ROMANTIC PERIOD
1825-1900
HISTORICAL EVENTS
• 1830: First Railroad
• 1832: Passing of the Great Reform Bill
• 1854-1856: Crimean War
• 1861-1865: American Civil War
• 1865: President Lincoln assassinated
• 1865: Slavery abolished in America
• 1870-1871: Franco-Prussian War
• 1876: Scotsman Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone
• 1877: Thomas Edison invents the phonograph
• 1881: Panama Canal Built
• 1883: Automobile motor patented by Dailmer
• 1886: Statue of Liberty unveiled in New York
• 1896: Opening of the Glasgow Subway
HISTORICAL FIGURES
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Edgar Allen Poe (1809-1849): American author
Charles Dickens (1812-1870): American author
Mark Twain (1835-1910): American author
Claude Monet (1840-1926): French artist
Camille Pissarro (1830-1903): French artist
NATIONALISM IN MUSIC
 Describes increasingly common trend in the nineteenth century for composers to draw on the folk songs,
dance, legends, literature, character, and language of their own country as inspiration for musical
composition, as opposed to the universal European style that had prevailed (instrumental: Vienna,
Austria, Germany/opera: Italy and France)
 Important movement in
 France
 England
 Eastern Europe
 Scandinavia
 USA
HECTOR BERLIOZ (1803-1869)
 Born near Grenoble, France
 Father was a physician
 Learned to play the flute and guitar (was only modestly talented on these
two instruments)
 Berlioz’s father wanted him to become a doctor, so Berlioz moved to Paris
to study medicine but hated it
 Drops out of medical school: starts going to concerts in Paris
 As a young man, was profoundly moved by such great literary works as
those of Virgil and Shakespeare
 Now in Paris, he was able to hear for the first time the symphonies of
Beethoven in performance, and that was a huge revelation for him
 Also strongly influenced by opera, especially by the composer Gluck
BERLIOZ CONTINUED
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1826: Soon enrolls in the Paris Conservatoire to study composition
1827: saw the Irish actress, Harriet Smithson, in a Shakespeare play in Paris; was very smitten by her.
Later, Berlioz had fallen in love with, and become engaged to, Camille Mohe, a young pianist
1830: Competes in the prestigious “Prix de Rome” composition competition, eventually winning it.
1831: Leaves for Rome (to fulfill the stipulations of the Prix de Rome)
While in Rome, finds out that Camille has married another man: Berlioz plans to return, and also thinks about committing
suicide.
1832: Berlioz returns to France Finally meets Harriet Smithson in person; she agrees to marry him.
Income from commissions (a small source of income); his major source of income was from writing (editing, writing
treatises, musical commentary, etc.)
From 1840 onwards, was active touring throughout Europe, promoting and conducting his works, and earning income as a
guest conductor
1850: Appointed head librarian at the Paris Conservatoire (his only “official” musical position)
1854: Harriet Smithson died (they had been separated for some years), and later that year married Marie Recio
1867: Extended stay in Russia
1868: Became ill and eventually died on March 8, 1869 in Paris
IMPORTANCE OF BERLIOZ
• An important innovation he brought to the process of rehearsing was sectionals
• Important compositions
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1830: Symphonie Fantastique
1834: Harold in Italy (large-scale work for viola and orchestra, commissioned by the great violinist, Niccolo Pagenni)
1837: Requiem
1839: Romeo and Juliet Symphony
1840: Funeral and Triumphal Symphony, scored for a wind band of 200 players, first performed outdoors as a part of a civic parade; 1842:
added strings and a final chorus
 1849: Te Deum (chorus and orchestra)
 1854: L’ Enfance du Christ
 1858: Les Troyens (massive opera, based upon Books 2 & 4 of Virgil’s Aeneid)
 Books:
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Les soirees de l’ orchestra (“Evenings with the Orchestra”): 1852
Treastise on Instrumentation (Hugely important work on orchestration; still used today)
Memoirs (published posthumously, 1870)
The Orchestral Conductor
FELIX MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847)
 Born in Hamburg, Germany
 Son of a banker
 Grew up in an intellectual and cultivated environment: his grandfather
was a prominent Jewish philosopher
 Regarded as the greatest child prodigy since Mozart
 Was celebrated as a pianist and composer from his early years
 Wrote over 100 works by age 20, including 12 string symphonies, the
beautiful Octet for 4 violins, 2 violas, and 2 cellos, and the famous
Overture to Midsummer Night’s Dream
 Wrote five symphonies including the “Reformation” Symphony, No. 5
 Made 10 visits to England, where he was very popular
 Was a colleague of Berlioz & Liszt; basically disapproved of both
MENDELSSOHN CONTINUED
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1812: Moved to Berlin
1816: Converted to Lutheranism
1829: Was first to perform Bach’s St. Matthew Passion in the nineteenth century
1846: Wrote the great Oratorio Elijah for the Birmingham, England Music Festival
1835: Appointed conductor of the Leipzig Gerwandhaus Orchestra (important musical position)
1837: Married Cecil Jeanrenaud, had 5 children
1843: Founded the Leipzig Music Conservatory
1839: Gave the world premiere of Schubert’s Great C Major Symphony
1844: Composed the famous Violin Concerto
1847: Died of a series of strokes, shortly after the death of his sister Fanny
FREDERIC CHOPIN (1810-1849)
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Born near Warsaw, Poland
Had a Polish Mother and a French father
Was a child prodigy pianist (like Mendelssohn)
Also, mostly wrote piano works
By age 7: giving public concerts
His father taught French in a Warsaw school
Studied at the Warsaw Conservatory of Music
1830: Chopin, aged 20, set off on a European tour
CHOPIN CONTINUED
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November 30:uprising in Poland
Chopin kept traveling west: Vienna, Stuttgart, finally ended up in Paris
In Paris: became acquainted with Liszt, Berlioz, and Mendelssohn
Moved in intellectual and artistic circles
March 23, 1833: Chopin, Liszt, and Hiller performed the Bach Concerto for Three Harpsichords (on
pianos)
Introduced to George Sand (female novelist) in 1837; had a relationship with her that lasted for ten
years
Was in poor health for much of the last 4 or 5 years of his life
Died of Tuberculosis
Ex: Nocturne, Sonata no. 2 Bb Minor, Etude in C minor Op. 25 no. 12
FRANZ LISZT (1811-1886)
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Born in Hungary
Age 13: moved to Paris
Like Chopin, a child virtuoso
Greatest pianist of his age, and perhaps of all time
Became good friends with Berlioz and Chopin
Touring superstar of the piano
Composer as well as performer (mostly piano works)
1848: Settled in Weimar, Germany, as music director (composed
orchestral music instead of piano playing)
 1861: Went to Rome and took holy orders (became an Abbe)
 The ultimate Romantic figure
 Avant-garde
 Incredible, virtuoso performer: superstar of the concert stage
 Lisztomania (1842)
LISZT COMPOSITIONS
 Wrote a great deal of piano music: very difficult compositions, expanded the technical limits of piano playing
 Also wrote “Symphonic Poems:” relatively short symphonic compositions, in one extended movement, with contrasting
sections (program music)
 Works
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Annees de Pelerinages: Years of Pilgrimage
Piano Sonata in B Minor
Trios Etudes de concert
Les Preludes
Mazeppa
Hamlet
Von der Wiege bis zum Grabe: From the Cradle
Trotentanz
 Many transcriptions of famous symphonies, overtures, songs, opera arias, etc. for performance at the keyboard (one
pianist)
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Beethoven’s Symphonies 5, 6, 7
Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique
Berlioz’s Harold in Italy
Saint-Saens Danse Macabre
Mozart’s Requiem
 Transcription for piano duo: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9
ROMANTIC OPERA
 Comic Opera: Spoken dialogue
 Serious or Grand Opera: Sung dialogue
 Lyric Opera: half-way between comic and serious
opera
 The great operas of the 19th century were tragic
operas, ending with the death of the hero or
heroine
TRAITS OF OPERAS
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Beautiful Melodies
Innovative orchestration
Huge orchestras called for (pit orchestras were very large)
New instruments developed for opera: Wagner tubas, etc.
Coloristic instruments used in opera: English horn, harp, etc.
Nationalism: opera texts were in the native language as opposed to Italian
Opera plots were often tied to themes of freedom, independence, etc. as countries began to develop national aspirations
National myths & legends were important (Wagner)
Two opposing themes in 19th century opera: exoticism (escapism)/Stark (realism)
Intense expressiveness/highly charged emotions
Programmatic music
Vocal virtuosity
Blurring boundaries between aria & recitative, and between scenes (Wagner)
Eventually breakdown of tonality (Wagner)
GIUSEPPE VERDI (1813-1901)
 The Italian Opera Composer of the 19th century, and one of the two
giants of 19th century opera
 Was loosely associated with the Risorgimento: Italian movement
towards nationalization
 V.E.R.D.I. stands for Victorio Emanuel Ri Di, King of Italy
 Born near Busseto, Italy
 Early studies in music compositions
 To Milan (age 20) to continue his studies
 Returned to Busseto to be the local music master
 Married local girl, Margherita Barezzi, 1836
 Had two children, both of whom died in infancy
 Died in 1901 of a stroke
VERDI’S WORKS
 Operas
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Macbeth
Rigoletto
Luisa Miller
Il trovatore
La traviata
Un ballo in maschera
La forza del destino
Aida
Otello
Falstaff
 Requiem is very massive and frequently performed
 Last work was Four Sacred Pieces (1898)
 Nearly all of his operas were Serious operas
 Librettos and plots were from Romantic authors and poets, also Shakespeare
RICHARD WAGNER (1813-1883)
 The dominant figure of the nineteenth century music
 Born in Leipzig, Germany
 Father died when he was 6 months old; his stepfather was an
actor
 1828: heard Beethoven’s 7th and 9th symphonies: awaken his
interest in music
 1831: Enrolled in the University of Leipzig; continued some music
studies and composition studies on the side
 1833: First opera (Die Feen) and first musical position (choir
master at Wurzburg)
 1836: Marrie Minna Planer- disastrous marriage, moved to Riga
(Northeast of Poland, on Baltic Sea)
WAGNER CONTINUED
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1839: Fled Riga to escape creditors and ended up in Paris
1840: completed Rienzi
1842: Moved to Dresden, Germany; Rienzi performed there to great acclaim
Eventually appointed court conductor at Dresden
1848: (Year of Revolution) Became involved in uprising ; uprisings in Dresden and elsewhere eventually suppressed, Wagner fled to Switzerland
Was in exile in Switzerland for about 12 years
Wrote philosophical treatises:
 “The Artwork of the Future” (Opera as “Gesamtkunstwerk” which translates as Total Artwork)
 Opera and Drama
 Also wrote the libretto for the Ring Cycle, began work on the music for the Ring Cycle
 1862: Finally parted from Minna
 1864: Mad King Ludwig II succeed to the throne of Bavaria
 Huge fan of Wagner and brought Wagner to Munich and paid off Wagner’s debt
 1865: Tristan und Isolde premiered in Munich: conductor was Hans von Bulow; his wife, Cosima, was already involved with Wagner
 1870: Cosima divorced and married Wagner
 1876: Created Bayreuth- New Opera House
 Bayreuth Festival in existence ever since
 The Ring Cycle
 Died of a heart attack
WAGNER’S STYLE
 Harmony: chromaticism, blurs tonality
 Orchestrations: Huge orchestras needed in the pit and new instruments developed
 Flute, clarinet, oboe, English horn, bass clarinet, bassoon, horn, Wagner tuba, trumpet,
trombone, bass trombone, harps, etc.
 Thunder machines, anvils
 Continuous action: divisions between recitatives and arias blurred; divisions between scenes
and acts blurred; more flow on stage
 Nationalism in opera (Use of Germanic folk-songs, legends, etc.)
JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897)
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Born in Hamburg
Child Virtuoso on piano
Age 20: Met Robert Schumann, who would go on to champion Brahms’ music
Brahms: would go on record as opposed to the new music school of Liszt and
Wagner
Brahms settled in Vienna
In demand as a pianist, conductor, and composer: traveled widely
Composed orchestral, vocal, chamber, and piano music; no operas
Good friends with Clara Schumann
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Brahms helped Clara through the crisis of the last years of Robert Schumann’s life)
Also helped raise her 7 children
She performed many of Brahms’ piano works
Died in 1896 and Brahms died one year later
BRAHMS’S WORKS
 Op. 45 A German Requiem
 Op. 53 Alto Rhapsody for contralto, orchestra, and male voices
 Op. 80 Academic Festival Overture
 Op. 81 Tragic Overture
 Op. 77 Violin Concerto
 Op. 102 Double Concerto for Violin and Cello
MIKHAIL GLINKA (1804-1857)
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One of the early Russian “nationalists”
Wrote operas in the Russian language
Used modal scales
Used quotations from Russian folk songs
Ex: Ruslan and Ludmila - Overture
MODEST MUSSORGSKY (1839-1881)
 Opera with libretto in Russian
 Colorful orchestration: lots of percussion (sounds like church bells
ringing in the city square)
 Definitely sounds model
 Folk hymn quotation
 Used Russian language
 Ex: Night on Bald Mountain, Pictures at an Exhibition
PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
 Born in Votkinsky, Russia
 Was a nationalist in that his operas use the Russian language & are
based on works of Russian literature
 Also used Russian folk songs occasionally
 However, his music is much more westernized than Mussorgsky’s, etc.
 Trained in law to hold government office (civil servant)
 However, entered St. Petersburg Conservatory at age 19 (when the
conservatory opened)
 Appointed Professor of Music at Moscow Conservatory one year after
graduating from the St. Petersburg Conservatory
 Attempted suicide, had a nervous breakdown
 Widow Madame von Mect: becomes his patron
 Provides him with an annual income but only if they never meet
 Successful composer and conductor
 Died of cholera (suicide?)
TCHAIKOVSKY’S WORKS
 Great composer of ballet scores
 Nutcracker
 Sleeping Beauty
 Swan Lake
 Also wrote
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Mazeppa
Queen of Spades
Eugene Onegin
Romeo and Juliet (programmatic)
ANTONIN DVORAK (1841-1904)
 Important Czech nationalist composer
 Influenced by Brahms
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New World Symphony
Cello Concerto
Violin Concerto
Piano Concerto
Rusalka (opera)
Requiem
Stabat Mater
 Used Slavonic Dances
 Used Czech folk songs and dance
 Similar to Brahms in orchestration, size of orchestra, use of mellow timbres (liked
French horn, viola, and cello)
 Slightly modal in tonal inflections
 Use of dotted rhythms (from Czech folk dance)
 Use of the “Dumka” (From Slavic ballads: introspective sections contrasted with
cheerful, quicker sections)