THE ROMANTIC ERA

Music 111/112

The Romantic Era (1815 – 1910)

A period of change; emancipation from values and norms set forth during the Classical era

Changes occurred in music, art, literatureThemesFormsEnsembles

The Classical Era

Strict rules about social and musical norms

Lighter, melodically-charged music Tonality-centres The Romantic era came about as a

rejection of these ideas for a more human, explorative, less contrived state of mind as reflected in their music

Tonality In earlier music, composers deviated from

the tonal centre of a piece and used dissonance only to make the return to the tonic more satisfying

Romantic composers began to reject some of the ideas put forth by Bach and those who came after him on the subject of tonality and harmony: they found that dissonance and tonal ambiguity served the themes they strived to communicate in their music

Themes in Romantic Music The trials and tribulations of unrequited

love The supernatural The pastoral Exoticism/adventure The misunderstood artist The moon Sturm und Drang

Bridging the Gap: Beethoven

Bridging the Gap: Beethoven Beethoven is commonly considered to be

the composer who represents the transition between Classical and Romantic music

Early years: Studied with Haydn which likely informed his earliest compositions

Was referred to as “Mozart’s replacement” : much of his early music exemplifies Mozartian qualities

Master of counterpoint

Beethoven

In his early years, Beethoven was not known for his composition but for his work as a pianist

As his hearing began to deteriorate, Beethoven resolved to focus himself on writing rather than playing

The crisis brought on by his loss of hearing at the turn of the century themes of war, heroism and struggle in his work (Symphony No. 5, for example)

Beethoven Celebrated in his middle period for

combining familiar elements and techniques of Classical music with innovative use of themes, texture, emotion and form.

In spite of his loss of hearing, tackled the largest forms: string quartet and symphonySymphonies 3 – 8AppassionataFidelio

Beethoven In his later years, LvB returned to his study

of early music, further mastering the hybrid of eras he had createdInfluence of early music in Symphony No. 9 –

chorus, vertical harmony evidenthttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sE-sS_1JQZI

Experimentation with form is obviousAddition of choir to Symphony No. 9; extra

movements added or removed from compositions

Even further emotional intensity in works

Beethoven’s Musical Periods

Early

Middle

Late

• Influence of Mozart and Haydn

• Developed ambition as a composer and pianist

• First 2 symphonies; Sonata Pathetique

• Loss of hearing; personal crisis

• “Heroic” period themes• Larger-scale works• Symphonies 3 – 8, Moonlight,

Appassionata sonatas, Fidelio

• Mastery and innovation in all forms

• Return of interest in early music

• Manipulation of forms and themes

Form in Romantic Music

Traditional forms still popularSymphony, opera, concerto, sonata, string

quartet New forms embraced:

lieder, tone poem, symphonic poem, suite, concert overture, song cycle.

Composers manipulating, adding to and taking away from traditional form to serve their purposes

Lieder

German art song explodes on to scene Schubert (over 600 lieder!), Schumann,

Brahms, Strauss, Wolf. Themes of love, nature, death, sadness,

disillusionment. Two forms: strophic or through-

composed Piano as a partner, not an

accompaniment, to voice

Gretchen am Spinnerade

Setting of Goethe’s Faust: Gretchen sits at her spinning wheel contemplating her feelings for Faust.

“My peace of mind has fled My heart is heavy I will never find peace, never again...”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY0eeotSDi8

Program Music

Idea of music having a theme, story or idea behind it becoming increasingly popular

Beethoven’s themed symphonies: No. 3 (Eroica); No. 5 (War); No. 6 (Pastoral)

Berlioz’ Symphonie Fantastique

Liszt and l’idee fixe

Rise of the virtuoso Music lessons becoming more accessible

stronger players

Pianists, violinists and flautists most commonly showcased

In many cases, prominent composers were also technically gifted musicians because they were the only ones capable of playing their own music

Virtuoso concerts

Rise of the conductor The conductor now a full-fledged performer:

equally as celebrated and respected as the musical ensemble

Some composers conducting their own works: Beethoven, Liszt, Boulez

Conductor a necessity as ensemble and scope of dynamics, contrast and expression grow simultaneously

The Industrial Revolution Improvement in the mechanics and quality of

instruments

Advent of the printing press sheet music available to anyone who wanted it Aristocracy no longer the sole patron of music

Musical instruments more readily available to the masses as a result of the revolution and of the rise of the middle class

As a result, musical ensembles grew drastically in size and became of a higher and higher calibre