Romantic Solo Concerto Flashcards
When was the Romantic era
1820 -1900
Romantic Solo Concertos continued to be instrumental works for
a single solo instrument with orchestral accompaniment but became more dramatic sounding and emotive. sometimes double concertos were written for solo instruments
what was the harmony
mainly diatonic but much more use of chromatic harmony, dissonance and added note chords
what is dissonance
clashing notes and chords
eg of added note chords
9ths to create dramatic effects
what happened to the tempo and metre
frequent changes of time signature and tempo
texture of the Romantic Solo concertos
homophonic (melody and accompaniment) but more complex than in classical concertos
dynamics in romantic solo concertos
extremes of dynamics were common (ppp, fff) and specific expression markings
examples of expression markings
expressivo, dolce, appassionato
how was 1st movement played
in sonata form, allegro - soloists played virtually throughout
how was the second movement played
ternary or variation form
slow, lyrical and song like, often short and acting mainly as an introduction to the very fast and virtuosic finales. sometimes linked to final movement with a pause
how was the third movement played
rondo, variation or sonata form
fast and cheerful
explain the melody compared to the classical concerto
the regular balanced phrases of the classical concerto were less important with composers giving more freedom to expression within their melodies which were now often long and dramatic, loud and powerful or warm and emotional
examples of romantic solo concerto composers
beethoven, brahms, liszt, mendelssohn
where were the romantic solo concertos performed (venues)
performed in large-scale public concerts and festivals. larger concert halls had to be built due to the rise of the “middle class” concert goer
what type of performers were composers also
many romantic solo concerto composers were also virtuoso performers
eg Franz Liszt, Chopin, Clara Shumann and Niccolo Paganini
what was the size of the orchestra and what did it allow
was large and often contrasted dramatically with the soloist, this growth allowed new timbres and sonorities to become available to composers who explored rich and colourful orchestration
what happened to the strings sections
it was enlarged again, often with the addition of harps
what happened to the woodwind section
instruments were added to the woodwind section such as the Double Bassoon, Cor Anglais, Bass Clarinet and Piccolo
what happened to the Brass section
saw trombones and a tuba added along with an extra trumpet and two further french horns
what happened to the percussion section
now features a vast array of Drums, Cymbals, Pitched percussion and other instruments which could be hit, struck, banged or plucked!
how many players in the Romantic orchestra
90-100 players
which instruments did romantic composers write solo concertos for
for almost any orchestral instrument but the piano and violin continued to be popular choices as solo instruments
who does the conductor follow
continues to follow the soloist and the orchestra follows the conductor
why is the soloists interpretation of the music now more important
due to the music being more dramatic and powerful
changing roles - soloists vs orchestral accompaniment
the soloists stepped forward as the “heroic figure” with the orchestra slipping back into a more “subordinate” role
what did the soloist and orchestral accompaniment changing roles add
more “competition” between soloist and orchestra
difficult soloist part
soloists part became more difficult, virtuosic and technically difficult to play
what did cadenza sections allow
to allow the soloist to “show off” becoming more complex and difficult with lots of melodic decoration, ornamentation and fast scale passage and demanding playing techniques particular to the solo instrument
playing techniques particular to the solo instrument examples
glissandi on the piano, double stopping and harmonics on the violin
what changed about cadenzas?
they were now written out and not improvised by the performer
what happens at the start of the first movement
the soloists often enters immediately (no orchestral introduction) at the start of the 1st movement sharing themes with the orchestra
woodwind consists of
2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, double bassoon, cor anglais, bass clarinet and piccolo
brass consists of
3 trumpets, 4 horns, 3 trombones and 1 tuba
percussion consists of
timpani and lots of different timbres including pitched percussion instruments
romantic composers who wrote music expressed what
their inner most feelings and the regular 4 and 8 bar phrases of the Classical Concerto were less important as greater flexibility was now key
how did the industrial revolution impact the romantic solo concertos
it improved instruments and the rise of the “urban middle class” (not musically educated) - music now available to more people not just the rich and upper class, piano was common in middle class peoples homes
