 M.socrative.com – Room  QUESTIONS:  1. When is the Romantic period?  2. Why did artists resist patronage?  3. What is another name for the “starving artist”? (hint: starts with a B)

Introduction

 Music provided a medium to express emotion  Romantic music made stylistic changes to classical music  Though Romanticism was mostly a rebellion against neoclassicism, in music it involved a more gradual and natural extension of classical principles

 The sharps and flats make the notes chromatic – they pull those notes out of the current key (or center) and create more complex harmonies  [this is just a chromatic melody, the accompaniment would include accidentals (sharps and flats) as well]  If you see lots of flats and sharps – it’s probably Romantic music!!

 More and more dissonance occurs and eventually becomes the principal focus  Dissonance created emotion  Dissonance is a sound of “incompletion” or being “unfinished.” It wants to go somewhere, but leaves you hanging  Created by playing nontraditional chords – notes right next to each other, or outside the scale  Interest in timbre (tone color) lead to great diversity in vocal and instrumental performance  Tremendous increase in the size and diversity of the orchestra

 Ludwig van Beethoven ( )  In about 1820, Beethoven began to write passionate compositions which often broke from the classical forms he usually worked in

 Symphony No. 9 (1824) is noted for his use of vocal soloists and a chorus into the final movement  The classical symphony could not express all he felt  The trombone and several other percussive instruments are added as well  After No. 9, many composers felt the need to experiment  Symphony No. 9 - Finale Symphony No. 9

 Beethoven was the first “bohemian composer.”  He did not work for a church or aristocrat, he survived on his own (money from performances and lessons – enough to get by)  Not having a “boss” allowed him to express his extreme individualism  He could write as he pleased and challenge the public to follow him  Mozart, for example, was always writing for someone else

 Composers did not fall in Beethoven’s footsteps right away  They experimented first – smaller ensembles before orchestras  Starts with solo voice and piano works  There will be LOTS of AMAZING Romantic symphonies, but we’ll talk about them later

 Lieder  Piano Works  Program Music  Symphonies  Opera

 Lieder means “art song”, composition for solo voice with piano  Began the emotional experimentation in music – chromatics and complex harmonies  A poetic text allowed for a variety of lyrical and dramatic expressions and linked music directly to literature

 It was a burst of German lyric poetry that encouraged the growth of the Lieder  Music added deeper emotional implications to the poetry  Some Lieder were complex, others were simple, some structured, some not  Regardless, the piano was an inseparable part of the experience – it explored mood and established rhythmic and thematic materials before they were sung  Occasionally, it had solo passages of its own

 The earliest and most important composer of Lieder: Schubert ( )  Austrian  His troubled life epitomized the Romantic view of the artist’s desperate and isolated condition  He wrote over 1,000 works – symphonies, sonatas, operas, Masses, choral compositions, and Lieder  None were performed until the year of his death  We’ll look at his symphonies later

 “Scubertiads” – a group of Schubert’s friends who would gather for evenings of music  Numbers of his songs were only privately viewed by his friends until after his death  Died of syphilis at the age of 31

 Der Elkonig (The Erlking, 1815) is an excellent example of Schubert’s work and Romantic music in general  The Erlking The Erlking  What is the song about?  Listen to it FIRST and then we’ll sum it up

 The piano plays a role in transmitting the mood of the piece – the rapid octaves create tension  The melody in the bass line creates additional tension in its dark minor key  The variety of music allows the soloist to sound like several characters – the father, the song, and the Erlking

 You’ve probably heard this one... Much happier and prettier than the Erlking  Ave Maria Ave Maria

 Lieder success came with developments and changes in the design of the piano  It was much warmer and richer in tone than earlier pianos  Improvements in pedal techniques made sustained tones possible and gave the instrument greater lyrical potential

 Una corda (or soft pedal – changes the timbre of the piano)  Sostenuto (can sustain selected notes while others go unaffected)  Sustain pedal

 The changes of the piano made it an almost ideal solo instrument  It was popular in the Classical Period, but became even more popular in the Romantic Period  New works were composed solely for the piano, ranging from short, intimate pieces to larger works to show off the player  Pieces were much more difficult to play  Schubert wrote several, but the most celebrated pianist of the 19 th century and one of its more innovative composers was Franz Liszt ( )

 , Hungarian  He enthralled audiences with his expressive, dramatic playing  He taught most of the major pianists of the next generation  His piano works include etudes, concertos, and 20 Hungarian Rhapsodies based on Hungarian urban popular music (rather than folk music)

 The technical demands of Liszt’s compositions, and the rather florid way he performed them, gave rise to a theatricality  The primary focus was to impress audiences with flashy presentation  Fit into the idea of the “artist as a hero”  Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 - Tom & Jerry Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 - Tom & Jerry

 Chopin ( ), Polish  Wrote exclusively for piano  Several etudes, usually set to a single motif, and explored a single technical problem  Etude: study, a piece not to perform, but to teach you something  His etudes explored the possibilities of the instrument and eventually became short tone poems

 Wrote intimate works such as preludes, nocturnes, and dances (waltzes, polonaises, etc.)  He also wrote larger works such as scherzos, ballades, and fantasies.  All of his pieces are highly individual  His melodies are lyrical and his moods vary

 Chopin’s Nocturnes are his most celebrated works  Nocturnes: “night pieces”  Nocturne in E flat Major Op. 9, No. 2 Nocturne in E flat Major Op. 9, No. 2  The main theme alternates with others, almost rondo form (ABABAC)

 The melody is very graceful and lyrical over supporting chords  The melody uses notes close together (near by on an instrument) and just a few widely spaced  Each time the main theme is repeated, its more elaborate and ornamented  The work ends in a cadenza, which builds through a crescendo (gradually gets louder) and finishes pianissimo (very softly)  Cadenza: a chance for the performer to show off what they can do. They can play it at any tempo they desire.

 Again, you’ll need to do music recognition  Should be EASIER than the classical period because pieces are more individual  I will ALWAYS play the obvious melody, I will not always start at the beginning  It will always be the SAME excerpt  All of these links are posted on the website: 

 Liszt – Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2  Fast part towards the end  Chopin – Nocturne Opus 9, No. 2  Beginning

 Chopin Nocturne Op.9 No.2 (Beginning) Chopin Nocturne Op.9 No.2  Franz Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (7:07) Franz Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2