MUSIC 9 REVIEWER (4th QUARTER)

ROMANTIC PERIOD (1800-1900)

CHARACTERISTICS OF MUSIC
1. Individuality of Style -There is not a bar which I have not truly felt and which is not an echo of my
innermost feelings, wrote Peter Ilyich of his Fourth Symphony.
2. Expressive Aims and Subjects
3. Program Music
4. Expressive Tone Colors - Romantic composers revealed in rich and sensuous sound using tone color to
obtain variety of mood. Timbre been so important.
5. Colorful Harmony - the romantics explored new chords and novel ways of using familiar chords. Seeking
greater emotional intensity, composers emphasized rich, colorful and complex harmonies.
6. Expanded Range of Dynamics, Pitch and Tempo
PROGRAM MUSIC
-An instrumental music associated with a story, poem idea or scene. A programmatic instrumental piece can
represent the emotions, characters and events of a particular story or it can evoke the sounds and motion of
nature.
Ex. Tchaikovskys Romeo and Juliet, an orchestral work inspired by Shakespeares play.
ART SONG
-A composition for solo voice and piano. Here, the accompaniment is an integral part of the composers
conception and it serves as an interpretive partner to the voice.
NOCTURNE
-A nocturne (from the French which meant nocturnal, from Latin nocturnus) is usually a musical composition
that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night. It is slow, lyrical, intimate composition for piano.
Ex. Nocturne in E Flat Major
ETUDE
-An etude (a French word meaning study) is an instrumental musical composition, usually short, of
considerable difficulty, and designed to provide practice material for perfecting a particular musical skill.
Ex. Etude in C Minor (Revolutionary)
POLONAISE
-The polonaise, a piece in triple meter, originated as a stately processional dance for the Polish nobility.
Romantic composers polonaises evoke the ancient splendor of the Polish people.
Ex. Polonaise in A Flat Major

ROMANTIC COMPOSERS
1. Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) - a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great
masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano".
2. Johann Strauss II - an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He
composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several
operettas and a ballet. In his lifetime, he was known as "The Father of Waltz", and was largely then
responsible for the popularity of the waltz in Vienna during the 19th century.
3. Felix Mendelssohn - a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period.
Mendelssohn's work includes symphonies, concerti, oratorios, piano music and chamber music. His most-
performed works include his Overture and incidental music. He is now among the most popular composers
of the Romantic era.
4. Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky - a Russian composer whose works included symphonies, operas, ballets, and
chamber music. Some of these rate amongst the most popular concert and theatrical music in the romantic
repertoire.
5. Johannes Brahms - a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic
period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a
leader of the musical scene. Brahms composed for piano, chamber ensembles, symphony orchestra, and
for voice and chorus. A virtuoso pianist, he premiered many of his own works; he also worked with some of
the leading performers of his time.
6. Giuseppe Verdi - an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential
composers of the 19th century. His works are frequently performed in opera houses throughout the world
and, transcending the boundaries of the genre, some of his themes have long since taken root in popular
culture.Verdis masterworks dominate the standard opera repertoire a century and a half after their
composition.
7. Gioachino Antonio Rossini - an Italian composer who wrote 39 operas as well as sacred music,
chamber music, songs, and some instrumental and piano pieces. A tendency for inspired, song-like
melodies is evident throughout his scores, which led to the nickname "The Italian Mozart." Until his
retirement in 1829, Rossini had been the most popular opera composer in history.
8. Edward Elgar - an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international
classical concert repertoire. He was appointed Master of the King's Musick in 1924. Although Elgar is often
regarded as a typically English composer, most of his musical influences were not from England but from
continental Europe. He felt himself to be an outsider, not only musically, but socially.