1. Chapter 17
Romantic Piano Music

2. The Nineteenth-Century Piano
By 1800 keyboard had been extended
Both high and low notes added
88 keys as in today’s pianos
Felt hammers replace leather ones
Provided greater depth of tone
Cast iron frames made, helped increase volume
Standard size took up too much room in parlor of middle-class home
Upright pianos developed about 1840
Increased demand for pianos and piano music

3. Chopin and Liszt
Two most prominent romantic- era pianists and composers
Chopin born in Warsaw, Poland,1810
Liszt born in Hungary, 1811
Their personalities were polar opposites
Liszt loved playing to large audiences
Dramatized his playing –
turned piano sideways so his hands could be seen
memorized his music
Chopin didn’t like performing to large audiences, preferred intimacy of salon
Frédéric Chopin, 1829
Franz Liszt, 1858

4. Portrait of Franz Liszt painted by Henri Lehmann in 1839
Born in Hungary, 1811
Moved to Paris in 1827
1830s, liason with Marie d’Agoult (Daniel Stern):
3 children; daughter Cosima married composer Richard Wagner
In 1848, moved to Germany, assumed position of music director at court in Weimar
1861, moved to Rome to pursue religious training, given title of abbé, composed religious works
Died in 1886 at age 74
Portrait of Franz Liszt painted by Henri Lehmann in 1839

5. Liszt’s Music
Piano music includes brilliant showpieces requiring extensive virtuosity
Transcendental Études
Hungarian Rhapsodies
Liebesträum (Love Dream)
Works for piano and orchestra
2 concertos
Hungarian Fantasia
Totentanz (Dance of Death)
Developed new genre called symphonic poem or tone poem
Single-movement work that tells a story
Best-known is Les Préludes
Liszt at piano, based on an old photograph. From Century Magazine, 1886

6. The only known photograph of Frédéric Chopin, 1849
Born in Poland, 1810
Father French, mother Polish
Frédéric gave public concert at age 7
By age 15 he had published compositions
Gave performance in Paris in 1831, so well received that he remained there
Relationship with author George Sand (Aurore Dudevant) helped introduce him to the intellectual elite of Paris
Developed tuberculosis, died in 1849
The only known photograph of Frédéric Chopin, 1849

7. Chopin’s Music Known for solo piano music
Used rhythms from Polish dances: mazurka, polonaise
Composed études (study pieces)
2 piano concertos
A few chamber works for piano and other instruments
Some songs based on Polish poems with piano accompaniment
Stylized rendition of joint portrait of Frédéric Chopin and George Sand by Eugene Delacroix

8. Featured Listening: Nocturne, op. 9, no. 2 by Frédéric Chopin
Composed in 1831 Solo piano music Andante tempo Three themes that are repeated and embellished Nocturne is a “night piece” and is gentle and reflective Listen to the entire nocturne:
Listening Guide Example
from CD 1, track 37,
p. 181

9. Listening Guide: “Erlkönig,” a transcription by Franz Liszt
Composed in 1838 Solo piano music Fast tempo Through-composed form Quadruple meter Compare the piano transcription by Liszt to Schubert’s original lied (CD 1, track 36, pp )
Listen to this selection
on CD 4, track 12, pp

10. Other Romantic Piano Music
Robert Schumann Character pieces (short) one mood, emotion, or idea romantic titles “Butterflies,” “Carnaval” Large works 3 sonatas Fantasy in C Minor Concerto in A Minor symphonic études (study pieces)
Clara Schumann Multimovement sonatas Chamber works with piano Songs for voice and piano Focused on performance