The Romantic period started around 1830 and ended around 1900 It was a time when composers, artists and authors moved away from the formal restraint of the Classical period. Romantic Music is a stylistic movement in Western orchestral music associated with the period of the nineteenth century commonly referred to as the Romantic era (or Romantic period). ▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JoynulAbadinRasel ☕ Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/JoynulAbadinR

1. The Romantic Period
(1820-1900)

2. CONTENT
1.INTRODUCTION TO THE ROMANTIC PERIOD OF MUSIC
2.Historical Events
3. Influences:
(i)Political influences
(ii) Social influences
(iii)Cultural influences
4. Defining Characteristics of Romanticism in Music
5. Key Music Terms
6. Composers
7. Summary of the Romantic Era

3. ROMATICISM was first used to describe new ideas in painting and
literature, towards the end of the 18th century.
 This word was later taken up by musicians, to describe the
changes in musical style
 Unlike Classical composers, Romantic composers aimed for a
store powerful expression of emotion, often revealing their
innermost thoughts and feelings.
 Romantic music is not just about the emotion of love, it can also
be about hate or death (positive or negative feelings).
The Romantic period started around 1830 and ended around 1900
It was a time where composers, artists and authors moved away from the formal restraint of the Classical period.
Romantic Music is a stylistic movement in Western orchestral music associated with the period of the nineteenth century commonly
referred to as the Romantic era (or Romantic period).
Many Romantic composers took an interest in art
and literature:
INTRODUCTION TO THE ROMANTIC PERIOD OF MUSIC
Far off lands
The distant past
Night and moonlight
Dreams Rivers, lakes and forests
Nature and the seasons
The joy and pain of love
Fairy tales
The supernatural & Magic

4. REVOLUTION AMONG PEOPLE
 Western Europe began to experience social , political and economic revolution.
 The Catholic Church that had dominated previous centuries no longer ruled society,
 As its influence had diminished from the sixteenth century onward.
EMPHASISMENT ON HUMANISM
 Believing more in performing good works as signs of mortality, Protestant began to work evaluating ethic and emphasis on
humanism.
 Focused on the moral worth or value of individuals during their earthly lives.
 This change contrasted the “afterlife” emphasis of previous centuries.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AND SCIENTIFIC MOVEMENT
 People worked to learn and develop themselves, and medical and scientific innovation blossomed.
 population boom was mostly the result of increased knowledge of anatomy, disease prevention, and basic health care.
 For instance, Louis Pasteur (1822-95), a French scientist, discovered new theories about germs and bacteria and also
invented the rabies vaccine, developed a method to stop milk and wine from souring (now referred to as pasteurization),
and solidified theories about germs.
 Scientists developed the fields of microbiology and chemistry in beneficial ways.
RENAISSANCE & REFORMATION
Taking place from the 14th century to the 17th century . The Renaissance was a fervent period of
European cultural, artistic, political and economic “rebirth” following the Middle Ages.
HISTORICAL EVENTS

5. In 1848 - The California Gold Rush began
[Circa 1870-96] - wealth and prosperity in the United States expanded to create the “Gilded Age” (circa 1870-96).
Automobiles with steam and electric engines were created during this century, leading to early gas-powered cars at the end
of the 1800s.
[1854 – 1856] – Crimean War (Conflict fought between the Russian empire and an alliance of the French , British and
Ottoman Empires and the kingdom of Sardina )
[1861 – 1865] - American Civil War (Fought between northern states loyal to the Union and southern states that
had seceded to form the Confederate States of America)
In 1865 - slavery abolished in America
In 1869 - The first transcontinental railroad was completed
In 1871 -Second Industrial Revolution began ,while twenty-six million people in India and thirteen million people in China
died from famine
In 1872 - Established the first national park, Yellowstone .
Early 1800s - expansion and migration west.
In 1803 - The Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the size of the United States( US purchased a piece of land
from France)
In 1804 - Lewis and Clark discovered and document the countryside all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
In 1877 - Edison invents electric light and phonograph
HISTORICAL EVENTS

6.  The political and economic atmosphere at the time heavily influenced this period, with many writers finding
inspiration from the French Revolution.
 Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s theories of social reform and opposed political tyranny (1712-78) which influenced
liberal and revolutionary events of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
 The American Revolutionary War (1775-83)
 French Revolution (1789-99) began a period of political upheaval throughout.
 Napoleon worked his way up French military ranks to eventually crown himself as Emperor of the French in 1804.
 Originating turbulence between tradition, idealism, and revolution
 Beethoven’s music was heavily influenced by the tubulence and revolutionary ideas around him.
 The influence of political changes on the arts is evident in the type of music
 Beethoven composed beginning with the Eroica Symphony 5. The symphony had first been dedicated to
Napoleon and called “Buonaparte”. Then he named it ‘HEROIC’
 People, Democracy in America (1835). The American and French revolutions set a precedent for future political
ideals throughout the modern world.
 The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856).
…..POLITICAL…..
INFLUENCES

7. ……SOCIAL……
 Began in Great Britain, bringing manufacturing
industries with smokestacks and large machinery in
cities and town.
 Industrialized society included a focus on the
individual rather than the group,
 Intellectually-determined “rights” by people or groups
rather than dominance by divinely-appointed
authorities.
 A large percentage of agricultural workers moved from
farms into cities.
 Machines were used to increase productivity
 Children commonly worked in factories.
 Many people in both Europe and America began
to feel helpless or hopeless due to oppressive
and inhumane working conditions.
 Work time became separate from family and
socialization..
 Industrialization took the collective family
economy and created consumers who either
owned business or depended on them.
The Industrial Revolution
 Positive impact  Negative impact
INFLUENCES

8. …..CULTURAL…..
 Artistic professions emerged in the nineteenth century out of necessity,
 Composers created more challenging works, extremely skilled professional performers
were needed.
 Artists began to depict scenes of loneliness, isolation, and discontent, as well as extreme
emotions like fear and insanity later in the century.
 The chaos and terror of war was illustrated by visual artists like Francisco Goya of Spain.
 Printing technology continued to progress
 New presses produced printed pages ten times faster than hand presses, which
advanced the creation of mass-produced newspapers and books.
 Widely available printed materials increased literacy throughout the century.
 Composers were heavily influenced by literature
 Many included themes and stories in their works. Examples of this connection include
Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and juliet (1870), based on Shakespeare’s play.
INFLUENCES

9.  Freedom of form and design. It was more personal and emotional.
 Song-like melodies (lyrical), as well as many chromatic harmonies and discords. Dramatic contrasts of dynamics and
pitch.
 Big orchestras, due mainly to brass and the invention of the valve.
 More emphasis on texture and color (orchestration).
 Subjectivity is important to both composers and performers .
 Chromaticism .
 Wide variety of pieces (i.e. songs up to five hour Wagner operas).
 Programme music (music that tells a story)
 Shape was brought to work through the use of recurring themes: idee fixe (Berlioz), thematic transformation (Liszt),
leitmotif (Wagner).
 Great technical virtuosity.
 Nationalism (a reaction against German influence).
The Main Characteristics of Romantic Music

10. Orchestra
These changes meant that it was
more possible to change
– The tone
– The timbre
– Pitch
– Volume
Key Music Terms
INSTRIMENTATION - instrument or voice produced the music.
 Instruments were expected to produce sound in their extreme upper and
lower ranges as needed
 Specific instruments were used to communicate ideas to represent story
characters or returning themes in program pieces
 Instruments that have joined the romantic orchestra...
• Cor Anglais • Piccolo • Bass Clarinet • Trombone • More percussion
• Tuba • Piano • Harp
 There were huge developments in piano music
 The Industrial Revolution led to – The Piano was given a metal frame; tighter
strings and be louder, more versatile, and be heard over much larger
ensembles
 One of the most significant changes to instrumentation during the Romantic
Era wasn't the nature of the instruments individually, but changes in the
instrumentation of the works.
Timbre, or tone quality - quality of a musical sound
 Romantic composers often explored varying timbres to create specific moods
and emotions
 —such as the terror communicated by shrill, high-pitched, dissonant tones.
 Timbre at times seemed edgy, rough, or shrill.
 At other times, timbres were warm and very lush as in Tchaikovsky’s Romeo
and Juliet.

11. Texture - music at any moment
 Musical texture is the way that melody, harmony, and rhythm combine.
 In musical terms , types of texture are
- monophonic [Monophonic music has only one melodic line, with no harmony or counterpoint.]
-homophonic [Describing homophonic music we may hear such terms as chords, accompaniment,
harmony or harmonies. Homophony has one clearly melodic line]
-polyphonic [Polyphonic music can also be called polyphony, counterpoint, or contrapuntal music.]
 Romantic period music was homophonic and revolved around melody or melodic statements.
 A recognizable line of music that includes different notes, or pitches, and rhythms in an organized way.
 Rich melodies are often seen as the very core of the Romantic style.
 Melodies became freer in form than in the Classical era
 Concepts of through-composed melody and unending melody emerged.
Melody
 Harmony is created when at least two voices perform together.
 At romantic period,
 Harmony became more complex
 Adding chromaticism
 Increased use of semitones and unusual progressions
 In general going beyond the Classical rules concerning the progression of keys and harmonies
Harmony

12. Tempo -speed of the music.
 Speeding up the tempo is called an accelerando, and slowing down gradually is called a ritardando
 Romantic period music
- Explored the extremes of tempo fluctuation
- Changing tempos throughout a piece to communicate emotion.
Dynamics - changing volume levels of musical sounds.
 Composers called for very soft and very loud playing, along with long gradual increasing (crescendo) and decreasing
(diminuendo) dynamics.
 Romantic period composers utilize dynamics to create expression and emotional communication
 The increasing size of orchestras and the wider range of instruments available made it possible to explore extreme
dynamics .
Form - organization and structure of a musical selection
 In the Romantic period, forms became both larger and smaller than previous periods.
 Forms were much more flexible during this period, with the expression or story sometimes more
important than following a specific form.
 Through-composed works began to appear alongside standerised forms, and new genres included the tone
poem, Lied and miniature forms

13. …..COMPOSERS…..
 Composers of the Romantic Era introduced music as a means of individual and emotional expression.
 Considered music the art form most capable of expressing the full range of human emotion.
 Broadened the scope of emotional content.
 Communicating the audience, often by using a narrative form that told distinct stories.
 Prioritized the emotional or narrative content of the music above its form, which is why they broke so many
of the classical composers' rules.
 They used Classical Period’s forms as a foundation for their work but felt unconstrained by them.
Some iconic composers
.
Composer Lived Composer Lived
Beethoven 1770-1827 Smetana 1824-1884
Schubert 1797-1828 Brahms 1833-1897
Berlioz 1803-1869 Tchaikovsky 1840-1893
Mendelssohn 1809-1847 Dvorak 1841-1904
Chopin 1810-1849 Grieg 1843-1907
Schumann 1810-1856
Rimsky-
Korsakov
1844-1908
Liszt 1811-1886 Elgar 1857-1934
Wagner 1813-1883 Mahler 1860-1911
Verdi 1813-1901 Richard Strauss 1864-1949

14.  Generally considered the first Romantic composer.
 A German composer and pianist.
 One of his innovations was the development of programme music.
 The development sections of his compositions were long, elaborate, and complex.
 Composer who spanned both the Classical and Romantic eras, Beethoven began by immersing himself in the Classical tradition
and working within the forms and conventions of Mozart and Haydn.
 At maturity level ,he began working on a grander scale, expanding the harmonic, melodic and structural scope of his music, and
paving the way for the other Romantic composers.
 Bethooven’s symphony 5, was dedicated to Nepolian Bonaparte . He named it as “Bonaparte”. Then it became “heroic”.
 Inspired by nature, literature, ancient legends, national identity and other external stimuli.
 Sixth and ninth Symphony was one of the renowned works .
 Interestingly, he very sadly started to lose his hearing and had gone completely deaf by 1814, but continued to compose.
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)

15.  Composer, teacher, Abbé, Casanova, writer, sage, pioneer and
champion of new music, philanthropist, philosopher and one of the
greatest pianists in history,
 Very embodiment of the Romantic spirit.
 He worked in every field of music except ballet and opera and to each
field he contributed a significant development.
Essential recording 'Transcendental: Daniil Trifonov plays Franz Liszt'
Daniil Trifonov pf (Recording of the Month, October 2016; shortlisted for
Instrumental Award 2017)
 Very much inspired by Ludwig van Beethoven.
 Introduced new ideas in harmony and in form, including extremes of chromaticism.
 An advocate of a new form of opera which he called “music drama” where musical and
dramatic elements were fused together.
 The expressiveness is aided by the use of “leitmotifs” or musical sequences standing for a
particular character/plot element.
 Famous works are; Tristan and Isolde, Die Walkure , Die Meistersinger, Tannhauser and
Parsifal.
 Work would later influence modern film scores, including those of the Harry Potter and
Lord of the Rings film series.
Wilhelm Richard Wagner (1813 – 1883)
Franz Liszt (1811-86)

16.  Not a theoretician or academic, though he was quite able to write a
perfectly poised fugue if he felt inclined.
 One of the most popular of all opera composers is the ability to dream
up glorious melodies with an innate understanding of the human voice,
to express himself directly, to understand how the theatre works, and
to score with technical brilliance, colour and originality.
Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979)
 Clarke gained recognition as a composer after the premiere of her viola
sonata in 1919.
 For most of her adult life, she split her time between Great Britain and the
United States.
 Her works resemble those of other English composers from the early 20th
century, conforming to the pastoral style in vogue.
 There is a clarity of texture throughout much of her music, as well as an
impressionistic bent. Much of her music, to this day, remains unpublished.
Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)

17. The Romantic era was a “coming of age” in the arts. It was an era of artistic and musical creativity that focused
on emotion, far away places, nature and many other topics .The romantic era lead directly into the victorian era
which shares some similarities with the romantic era but is mostly different because of the opposing values
both eras had towards each other.
Musical extremes in instrumental ranges, dynamics, tempo, and texture were employed to express an equal set
of extremes in emotional states. Composers crafted highly individualized works that sometimes mirrored their
own lives and often reflected the world around them. Art and literature focused on intense beauty, morbidity,
characterizations of nature, the supernatural and the exotic, and extreme emotion.
SUMMARY OF THE ROMANTIC ERA

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