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Important Points for Romanticism
Poets and musicians focused on trying to create moments during which ‘inexpressible longing could be felt. This was the ultimate issue of the romantic aesthetic. -
Rescue Operas
These became popular all over Europe.
The public loved this topic as they imagined good triumphing over wrong, the freeing of the oppressed, and most importantly, heroism.
Beethoven composed only one opera; it was in this genre: Fidelio (1805). -
Orchestral changes in the 19th century
New combinations of instruments.More instruments were added to the orchestra: orchestras increased in size. More brass and percussion were included.
New orchestral music:
Symphonic poem (tone poem): some German composers began writing programs for their music. Program music: non-vocal music that is associated with something outside of the music itself, such as a story, a poem, or some other suggestion by the composer. -
Bildung
The idea of Bildung was that art or music was used (and intended for) intellectual formation and spiritual growth. -
West Florida Controversy
The West Florida Controversy included two border disputes that involved Spain and the United States in relation to the region known as West Florida over a period of 37 years. The first dispute commenced immediately after Spain received the colonies of West and East Florida from the Kingdom of Great Britain following the American Revolutionary War. Initial disagreements were settled with Pinckney's Treaty of 1795. -
The Tin Can
Peter Durand invents the tin can. -
19th Century Salon (1810-1890)
The Salon was a “drawing room”; like a parlor or formal living room; visitors would be greeted and entertained. Friends would gather to play and sing, and they were present all over the world. -
Beethoven a Genius
In 1813 Hoffmann calls Beethoven a genius. An article was published about Beethoven’s instrumental music written by E. T. A. Hoffmann (1776-1822). Published in a music journal that reviewed new music and composers: Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung. -
Philharmonic Society
In 1813 London: Johann Salomon (Haydn’s patron) and others founded the Philharmonic Society. A concert series with a repertory founded on Beethoven’s symphonies. -
Giuseppe Verdi: (1813-1901)
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. -
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas. Unlike most opera composers, Wagner wrote both the libretto and the music for each of his stage works. -
Erlkönig (1815)
Based on the legend that whoever is touched by the king of the elves must die. Several German words have vague meanings.
Where they are riding to is not clear: the German word “Hof” can mean “yard,” “courtyard,” “farm,” or (royal) “court”. -
Biedermeier Art period: (1815-1848)
The Biedermeier period was an era in Central Europe between 1815 and 1848 during which the middle class grew in number and the arts appealed to common sensibilities. It began with the Congress of Vienna at the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 and ended with the onset of the Revolutions of 1848. -
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815)
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of major conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European powers formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of French domination over most of continental Europe. The wars stemmed from the unresolved disputes associated with the French Revolution and its resultant conflict. -
Stethoscope (1816)
René Laënnec invents the stethoscope. -
Napoléon Bonaparte (1769-1821)
Napoléon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led several successful campaigns during the Revolutionary Wars. He was the de facto leader of the French Republic as First Consul from 1799 to 1804. -
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of Wellington. -
Antonio Salieri (1750-1825)
Antonio Salieri was an Italian classical composer, conductor, and teacher. He was born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, and spent his adult life and career as a subject of the Habsburg Monarchy. Salieri was a pivotal figure in the development of late 18th-century opera. -
Electromagnet
William Sturgeon invents the electromagnet. -
Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826)
Composed the first German romantic opera “Der Freischütz” (The Magic Bullet, 1819-21). -
Stephen Foster: (1826-1864)
Stephen Foster; an American song composer; was the first American to make a living as a professional songwriter, although he died broke at the age of 37; a penniless alcoholic. -
Beethoven (1770-1827)
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical music repertoire and span the transition from the Classical period to the Romantic era in classical music. -
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast oeuvre, including more than 600 secular vocal works, seven complete symphonies, sacred music, operas, incidental music, and a large body of piano and chamber music. -
Louis Moreau Gottschalk: (1829-1869)
Louis Moreau Gottschalk was an American composer and pianist, best known as a virtuoso performer of his own romantic piano works. He spent most of his working career outside of the United States. -
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
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. -
Spanish American wars of independence (1808-1833)
The Spanish-American wars of independence were numerous wars in Spanish America with the aim of political independence against Spanish rule during the early 19th century. These began shortly after the start of the French invasion of Spain during the Napoleonic Wars. Thus, the strict period of military campaigns would go from the battle of Chacaltaya (1809), in present-day Bolivia, to the battle of Tampico (1829), in Mexico. -
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Johannes Brahms was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. -
Vincenzo Bellini: (1801-1835)
Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini was a Sicilian opera composer, who was known for his long-flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania". Famous for his opera Norma (1831) -
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky: (1840-1893)
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He was honored in 1884 by Tsar Alexander III and awarded a lifetime pension. -
Antonin Dvořák: (1841-1904)
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was one of the first Czech composers to achieve worldwide recognition. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predecessor Bedřich Smetana. -
Luigi Cherubini (1760-1842)
Luigi Cherubini was an Italian Classical and Romantic composer. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethoven regarded Cherubini as the greatest of his contemporaries. His operas were heavily praised and interpreted by Rossini. -
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonies, concertos, piano music, organ music and chamber music. -
Fanny Mendelssohn: (1805-1847)
Fanny Mendelssohn was a German composer and pianist of the early Romantic era who was also known as Fanny Mendelssohn Bartholdy and, after her marriage, Fanny Hensel. In addition, she was referred to as Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel. -
Gaetano Donizetti: (1797-1848)
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the bel canto opera style during the first half of the nineteenth century and a probable influence on other composers such as Giuseppe Verdi. -
Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leading musician of his era, one whose "poetic genius was based on a professional technique that was without equal in his generation." -
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Robert Schumann was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career as a virtuoso pianist. -
Giacomo Puccini: (1858-1924)
Some of the last great operas written in the Italian tradition of bel canto were by the Italian composer Giacomo Puccini. Giacomo Puccini was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long line of composers, stemming to the late-Baroque era. -
Klemenz Wenzel von Metternich (1773-1859)
Chancellor of Austria, Klemenz Wenzel von Metternich hosted the Congress of Vienna and was instrumental in shaping social activities.The social activities fueled two new musical genres: the character piece and the Lied (song). -
Gustav Mahler: (1860-1911)
Most known as a conductor and secondly as a composer. 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. -
Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1860-1941)
Ignacy Jan Paderewski was a Polish pianist and composer who became a spokesman for Polish independence. In 1919, he was the new nation's Prime Minister and foreign minister during which he signed the Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I. -
Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868)
The most important opera composer in the early 19th century.
In fact, the most famous composer in Europe in the early 19th century. -
Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)
One of the most important early innovators of new orchestration and genres; French. -
Weather History
The National Weather Service issues its first weather forecast on November 1, 1870. The forecast warns of a windy day in Chicago, IL. -
"The Great Chicago Fire" (1871)
The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly 3.3 square miles of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 100,000 residents homeless. -
Yellow Stone Park
President Ulysses S. Grant signs legislation designating Yellowstone the first national park on March 1, 1872. -
Alessandro Manzoni: (1785-1873)
Alessandro Francesco Tommaso Antonio Manzoni was an Italian poet, novelist and philosopher. He is famous for the novel The Betrothed, generally ranked among the masterpieces of world literature. -
Messa da Requiem: (1874)
The Messa da Requiem is a musical setting of the Catholic funeral mass (Requiem) for four soloists, a double choir, and an orchestra by Giuseppe Verdi. Brings back some of the musical material and text used earlier. “Libera me: Dies Irae”. -
Tchaikovsky Ballet- 'Swan Lake' (1877)
Swan Lake is the love story of Prince Siegfried, who on a hunting trip encounters a flock of swans, falls in love with the Swan Queen, Odette, and swears his allegiance and undying love to her. As a result of a curse by the evil sorcerer Baron von Rothbart, Odette can only take human form between midnight and daybreak. -
Movies
Eadweard Muybridge invents moving pictures. -
Béla Bartók: (1881-1945)
Published 2000 tunes that he collected from Eastern European countries (Hungary, Romania, Croatia, Slovakia, Serbia, and Bulgaria). Wrote books and articles on this music. Arranged and created music based on these traditional tunes. -
President Garfield
President James Garfield is shot on July 2, 1881, by Charles Guiteau, a disappointed office-seeker. Following Garfield's death on September 19, Chester A. Arthur is sworn in as president on September 20. -
Triple Alliance
In 1882 Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Italy formed the Triple Alliance. They promised to defend each other if either were attacked. -
Victor Hugo: (1802-1885)
Victor-Marie Hugo was a French poet, novelist, essayist, playwright, and dramatist of the Romantic movement. -
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Franz Liszt was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor, music teacher, arranger, and organist of the Romantic era. He was additionally a philanthropist, Hungarian nationalist, and Franciscan tertiary. -
Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla invents the alternating current motor and transformer. -
Chamber Music: 1810-1890
Almost every composer in the 19th century wrote chamber music. Recitals of chamber music were popular. 19th century = the golden age of chamber music. -
Song Cycles: 1810-1890s
The song cycle became a popular way to publish Lieder. Most 19th-century composers wrote Lieder.
Song Cycle: a set of Lieder that are connected in some way
-Narrative thread
-Related topic
-Same poet -
Key Points (1810-1890)
In the 19th c., the piano became a household instrument and the favored solo instrument in the concert hall.
Technical improvements to the 19th century piano led to the development of the modern concert grand piano.
The short lyric piece, character piece, was the favorite genre for pianists. -
Tchaikovsky Ballet- 'The Sleeping Beauty' (1890)
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-93) composed the music for the ballet The Sleeping Beauty. -
Clara Schumann (Wieck) (1819-1896)
Clara Josephine Schumann was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over a 61-year concert career, changing the format and repertoire of the piano recital from displays of virtuosity to programs of serious works. -
Vacuum Cleaner
J.S. Thurman patents the motor-driven vacuum cleaner.
