Romanticism and Music By: Meghan, Britt, Carly, and Erica

How is Romanticism displayed in music? Emphasis on emotion and great freedom of form Romanticism also emphasized: – the individual – the subjective – the irrational – the imaginative – the personal – the spontaneous – the visionary – the transcendental

How is Romanticism displayed in music continued... Composers pushed all instruments to the limits of their expressiveness – Expanded the range to explore the entire chromatic scale, and linked instrumentation with the human voice When a composition had words, the romantic influence can be especially evident – poetic texts, legends, and folk tales, and the linking of words and music either programmatically or through forms such as the concert overture and incidental music is common

Comparing Music During the Romantic Era and the Classical Era

Classical Era ( ) Characteristics: Simple melodies: “Sonatas” (one or two instruments) Piano Emphasis on balance, restraint, beauty, and elegance Homophonic Easily remembered melodies Unexpected pauses, syncopations, and frequent changes from long notes to shorter ones Popular Composers: Mozart, Beethoven, Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Ludwig Van Beethoven Franz Schubert

Romantic Era ( ) Characteristics: Artistic freedom, experimentation, creativity, expressive, and nationalism Contained warm, personal melodies; expressive indications, implied interpretive freedom and harmonic color Color was intensified by improvements in instruments, particularly the piano. Combined Romantic poetry with voice and piano waltz, mazurka, polonaise, and etude Popular Composers: Brahms, Schumann, Chopin, Wagner, Bach

Romantic Era Cont. MELODY: Long, lyrical melodies with irregular phrases; extensive use of chromaticism ; vivid contrasts RHYTHM: Frequent changes in both tempo and time signatures. TEXTURE: Almost entirely homophonic. TIMBRE: A great variety of tone color; woodwind and brass sections of the orchestra increased; many special orchestral effects introduced; rich and colorful orchestration.

Johannes Brahms Robert Schumann Johann Sebastian Bach

American Involvement in Romantic Music There were several provident American romantic practitioners: –Louis Moreau Gottschak Pianist and composer Born in New Orleans Moved to Europe in 1942 and came back to United Sates in were most famous years Known for combining African and Latin rhythms with classical European style

American Involvement Cont. John Knowles Paine –First American-born composer to achieve fame for his large-scale orchestral performances –Born in Portland, Maine –In 1958 traveled to Germany to study music –Came back in 1962 and became the first professor of music at Harvard

America’s small involvement America had little involvement in the Music era of the Romantic movement 1. Industrial Revolution –Happened at the same time ( ) –America was heavily involved in the Industrial Revolution 2. European Composers stayed strictly in Europe -Most of the European composers didn’t travel on American Tours -Most Americans didn’t know about movement until later on

American Involvement Cont. John Phillip Sousa –Born in Washington, D.C. –Started musical studies at around age 6 –Didn’t travel to Europe to study music; several European tours –Conducted the U.S. marine band

America’s small involvement cont. 3. During the Romantic period, American composers were still classical - Before the Romantic music period was classical music period -At the time that classical music period was over in Europe, just beginning in U.S. -America was a celebrating classical music at time of Romantic movement

How did the music during the Romantic Era differ from the music directly after it?

Romantic vs 20 th Century Going from Romanticism to 20 th century modernism was a change that would forever change the course of history

Romantic vs 20 th Century Stylistic Changes were being made in: –European Countries –Nonwestern Countries –America Paris was the center for music, art, and literature during the early years of this period –Impressionism evolved out of this during the second half of the 19 th century

Romantic vs 20 th Century Impressionism –Reaction to Romanticism in France –Focused on suggestion and atmosphere rather than strong emotion or the depiction of a story –Less use of major and minor scales –Goes for a more dissonant sound (clashing notes) –Longer compositions vs. shorter ones

Romantic vs 20 th Century Expressionism was the German version of impressionism Typical instruments were: –Woodwinds, strings, piano, and small chamber ensembles Nationalism- –This played a large part in romantic music, but not so much in 20 th century music, because it placed a large emphasis on the importance of local traditions and customs and 20 th century music hardly emphasized this at all

Overall, the Main Differences… Less emotions, more how the world was actually perceived (impressionist music) Less spirituality, more focus on concrete things (neoclassicism) Less focus on melodies and rhythms (more diverse) Less of an interest in the past

Major Romantic Composers

Ludwig van Beethoven Bonn, Germany Deaf at age 28 Music writing techniques: Sloppy, always making corrections Popular compositions: Eroica (third symphony), Beethoven’s Fifth, Fidelio Famous Piano Sonatas: Pathétique, Moonlight, Waldstein and Appassionata

Felix Mendelssohn February 3, 1809 – November 4, 1847 Hamburg, Germany Conservative musical taste Famous pieces: Wedding March Violin Concerto in E Minor, op. 64 A Midsummer Night's Dream

Robert Schumann June 8, July 29, 1856 Zwickau, Germany Inspired by Schubert and Mendelssohn Famous pieces Papillons Carnaval Kreisleriana

Frederic Chopin March 1, Oct. 17, 1849 Zelazowa Wola, Poland Wrote his first composition at age 7 Famous Pieces Polonaise Nocturne Op9, No2 Funeral March

Johannes Brahms 7 May April 1897 Hamburg, Germany Major creative block during the mid-1850s Famous Pieces Double Concerto Liebeslieder Waltzes Academic Festival Overture

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