Romantic Music Era: Composers, Instruments, and Styles

Key Features of Romantic Music

• More expansive content in musical forms
• Rich modulations, harmonies, chromaticism, and dissonance
• Passionate and lyrical melodies remain important
• Greatly expanded orchestra, especially the horn section, with a complex and dense texture
• Unity of the work through new systems such as the leitmotif, the fixed idea, or ring systems (where a musical idea recurs)

Periods of Romanticism

From 1815 until the first decade of the twentieth century:

• Early Romanticism (1815-1848): A rebellious period, eager for freedom and novelty. Notable composers include Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, and Chopin.
• High Romanticism (1848-1883): Characterized by symphonic poems and the music dramas of Wagner. Key figures include Liszt, Wagner, and Brahms.
• Post-Romanticism (1883-1910s): The time of the last Romantics like Mahler, Strauss, and Bruckner, as well as the rise of realism and nationalism.

Instruments of the Romantic Era

Instruments were perfected and better expressed the fantasy and strong resonance needed by Romantic composers. They were often decorated with scales, arpeggios, trills, etc.

Piano

The piano was the fashionable instrument and was essential in homes with some economic power, as well as in cafes and lounges. It was often played by women.

Piano Forms

• Nocturne: An intimate and sentimental piece for piano
• Impromptu: A piece with an improvised character
• Etude: A piece intended to master a specific difficulty in piano performance
• Ballade: A lyrical and melancholic piece
• Polonaise: A Polish dance, sometimes majestic and with a warrior-like rhythm
• Mazurka: A Polish dance with a moderate pace, initially popular and later more cultured
• Polka: A Czech dance that boomed in the 19th century in Bohemia and spread to other countries

Key Romantic Composers

Chopin

Frédéric Chopin was a Polish Romantic composer. His music stands out for its rich harmonic language, strong sentimentality, intimacy, and sometimes warrior-like character. His melodies are of great beauty, endowed with piano decorations such as scales and arpeggios.

Schumann

Robert Schumann is another symbol of early Romanticism. The piano was his favorite instrument. His music is defined by the contrast between exalted and intimate moments, marked rhythms, and impulsive and persistent melodies.

Liszt

Franz Liszt was a Hungarian composer and a great pianist. His important works include "Years of Pilgrimage," "Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses," and others.

The Romantic Orchestra

The orchestra grew in size and range:

• The wind section expanded, both woodwind and brass, including four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, and a tuba.
• New woodwind instruments appeared, such as the piccolo, contrabassoon, English horn, bass clarinet, and saxophone.
• The percussion section included four timpani, gong, bass drum, vibraphone, and chimes.

Nationalist Music

• A search for the national essence of music through a country's own unique elements
• Focus on folk dances and songs
• Use of unique scales, harmonies, and themes, resulting in brand-new musical languages

Post-Romanticism

Post-Romantic composers premiered their works in the twentieth century but remained attached to the style of the nineteenth century. Gustav Mahler was pessimistic, and his music is very expressive and romantic at the same time. His works are defined by their large size, extensive orchestral resources, rich and emotional harmony, and an increased number of movements in his symphonies (up to six). He also used voices in several of his works. Richard Strauss was more optimistic and leveraged the contributions of Wagner and Brahms, composing many symphonic poems.