Romantic Music: Composers, Forms, and National Styles

Key Composers of the Romantic Era

Robert Schumann: A German composer who married Clara Wieck, a prominent concert pianist. He suffered from manic depression and died in a psychiatric facility after a suicide attempt. He composed orchestral music, lieder, and piano works. Notable pieces include "Chiarina," "Eusebius," "Florestan," and "ASCH."

Frédéric Chopin: Born in Poland, Chopin lived for a time in Paris, where he met his girlfriend, "George Sand" (Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin). They spent a winter in Mallorca, residing in "La Cartuja de Valldemossa." Chopin suffered from cystic fibrosis. Before his death, he requested that his heart be sent to Poland. Among his works is the "Valse-Study."

Musical Forms of the Romantic Period

The Lied

The Lied, meaning "song" in German, is a short form written for voice and piano based on a poetic text. These pieces often have a popular style, simple and brief, easy to sing for non-professionals. The melody complements the poem to express mood and meaning. The most common type is the "strophic Lied," which uses the same music for all verses. It can also be structured in two sections (bipartite) or three sections (tripartite), where the third section repeats the first.

Piano Music

The piano was the preferred instrument of Romanticism because its features allowed for individual expression and interpretation of sentiment. Piano makers perfected the instrument by improving the lever system and adding the sustaining pedal. Romantic composers created small, free-form pieces to express their feelings and fantasies. The titles of these pieces are often varied, reflecting inner feelings, imagination, fantasy, or using themes and dances.

Zarzuela

Large Zarzuela: These are long pieces in three acts, with frequent use of choir singing and a predominance of sung parts over spoken parts.

Género Chico: This form takes place in a single act and reduces the number of characters. It emphasizes spoken text over sung parts (Notable composers include T.F. Bretón and Federico Chueca).

Opera in the Romantic Era

• Germany: Richard Wagner.
• France: Jacques Offenbach (Tales of Hoffman) and Georges Bizet (Carmen).
• Italy: Giacomo Puccini, a representative of realism, focused on the emotions and feelings of characters in his operas, presenting them realistically. His works include "Tosca." Other notable Italian opera composers include Giuseppe Verdi (La Traviata).

Orchestral Music

• Program Symphony: A symphony that, rather than relying on a formal structure, is developed around the description of a program or plot.
• Symphonic Poem: A composition in one movement based on descriptive elements (e.g., Pictures at an Exhibition).

Notable Composers and Works

• Russia: Modest Mussorgsky (Pictures at an Exhibition), Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (Scheherazade), Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Swan Lake and The Nutcracker).
• Norway: Edvard Grieg (Peer Gynt).
• Spain: Manuel de Falla (El Amor Brujo).