Romantic Era (1812-1890)

By rlb081

  • Romantic Era starts

    "Eccentricity and confusion of genres replaced reason and masterful simplicity" - Antonio Salieri Symphonies with Programs
    Sonata form distorted
    Operatic dramas intensified
    More Minor Keys
    Larger Orchestras and choirs
    longer pieces
    more percussion and brass
    phrasing less symmetrical and more expansive
    ascending sixths favored in melodies

  • Napoleon Invades Russia

    Invasion that ended in catastrophic failure for the French.

  • War of 1812 starts

    War fought between the US and its allies on one side, and the UK, its dependent colonies in North America, allies, and Spain on the other.

  • Article about Beethoven written by E.T.A. Hoffman

    An article about Beethoven's instrumental music was published in a music journal that reviewed new music and composers. The journal was called "Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung"

  • Battle of Leipzig

    a large allied army defeated Napoleon's forces

  • Philharmonic Society Founded

    Johann Salomon and others founded the Philharmonic Society in London. A concert series with a repertory founded on Beethoven's symphonies.

  • Richard Wagner is born

    Opera composer, he changed opera, harmony and music in general

  • Giuseppe Verdi is born

    most important Italian composer in the mid to late 19th century, primarily an opera composer, very popular Requiem, some other choral music and 2 string quartets, 28 operas

  • Napoleon Exiled

    Napoleon was abdicated to the island of Elba

  • The Congress of Vienna

    Europe was reorganized after agreements were reached, The Romantic Era began without a unified Germany, as the century goes on, this becomes an issue, as some long for German unification

  • "Erlkönig" (Goethe)

    poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

  • New Concert Etiquette adopted

    Socializing, eating, or coming and going during musical performances like they did during Mozart’s day and earlier were no longer acceptable

  • War of 1812 ends

    The war between the US and the UK and Spain ends

  • Invention of the Ophicleide

    Keyed brass instrument similar in range to a trombone, patented by Jean Hilaire Aste, family of different sizes, butt of jokes today

  • "Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog" (Friedrich)

    Painting by Caspar David Friedrich. Captures the Romantic Spirit, the idea of longing, whether it be peace, freedom, happiness, love, or beauty

  • Clara Schumann (Wieck) is born

    German composer, pianist and piano teacher, wife of Robert Schumann, 1 piano concerto, chamber music, songs, and many pieces for solo piano, cadenzas for piano concertos by Mozart and Beethoven

  • The Carlsbad Decrees of 1819

    placed severe limits on freedom and expression by individuals such as Universities and the press. Vienna didn't allow any kind of artistic expression in the 1820's

  • Jacques Offenbach is born

    known for his operettes

  • Romanticism takes full effect

    Objects art and life were all romanticized, the individual was valued thus having more focus on what that composer had to say. composers were more important than the performer to the audience. extreme emotions ("The Cult of Individual Feeling")

  • Napoleon Bonaparte dies

    de facto leader of the French Republic, French military and political leader. Led several campaigns during the Revolutionary Wars. Revered and then despised by Ludwig von Beethoven.

  • "Der Freischutz" (Weber)

    The first ever German romantic opera composed by Carl Maria von Weber.

  • "Der Freishutz" (Weber)

    Opera composed by Carl Maria von Weber

  • ETA Hoffman dies

    German author, jurist, composer, music critic and artist

  • Luigi Cherubini dies

    Italian composer, on the founding faculty of the Paris Conservatoire and became it's director the same year.

  • Royal Academy of Music opens

    music school located in London

  • Bedřich Smetana is born

    Bohemian, best known for his programmatic cycle of 6 symphonic poems, considered the founder of Czech music

  • Carl Maria von Weber dies

    German composer, conductor, piano virtuoso, guitarist and music critic, composed the first German romantic opera

  • Stephen Foster is born

    American song composer, first American to make a living as a professional songwriter

  • Ludwig von Beethoven dies

    German composer and pianist, one of the most famous composers in history

  • Franz Schubert dies

    Austrian composer, composed in all genres, over 600 Lieder, 17 operas and Singpiele, 9 symphonies, 35 chamber works, 200 choral pieces

  • Beethoven Biography (Berlioz)

    one year after Beethoven's death, Hector Berlioz published a 3 part Beethoven biography

  • Louis Moreau Gottschalk in born

    American nationalist, born in New Orleans, LA, his mom was from the Caribbean and his father was British and Jewish

  • Berlioz experiments with orchestra

    Berlioz orchestrated a program in a new and modern way. He was one of the first conductors to stand in front of an orchestra ad conduct

  • "Symphonie fantastique" (Berlioz)

    Opera composed by Hector Berlioz

  • "March to the Scaffold" (Berlioz)

    symphony written by Hector Berlioz

  • Chopin moves to Paris

    Chopin was educated at the Conservatory of Warsaw in Poland and the moved to Paris in the 1830's which was a new center for romanticism

  • Wagner begins composing

    Wagner began composing operas, had some positions with regional opera companies

  • "Norma" (Bellini)

    famous opera composed by Vincenzo Bellini

  • Johann Wolfgang von Goethe dies

    German writer and statesman, writings were incredibly influential on our romantic composers. Poetry, dramas, autobiography, books about literature, 4 novels, and scientific books on anatomy, botany and color.

  • Berlioz writes studies of Beethoven

    Hector Berlioz began writing detailed studies of Beethoven's symphonies, they were published in many journals

  • "Mazurka in B-Flat Minor, Op. 24, No. 4" (Chopin)

    Mazurka composed by Frederic Chopin, Mazurka is the subgenre, a Mazurka is a Polish folk dance in triple meter often with a heavy accent on the second or third beat of each measure

  • Johannes Brahms is born

    German romantic composer, travelled to meet the Schumanns at age 20, continued the classical traditions, especially in form, one of the first editors of Bach's music, 4 symphonies, choral music, piano music, lieder, chamber music, overtures

  • "Harold in Italy" (Berlioz)

    Opera composed by Hector Berlioz

  • Vincenzo Bellini dies

    Italian opera composer,

  • "Piano Concerto in Am" (Schumann)

    Composition by Clara Schumann

  • "Les Huguenots Overture" (Meyerbeer)

    opera overture composed by Giacomo Meyerbeer

  • "Notturno in G Minor" (Mendelssohn)

    Composition by Fanny Mendelssohn

  • Georges Bizet is born

    opera composer, blended styles into opera comique

  • "Romeo and Juliet" (Berlioz)

    Opera composed by Hector Berlioz.

  • Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky is born

    Composer of ballets
  • Period: to

    Nationalism

    A reaction against Germany by countries who wanted to proclaim their own nationalistic worth and patriotism in the face of Germany's arrogant stance

  • Antonin Dvorak is born

    Czech composer and nationalist, had an interest in United States folk music, studied Black American cultures and music of the Native Americans

  • "Symphony #4 in Dm, Op. 120" (Schumann)

    composition by Robert Schumann

  • Edvard Grieg is born

    Nordic composer and nationalist, famous for Peer Gynt (incidental music) and a famous piano concerto

  • Wagner becomes Kapellmeister

    Wagner was appointed as the second Kapellmeister for the King of Saxony in Dresden

  • "Lieder ohne Worte" (Mendelssohn)

    a set of short, lyrical character pieces composed by Felix Mendelssohn, 8 volumes of 6 songs each, 48 total

  • Felix Mendelssohn dies

    German composer of most genres, revived of J.S. Bach's music in Leipzig

  • Fanny Mendelssohn dies

    German composer and sister to Felix Mendelssohn. Would write under "F. Mendelssohn" so her works could be made public. more than 100 works for solo piano, more than 200 Lieder, 24 works for chorus, several works for orchestra including an overture, works for various chamber ensembles

  • "Macbeth" (Verdi)

    Famous opera

  • Gaetano Donizetti dies

    Italian opera composer, wrote over 70 operas

  • Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire

    Austria was ruling Germany at this time

  • Frederic Chopin dies

    delicate style pianist and composer

  • Classical and romantic Eras recognized

    Classicism and Romanticism were seen as distinct historical periods or definable artistic styles

  • Music Dramas beat German opera

    Richard Wagner's music dramas dominated later German opera, Wagner's operas were very large productions; an influence from French Grand Opera

  • Wagner the antisemite

    Wagner publishes an article in 1850 called "Jewishness in music"

  • "Rigoletto" (Verdi)

    famous opera

  • "Il trovatore" (Verdi)

    famous opera

  • "La traviata" (Verdi)

    famous opera

  • Harriet Smithson dies

    Anglo-Irish actress and wife of Hector Berlioz

  • "Variations in E-Flat on an Original Theme (Geistervariationen), Woo. 24)

    Composition by Robert Schumann

  • "Le banjo: Fantasie grotesque" (Gottschalk)

    (The Banjo, Grotesque Fantasy: An American Sketch) composition by Louis Moreau Gottschalk, features snipits of Stephen Foster's "Camptown Races" and "American" spirituals

  • Robert Schumann dies

    German composer, pianist and music critic, more important as an editor and promoter of music, 4 symphonies, 300+ Lieder, a piano concerto, much chamber and piano music, one bad opera

  • Heinrich Heine dies

    German poet, writer and literary critic

  • Edward Elgar is born

    English composer and nationalist

  • "Orphee aux enfers" (Offenbach)

    Operette composed by Jacques Offenbach

  • Giacomo Puccini is born

    Most important Italian composer after Verdi

  • Klemenz Wenzel von Metternich dies

    Chancellor of Austria, hosted the Congress of Vienna and was instrumental in shaping social activities, fueled two new music genres, the character piece and the Lied

  • Isaac Albeniz is born

    Spanish composer and nationalist

  • Ignacy Jan Paderewski is born

    Polish pianist and composer, prime minister and foreign minister of Poland in 1919

  • Gustav Mahler is born

    known as a conductor and composer, music neglected until after WW2

  • Italy becomes a country

  • Frederick Delius is born

    English composer and nationalist, also lived in France and the US

  • "The Trojans" (Berlioz)

    Hector Berlioz's most famous opera, based on his own libretto

  • Stephen Foster dies

    died broke and as a penniless alcoholic

  • Giacomo Meyerbeer dies

    Jewish German composer who studied in Italy and composed French opera in Paris, known primarily for grand operas

  • "La belle Helene" (Offenbach)

    Operette composed by Jacques Offenbach

  • Jean Sibelius is born

    Finnish composer and nationalist

  • "The Bartered Bride" (Smetana)

    Czech comic opera composed by Smetana, played a large role in establishing Czech music, identified with the progressive ideas of Liszt and Wagner

  • Enrique Granados is born

    Spanish composer and nationalist

  • Gioacchino Rossini dies

    Italian opera composer, the most important in the early 19th century, most famous composer in Europe in the early 19th century, continued Mozart's operatic style

  • Hector Berlioz dies

    French composer, one of the most important early innovators of new orchestration and genres

  • Louis Moreau Gottschalk dies

  • Germany unified (Modern Day)

    Germany was not unified as we think of it today until 1871

  • "Aida" (Verdi)

    famous opera

  • Alessandro Menzoni dies

    famous Italian poet and novelist

  • "The Moldau" (Smetana)

    Symphonic poem composed by Bedřich Smetana. The Moldau is a river in Czechoslovakia

  • "Messa da Requiem" (Verdi)

    Requiem composed by Verdi

  • "Carmen" (Bizet)

    Opera composed by Georges Bizet

  • Georges Bizet dies

  • Manuel de Falla is born

    Spanish composer and nationalist

  • "Der Ring Des Nibelungen" (Wagner)

    Four music drama cycle performed on four consecutive nights consisting of "The Rhine Gold", "The Valkyrie", and "The Twilight of the Gods"

  • "Swan Lake" (1877)

    Famous ballet composed by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

  • "Má vlast" (Smetana)

    ("My Country") cycle of 6 poems

  • "1812 Overture" (Tchaikovsky)

    Famous composition by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

  • Jacques Offenbach dies

  • "Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90" (Brahms)

    Traditional 4 movement symphony composed by Johannes Brahms

  • Richard Wagner dies

  • Bedřich Smetana dies

  • Franz Lizst dies

    Hungarian composer, piano virtuoso, writer, conductor, innovator, supporter of Wagner

  • "Otello" (Verdi)

    famous opera

  • "The Sleeping Beauty" (Tchaikovsky)

    Famous opera composed by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

  • "The Nutcracker" (Tchaikovsky)

    Iconic ballet composed by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

  • "Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, From the New World" (Dvorak)

    Famous symphony by Antonin Dvorak, can be seen as a descriptive landscape, imbued the symphony with the flavor of America as he saw it