Unit III Music of The Romantic Period
Unit III Music of The Romantic Period
MUSIC
OF THE
ROMANTIC
PERIOD
Romantic Period
- A cultural movement that stressed
emotion, imagination, individualism &
freedom of expression
- Characterized by expanding the formal
structure w/in a composition & making
the pieces more passionate & expressive
- Nationalism is one of the main features
of this era
Romantic Period
- Orchestra grows in number &
became limitless
- Composers explored
instrumentation & many
compositions were inspired by
emotions in addition to a musical
theme
Romantic Period
- Piano music is in free form such as
fantasy, rhapsody, ballad &
nocturne
- Program music was expressed in
tone poems
- Music was used to tell stories &
express ideas
Romantic Period
- Most of the composers were proud
of their country’s music & often use
folk songs in their works.
- Music during this period used
forms borrowed from Classical
music & made them bigger longer
songs & more instruments
Romantic Period
- The themes they wrote in
their composition are
mainly about nature,
literature, history &
feelings
VIOLIN
AND
STRING
MUSIC
Niccolo Paganini
- Became the most famous Violin
Virtuoso in the world
- Born in October 27, 1782 in
Genoa, Italy
- His musical skills started w/
playing the mandolin at the age
of 5.
Niccolo Paganini
- He eventually transferred his training
to the violin at the age of 7 w/ different
renowned violin professors in Italy
- Together with his fame came the
rumors that said that his amazing
violin skills were a gift from the devil &
that he sold his soul in exchange for
those skills.
Niccolo Paganini
- His compositions inspired a lot of other
composers such as Franz Liszt, Frederic
Chopin & Robert Schumann
- His violin teachers could not keep up
with the progress of his violin skills that
he kept on transferring from one violin
teacher to another & was therefore filled
w/ all their influences
- Some Works of Niccolo Paganini:
a. “La Campanella”
b. 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, Op.1
c. Concerto No.1 in Eb, Op.6
d. 15 Quartets for Guitar & Strings
Trio
e. The Carnival of Venice
Piano Music
- One of the most important features in
the development of music during the
Romantic period
- Frederic Chopin and Franz Liszt
reinvented & developed piano music of
the Classical Period & this was shown
in some of their compositions
Piano Music
- This two great composers for
piano signifies how a piano
music can be more enjoyable at
the same time challenging to the
people who wants to learn their
style
Niccolo Paganini
- La Campanella
- The Carnival of Venice
Frederic Chopin
- “Poet of the Piano”
- Born on March 01, 1810 in Zelazowa,
Poland
- Considered as world renowned
pianist and composer because of his
originality in regards to piano
- Began to play the piano at the age of
4
Frederic Chopin
- Age 7: composed polonaise
- He wrote almost exclusively for
piano and made extensive use of
piano pedal in most of his
composition
- He also composed mostly for
chamber music and avoided playing
or performing inside the hall
Frederic Chopin
- Chopin’s music is recognized
worldwide for its beauty and
complexity
- His works on the piano are staples
in the piano repertoire
- His music is characterized through
its beautiful tone, rhythmic
flexibility, graceful and elegant
Frederic Chopin
- Some of his composition like
mazurkas and polonaise
express his love for Poland
- his compositions did not
attach any literary titles or
programs to his pieces
Frederic Chopin
Piano Works of Frederic Chopin
d. NOCTURNE – an instrumental
composition of a pensive, dreamy mood,
especially one for the piano
e. POLONAISE – a slow Polish dance in triple
time that consists of a march or procession
f. PRELUDE – a short piece of music that can
be used as a preface, & introduction to another
work or may stand on its own
Frederic Chopin
Piano Works of Frederic Chopin
a.Fantasie in F minor,
Op.49
b.Revolutionary Etude,
Op.10
c.No. 12 and 24 Preludes,
Op.28
Frederic Chopin
- Fantasie in F minor, Op.49
- Revolutionary Etude, Op.10
Franz List
- Known as “virtuoso pianist” and
composer
- Born in the village Doborjan,
Hungary
- Busiest musician in the Romantic
Era w/c include playing &
studying at Vienna and Paris
Franz List
- Easily understands sight reading
through the effort of his father as his
first teacher at age 6
- Early 20’s: Liszt heard the virtuoso
violinist Niccolo Paganini performs so
he decided to dedicate himself doing
piano music as what Paganini had done
for the violin
Franz List
- Considered as the generous composer by
sharing both time and money to the
orphans, victims of disasters and the
many students he taught music for free
- He was known as the musical architect
through his symphonic poem by
attempting to translate the greatest
works of literature into musical terms
Franz List
- He also made an exuberant
piano transcriptions of operas &
famous symphonies
- Many of his piano compositions
are among the most technically
challenging pieces
PIANO WORKS of FRANZ LISZT
` a. Grand Etudes after Paganini
b. 12 Transcendental Etudes
c. Sonata in B minor
d. Years of Pilgrimage (3 volumes)
e. Operatic Fantasies (after Bellini, Mozart,
Verdi & Wagner, among others)
f. Arrangements of the 9 Beethoven
Symphonies
g. Transcriptions of Lieder by Schubert
h. Hungarian Rhapsodie
Franz List
WORKS FOR PIANO & ORCHESTRAS
a. Totentanz (Dance of Death)
b. 2 Concertos (Eb and A Major)
c. Malediction for Piano and
Strings
ORCHESTRAL COMPOSITION
Franz List
- Totentanz (Dance of Death)
Robert Schumann
- Robert Alexander Schumann born in 1810
in Zwickau
- One of the famous Romantic composers
that worked intensively and beautifully
combined music and words
- A composer, music critic and considered
himself as the heir to the original creative
tradition of Beethoven & Schubert
Robert Schumann
- He eventually convinced his family
that he should put aside law in favor
of a performing career
- 1830: went to live with Wieck in
Leipzig but soon developed a
problem with his hands, effectively
ending his dreams as pianist.
Robert Schumann
- 1834: founded the music journal “Jornal
Neue Zeitschrift fur Musik” wherein he
edited and wrote music criticism for his
publication
- In this journal, Schumann often wrote
under two pseudonyms – Eusebius (his
sensitive, lyrical side) and Florestan (his
fiery, stormy side)
PIANO WORKS
a. “Abegg Variations” Opus (1830)
b.Carnaval”, Opus 9 (1835)
c. “Davidsbundlertanze” (Dances of the
Band of David) Opus (1837)
d.“ “Phantasiestucke”, Opus 12 (1837)
e. “Kreisleriana”, Opus (1838)
f. “Kinderszenen”, Opus 15 (1838)
Robert Schumann
- Abegg Variations
- Carnaval
Program Music
- An instrumental music that conveys images
or scenes.
- Music that tells a short story without text
or lyrics and imaginative ideas fully
developed through the imaginative effort of
a great and genius composer Hector Berloiz
- Berloiz showcase the important features in
his composition in creating tone color w/c
was never before heard.
Program Music
- He treated the orchestra like a
beautiful creation and
assembled hundreds of
musicians to produced
powerful sound.
- He made tone color as the
basic part of his musical
language
Composers of Program Music
Hector Berlioz
- French romantic composer
- Born in December 11, 1803
- Learned to play the guitar and flute at a
young age but never became skilled in
any musical instruments
- He was sent to a medical school to be
like his father, a physician, but ends up
in studying music
Famous Musical
Composition
• Symphonie Fantastique – a five
movement symphony
a. 1st movement: Reveries/Passion
(slow in tempo)
b. 2nd movement: A Ball (allegro)
c. 3rd movement: Scene in the Country
(adagio waltz)
d. 4th movement: March to the
Scaffold (allegretto non troppo)
e. 5th movement: Dream of a Witches
Sabbath (larghetto allegro) – most
fantastic of the movement
Hector Berlioz
- A Ball (allegro)
c. The “Nutcracker”
- His final ballet
- A charming light tale story
- Enchanted young and old for almost 100 years
Camille Saint-Saens
- Born on October 9, 1835 in Paris,
France
- Known as a talented musician from
an early age
- Started his music through the help of
his aunt by teaching him piano lesson
when he was only 2 years old &
afterward he began composing piano
piece at age 3
Camille Saint-Saens
- Considered as a composer who
creates elegant music, neat,
clean, polished and never
excessive
- As an organist and one of the
best pianists of his time, he sat
very still at the piano and played
gracefully and cool
SAINT-SAEN’S BEST
KOWN MUSIC
a.Carnival of Animals
b.Danse Macabre and
his Symphony No. 3
c.The Swan
d.Over 300 works,
unusually in all genres