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Period: to
Early Romanticism
Transition from Classical to Romantic styles.
Composers: Ludwig van Beethoven (later works), Franz Schubert, Carl Maria von Weber.
Characteristics: Emotional expression, expansion of form, lyrical melodies. -
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9
Considered one of Beethoven's greatest works, Symphony 9 is notable not only for its length and complexity, but for the fact that he introduced vocal soloists and a chorus into the final movement, as if the purely instrumental form of the classical symphony could not express all that he felt. -
The Apotheosis of Homer- Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
The Apotheosis of Homer by Ingres is considered to be one of the great masterpieces of the Romantic Period. Figures from Greek, Roman and modern times - such as Mozart, Voltaire, Dante, and Shakespeare - are symmetrically centered in front of a Greek temple, to pay homage to Homer. Homer is in the middle with Iliad and Odyssey, two of Homer's greatest works, at his feet. This painting in particular uses the technique of fresco, which is the use of plaster. -
Period: to
Mid-Romanticism
Fully developed Romantic style with increased expressiveness.
Composers: Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, Robert Schumann, Hector Berlioz, Felix Mendelssohn.
Characteristics: Virtuosic piano works, orchestral program music, and emphasis on national styles. -
Schumann writes Carnaval, Op. 9
One of his most famous works, Carnaval latently expresses Schumann's love for two women through a collection of short piano solo pieces manifestly aboud a masquerade at Carnaval. -
Violin Concerto in E Minor, Opus 64-Felix Mendelssohn
In this piece, Mendelssohn wrote that a single bassoon is to hold one note of the final chord of the first movement, leading immediately into the middle movement. This lack of pause between the first and middle movement is an important structural principle of the Romantic style. -
Period: to
Late Romanticism
Further expansion of orchestration and harmonic complexity.
Composers: Johannes Brahms, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Anton Bruckner, Richard Wagner.
Characteristics: Larger orchestras, chromatic harmonies, operatic innovations. -
Period: to
Post-Romanticism
Overlaps with early modernism, pushing Romantic ideals to their limits.
Composers: Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, Sergei Rachmaninoff.
Characteristics: Extreme emotional depth, massive orchestration, and a move toward impressionism and expressionism.