Music History
The Age of Romanticism
The Middle Romantic Period
I.
II.
Introduction
A. Middle romantic period dates from approximately 1850 – 1870
B. Main aspects of romantic music were established
1. Music should always represent human emotions
2. Must tell a story or express an idea that is profound or uplifting
C. Most important works from that time
1. Works for solo piano
2. Symphonic program music
a. Idea of programmatic symphony – 3 – 5 movements, each
depicting a scene in the narrative
b. Symphonic poem – single movement work that tells a story
3. Opera – three national schools with distinct identities
a. French
b. Italian
c. German
D. Nationalism
1. Coincided with important political events in Europe
2. This movement was fostered in the arts
a. Local language was fostered in each country
b. Intellectuals focused increasing interest to the folk tales, dances
and songs of their native lands
c. Operas were based on national legend or history
d. Folk tunes appeared in symphonic music
Franz Liszt
A. 1811 – 1886
B. Biographical Details
1. Born in Hungary
2. Father was an administrator and court musician at the Esterhazy
palace
3. First learned to play the piano from his father
4. Family moved to Vienna and he studied composition with Salieri; at
the age of 11, Liszt gave his first public performance in Vienna; a year
later, he performed again and Beethoven was in the audience and
after the performance, he kissed young Liszt on the forehead.
5. When Liszt was 13, family moved to Paris; he began to tour Europe
as a piano virtuoso
a. His incredible technique amazed people everywhere and by his
late teens he was known as a showman
b. His good looks and reputation as a womanizer did not hurt his
career
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III.
6. Over the next few years, Liszt developed great friendships with
Berlioz and Chopin
7. Began living with the Countess Marie d’Agoult, a novelist who
published under the name Daniel Stern
a. She left her husband to live with Liszt
b. They had three children together
c. One of the daughters, Cosima, later left her husband to live with
Wagner
8. In 1842, Liszt settled in Weimar, Germany where he had been
appointed music director - he devoted his time to conducting and
composing
9. His relationship with the countess ended in 1844 and he began an
affair with a Russian princess; between 1848 and 1858, with her
encouragement, he composed most of the work that he is famous for
– 12 symphonic poems, 2 symphonies and a large number of works
for solo piano
10. In 1861, Liszt resigned from his position in Germany and moved to
Rome to begin religious studies
a. After four years, he became a member of the church hierarchy
b. He undertook several sacred compositions writing psalm settings,
Masses and an oratorio
11. Toward the end of his life, he returned to composing piano pieces
12. Died of pneumonia in 1886 while visiting a new opera house
C. Liszt’s music and contribution to music history
1. Regarded as one of the most avant-garde composers of the Romantic
era because he experimented with unusual harmonies and chord
structure
2. His piano music is quite varied, much of it extremely difficult to play
3. A number of Liszt’s piano pieces are in dance forms, including
waltzes, mazurkas, polonaises and Hungarian dances - he makes a
contribution to the beginning of nationalism
4. A great portion of Liszt’s piano music is made up of transcriptions
a. “Translation” of a piece of music from one medium to another
b. Liszt made hundreds of transcriptions of orchestral and operatic
works for the piano
c. This practice made the works of composers like Wagner,
Beethoven, Bach and Berlioz available to people in their own
home
5. Composed 12 symphonic poems and 2 symphonies
Giuseppe Verdi
A. 1813 – 1901
B. Biographical Details
1. In Italy (even today) Verdi symbolizes opera
2. Born in a small village in northern Italy where his father ran the inn
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3. Played the organ for services at the village church and conducted the
town band at a relatively young age
4. A wealthy merchant took him in to his own home and sent him to
Milan to study music
5. Milan was the center of Italian opera and the home of the famous
opera house La Sacala - Verdi resolved to become an opera composer
6. First, he went home and married his patron’s daughter
a. Verdi was 23, his wife was 16
b. Filled with hope, they returned to Milan to begin their life
c. Within two years, the couple’s two babies had died
d. His wife also passed away
e. Verdi is overcome by depression and decides to compose no more
7. One day, the concert manager at La Scala gave Verdi the libretto
called Nabucco
a. Tells the story of the Jewish prisoners who mourn their native
land of Babylon; much of the text comes from the Bible
b. Spent the whole day reading the text and the next day began
work on the opera
c. Nabucco opened at La Scala in 1842 and was a great success
8. During the next 11 years, he wrote 15 operas, including Rigoletto
and La Traviata
9. Opera made Verdi was a very wealthy man
10. Marries a second time (a singer that appeared in several of his
operas) and they remain together for nearly fifty years
11. Composed Aida in 1871 for the opening of the Suez Canal
12. Spoke of retirement several times, but in his seventies was persuaded
to tackle two Shakespearean projects
13. During his life, Verdi became a national symbol.
a. The story of the Jewish people in Nabucco became a political
overtone - heard as a cry of the Italian people against their
Austrian rulers
b. When Itlay gained independence in 1870, Verdi was made an
honorary member of Parliament
14. Verdi died at the age of 88 and a national day of mourning was
declared in his honor
C. Verdi’s music and contribution to music history
1. Compositions
a. 28 operas
b. 1 requiem
c. several songs
d. one string quartet
2. Secret of his success
a. Ability to create memorable melodies
b. Gift for telling a story – human drama
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IV.
3. Contribution to music history
a. Amazing operas that are standard literature
b. An amazing, dramatic requiem
Richard Wagner
A. 1813 – 1883
B. Biographical Details
1. Perfect example of the contradictions inherent in a genius.
a. Enormous importance as a composer, writings on literature,
music and politics exerted tremendous influence on artistic and
intellectual thought throughout Europe during the last half of the
19th century
b. At the same time, he was an appalling egoist, a home wrecker and
an outspoken virulent anti-Semite
2. Born in Leipzig, Germany.
3. Father died when he was an infant, mother remarried an artist and
writer
4. As a child, studied writings of Homer and Shakespeare and was
overwhelmed by the music of Beethoven
5. Studied music and Leipzig University, but before completing his
degree, took a job at an opera house
a. There he learned about opera from the inside as a chorus director
and a conductor
6. Married an actress named Minna Planer and begins composing opera
a. From the beginning, Wagner wrote his own libretto
b. Achieved remarkable cohesion between the drama and the music
because of this
7. From the beginning, Wagner spent more than he earned
a. In 1839, he was forced to flee Germany rather than end up in
debtor’s prison
b. His passport and Minna’s were revoked so the crossed the border
at night and made a harrowing journey to Paris
8. The Wagner’s were extremely poor.
a. The Paris Opera House would not accept Wagner’s latest work
Rienzi for production
b. At the same time, he was also composing another work based on
the German folk tale of The Flying Dutchman
c. Made a living by selling some music and most of Minna’s clothes!
9. Discouraged by his reception in Paris, Wagner received news that
both of his works had been accepted for production in Germany
a. Overwhelmed with gratitude
b. Vowed never to leave his homeland again
10. Both operas were a great success and at the age of 30, Wagner was
appointed court composer in Dresden
11. The couple was financially comfortable for the first time
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12. After joining a failed coup against the German monarchy, he and
Minna were forced to flee Germany again
a. They lived the next twelve years in exile in Zurich
b. The most important writings of Wagner stem from this time
i.
An essay called The Art Work of the Future (1849)
ii.
A book entitled Opera and Drama (1851)
iii.
In these texts he called for a renewal of the artistic ideas
and values from Greek antiquity
13. Wagner spent the next 35 years fulfilling his vision for “music drama”
a. Music and words should be completely woven together in a
retelling of old myths
b. This could carry the resonance of profound human truth
14. Published a vicious anti-Semitic essay called Jewishness in Music
a. Attacked the music of Mendelssohn and other Jewish composers
b. Called for the removal of the entire Jewish community
c. Called the Jews “this destructive foreign element”
15. Wagner started composing the poetry and music for his next work - it
was to be a cycle of musical dramas entitled The Rings of Nibelungs
a. Was to be a series of four long operas based on medieval German
legend involving gods and goddesses, dwarfs and giants and
human heroes
b. The central symbol of the cycle is a magic ring made of stolen gold
that dooms all whom possess it
c. It took Wagner nearly 25 years to complete this piece
d. The four dramas take over 15 hours to perform
e. An epic masterpiece that is till powerfully relevant today
16. Wagner originally had no hope of this work ever being performed halfway through the composition, he stopped to compose two other
operas not associated with the Ring cycle
17. Wagner had numerous affairs with other women.
a. The wife of a French patron (her husband threatened to put a
bullet through Wagner’s head)
b. The wife of a wealthy merchant who lent Wagner money
c. The wife of a good friend and fellow conductor, Hans van Bulow.
Cosima van Buslow was the daughter of Liszt. This affair gradually
deepened and finally Wagner and Minna separated. But it was
not until eight years later that Wagner and Cosima could be
married, after overcoming the objections of both Liszt and von
Bulow. By then the couple already had two daughters and a son.
Wagner was 57 and Cosima was 32.
18. In 1864, an 18 year old ascended to the throne of Bavaria - he was an
avid fan of Wagner and decided to sponsor the composer
a. For the rest of Wagner’s life, the king met his financial demands
b. He was able to complete the Ring cycle
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V.
c. A new theatre, Bayreuth was constructed for the four-night event
d. There is still an annual festival held in Wagner’s honor there every
year
19. Wagner died from a heart attack in 1883
C. Wagner’s music and contributions to music history
1. Most important works are for the stage.
a. His early works (Rienzi and The Flying Dutchman) are considered
traditional opera
b. The later works (The Ring Cycle) are considered musical dramas
2. Wrote for an extremely large orchestra
a. Invented a new musical instrument to cover the gap between the
horns and the trombones – the Wagner tuba
b. The orchestra for the Ring cycle uses four of them
3. His writings on music give us direct insight to his thought process as a
composer as well as the style and tradition of the music from his
lifetime
The Nationalist Composers
A. We have already seen the nationalistic influence of music from this time
1. Verdi became a national hero
2. Wagner revisited the mythic and heroic German past and became a
symbol for German pride
B. However, there were many other composers that rejected the
Italian/German dominance in music and fostered national pride in their
own countries.
1. They wrote operas in their native languages
2. Based operas and tone poems on stories, folk tales and descriptions
of natural beauty from their own country
3. Wove folk tunes into the compositions to give national identity
C. Russia
1. Modest Mussorgsky (1839 – 1881)
2. Pictures at an Exhibition – series of symphonic pieces describing
pictures hanging in a gallery
3. Night on Bald Mountain – symphonic poem
D. Bohemia
1. Was an independent country until it was taken over by Austria - today
it is part of the Czech Republic
2. Bedrich Smetna (1824 – 1884)
a. The Bartered Bride – opera based on folklore
b. The Moldau – symphonic poem from series of poems titled My
Fatherland about his home country - story of a river flowing
across the countryside
3. Antonin Dvorak (1841 – 1904)
a. Wrote symphonies, concertos, operas, and chamber music
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VI.
b. The New World Symphony – Dvorak’s 9th symphony, written in
America, combines American and Czech melodies; Dvorak hoped
to inspire Americans to develop their own national identity
E. Scandinavia
1. Jan Sibelius (1865 – 1957)
a. Symphonic poem Finlandia has intense national flavor - was
banned from being performed by the rulers of Finland at the time
b. Today is the national anthem of Finland
F. France
1. Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921)
a. Carnival of the Animals - chamber orchestra piece
2. Gabrielle Faure (1845 – 1924)
a. Composed several symphonies and a requiem
b. Composed many French songs with texts by the leading French
poets of the day
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
A. 1840 – 1893
B. Biographical Details
1. Russian
2. Father was a mining engineer and mother was of French descent
3. Had piano lessons as a child but turned to music after his mother died
when he was just 14
4. Began to earn his living as a government clerk at age 19
5. When the new St. Petersburg Music Conservatory was opened,
Tchaikovsky quit his job to become a music student there.
a. Friends described him as poor but extremely happy
b. A year after he graduated, he was offered a job as a music
professor at the music conservatory in Moscow
6. In Moscow, Tchaikovsky met many other composers and publishers
a. Flourished in the city’s cosmopolitan lifestyle
b. Published articles and a book on music
c. Traveled abroad
7. In 1877, at the age of 37, Tchaikovsky got married
a. This ended disastrously
b. He fled, attempted suicide and had a nervous breakdown
c. He tried to obtain a divorce from his wife, but she would not
consent - she pursued him for the rest of her life
d. During this time, he composed his 4th Symphony and an opera
called Eugene Onyegin - both are powerful, emotional works
8. A wealthy widow named Madam von Meck decided to become his
patron
a. She agreed to commission pieces from him but said that they
could never meet face to face
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b. This suited Tchaikovsky and the two corresponded for the next 13
years - there are nearly 1000 letters that exist from this
relationship
c. They shared an intense personal relationship with one another,
sharing their deepest, most personal thoughts
d. They wrote to one another nearly every day
e. In 1890, Madame von Meck suddenly broke off the relationship she died shortly there after; gave no reason, but it is rumored
that as her health was declining, so was her state of mind
9. In his last years, Tchaikovsky composed some of his greatest, most
well known works
10. Tchaikovsky died in 1893 of a cholera epidemic that was sweeping
through Russia
C. Tchaikovsky’s music and contribution to music history
1. Highly emotional.
a. The music ranges from the depths of despair to the heights of joy
2. Composed 6 symphonies, 3 piano concertos and a violin concerto
3. Was a master of creating musical drama
a. Was a sought after composer of ballet music during his lifetime
b. Elevated the musical score of a ballet and the production itself to
new heights
c. Most famous works are The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and
Swan Lake
d. Composed several operas, including Eugene Onyegin and The
Queen of Spades
4. Also composed several tone poems for orchestra, including the
famous Romeo and Juliet
5. Was a master of melody
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