The romantic period

History and Culture of Europe during the Romantic Period

1. Romanticism Romanticism in music Romantic composers and their public The Romantic Period (1820-1900)

2. THE WORLD DURING THE ROMANTIC PERIOD HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL EVENTS 1837-1901 Queen Victoria reigns in England 1848 Revolutions in Europe Marx and Engles , The Communist Manifesto 1859 Charles Darwin, Origin of Species 1876 Bell invents Telephone 1898 Spanish-American War

3. THE WORLD DURING THE ROMANTIC PERIOD Delacroix, Dante and Virgil in Hell

4. THE WORLD DURING THE ROMANTIC PERIOD Caspar David Friedrich, The Wanderer above a Sea of Mist

5. THE WORLD DURING THE ROMANTIC PERIOD Vincent van Gogh, The Starry Night

6. THE WORLD DURING THE ROMANTIC PERIOD Munch, The Scream

7. ROMANTICISM

8. ROMANTICISM A cultural movement that stressed emotion, imagination, and individuality. In Literature, Romantic Period writers broke away from time-honored conventions and emphasized freedom of expression. In Art, Romantic Period painters used bolder, more brilliant colors and preferred dynamic motion to gracefully balanced poses. Emotional Subjectivity was a basic quality of romanticism in Art.

9. ROMANTICISM Romantics were especially drawn to the realm of fantasy; the unconscious, the irrational, the world of dreams. Romanticism coincided with the Industrial Revolution , which caused vast social and economic changes. Subjectivity, fantasy, and enthusiasm for nature and the Middle Ages are only a few aspects of romanticism in literature and painting.

10. ROMANTICISM in MUSIC

11. Romanticism in Music Significant Romantic musicians: Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Frederic Chopin, Franz Liszt , Felix Mendelssohn , Hector Berlioz, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky , Bedrich Smetana, Antonin Dvorak, Johannes Brahms , Giuseppe Verdi , Giacomo Puccini , Richard Wagner, and Gustav Mahler

12. Romanticism in Music CLASSICAL MUSIC Musical works have definite and predictable ranges, limited to fixes dynamics and pitch Harmonic vocabulary is structured, with chords dwelling on major/minor quality Classical music is often commissioned, or composed according to occassions . ROMANTIC MUSIC Musical works have greater ranges in tone color, dynamics and pitch Harmonic vocabulary is broader, with more emphasis on colorful, unstable chords Romantic music is linked more closely to the other arts, particularly to literature.

13. Romanticism in Music CHARACTERISTICS OF ROMANTIC MUSIC Individuality of Styles – romantic music puts unprecedented emphasis on self-expression and individuality of style. Many romantics created music that sounds unique and reflect their personalities. Expressive Aims and Subjects – the romantics explored a universe of feeling that include flamboyance and intimacy, unpredictability and melancholy, rapture and longing. Berlioz’s Symphony Fantastique – Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath and Schubert’s Erlking

14. Romanticism in Music Nationalism and Exoticism – Musical nationalism was expressed when romantic composers deliberately created music with a specific national identity using folk songs, dances, legends and history of their homelands. Fascination with national identity also led composers to draw on colorful materials from foreign lands, a trend known as musical exoticism . Bizet’s Carmen , Puccini’s Madame Butterfly , Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade . Program Music – instrumental music associated with a story, poem, idea or scene. A programmatical instrumental piece can represent the emotions, characters, and events of a particular story, or it can evoke the sounds and motion of nature

15. Romanticism in Music Expressive Tone Color – Romantic composers reveled in rich and sensuous sound, using tone color to obtain a variety of moods and atmosphere. The romantic orchestra was larger and more varied in tone color than the classical orchestra (almost 100 musicians) Composers increased the power of the brass section for spectacular sound effects Woodwind sections made the piccolo, contrabassoon, bass clarinet and English horn regular members of the orchestra Cast-iron frame was introduced to the piano for holding the strings under great tension, hammers used felt, and use of the damper (“loud”) pedal

16. Romanticism in Music Colorful Harmony – the romantics explored new chords and novel ways of using familiar chords. Chromatic Harmony – chromatic chords add color and motion to romantic music. dissonant, unstable chords were also used more freely than during the classical era. These chords create feelings of yearning, tension and mystery when used as a delayed resolution to a stable chord. Expanded Range of Dynamics, Pitch and Tempo – the classical dynamic extremes of ff and pp didn’t meet the needs of romantics, who sometimes demanded ffff and pppp .

17. Romanticism in Music Form: Miniature and Monumental – Romantic composers characteristically expressed themselves both in musical miniatures and monumental compositions. Piano pieces by Chopin and Schubert last for a few minutes. Berlioz and Wagner’s symphonies call for huge performers and last for several hours.

18. ROMANTIC COMPOSERS and their PUBLIC

19. ROMANTIC COMPOSERS and their PUBLIC The composers’ role in society changed radically during Beethoven’s lifetime. In earlier periods, part of a musician’s job had been the composition of works for a specific occasion and audience. The image of Beethoven as a “free artist” inspired romantic musicians, who often composed to meet an inner need rather than fulfill a commission. Romantic composers were interested not only in pleasing their contemporaries but also in being judged favorably by posterity.

20. ROMANTIC COMPOSERS and their PUBLIC Romantic composers wrote primarily for middle-class audience whose size and prosperity had increased because of the industrial revolution The needs of the urban middle class led to the formation of many orchestras and opera groups during the romantic era. Public concerts had developed during the 18 th century, but not until the 19 th century did regular subscription concerts become common. The 19 th century public was captivated by virtuosity Franz Liszt and Niccolo Paganini

21. ROMANTIC COMPOSERS and their PUBLIC Romantic composers came from the social class that was their main audience. Few romantic composers were able to support themselves through composition alone.