MUSIC HISTORY

ROMANTIC PERIOD
 INTRODUCTION
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 Berlioz’s “Symphonie
Fantastique.” Some of the other famous composers of the
period are Franz Liszt, Frederic Chopin, Camille Saint-
Saëns, 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 country’s 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 isChopin’s Etude Op. 10, No.
3 in E major that was used for the song “No
Other Love”.
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 Würfel
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 Chopin’s
life. In the latter part of Chopin’s life, his health began to
decline and he was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis.
Chopin died on October 17, 1849, in Paris. Chopin’s 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
 IMPROMPTU–a 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
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 Liszt’s 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
ROBERT SCHUMANN
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