Romantic Period

Romantic music? Is this music all about love?

Well it could be. But it could also be about hate. For romantic music is all about
feelings. It is about trying to express strong feelings in music.

Haven’t people always tried to express feelings in music? Well, yes. What is different
about romantic music is how strong the feeling are. The whole reason for writing the
music is also different. Earlier music (such as baroque, or music from the classical
period) was often written for the church or simply for entertainment. If this music
happened to express feelings as well, then all the better! On the other hand, many
romantic composers were not too worried about entertaining (or the church for that
matter). They simply wrote their music to express their feelings, and that was it. The
audience was left to take it or leave it!

And it’s all Ludwig van Beethoven’s (1770–1827) fault! He started it off. Beethoven
wrote the first romantic music. Beethoven wrote the first music where he didn’t really
care what the audience thought. And the audience was shocked! It’s hard to imagine
now, but they really were. Beethoven’s first piece like this was his Symphony No. 3,
commonly called the Eroica Symphony (heroic in Italian).

Other famous romantic composers include:

• Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847).

• Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849).
• Robert Schumann (1810–1856).
• Franz Liszt (1811–1886).
• Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901).
• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893).
• Gustav Mahler (1860–1911).

What was Romantic Music like?

• The tunes get longer and stronger.

• The louds get louder and the quiets get quieter.
• The mood changes are much bigger and happen more often.
• The orchestras get bigger.
• The music goes on for a longer time.
• There is more music with the same names as music from the classical period.
So there are a lots of symphonies, sonatas, and concertos. There is also
music with some new names, such as symphonic poems.
1. When was the Romantic period?

_______________________________________________________________

2. Who was the person that started the Romantic period?

_______________________________________________________________

3. Find three other Romantic composers:

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

4. What did composers like to write about in the Romantic period?

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

5. Find four characteristics of Romantic music:

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

6. How was the Romantic period different to the Baroque and Classical
period?
_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________