ROMANTIC PERIOD

Romantic music refers to Western music composed in the late 18th century to the 19th century.
Composers and artists believed in letting their imagination and passion be seen through their works.
Program music became the main form of instrumental compositions which is evident in concert
overtures, Program symphonies, symphonic poems and incidental music. Program music is a form that
portrays an idea or relays a story to the audience. An example of this musical form may be seen in
Hector Berliozs Symphonie Fantastique. Some of the other famous composers of the period are Franz
Liszt, Frederic Chopin, Camille Saint-Sans, Robert Schumann and Peter Ilyich Tchaikowsky.
Short piano pieces in ABA form that shows emotion were developed during this period.
As the century progressed, music became increasingly available and popular among the middle class.
Concert halls provided venues for musical performances, and instrumental music was available to a wide
audience.
Nationalism is reflected in most of the music of the Romantic era. In the previous historical periods,
composers borrowed musical styles from Germany, Italy, and France. However, composers of the
Romantic period began incorporating their countrys native folk songs and musical styles into their
compositions.
MUSIC OF THE ROMANTIC PERIOD 1820-1910
Romantic Period is described as a cultural movement that stressed emotion, imagination, individualism
and freedom of expression. These characteristics are evident in music, art and literature of the era.
Nationalism was also incorporated in the music of the Romantic period. An example of a composition
that shows nationalism is the Polonaise of Frederic Chopin, which is a dance composition for piano and
is famous in Poland until today.
Ludwig Van Beethoven bridged the music from Classical to Romantic era by expressing his passion and
emotions through his music. Other composers were inspired by this musical style that they started to
use music as a means of expressing their emotions and individuality. This change in musical form also
paved the way for expanding the orchestra as the composers explored various instrumentations.
Piano music of the Romantic period is in free form such as fantasy, rhapsody, ballade and nocturne.
Program music was expressed in tone poems such as Symphony Fantastique.
Most of the musical compositions of the era portray literature, history, emotions, and nature.
VIOLIN AND STRINGS MUSIC
NICCOLO PAGANINI
He was born in October 27, 1782 in Genoa, Italy in a family of six children. His musical skills started with
playing the mandolin at the age of five. He eventually transferred his training to the violin at the age of
seven with different violin professors in Italy. 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. This led him to adopt all
his teachers influences in playing the violin.
Paganini became the most famous violin virtuoso in the world. However, together with his fame came
the rumors about his amazing violin skills that was said to be a gift from the devil and that he sold his
soul in exchange for those skills. He was also rumored to have a problem with women and gambling.
His compositions inspired a lot of other composers such as Franz Liszt, Frederic Chopin and Robert
Schumann.
Some Works of Niccolo Paganini:
La Campanella
24 Caprices for Solo Violin, Op. 1
Concerto No. 1 in Eb , Op. 6
15 Quartets for Guitar and Strings Trio
The Carnival of Venice
PIANO MUSIC
Piano music of the Romantic period was filled with innovations. Most of the compositions require a high
level of virtuosity. Some were reinventions of sonatas from the Classical era.
Today, some piano compositionsfrom the Romantic period havebeen adapted into songs. An example of
this isChopins Etude Op. 10, No. 3 in E major that was used for the song No Other Love.
1. FREDERIC CHOPIN
Frederic Chopin was known as the Poet of the Piano. He was born on March 1,1810 in Zelazowa,
Poland. Frederic Chopin began to play piano at age 4. He composed polonaise at the age of 7. He studied
piano at Warsaw Conservatory under Wilhelm Wrfel and most of his music was influenced by folk
music. He finished his formal education at the higher school in 1829 and soon traveled to Europe giving
concerts in places such as Vienna, Munich, Paris, and London. He wrote almost exclusively for piano. He
made extensive use of piano pedal in most of his compositions. Chopin composed almost primarily for
the piano and some of his most well known compositions are Fantasie in F minor, Op. 49, Revolutionary
Etude, Op. 10, No. 12 and 24 Preludes, Op. 28.
In 1831, Chopin arrived in Paris and met other legendary composers such as Franz Liszt, Felix
Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann. During this time in Paris, Chopin met and married the famous
French writer George Sand which later became a source of inspiration as well as a maternal figure in
Chopins life. In the latter part of Chopins life, his health began to decline and he was diagnosed with
pulmonary tuberculosis. Chopin died on October 17, 1849, in Paris. Chopins music is recognized
worldwide for its beauty and his works on the piano are mainstays in the piano repertoire.
Some of hismusic is characterized byits beautiful tone, rhythmic flexibility, grace and elegance. Some of
his compositions like mazurkas and polonaise express his love for Poland.
Chopin is famous for the following:
BALLADE- a verse form or narrative that is set to music
ETUDE a piece composed for the development of a specific technique.
MAZURKA - a Polish dance in triple time signature
NOCTURNE - an instrumental composition of a pensive, dreamy mood, for the piano
POLONAISE - aslow Polish dance in triple time that consists of a march or procession
PRELUDE - a short piece of music that can be used as a preface, and introduction to another work or
may stand on its own
WALTZ - aGerman dance in triple meter
IMPROMPTUa short free-form musical composition usually for a solo instrument, like the piano
SCHERZO - a musical movement of playful character, typically in ABA form
SONATA - composition for one or more solo instrumentsusually consisting of three or four
independent movements varying in key, mood, and tempo
2. FRANZ LISZT
The best word that describes the works of
Franz Liszt is virtuosity. He was known as the
virtuoso pianist, a composer and the busiest
musician during the romantic era. He played and
studiedin Vienna and Paris whileperforming in
concerts inthe rest of Europe.
Liszt was born in the village Doborjan,
Hungary. He displayed remarkable talent at a
young age and easily understood sight reading.His
father was his first teacher at age six. A turning
point came when, in his early twenties, Liszt heard
the virtuoso violinist NiccoloPaganini perform so he decided to dedicate himself in becoming a virtuoso
pianist.
He was known for his symphonic poemswhere he translatedgreat literary works into musical
compositions. He also made piano transcriptions of operas and famous symphonies. Many of his piano
compositions are technically challenging pieces.
He was also known with his generosity in sharing time and money to the orphans, victim of disasters and
the many students he taught music for free.
Some of Liszts Piano works:
La Campanella
Liebestraume No. 3
Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsodies" were originally written for solo piano, but many were arranged for
orchestra or other combinations of instruments.The Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 is the most popular and
was the basis for the Tom & Jerry cartoon called the Cat Concerto
Un Sospiro
Sonata in B Minor
Arrangements of the 9 Beethoven Symphonies
Transcriptions of Lieder by Schubert
ORCHESTRAL COMPOSITION
Symphonic Poems (Hamlet, Les Preludes)

3. ROBERT SCHUMANN
One of the famous Romantic composers that beautifully combined music and words is Robert
Schumann. He was a composer and music critic.
Robert Alexander Schumann was born in 1810 in Zwickau. His father wanted him to study law and so in
1821, Schumann went to Leipzig to study law.However, he spent most of his time with musical and
literary circles thru the effort of Friedrich Wieck who took some time to teach Schumann how to play
the piano.
It was also this time when he wrote some of his first piano compositions. He eventually convinced his
family that he should put aside law in favor of a performing career. In 1830, Schumann went to live with
Wieck in Leipzig. He soon developed a problem with his hands, effectively ending his dreams as a
pianist.
It was in 1834 when Schumann founded the music journal, Jornal Neue Zeitschrift fur Musik, wherein he
edited and wrote music criticism for his publication. He wrote numerous write-ups and one of which
was the performance of Frederic Chopin in Paris, France. In his journal, Schumann often wrote under
two pseudonyms - Eusebius (his sensitive, lyrical side) and Florestan (his fiery, stormy side).
Piano Works
"Abegg Variations," Opus 1(1830)
"Davidsbundlertanze" ("Dances of the Band of David"), Opus 6 (1837)
"Carnaval," Opus 9 (1835) - a portrait of a masked ball attended by his allies and his beloved Clara
"Phantasiestucke," Opus 12 (1837) - a series of mood pieces
Kreisleriana," Opus 16 (1838) - a fantasy on the mad Kapellmeister
"Kinderszenen," Opus 15 (1838) - a poetic series of evocations of a child's world
He wrote over 100 Art Songs. Some of which are:
"Frauenliebe und Leben" ("A Woman's Love and Life")
"Dichterliebe" ("A Poet's Love")

Orchestral music:
"Piano Concerto in A Minor," Opus 54
"Overture, Scherzo
Finale," Opus 52 (a mini symphony)
"Konzertstuck in F Major for Four Horns and Orchestra," Opus 86

PROGRAM MUSIC
Program music is an instrumental composition that conveys images or scenes to tell a short story
without text or lyrics.It entices the imagination of the listener.
COMPOSERS OF PROGRAM MUSIC:
1. HECTOR BERLIOZ
Hector Berlioz is a French romantic composer born on December 11, 1803. At his young age, he learned
to play guitar and flute but never became skilled in a specific musical instrument. His father was a
physician who sent Hector to medical school but he ended up pursuing a career in music.
One of his famous musical compositions is a five movement symphony called Symphonie Fantastique.
In this composition which is also known as Fantastic Symphony, Berlioz showcased the important
features in his composition in creating tone color. He assembled hundreds of musicians to produce a
powerful sound. In most of his compositions, he made tone color as the basic part of his musical
language.
STORY OF SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE:
A young, extremely sensitiveand imaginative musician tries to kill himself with opium due to depression
caused by discouraged love. Unfortunately, the dose was not enough and does not kill him but instead,
plunges him into a heavy sleep flocked with nightmares. His experiences, feelings and memories are
translated into hallucinations of musical thoughts and images. The girl he loveswas transformed into a
melody and like a recurring theme, he meets and hears everywhere. Each movement of the symphony
refers to a different vision in the young musicians mind.
SEQUENCE OF SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE:
1ST MOVEMENT
TITLE