IB Music SL
Romantic Era
Unit 19
The Romantic Symphony
 Increased orchestra size
 Lyrical themes, colorful harmonies,
expanded proportions
The Romantic Symphony Form
 Overall structure similar to 18th
century
 Some symphonies have 5+ movements
 Tempo structure is altered
 Larger proportions
Brahms and the Late Romantic
Symphony
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Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)
German composer
Musical family
Early music studies, dance hall experience
Talent recognized by Robert Schumann
 Lifelong friend of Robert and Clara Schumann
 Settled in Vienna
 Died at 64
Brahms’s Music
 Traditionalist
 Romantic tendencies in chamber
music and lieder
 Four symphonies
 Third Symphony exhibits Classical &
Romantic traits
Brahms: Symphony No. 3 in F
Major
 Written at age 50
 Classical in form, Romantic in tone
 Cyclical structure
I: Conventional sonata-allegro
 Three-note motive (F-Ab-F)
 “Frei aber froh” (Free but happy)
 Motive permeates the entire symphony
II: Andante, sonata-allegro form
III: Waltz, ternary form
IV: Sonata-allegro
Dvořák as a Symphonist
 Nationalist themes
 Czech national school
Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904)
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Bohemian composer
Studied in Prague
Befriended Brahms
1891, Jeannette Thurber invites to U.S.
 National Conservatory of Music, in New York
City
 3 years in the U.S.
 A symphony, several chamber pieces, and a
cello concerto
 Spillville, Iowa
 Returned to Prague
 Died at 64 as a revered national artist
Antonin Dvorak
Dvořák’s Music
 German Classicism with national
styles
 All genres
 Native musical heritage
 American student Henry T. Burleigh
 African American and Native American
traditional music
Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 in E minor,
From the New World
 Classical and Romantic traits
 Cyclical form
 Evokes the openness of the American
prairie
 Loosely programmatic
 Longfellow’s Song of Hiawatha
 Folklike melodies, syncopated rhythms,
rich orchestration
Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 in E minor,
From the New World
I: Sonata-allegro form
 Three themes
 Third theme reminiscent of Swing Low, Sweet
Chariot
II: Largo, ternary form
 Hiawatha and Minnehaha
 English horn solo, later became “Goin’ home”
III: Scherzo
 Hiawatha’s wedding feast
IV: Sonata-allegro form
 Themes return
The Romantic Concerto
 New resources add size and depth
 Vehicle for virtuosic display
 Many composed for specific soloist
The Romantic Concerto Form
 Classical three-movement form
retained
 Enhanced drama
 Lyrical slow movement
 Brilliant finale
Felix Mendelssohn and the
Concerto
 Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847)
 Overtly classical traits
 German composer, pianist, conductor,
music festival organizer, educator
 Cultured family
 Fine education
 Revival of J. S. Bach’s choral music
 Leipzig Conservatory
 Died at an early age (38) from a stroke
Felix Mendelssohn
Mendelssohn’s Music
 Classical forms, Romantic traits
 Large scale and small scale music
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E
Minor
 Last orchestral work
 Composed for Ferdinand David
 No pauses between movements
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E
Minor
I:
Allegro molto appassionato
 No orchestral introduction
 Cadenza precedes the recapitulation
II: Andante
III: Allegro molto vivace, sonata-allegro
form
 Dazzling virtuosity of the coda
Amy Beach and Classical
Composition in America
 New England School
 Sought originality beyond European
musical tradition
 Promoting classical music in schools
and public concerts
 Second New England School
 Continued the tradition
Amy Cheney Beach (1867–
1944)
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American composer, educator
Child prodigy
Henry Harris Aubrey Beach
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1885 on: used name Mrs. H. H. A. Beach
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European tour
Yearly U.S. tours
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Music Educators National Conference
Music Teachers National Association
Society of American Women Composers
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Brahms and Wagner
French Impressionism
Folk music (Irish, Scottish, English)
Wrote large-scale and small-scale works
Leadership positions:
Influenced by:
Amy Cheney Beech
Beach: Violin Sonata in A minor
 Composed for Franz Kneisel
 Impressive in scale
 I: Allegro moderato, sonata-allegro
form
 Extensive use of variation
 II: Scherzo and trio set in duple
meter
 III: Largo con dolore