MUSIC OF THE

ROMANTIC PERIOD
1820 - 1910
Romantic Period

Described as a cultural
movement that stressed
emotion, imagination, Nationalism was
individualism and freedom also incorporated in
of expression. These the music of the
characteristics are evident
in music, art and literature Romantic period
of the era.
 Ludwig Van Beethoven
bridged the music from This change in musical
form also paved the way
Classical to Romantic era
for expanding the orchestra
by expressing his passion as the composers explored
and emotions through his various instrumentations.
music.

Piano music of the

Program music was
Romantic period is in
expressed in tone
free form such as
poems such as
fantasy, rhapsody,
Symphony Fantastique.
ballade and nocturne.
VIOLIN AND STRINGS MUSIC
NICCOLO PAGANINI

October 27, 1782, in Genoa, his violin teachers could not

Italy keep up with the progress of
his violin skills that he kept on
5 – musical skills started with transferring from one violin
playing the mandolin teacher to another.

this led him to adopt all his

7 - training to the violin teachers’ influences in playing
the violin
 together with his
fame came the
rumors about his
amazing violin he was also
became the most skills that was rumored to have a
famous violin said to be a gift problem with
virtuoso in the from the devil and women and
world that he sold his gambling.
soul in exchange
for those skills.
 Some Works:

“La Campanella” 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, Op.

1

Concerto No. 1 in Eb , Op. 6

15 Quartets for Guitar and

The Carnival of Venice
Strings Trio
PIANO MUSIC
• was filled with innovations

• Most of the compositions require a high level of virtuosity.

• Some were reinventions of sonatas from the Classical era.

• Today, some piano compositions from the Romantic period have

been adapted into songs.
An example:
Chopin’s Etude Op. 10, No. 3 in E major
used for the song “No Other Love”.
1. FREDERIC CHOPIN

“Poet of the Piano.” Warsaw Conservatory

- Wilhelm Würfel and most of his
music was influenced by folk music.
March 1,1810
Zelazowa, Poland.
1829 – finished his formal
education
4 – began to play piano
Wrote almost exclusively for piano
7 – composed polonaise at the and made extensive use of piano
age of 7. pedal in most of his compositions.
1831 – Franz Liszt, Felix
Mendelssohn and Robert recognized worldwide for its
Schumann beauty and his works on the
piano are mainstays in the
piano repertoire.
French writer George Sand
Some of his music is
characterized by its beautiful
pulmonary tuberculosis. tone, rhythmic flexibility,
grace and elegance. Some of
his compositions like
died on October 17, 1849, mazurkas and polonaise
in Paris. express his love for Poland.
Chopin is famous for the following:

• BALLADE • ETUDE • MAZURKA

– a verse form or – a piece composed – a Polish dance in
narrative that is set for the development of triple time signature
a specific technique.
to music

• NOCTURNE • POLONAISE • PRELUDE

– a slow Polish – a short piece of music
– an instrumental that can be used as a
composition of a dance in triple time preface, and introduction
pensive, dreamy that consists of a to another work or may
mood, for the piano march or procession stand on its own
• WALTZ • IMPROMPTU
– a German dance in triple meter – a short free-form musical
composition usually for a solo
instrument, like the piano

• SCHERZO • SONATA
– a musical movement of playful – composition for one or more solo
character, typically in ABA form instruments usually consisting of
three or four independent
movements varying in key, mood,
and tempo

Chopin is famous for the following:

2. FRANZ LISZT

virtuoso pianist, a composer and the busiest Doborjan,

musician during the Romantic Period. Hungary

displayed remarkable talent at a young age 6 – father was his

and easily understood sight reading. first teacher

A turning point came when, in his early twenties, heard the

virtuoso violinist Niccolò Paganini perform
 also known with his
generosity in
known for his sharing time and
symphonic poems made piano
money to the
where he translated transcriptions of
orphans, victim of
great literary works operas and famous
disasters and the
into musical symphonies
many students he
compositions taught music for
free.
 Some of Liszt’s Piano works:
La Campanella Un Sospiro Arrangements of
the 9 Beethoven
Liebestraume No. 3 Sonata in B Minor Symphonies

"Hungarian Rhapsodies" The Hungarian

originally written for solo Rhapsody No.2 is the Transcriptions of
piano, but many were most popular and was the
arranged for orchestra or basis for the Tom & Jerry Lieder by
other combinations of cartoon called the Cat Schubert
instruments. Concerto

Some of Liszt’s Symphonic Poems

Orchestral Composition: (Hamlet, Les Preludes)
3. ROBERT SCHUMANN
one of the famous
1821 – father 1830 - Wieck in
Romantic
wanted him to study Leipzig.
composers that
law, went to Leipzig
beautifully combined
to study law.
music and words
developed a
a composer and
Friedrich Wieck – problem with his
music critic.
spent most of his hands, effectively
time with musical ending his dreams
1810 – Zwickau and literary circles as a pianist.
 two pseudonyms
1834 - founded the music journal

Eusebius
(his sensitive, lyrical side)
Jornal Neue Zeitschrift fur Musik
Florestan
(his fiery, stormy side)
Piano Works
"Davidsbundlertanze "Carnaval," Opus 9
"Abegg " ("Dances of the (1835) - a portrait of a
masked ball attended by
Variations," Opus 1( Band of David"), his allies and his beloved
1830) Opus 6 (1837) Clara

"Phantasiestucke," “Kreisleriana," Opus "Kinderszenen," Opus

Opus 12 (1837) - a 16 (1838) - a fantasy 15 (1838) - a poetic
series of mood on the mad series of evocations of
pieces Kapellmeister a child’s world
He wrote over 100 Art Orchestral music:
Songs
"Piano Concerto in A Minor,"
Some of which are: Opus 54

"Overture, Scherzo
"Frauenliebe und Leben"
("A Woman's Love and Life") “Finale," Opus 52
(a mini symphony)
"Dichterliebe"
("A Poet's Love") "Konzertstuck in F Major for Four
Horns and Orchestra," Opus 86
PROGRAM MUSIC
COMPOSERS OF PROGRAM
MUSIC:
 1. HECTOR BERLIOZ
• a French romantic
• December 11, 1803.
• at young age, he learned to play guitar and flute but never became
skilled in a specific musical instrument.
• His father was a physician who sent Hector to medical school but
ended up pursuing a career in music.
• One of his famous musical compositions is a five – movement
symphony called “Symphonie Fantastique”.
• “Fantastic Symphony” – Berlioz showcased the important features in
his composition in creating tone color.
• He assembled hundreds of musicians to produce a powerful sound.
• In most of his compositions, he made tone color as the basic part of
his musical language.
 STORY OF SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE:
A young, extremely sensitive and imaginative musician tries to kill
himself with opium due to depression caused by discouraged love.
Unfortunately, the dose was not enough and does not kill him but
instead, plunges him into a heavy sleep flocked with nightmares.
His experiences, feelings and memories are translated into
hallucinations of musical thoughts and images.
The girl he loves was transformed into a melody and like a recurring
theme, he meets and hears everywhere.
Each movement of the symphony refers to a different vision in the
young musician’s mind.
 SEQUENCE OF SYMPHONIE
FANTASTIQUE:
MOVEMENT TITLE TEMPO FORM
1ST MOVEMENT Reveries/ Largo (slow introduction) Allegro agitato e
Passion appasionado assai (agitated and very
impassioned allegro)
2ND MOVEMENT A Ball Allegro non troppo The second movement is ABA form
a waltz
3RD MOVEMENT Scene in the Adagio waltz ABA Coda Form
Country
4TH MOVEMENT March to the Allegretto non troppo Composed of two
Scaffold different themes

5TH MOVEMENT Dream of a Larghetto allegro

Witches Sabbath Most fantastic of the movement
2. PETER ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
(Pyotr Ilyich Chaykowsky)
• May 7, 1840 in Votkinsk, Russia
• was known for his ballet music
• first studied law and became a law clerk in St. Petersburg in his
twenties.
• Rebelled and began to study music at the conservatory also in St.
Petersburg.
• As a big fan of Mozart, Tchaikovsky studied composition with Anton
Rubinstein and moved to Moscow and started teaching at the new
conservatory.
• continued his music career in New York despite having marital
problems and became famous after composing the musical poem
“Fatum” and “Romeo and Juliet”.
• composed haunting melodies and used a great deal of folk music in
his symphonic works.
• his fame peaked in the last ten years of his life and later died due to
cholera.
 Tchaikovsky’s Famous Compositions:
• Swan Lake
• Sleeping Beauty
• The Nutcracker
• Romeo & Juliet
• 1812 Overture
• Symphony No. 2
• Symphony No. 6 “Pathetique”
• Piano Concerto No. 1
3. CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS
• was known as a talented musician from an early age.
• born in Paris on October 9, 1835
• 2 – started his music through the help of his aunt by teaching
him piano lesson
• 3 - he began composing piano piece
• was considered as a composer who creates elegant music, neat,
clean, polished and never excessive.
• One of this is example is “The Swan”.
• an organist and one of the best pianists of his time, he sat very still
at the piano and played gracefully and cool.
• Some of the facts during the peak of his career in musician and
composer, many beautiful building, churches and instruments were
being built in France which includes the famous Eiffel Tower.
 Best known music of Camille Saint-Saëns:
• Carnival of the Animals
• Danse Macabre and his Symphony No. 3
• The Swan
• Over 300 works, unusually in all genres, including
• 3 operas (Samson and Delilah the only one remembered)
• 5 Symphonies (best known No3 the Organ Symphony )
• 3 concertos for violin and orchestra
• 5 concertos for piano and orchestra
• 2 concertos for cello and orchestra
• organ music
• numerous pieces for the piano
• approximately 100 songs
• chamber music
• sacred music including a Requiem