romantic concerto

Question 1

what is the date period of the romantic concerto?

Answer 1

1820 - 1900

Question 2

what is the melody like?

Answer 2

chromaticism
long melodic lines
mainly diatonic
composers were given more freedom to move the melody around

Question 3

what is the texture like?

Answer 3

homophonic (more complex then the classical concertos)

Question 4

what is the first movement?

Answer 4

sonata form

allegro - soloist pays virtually throughout

Question 5

what is the second movement?

Answer 5

ternary or variation form

slow, lyrical and song-like. Often short and acting mainly like an introduction to the very fast and virtuostic finales

Question 6

what is the third movement?

Answer 6

rondo, variation form or sonata form

fast and cheerful

Question 7

what are the strings like?

Answer 7

many more desks per section. doube basses have independent lines

Question 8

what is the woodwind like?

Answer 8

clairnet is much more common

the add of more extended instruments (eg. piccolo or bass clairrnet)

Question 9

what is the brass like?

Answer 9

trumpets, french horns, trombones and tubas found in varying pieces

Question 10

what is the precussion like?

Answer 10

bass drum, side drum, cymbals and more

Question 11

what is the tempo like?

Answer 11

often (but not always!) follows the same pattern as the classical
rubato used strict tempo - relaxed (conductor or soloist might move the tempo around)

Question 12

what is the tempo like?

Answer 12

it frequently changed, including the time signature

Question 13

what is the harmony like?

Answer 13

diatonic
chromatic harmony
added note chords
dissonace - clashing of notes or chords

Question 14

what are the dynamics like?

Answer 14

the extremes of dynamics (ppp, fff)

expression markings e.g. espressivo

Question 15

what is the soloist like?

Answer 15

soloists parts became more difficult and virtuosic to play
cadenzas were added so the soloist could ‘show off’
more complex with added ornemantationand melodic decoration

Question 16

who follows who in the music?

Answer 16

the conductor follows the soloist

the orchestra follows the conductor

Question 17

what type of venue was romantic concertos played in?

Answer 17

large-scale public concert halls

more had to be built because of high demand

Question 18

what type of composers were they?

Answer 18

many romantic concerto composers were also virtuso performers who wrote and performed in large-scale public concerts and festivals

Question 19

name two romantic concerto composers

Answer 19

beethoven

liszt

Question 20

name two features of the orchestra

Answer 20

large

often dramtically contrasted to the soloist

Question 21

what was avaliable to the composer who explored rich and colourful ornemantation?

Answer 21

timbres and sonorities

Question 22

what increased in size and what was added to the orchestra?

Answer 22

strings - added harps
woodwind - added double basson and bass clarinets
brass - added more trumpets and frenh horns and added trombones and a tuba
precussion - added a vast array of drums, cymbals and pitched precussion

Question 23

what two instruments were the most popular for solos?

Answer 23

piano and violin

Question 24

how many people may be playing in the romantic orchestra?

Answer 24

between 90 - 100