On the one hand
are piano pieces for Chopin and songs for Schubert, that last but a few minutes. Such short forms were
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meant to be heard in the intimate surroundings of a home; they met the needs of the growing number
of people who owned pianos. The romantic genius for creating an intense mood through a melody, a
few chords, or an unusual tone color found a perfect outlet in these miniatures. On the other hand,
there are gigantic works by Berlioz such as Romeo and Juliet symphony which lasts for nearly an hour
and a half, (Haydn’s Symphony No. 95 lasts twenty minutes; and Richard Wagner’s “The Nibelung’s
Ring” which is a work that goes on for four evenings with a huge orchestra including specially
invented instruments, a cast of thirty, and fifteen separate stages.

The principle of Thematic Unity

New techniques were used to unify such long works. The same theme or themes might occur in
several different movements of a symphony, here composers followed the pioneering example of
Beethoven's 5th Symphony, where a theme from the scherzo is quoted within the finale. When a
melody returns in a later movement or section of a romantic work, its character may be transformed by
changes in dynamics, orchestration, or Rhythm- a technique known as thematic transformation.
Different sections or movements of a romantic work can also be linked through transitional passages;
one movement of a symphony or concerto may lead directly into the next movement. Here, again,
Beethoven was the pioneer. And 19th century operas are unified by melodic ideas that reappear in
different acts or scenes, some of which may be tied together by connecting.

Romantic Composers and Their Public

The composer's role in society changed radically during Beethoven's lifetime. In earlier periods, part
of a musician’s jobs had been to compose works for a specific occasion and audience. Thus Bach
wrote cantatas for weekly church services in Leipzig, and Haydn composed symphonies for concerts
in the palaces of the Esterhazy family. But Beethoven, as we have seen, was one of the first great
composers to work as a freelance musician outside the system of aristocratic or church patronage.
The image of Beethoven as a free artist inspired romantic musicians, who often composed to fulfill an
inner need rather than a commission. Romantic composers were interested not only in pleasing their
contemporaries but also in being judged favorably by posterity.
The 19th century public was captivated by virtuosity. Among the musical heroes of the 1830s were:
 The Pianist Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
 The Violinist Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840).
Never before had instrumental virtuosity been so acclaimed. After one concert by Liszt in Budapest,
Hungarian nobles presented him with a jeweled sword, and a crowd of thousands formed a torchlight
parade to escort him to his dwelled.
Private music making also increased during the romantic era. The piano became a fixture in every
middle-class home, and there was great demand for songs and solo piano pieces. Operas and orchestral
works were transcribed, or arranged, so that they could be played on pianos in the home.
Romantic composers came from the social class that was their main audience:
 Berlioz was the son of a doctor.
 Robert Schumann was the son of a bookseller.
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 Mendelssohn was the son of a banker.

The Art Song

One of the distinctive forms in romantic music is the "Art Song", a composition for solo voice and
piano "Lied". Here, the accompaniment is an integral part of the composer's conception, and it serves
as an interpretive partner to the voice. Although they are now performed in concert halls, romantic
songs were written to be sung and enjoyed at home.
Poetry and music are intimately fused in the art song. It is no accident that this form flowered with the
emergence of a rich body of romantic poetry in the early 19th century. Many of the finest song
composers: Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms, for example, were German or Austrian and set poems
in their native language. The German word Lied (word) is commonly used for a song with German
text.
Besides the lied, the other chief type of miniature composition was the short piano piece, such pieces
were written in great profusion in the 19th century, and the appeared under many names. Frederic
Chopin preferred simple genre titles such as Nocturne, Waltz, Scherzo, and etude (Study), Robert
Schumann preferred descriptive titles.
Program Music
The 19th century was the great age of program music, instrumental music associated with a story,
poem, idea or scene. The nonmusical element is usually specified by a title or by explanatory
comments called a program. A programmatic instrumental piece can represent the emotions,
characters, and events of a particularly story, or it can evoke the sounds and motion of nature. For
example, in Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet, an orchestral work inspired by Shakespeare's play,
agitated music depicts the feud between the rival families, a tender melody conveys young love, and a
funeral-march rhythm suggests the lovers' tragic fate. And in the Moldau, an orchestral work
glorifying the main river of Bohemia, Smetana uses musical effects that call to mind a flowing stream,
a hunting scene, a peasant wedding, and the crash of waves.
Program music in some form or another has existed for centuries, but it became particularly prominent
in the romantic period, when music was closely associated with literature. Many composers- Berlioz,
Schuman, Liszt, and Wagner, for example- were prolific authors as well.

Romantic Opera
The 19th century was a golden age of opera, which flourished all over Europe from Germany, France,
and Italy to Bohemia and Russia. This was true in part because opera tied into two important themes.
The first was to the idea of breaking down barriers between the arts. Combining music with poetry and
other forms of literature, and even with philosophy, made perfect sense to composers and their
audiences. The age that produced the lied was also committed to the union of music and drama.
The second Romantic theme was the celebration of music as the most profound of all the arts. Opera
composers and librettists began to ponder the meaning and message of their works; they came to view
opera as a type of serious drama in music, not just a vehicle of song, spectacle, and entertainment, as
has often been the case before.
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Greatest 19th century opera composers

Giuseppe Verdi; Richard Wagner; Gioacchino Rossini; Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848); Carl Maria
von Weber (1786-1826)
 Richard Wagner (1813-1883):
Wagner was, after Beethoven, the most influential of all 19th century composers. His strictly musical
innovations, in harmony and orchestrations, revolutionized instrumental music as well as operas. In
terms of opera, Wagner is famous for his novel concept of the “Total work of Art” and his
development of a special operatic technique, that of the” guiding motive” (leitmotiv).
Leitmotif, German Leitmotiv (“leading motive”), a recurring musical theme appearing usually in
operas but also in symphonic poems. It is used to reinforce the dramatic action, to provide
psychological insight into the characters, and to recall or suggest to the listener extramusical ideas
relevant to the dramatic event. In a purely musical sense the repetition or transformation of the theme
also gives cohesion to large-scale works.
For while Wagner’s music dramas and his theories attracted much excited attention, Verdi’s operas got
many more performances. Then as now, people were inevitably drawn to compare and contrast these
two masters.