The World of Music
7th edition
Part 4
Listening to Western
Classical Music
Chapter 12: Music of the
Romantic Period
(Nineteenth Century)
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Attributes of the Romantic Period
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Revolution
Capitalism
Emotion
Imagination
A Desire to be
Different
Nationalism
Part IV Listening to Western Classical Music
Chapter 12 Music of the Romantic Period
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Changes in Musical Life
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Patronage System in Decline
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Composers must Promote Themselves
Creates need for:
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Concert Managers (Impresarios)
Music Publishers
Music Critics
Virtuosi Become Celebrities
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Much Music too Difficult for Amateurs
Creates need for Teachers
Part IV Listening to Western Classical Music
Chapter 12 Music of the Romantic Period
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Absolute and Program Music
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Absolute
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Classical
Music for its own sake
No intended imagery
Characteristic of:
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Sonata
Symphony
Concerto
Program
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Depicts:
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Moods
Images
Stories
Characters
Reflects interest in
poetry
Part IV Listening to Western Classical Music
Chapter 12 Music of the Romantic Period
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Characteristics of Romantic Music
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Programmatic
Lyrical Melodies
Chromaticism
Dissonance
Emotional
Complex Rhythms
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Syncopated
Irregular
Bigger (and more Varied) Orchestras
Part IV Listening to Western Classical Music
Chapter 12 Music of the Romantic Period
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Forms of the Romantic Period
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Sonata Common, but less Strict
Symphonic Poem
Stage Forms
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Overture
Prelude
Suite
Incidental Music
Many Different Chamber Groups
Part IV Listening to Western Classical Music
Chapter 12 Music of the Romantic Period
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Opera in the Romantic Period
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Composers
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Verdi
Wagner
Rossini
Puccini
Richard Strauss
Great Variety in Size and Subjects
Romantic Operas Still Performed Today
Part IV Listening to Western Classical Music
Chapter 12 Music of the Romantic Period
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Ballet
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Originally Part of
Opera
Features Dancing
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Solo
Ensemble
Famous Tchaikovsky
Ballets
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Sleeping Beauty
Swan Lake
The Nutcracker
Part IV Listening to Western Classical Music
Chapter 12 Music of the Romantic Period
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Keyboard Music
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New Miniature Forms
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Character Pieces
Solo (Voice) Song with
Piano
Expressive
Lyrical and Dramatic
Technically
Demanding
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Chopin Miniature
Forms
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Impromptu
Nocturne
Mazurka
Polonaise
Prelude
Waltz
Étude
Part IV Listening to Western Classical Music
Chapter 12 Music of the Romantic Period
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Songs
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Solo Voice with Piano
Usually Short
Schubert
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Wrote over 600 Songs
Frequently used words of German Poets
Highly Expressive
Often Strophic
Part IV Listening to Western Classical Music
Chapter 12 Music of the Romantic Period
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)
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German
Traditionalist
Traits of his Music
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Passionate
Introspective
Rich/Dark
Lyrical
Complex Rhythms
Intricate Polyphony
Mostly Absolute
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Output
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4 Symphonies
1 Violin Concerto
2 Piano Concertos
Much Chamber Music
Sonatas
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Piano
Cello
Violin
Clarinet
Part IV Listening to Western Classical Music
Chapter 12 Music of the Romantic Period
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849)
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Polish
Pianist
Unique Compositional
Style
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Output
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Many Miniatures
3 Piano Sonatas
2 Piano Concertos
Elaborate Decorative
Melodies
Colorful, Dissonant
Harmonies
Extreme Rubato
Part IV Listening to Western Classical Music
Chapter 12 Music of the Romantic Period
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847)
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German
Wealthy Family
Widely Traveled
Traditional (Classical)
Style
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Well-Known Pieces
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“Scotch” Symphony
“Italian” Symphony
Elijah Oratorio
Violin Concerto in E
Minor
Hebrides Overture
Midsummer Night’s
Dream Incidental Music
Part IV Listening to Western Classical Music
Chapter 12 Music of the Romantic Period
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
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Prolific Song
Composer
Struggled with poverty
and illness
Style
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Great variety
Lyrical melodies
Colorful harmonies
Great sensitivity to
poetic texts
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Output
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600 + Lieder
2 Song Cycles
9 Symphonies
22 Piano Sonatas
Miniatures
Chamber Pieces
Choral Works
Part IV Listening to Western Classical Music
Chapter 12 Music of the Romantic Period
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Pyotr I’yich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893)
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Russian
Influences
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Tuneful
Accessible
Emotional
Output
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Russian Folk Songs
Italian Opera
French Ballet
German
Symphonies/Songs
Style
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6 Symphonies
Concertos
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Violin
Piano
Ballets
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Swan Lake
Sleeping Beauty
The Nutcracker
Part IV Listening to Western Classical Music
Chapter 12 Music of the Romantic Period
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901)
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Italian
Known for Opera
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Representative Works
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Unhappy
Tragic Endings
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Invited to open Carnegie
Hall
Style
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Opera
Conventional Harmonies
Predictable Rhythms
Superb Melodies
Theatrical
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Rigoletto
La Traviata
Il Trovatore
Aida
Choral
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Te Deum
Requiem
Part IV Listening to Western Classical Music
Chapter 12 Music of the Romantic Period
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Richard Wagner (1813–1883)
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German
Revolutionary
His Music Drama had
equal portions of:
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Music
Drama
Poetry
Stagecraft
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Style
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Symphonic
Strong Brass
Leitmotiv
Colorful
Wrote own Libretti
Music Dramas
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The Ring of the
Nibelung
Tristan and Isolde
Part IV Listening to Western Classical Music
Chapter 12 Music of the Romantic Period
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Other Romantic Composers
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Hector Berlioz
Antonin Dvořák
Edvard Grieg
Franz Liszt
Gustav Mahler
Giacomo Puccini
Sergei Rachmaninoff
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Nicolay RimskyKorsakov
Gioachino Rossini
Robert Schumann
Bedřich Smetana
Richard Strauss
Part IV Listening to Western Classical Music
Chapter 12 Music of the Romantic Period
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Chapter Summary
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Why do you think Romantic Period music is so
much more popular than modern classical music?
What can you learn by listening to a piece multiple
times?
Do you think the emotional language of Western
music is universally human or culturally learned?
Would a Brahms symphony communicate the
same emotions to a rural Chinese farmer that it
does to you?
Part IV Listening to Western Classical Music
Chapter 12 Music of the Romantic Period
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Image Credits
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Slide 2
Slide 8
Royalty-Free/CORBIS
© Digital Vision
Part IV Listening to Western Classical Music
Chapter 12 Music of the Romantic Period
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved