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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
-German writer and statesman
-His writings were incredibly influential on our Romantic composers
-Already a celebrity by age 25
-Wrote: poetry, dramas, an autobiography, books about literature, 4 novels, and scientific books on anatomy, botany, and color -
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Luigi Cherubini
-Italian composer: French opera titled Lodoïska (1791)
-Plot: the defeat of oppression dramatized as a heroic rescue from enslavement and imprisonment
-This need to display liberty, equality, and heroism fueled not only opera, but music performances in general, and not just in France, but in other parts of Europe as well -
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Ludwig van Beethoven
-He is the transitional figure from the Classical to the Romantic style
Composed all genres:
-9 symphonies, 1 (bad) opera ,Much piano music, Lieder, Many chamber pieces
-Virtuoso pianist
-Expert improvisor
-Made his living in Vienna as a performer before he gained fame as a composer
-Created heroic music for a heroic age fresh out of the French Revolution
-Began loosing his hearing as a young man
-Was eccentric and the paranoia that the deafness intensified, isolated him from society -
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Alessandro Manzoni
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Carl Maria von Weber
-The creator of German Romantic opera with Der Freischütz (The Free shooter or Magic Bullet, 1821) -
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Giacomo Meyerbeer
-Jewish German composer who studied in Italy and composed French opera in Paris
-Known primarily for grand opéras: Les Huguenots
Overture Act V – Ein feste Burg -
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Gioachino Rossini
-Continued Mozart’s operatic style: THE most famous composer in Europe between 1815 and 1835 -
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Gaetano Donizetti
-Wrote over 70 operas -
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Franz Schubert
-Composed over 600 Lieder in his short life
-Composed 17 operas and Singpiele, 9 symphonies, 35 chamber works, 200 choral pieces, and more
-Son of a school teacher and taught school for a short while
Mostly a freelance composer; earned his income from teaching and publishing his music
Sponsored by his friends from the middle class and the wealthy lower nobility -
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Vincenzo Bellini
-Famous for his opera Norma (1831) -
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Hector Berlioz
-One of the most important early innovators of new orchestration and genres; French -
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Fanny Mendelssohn
-Older sister of Felix (1809-47)
-They died the same year: she in the spring, he in the fall about 6 months later, both from a series of strokes
-Given the same musical training as her brother: also a child prodigy
-Goethe remarked that the siblings were equal in talent
-Composing was outside the accepted occupations for women in the 19th century: -
Period: to
Felix Mendelssohn
-Felix was very important because he revived J. S. Bach’s music
-Started an “old music” trend; Baroque choral-orchestral works by Bach and Handel again performed
-Lieder ohne Worte (Songs Without Words, 1829-45): a set of short, lyrical character pieces
-8 volumes of 6 songs each, 48 total
-Op. 19, No. 1 from Book I, 1829-30 -
Romantic Era Begins
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Period: to
Frederic Chopin
-The poet of the piano
-His playing style was the most delicate of all performers of his day
-He only lived to 39
-Educated at the Conservatory of Warsaw in Poland: Moved to Paris in the 1830s
“Involved” with Aurore Dudevant, a female author who published under the name George Sand
-Found great success in the Salons
-Credited with originating the modern piano style
Everything he composed used the piano
His style is virtuosic, yet poetic
His character pieces are standards in piano repertoire -
Period: to
Robert Schumann
-German composer, writer, pianist
-Studied literature: founder and editor of Die neue Zeitschrift für Musick (The New Journal for Music)
-4 symphonies, 300+ Lieder, a piano concerto, much chamber and piano music – and one bad opera
-Live with his teacher, Frederic Wieck
-Clara Wieck and Schumann began a relationship; married in 1840
1844: he had a severe mental breakdown
-In 1854 he threw himself into the Rhine River
-Committed himself to an asylum, died at 46 -
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Franz Liszt
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Richard Wagner
-Wagner and Beethoven were the two most influential musicians in the 19th century
-Wagner’s musical innovations in harmony and orchestration revolutionized instrumental music and opera
-Born in Leipzig, Germany
-Early 1830s: Began composing operas; had some positions with -regional opera companies 1843: Appointed as the second Kapellmeister for the King of Saxony in Dresden
-Led a colorful life
-Major anti semite -
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Giuseppe Verdi
-The most important Italian composer in the mid to late 19th century
-Primarily an opera composer
-Composed a very popular Requiem, some other choral music, and 2 string quartets
-Hailed as a hero of Italy and audiences yelled “Viva Verdi” at his productions
-Macbeth, 1847
-Rigoletto, 1851
-Il trovatore, 1853
-La traviata, 1853
-Aida, 1871
-Otello, 1887
-Falstaff, 1893 -
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Jacques Offenbach
-Known for his opérettes: La belle Hélène, Orphée aux enfers
-The subject of much of Dr. Cummins research -
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Clara Wieck
-Clara: child prodigy, composer, and performer
Had already written the majority of her piano concerto by age 13
-Toured throughout her life, often with her friend and violinist, Joseph Joachim -
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Stephen Foster
-American song composer
-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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Louis Moreau Gottschalk
-American Nationalist
-Born in New Orleans
-His mother was from the Caribbean, and his father was of British Jewish heritage
-He was a child prodigy on the piano: Chopin said he would become “the king of pianists”
-By age 7 he was able to substitute for his teacher at the organ at Mass
-Sent to Paris to study -
Period: to
Johannes Brahms
-German romantic composer
Continued the classical traditions, especially in form
-A scholar; one of the first editors of J. S. Bach’s music
-In 1850 when certain composers in Germany wanted to honor Bach, they began a collected edition
-Brahms was the younger composer of the group
1853 (age 20): traveled to meet the Schumanns
-This meeting began a life-long friendship -
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Georges Bizet
-Blended styles into opéra comique with Carmen (1875) -
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Pytor Tchaikovsky
-Trained musically in the West: his Russian nationalist colleagues did not enthusiastically support him or his music
-Composed 8 operas, 7 symphonies, 3 piano concertos, 1 violin concerto, symphonic poems, overtures, chamber, keyboard, choral music, and songs
-Composed symphonies and symphonic poems -
Period: to
Antonin Dvořák
-From Bohemia (Czechoslovakia)
-Eight years younger than Brahms; they were friends
-Czechoslovakian nationalist composer
-Invited to come to America and head up the National Conservatory in New York City
-He took an interest in the United States’ folk music
Studied Black American cultures and music of the Native Americans -
Period: to
Giacomo Puccini
-Trained in music but wanted to follow his passion for the theater
-Did not compose a lot of works, but are treasured today Puccini was the most
-important Italian composer after Verdi -
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Gustav Mahler
-Most known as a conductor and secondly as a composer
Bohemian
-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 -
Period: to
Ignacy Jan Paderewski
-Polish pianist and composer
-Prime minister and foreign minister of Poland in 1919
-Made a piano roll recording of this piece
-A pianist could play a specialized piano that would punch holes in a turning roll of paper as you played. Then the rolls were mass produced and sold to people who owned player pianos
-The following slide shows what a player piano looks like. One usually had to pump the pedals to keep it going
-They sold the rolls in boxes with the titles of the pieces and composer name -
Romantic Era Ends