Chapter 25 - Romantic Opera and Musical Theatre to Midcentury

Question 1

Birth and death dates: Franz Schubert

Answer 1

1797-1828

Question 2

Birth and death dates: Robert Schumann

Answer 2

1810-1856

Question 3

Birth and death dates: Clara Schumann

Answer 3

1819-1896

Question 4

Birth and death dates: Felix Mendelssohn

Answer 4

1809-1847

Question 5

Birth and death dates: Fanny Mendelssohn

Answer 5

1805-1847

Question 6

Birth and death dates: Frederic Chopin

Answer 6

1810-1849

Question 7

Birth and death dates: Franz Liszt

Answer 7

1811-1886

Question 8

Name a characteristic of the Schumann’s songs

Answer 8

• Treating the piano as a equal solo voice with the singer

- Inclusion of frequent interludes and piano solos to highlight the instrument

Question 9

Other than song, what was the next most popular and influential genre during the Romantic?

Answer 9

Piano music

Question 10

Generally what three broad catagories existed for piano pieces

Answer 10

• Pieces for teaching
• Pieces for the amateur market
• Bravura pieces for virtuosi

Question 11

How did Schubert’s experience in song writing influence his approach to classical forms?

Answer 11

He tended to focus on melody and thematic material, putting it in new harmonic contexts rather than subjecting it to motivic development

Question 12

Schubert influenced Liszt by his favoring modulating by ______.

Answer 12

3rds

Question 13

Felix Mendelssohn’s music can best be thought of as what?

Answer 13

Classical era form with Romantic era expression and mood.

Question 14

Of all the composer’s in the Romantic, which most closely adhered to traditional classical forms?

Answer 14

Felix Mendelssohn

Question 15

Robert Schumann’s solo piano works largely consist of what kind of pieces?

Answer 15

Smaller character pieces, often fragmentary and part of a set

Question 16

How did Clara Schumann and Fanny Hensel’s careers differ?

Answer 16

Although they were both accomplished and respected pianists, Clara performed publicly and published her music, whereas Fanny’s performances were mainly private and her music largely unpublished.

Question 17

Chopin’s legacy is what?

Answer 17

He was the first to write truly idiomatic piano music, highlighting and playing to the instrument’s strengths

Question 18

When historians say that Chopin made innovations in the genre of etude, prelude, nocturne, etc. what is meant?

Answer 18

Chopin innovated in the genre’s he touched by adding artistic value to etudes, as well as writing in a way that highlighted the piano’s strengths and making it sing

Question 19

Did Chopin prefer to play large recitals or at smaller salon gatherings?

Answer 19

Chopin preferred more intimate settings for performances such as the salon

Question 20

Liszt’s music was innovative in what ways?

Answer 20

• He pushed the technical limits of piano playing
• He pushed tonality in his avant garde compositions
• Was also a proponent of character music and he wrote reflections rather than arrangements of popular pieces

Question 21

Who was responsible for the recital practices we have today of silence, playing from memory, and the name recital?

Answer 21

Franz Liszt