1. Chapter Nineteen: Introduction to Romanticism

2. Romantic Inspiration & Romantic Creativity
Self-expression, striving to communicate with passion no matter what imbalance (or excess)
Human imagination and the wonders of nature
Love: Longing and despair
Nature: Exploring the darker side of (human) nature
Fascination with the occult, supernatural, and the macabre
Wide range of expression shown in the musical expression marks that came into being

3. The Musician as “Artist,” Music as “Art”
The duty of the artist was “the upbringing of mankind”
Composers were no longer servants to the aristocracy
Music no longer merely entertainment, but Art
Serious tone in the concert hall
“Art for Art’s sake.”
Rebellion against Classical ideals
Evolution beyond Classical music
Figure 19.1 The Dreamer, by German Romantic artist Casper David Friedrich (1774–1840). The painting suggests two forces dear to the hearts of the Romantics: the natural world and the world of dreams. Here timeless nature, creator and destroyer of all things human, surrounds a dreamer lost in solitary contemplation. Notice how the tree to the left is squarely centered within the “window” on the left, as if an altar has been erected in honor of nature.

4. Romantic Ideals Change the Listening Experience
More serious tone in the concert hall
Sat in respectful silence for the revered figure of the Romantic artist-composer
Audience was emotionally engaged
Belief in the artist as superhero, reverence for the object as a “work of art,” and expectations of silence and formal dress at a concert developed in the Romantic period

5. The Style of Romantic Music
Romantic Melody: Broad, sweeping themes
Lyrical and expressive, building to a grandiose climax
Longer phrases, irregular in shape
Rhythmically flexible

6. Colorful Harmony: Contributes to the emotional intensity
Use of chromatic harmony, temporary dissonance
Rich, lush sounds
Unexpected harmonic shifts
Romantic Tempo: Rubato
Rubato: Italian for “robbed” time
Exaggerates the rhythmic flow
Gives performers more artistic freedom
Heard especially in the music of Frédéric Chopin

7. Romantic Forms:
Monumental: Romantic composers expanded those used in the Classical Era
Length of individual movements increased dramatically
Miniature: Composers tried to capture the essence of a single mood, sentiment, or emotion
Character piece
Usually for the piano
Use of simple binary (AB) or ternary (ABA) form
Sometimes given a whimsical title, such as bagatelle, humoresque, arabesque, musical moment, caprice, romance, intermezzo, or impromptu
Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Brahms

8. The Romantic Orchestra
Technological advances that led to the modern symphony orchestra transformed 19th-century music
Industrial revolution improved instruments
Flute – now made from silver, new fingering mechanism that increased the technical abilities of the instrument
Trumpet and French horn: Valves, improving technical facilities as well as intonation
Orchestra expanded by new instruments
Ophicleide, English horn, Cornet, Harps added
Greater size, great volume
Mozart (1788)
Berlioz (1830)
Mahler (1889)
Symphony in G minor
Symphonie fantastique
Symphony No. 1
Total players: 36
Total players: 89
Total players: 129
20 minutes
55 minutes
90 minutes

9. The Conductor
Larger, more complex music needed a musical “traffic cop”
Conductors started using a baton
Interpreter of the music
Figure Silhouette of composer Carl Maria von Weber conducting with a rolled sheet of music, to highlight the movement of his hand

10. The Virtuoso The nineteenth century was the age of the solo virtuoso
Musicians strived to raise their performance skills to unprecedented heights
Performing tricks and gimmicks
Franz Liszt ( )
Niccolò Paganini ( )
“The attraction of the virtuoso is like that of a circus performer; there’s always the hope that something disastrous will happen.”

11. Coda
Increased attention to literature in the Romantic Era inspired new musical genres: the art song (Lied), the program symphony, and the tone poem
Technological innovations led to a much larger, more powerful piano, as well as the musical literature specifically written for it
Political events caused musical reverberations in the form of nationalistic musical style in both instrumental music and opera
Unification of Germany and Italy