Feelings! Nothing more....

Teacher Ed. about Romantic Music in History

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Out of the Classical Era and the work of Ludwig von Beethoven, the Romantic Era was born. While it was never called such in the time of these composers, a definite shift in the direction of music could be heard and felt. Everything that Beethoven had started came into full force.

The form of a piece was no longer important anymore. Beethoven had pushed that envelope by placing themes throughout his pieces and changing previous forms that came out like cookie cutter patterns.

What became important in place of form was color, mood, emotion, and individuality. Many composers had felt constrained by the patronage system, and thus, when men such as Beethoven broke the molds, they were spurred on to go their own way.

It was also an era of specialization. Men such as Chopin were piano virtuosos. Verdi wrote only opera. To read more about themes, please visit the Introduction to the Romantic Era page, then come back to the Teacher page and here.

In this touchy-feely music, there were many accomplished composers. A few of the great ones are listed below who either exemplify the feeling in music, or exemplify the backlash to this colorful music.

Specific "Feeling-Oriented" Composers

Franz Schubert (SHOE-bert) (1797-1828)

Throughout his life, Schubert was overshadowed by Beethoven. He was the epitome of the starving composer and was always at the mercy of publishers. He borrowed much money from friends. Much of his famous music today was sent back to him by the publishers as unworthy of printing. He is most well known for "The Unfinished Symphony," which characterized the Romantic era in that it only had two movements instead of the usual four from the Classical era, hence its name.

Robert Schumann (SHOE- mahhn)

Robert Schumann, a more well-liked and successful composer during his lifetime than Schubert, was a bit of a character. He was known to have three imaginary friends that wove through his music. There was "Florestan," the dramatic, powerful, and aggressive. "Eusebius" had a dream-like fantasy quality about her. "Raro" was a combination of these two qualities. Many of these qualities were the product of the marriage of Robert and Clara Schumann, also a noted composer of the time. His music was very German, and was modeled after Beethoven. Schumann's 4th Symphony was a study in free association thought in music, very new for its time.

Felix Mendelssohn (MEN-del-son) (1809-1847)

Mendelssohn was one of those composers that resisted the influence of Beethoven. He had studied Bach and Handel and was rigorously trained in the classical forms. His preludes and fugues provide evidence of his influence by Bach. He also wrote 48 short pieces, popular on the piano nowadays.

Guiseppe Verdi (VER-dee)

Verdi wrote specifically for Italian Opera. In opera, the Romantic Era ushered in realism in music, known as "verismo." Opera began addressing real people with real problems. It paralleled the realism in literature. Subjects became more tragic. Verdi's music personified this newer style.

Continue with The Fight of the Century....Absolute vs. Progrommatic!

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