Russia

Frederic
Chopin

Camille
Saint-Saenz

Niccolo
Paganini
Peter Ilyich
Tchaikovsky

Hector
Berlioz

Franz Liszt

How do you express your

feelings?
What do you feel when these
emotions are not expressed?

Romantic Inspiration and

Creativity

CLASSICAL MUSIC
Adherence to reason and
tradition
Sought to achieve unity,
order and balance
Drew inspiration from the
monuments of Greece and
Rome
Classical artists exalted
those of the masses

ROMANTIC MUSIC
Revolt against Classical
Period
Leaned toward selfexpression
Drew inspiration to human
imagination and the
wonders of NATURE
Romantic artists exalted
instinctive feelings
(individual and personal
ones).

I celebrate
myself , and
sing myself.

LAB LAB LOOOOOOVE!!!

I perform most faithfully the

duties the HUMANITY, GOD and
NATURE enjoin upon me.
-BEETHOVEN (1821)

Pastoral Symphony
(SYMPHONY NO. 6)
the first important
Romantic Nature Piece

DESPAIR, FRENZY and HEAVENLY EXALTATION were

others expressed in music and poetry.
The range of expression was broadened in Romantic
music can be seen in the expression marks that came
into being at this time:
Con forza e passione
(with force and passion)
Espressivo (expressively)
Misterioso (mysteriously)
Dolente (Sadly)
Maestoso (majestically)
Presto furioso (fast and furious)

Music of the Romantic Period

The Romantic era spans from 1820 A.D. up until 1900
A.D.
It can be characterized by the individuality of style.
Emphasizes self-expression and individuality in
compositional style.
The music is generally very programmatic, where the
instrumental music depicts a story, idea or a poem..
(e.g., Smetenas The Moldau depicts scenes along the
Moldau River)
Nationalism becomes important during this era, where
composers created music using folk song, history and

 The Orchestra expanded due to the growing size of

concert halls and opera houses
Addition of contrabassoon, bass clarinet, piccolo and
the cor anglias in the woodwind section.

 Huge technological improvements in musical

instruments sprung
which made them more
flexible and accurate.
New sounds were created/used in all instruments.
Flutes were required to play in breathy , low
registers;
Violins were asked to strike the strings with the wood
of
the bow col legno.
All instruments were required to play with more
virtuosity.

Melody
Melody is more flexible and irregular in shape than in the
Classical period; long, singable lines with powerful climaxes
and chromatic inflections for expressiveness.
Harmony
Greater use of chromaticism makes the harmony richer and
more colorful; sudden shifts to remote chords for expressive
purposes; prolonged dissonance conveys feelings of anxiety
and longing.

Rhythm
Rhythms are free and relaxed, occasionally obscuring the
meter; tempo can fluctuate greatly (tempo rubato) and
sometimes slows to a crawl to allow for the grand gesture.
Color
The orchestra becomes enormous, reaching upward of one
hundred performers; trombone, tuba, contrabassoon, piccolo
and English horn were added to the ensemble; experiments
with new playing techniques for special effects; dynamics
vary widely to create extreme levels of expression; piano
becomes larger and more powerful.

Texture
Predominantly homophonic but dense and rich because of
larger orchestras and orchestral scores; sustaining pedal on
the piano also adds to density.
Form
Composers wrote musical miniatures as well as monumental
pieces. Some genres are carried over from classicism, but
are more greatly exploited, such as sonatas and symphonies.
A few new forms are invented.

Art Song
It is standardly a composition for solo voice and piano.
Poetry and music are thus intimately fused.
The best Art Song composers of the Romantic era include
Schubert, Schumann and Brahms.
The Art Songs based on German texts tended to favour the
poets Heine and Goethe.
The song composers interpret the poems, translating t heir
mood and atmosphere into music.

Types of Art Songs

Strophic

Str

The same music is used for each stanza. Like a hymn

in structure.

Through-composed
New music for each stanza. Allowing music to reflect
changing moods in the poem.

Song Cycles
contains several art songs, grouped into a set. Often
unified by a s ingle story line. i.e. : Schuberts The
Winter Journey

Ludwig Van Beethoven

(1770-1827)
Beethoven was born on or about December 16, 1770 in the
city of Bonn in the Electorate of Cologne, a principality of
the Holy Roman Empire.
He was baptized on December 17, 1770.
He has two younger brothers, Caspar, born in 1774, and
Johann, born in 1776.
Beethoven's mother, Maria Magdalena van Beethoven, was a
slender, genteel, and deeply moralistic woman.
His father, Johann van Beethoven, was a mediocre court
singer better known for his alcoholism than any musical
ability.

 Beethoven's father began teaching him music with an

extraordinary rigor and brutality that affected him for the
rest of his life.
He had his first recital on March 26, 1778. Billed as a little
son of six years,
Attended a Latin grade school, Tirocinium.
Music comes to me more readily than words, (Beethoven).
In 1781, he withdrew from school to study music full time
with Christian Gottlob Neefe, the newly appointed Court
Organist.
In 1787, the court sent Beethoven toVienna , where he hoped
to study with Mozart.
He composed a cantata when the Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II died in 1790. He was 19 years by then.

 In 1792, Beethoven decided to leave his hometown for

Vienna once again.
He studied piano with Haydn, vocal composition with
Antonio Salieri and counterpoint Johan Albrechtsberger.
Beethoven made his long-awaited public debut in Vienna on
March 29, 1795.
On April 2, 1800, he debuted his Symphony No. 1in C major
at the Royal Imperial Theater in Vienna.
His Six String Quartets. published in 1801.
Also composed THE CREATURES OF PROMETHUES in
1801, a wildly popular ballet that received 27 performances
at the Imperial Court Theater.
Beethoven debuted his Symphony No. 3 in Napoleons
honor.

I must confess that I

lead a miserable life. For
almost two years I have
ceased to attend any
social functions, just
because I find it
impossible to say to
people: I am deaf. If I
had any other
profession, I might be

Despite his rapidly progressing deafness, Beethoven

continued to compose at a furious pace. From 1803-1812,
what is known as his middle or heroic period, he
composed:
Five sets of piano
An opera
variations
Four overtures
Six symphonies
Four trios
Four solo concertos
Two sextets
Five string quartets
And 72 songs
Six string sonatas
Seven piano sonatas

Beethoven as the BRIDGING

GAP between Classical and
Romantic Music
Beethoven is one of the greatest composers of all time. His
compositions broke barriers, brought about the romantic era in
classical, and were influenced by what was going on around
him. Beethoven's stylistic innovations bridge theClassical
andRomanticperiods. The works of his early period brought
the Classical form to its highest expressive level, expanding in
formal, structural, and harmonic terms the musical idiom
developed by predecessors such asMozartandHaydn. The
works of his middle and late periods were even more forwardlooking, appropriately being categorized in and contributing to
the musical language and thinking of theRomanticera, directly
inspiring other Romantic composers such asFrdric

3 Phases of Beethovens career

1st Phase (1770-1802):
His music was strongly influenced by Mozart and Haydn.
He wrote his first two Piano concertos, first two
symphonies, string quartets Op. 18 and first 10 piano
sonatas.
c
2nd Phase (1802-1815):
In this period he was going deaf.
HE greatly expanded upon existing forms and infused his
music with HEROIC EXPRESSION.
Works include KREUTZER SONATA for violin and Piano;
his only violin concerto; 3rd, 4th and 5th piano concertos;
Some of his greatest piano sonatas, Les Adieux,
Waldstein and Appasionata

3rd Phase (1815-1827)

He was now totally deaf
He departs substantially from established
conventions, both in form and in style.
His works include the 9th symphony, the
Missa Solemnis, and the late piano sonatas
and string quartets

Works of Beethoven

Beethoven, used classical forms and techniques but gave

them new POWER and INTENSITY.
His works convey TENSION and EXCITEMENT through
syncopations and dissonances
There is an enormous range of expression in his works:
tempo, dynamic and expressive indications are marked far
more extensively in his scores than his predecessors.
He had markings such as <p
He unified the movements of his symphonies, sonatas and
string quartets
One movement leads directly into another without a pause
(attaca).

 Many of his movements use sonata form, but the development

sections used the coda and greatly expanded.
He uses the SCHERZO rather than the MINUET for the 3rd
movement of his pieces.
His MOST FAMOUS WORKS are his 9 SYMPHONIES.
In some of his symphonies, he adds piccolos, trombones and
contrabassoon.
The odd-numbered symphonies are more forceful, whereas the
even-numbered symphonies are very calm and lyrical.
His Symphony No. 9 is the FIRST up to that time in music
history to use a choir, which we hear in the Ode to Joy finale
movement.
He wrote 32 piano sonatas; 16 string quartets, 5 piano
concertos, 1 opera (Fidelio), 1 ballet, 1 violin concerto and 2
masses.

Beethovens Symphony no. 3

Eroica Symphony- it was intended to reflect on the life of
Napoleon. However, Beethoven scratched out its dedication
to Napoleon when he found out that the general had invaded
Austria. This symphony was the longest symphony ever
composed at the time of its premiere.

Symphony no. 5
Beethoven unifies all contrasting movements. The first
four-note motif is used extensively in first movement and
third movements. The third movement theme reappears in
the finale. The last two movements are connected by a
bridge. This contrasting element that he retained by
employing the motif in all four movements of Symphony no. 5
is known as a CELL

The End