Romantic Period

Question 1

Romantic period

Answer 1

• composers were freelancing artists
• napoleonic splits classes
• industrial revolution brings back middle class
• people start learning music, schools pop up
• composers now part of middle class (instead of lower class, creating music for upper class)

Question 2

Events of Romantic era

Answer 2

• Napoleon taking over continent
• split between upper and lower class
• internal strife amongst composers
• cultural movement that expressed imagination
• music was more for the self, composers wrote for self, forget conformity, rules, structure
• chamber music was private, in smaller intimate locations

Question 3

Characteristics of Romanticism

Answer 3

• individuality of style/music reflected on personality
• conceptualized the real world: demons, devils, witches, fairies
• used sounds of nature
• programmatic music (imagery)
• nationalism (folk tunes, dances, legends)
• instrumental music assoc. with a story
• expanding orchestras> concert halls
• bigger, louder, layered sound, chromatic colorful harmony
• also had small works and pianists

Question 4

Romantic composers

Answer 4

Schubert
Schumann
Chopin
Liszt
Mendelssohn
Berlioz
Dvorak 
Tchaikovsky
Brahms
Verdi
Puccini
Wagner

Question 5

Art song

Answer 5

• for one voice and a piano only
• franz Schubert was the pioneer of art songs
• flourished in romantic time
• written by German or Austrian composers
• wrote in native tongue

Question 6

Song cycle

Answer 6

Group of art songs put together

Question 7

Concept album

Answer 7

A concept, create songs related to that concept

Question 8

Earl kirnig

Answer 8

King of elves who kills children, art song

Question 9

Tone poem

Answer 9

Evoke nature
Franz Liszt
Example: Romeo and Juliet

Question 10

Ternary form

Answer 10

ABA

Question 11

Robert Schumann

Answer 11

• most prolific piano composer
• piano virtuoso, German
• good music critic, original composer
• breaks mold of how romantic music perceived
• wrote piano sonatas
• had total mental breakdown, broke hands to play piano better>composed symphonies, chamber music, art song (got darker)
• then met wife, Claira, also a composer

Question 12

Frederic Chopin

Answer 12

-composed music just for piano
-French, a pianist
-created miniatures
-created own style: improvise
-wrote atudes (works you study), turned into sounds played in concert halls
•expanded them, more difficult
•”Nocturne Op.9 No. 2” waltz in left hand,
fancy right

Question 13

Franz Liszt

Answer 13

• Hungarian
• insanely good piano player
• wrote very difficult piano works
• first person to develop tone poem(part of of larger work)

Question 14

Felix Mendelssohn

Answer 14

• stuck with classic form, changed all harmony inside the form
• incredible Romantic composer, elegant balanced music
• wrote symphonies, concerti, programmatic music*
• famous for violin concerto: balances soloist and orchestra
• “midsummer nights dream” wrote wedding march
• German

Question 15

Hector Berlioz

Answer 15

-“Symphony Fantastique” written while high on opium
•about a woman, rejects him,
obsessed with her
•one of most famous programmatic songs
•man beheaded in 4th movement
•witches sabbath, look to sacrifice in 5th
-idee fixe: glue in which mvts come together
-French, program symphony composer

Question 16

Antonin Dvorák

Answer 16

• came to New York in 1892
• combine Czech and sounds of America (Native American tunes and African American spirituals)
• Czech and American composer

Question 17

Peter Tchaikovsky

Answer 17

• lived very difficult life
• gay, attempted suicide
• society saw him as lost artist
• important Russian romantic composer
• wrote tone poems, chamber, symphonies, concertos, etc.
• “Romeo and Juliet” programmatic song

Question 18

Johannes Brahms

Answer 18

• based music on classic form
• German
• shumann helped form music career “best composer that ever lived”
• created masterpieces in all trad’l forms, but opera
• living in shadow of Beethoven (took till 45 to write a symphony)
• 2 piano concertos/ wrote polyphonic music
• used classical form, but harmonized and syncopation
• 3rd symphony: lyrical melody, moderate tempo, classical orchestra (no brass), mixture of harmony, doesn’t use normal form (fast slow fast)

Question 19

Giuseppe Verdi

Answer 19

• known for operas, most famous: Jabuko (mirrored Italians being moved out of homes)
• masterpieces: Rigoletto (rape), la traviato (glorified free love)
• told stores that were taboo, scandalous
• Rigoletto: boss knows he loves Gilda, boss(Duke), dress as poor man, has her fall for him, rigolatro plans dukes death, she finds out, still picks duke
• wrote fluff pieces(not serious)
• Italian opera composer

Question 20

Giacomo Puccini

Answer 20

• opera star, most popular: la Bowem
• nessun dormia: princess will marry anyone who can correctly answer all 3 riddles, man gets first 2 but if get last one wrong> executed
• wrote fluff pieces (not serious)
• Italian opera composer

Question 21

Richard Wagner

Answer 21

-German opera composer
-nationalistic
-Hitler said Wagner was his favorite composer, became nazi composer
-most famously wrote “Ride of the Valkyries”
•mythical creatures risen by women to pick
up armor on battle field to reuse, since
didn’t lose

Question 22

Smetna

Answer 22

-classical form of movements> make tone poems (1 movement)
-“my homeland” compilation of tone poems
-founder of Czech national music
-most famous piece “the Moldau” (Mississippi River of Czech)
•tone poem, old Czech folk tunes, nat’listic
•emulate sound of water at beginning
•dancing poolside, party if he Gods

Question 23

Schubert

Answer 23

Art song

Austrian

Question 24

Romantic sound

Answer 24

• melody was passionate
• chromatic scales used
• contrast between phrases were vivid
• variety of melodic ideas in one movement
• rhythms changes a lot
• thicker texture, bigger orchestras
• rich, colorful, complex harmonies
• increased use of harp, cymbals, and triangle
• more brass
• more dissonance