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Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer and statesman. His writings were incredibly influential on our romantic composers. He wrote: poetry, dramas, an autobiography, books about literature, 4 novels, and scientific books on anatomy, botany, and color. -
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Cherubini
Luigi Cherubini is an Italian composer, that made a French opera titled Lodoïska. -
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Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven is the transitional figure from the Classical to the Romantic style. He composed all genres: 9 symphonies,1 (bad) opera, piano music, Lieder and many chamber pieces. He made his living in Vienna as a performer before he gained fame as a composer. He created heroic music for a heroic age fresh out of the French Revolution. -
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Manzoni
Alessandro Manzoni is a famous Italian poet and novelist. Manzoni fell ill and died of cerebral meningitis on May 22. His most noble tribute was the Requiem that Verdi wrote specially to honor his memory. -
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Weber
Carl Maria von Weber was the creator of German Romantic opera with Der Freischütz (The Free shooter or Magic Bullet, 1821) Wolf Glen Scene. -
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French Revolution
This radical change profoundly altered the course of modern history, triggering the global decline of theocracies (a government where the clergy rules) and absolute monarchies (a government where a King or Emperor --one person-rules) and replaced them with republics and democracies. The “common” people saw themselves as empowered to break free from oppression and nobility oppression of the commoners. -
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Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer is a Jewish German composer who studied in Italy and composed French opera in Paris. He is known primarily for grand opéras: Les Huguenots Overture Act V – Ein feste Burg. -
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Rossini
Gioachino Rossini continued Mozart’s operatic style, and was the most famous composer in Europe between 1815 and 1835. -
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Donizetti
Gaetano Donizetti wrote over 70 operas. -
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Schubert
Franz Schubert composed over 600 Lieder in his short life, and
composed 17 operas and Singpiele, 9 symphonies, 35 chamber works, 200 choral pieces, and more. He was mostly a freelance composer; earned his income from teaching and publishing his music. -
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Bellini
Vincenzo Bellini is famous for his opera Norma (1831). -
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Berlioz
Hector Berlioz is a French composer, conductor, critic, and author. Berlioz was the Innovator of orchestration techniques that created the modern orchestral sound, and wrote a treatise on orchestration. -
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Mendelssohn Hensel
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel was the older sister of Felix, and they died the same year. She was given the same musical training as her brother. Composing was outside the accepted occupations for women in the 19th century, therefore, her brother published her work. -
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Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn was very important because he revived J. S. Bach’s music. He started an “old music” trend; Baroque choral-orchestral works by Bach and Handel again performed. -
Texture
Homophony, Polyphony and Monophony were all Used in the 19th century. Texture was rarely the focus of expression, but instead it was usually the servant of emotional display. -
Melody
Melodies could still be symmetrical, but for the most part, comma composers prefer to write more expansive and elongated Musical thoughts. The upward leap of a sixth was the romantic interval, and many melodies, including it or even begun with it. Melodies were still a focal point for romantic composers, but the harmonic under layer of that melody was just as important to them and much more important than it had been to 18th century composers. -
Rhythm
Beginning with Beethoven heroism in the 19th century became the 100-year fad. This resulted in a desire for Fanfare-like musical statements in orchestral music. Dances lost their dominating force on rhythm that they previously held in the 18th century rhythm, partly because of the use of Rubato Took on more free nature in the 19th century alongside the staunch heroic gestures. 19th century music also used more metered changes than ever before. -
Harmony
Remarkable advances occurred and the harmonic nature of music in the 19th century, sevenths, ninths, and harmonic chromaticism dominated almost every genre of music. Wagner created the wildest inventions that would eventually lead to harmonic theories of the 20th century. Dissonance was used freely without proper preparation. Tonal progressions by thirds became popular in although the harmony of the 19th century was still functional, it moved to an extended tonal system by the end of the 1800s. -
Form
Forms from the 18th century, such as Sonata variations, ritornello and Rondo, continued popularity in the 19th century, but with expansions and additions. Conservative composers tended to clean to the classical or traditional compositional techniques which the progressive composers sometimes abandoned altogether. -
Dynamics
In the 19th century, dynamics were used for the first time in music history to their fullest potential. As personal expression and emotional content became a focus, dynamics became central devices for the style. Never before in time does music experience such a wide array of expression of volume, tempo and mood. -
Timbre
For the first time in music history, orchestration became an art form in itself. Berlioz innovated outrageous combinations of instruments and untraditional uses of traditional instruments. The progressive composers, in particular made extraordinary changes in the expectations of roles for various orchestral. Instruments. This eventually led to the unseating of these stringed instruments from the 200-year orchestral dominance orchestration treaties were published and studied. -
Instruments
It is during the 19th century that most modern improvements were made to orchestral instruments. The piano received its most important improvements in the tuning of many instruments, was significantly refined percussion instruments, and found an important voice in the progressive music of the century. Likewise, other instruments that had been considered one company. Instruments were able to throw off stereotypes and be integrated into the new modern orchestra sound. -
Genres
Character pieces: short, lyrical piece
Lied: Took the emotional and expressive content of genre to a higher plane.
Mazurka: polish folk dance in triple meter
Minstrel Song: a member of a troupe of comedic entertainers who capitalized on stereotypes.
Music Drama: Wagner called his operas: music dramas.
Opera: German Romanic opera, Italian opera seria, Italian comic opera, grand opera, opera comique, opera bouffe, French lyric opera, Italian tragic opera, opera semiseria. -
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Schumann
Robert Schumann is a German composer, writer, pianist, that Studied literature. He was the founder and editor of Die neue Zeitschrift für Musick (The New Journal for Music). Schumann composed 4 symphonies, 300+ Lieder, a piano concerto, much chamber and piano music – and one bad opera. -
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Chopin
Frédéric Chopin playing style was the most delicate of all performers of his day, however he only lived to age 39. His music was most appreciated by other musicians and by the upper class. -
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Wagner
Richard Wagner's musical innovations in harmony and orchestration revolutionized instrumental music and opera. In the early 1830s, he began composing operas, and had some positions with regional opera companies. In Post-1850, he wrote what he called music dramas. -
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Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi is the most important Italian composer in the mid to late 19th century, that primarily composed opera. -
Erlkönig
Based on the legend that whoever is touched by the king of the elves must die. -
The Carlsbad Decrees
These decrees placed severe limits on freedom of expression by individuals (including artists) and institutions such as Universities and presses. -
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Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach is known for his opérettes: La belle Hélène, Orphée aux enfers. -
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Wieck Schumann
Clara was a child prodigy, composer, and performer, and already written the majority of her piano concerto by age 13. She toured throughout her life, often with her friend and violinist, Joseph Joachim. By age 15 she had composed several works including a piano concerto. -
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Smetana
Bedřich Smetana is Bohemian, and best known for his programmatic cycle of 6 symphonic poems called Má vlast (My Country). -
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Foster
Stephen Foster was an American song composer, and He was the first American to make a living as a professional songwriter, although he died broke at the age of 37; a penniless alcoholic. -
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Lieder ohne Worte (Songs Without Words)
A set of short, lyrical character pieces, there was 8 volumes of 6 songs each, 48 total. -
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Gottschalk
Louis Moreau Gottschalk is an American Nationalist, that was born in New Orleans. He was a child prodigy on the piano, and by age 7 he was able to substitute for his teacher at the organ at Mass. -
Symphonie Fantastique
A program symphony in 5 movements. I. Reveries, Passions
II. A Ball
III. Scene in the Fields
IV. March to the Scaffold
V. Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath -
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Brahms
Johannes Brahms was the younger composer of the group, and at the age of 20, he traveled to meet the Schumanns. He is a German romantic composer, that continued the classical traditions, especially in form. -
Invention of the Tuba
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Bizet
Georges Bizet blended styles into opéra comique with Carmen (1875). -
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Tchaikovsky
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky trained musically in the West, and his Russian nationalist colleagues did not enthusiastically support him or his music. He composed 8 operas, 7 symphonies, 3 piano concertos, 1 violin concerto, symphonic poems, overtures, chamber, keyboard, choral music, and songs. -
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Dvořák
Antonin Dvořák is from Bohemia (Czechoslovakia), and is
eight years younger than Brahms. They were friends, and Dvořák was a Czechoslovakian nationalist composer. -
Invention of the Saxophone
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Famous Verdi Operas
Macbeth, 1847
Rigoletto, 1851
Il trovatore, 1853
La traviata, 1853
Aida, 1871
Otello, 1887
Falstaff, 1893 -
Rigoletto
Rigoletto was first produced in Venice, Italy. -
Invention of Recorded Sound
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Puccini
Giacomo Puccini trained in music but wanted to follow his passion for the theater. He did not compose a lot of works, but they are treasured today. Puccini was the most important Italian composer after Verdi. -
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Mahler
Gustav Mahler is the most known as a conductor and secondly as a composer. He bridged the Austro-German romantic traditions of composing with the new modern styles in the 20th century. His music was neglected until after the end of WWII. -
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Paderewski
Ignacy Jan Paderewski was a Polish pianist and composer, and Prime minister and foreign minister of Poland in 1919. Paderewski made a piano roll recording. -
Messa da Requiem
Brings back some of the musical material and text used earlier. This excerpt is a return of the “Dies Irae” (“Day of wrath”) heard earlier in Verdi’s Requiem. The dramatic mood is brought to life as Verdi has the soprano soloist begging for deliverance from the judgment of the world by fire. -
Má vlast (My Country)
A tone poem, that uses tone painting to evoke the sounds of the Moldau River. -
Der Ring des Nibelungen
This four-music drama cycle was to be performed on four consecutive nights, and the entire cycle was first performed in Bayreuth in 1876. Das Rheingold (The Rhine Gold); 1853-1854
Die Walküre (The Valkyrie); 1854-56
Siegfried; 1856-71
Götterdämmerung (The Twilight of the Gods); 1869-74 -
Swan Lake
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Bartók
Béla Bartók published 2000 tunes that he collected from Eastern European countries (Hungary, Romania, Croatia, Slovakia, Serbia, and Bulgaria). He arranged and created music based on these traditional tunes, and wrote books and articles on this music. -
Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90
In the first movement of Symphony No. 3, he uses an ascending 3-note motive. Then he turns the motive into significant musical material and develops it over and over while creating a modern sonata-ish form. -
The Sleeping Beauty
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The Nutcracker
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Manon Lescaut
Puccini's opera, that afforded him his first taste of international fame. -
La bohème
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Tosca
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Madame Butterfly
Versimo opera, and Puccini’s inspiration for this opera was a play by David Belasco called Madame Butterfly. -
Das Lied von der Erde
Orchestral song cycle, that has a set of six poems. There are pentatonic melodies, and the folk-like quality in this Lied descends from the Austrian tradition of Brahms and German Romanticism. -
Gianni Schicchi
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Turandot
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Baryshnikov
Mikhail Baryshnikov is one of the most famous Russian ballet dancers of recent times.