Romanticism in Classic Forms: Orchestral, Chamber, and Choral Music

Question 1

Orchestras in the Romantic Era

Answer 1

• the number of orchestras grew a lot both amateur and professional
• New York Phil, London, and Vienna were all formed during this time
• wind instruments were easier to play because of technology, so they were added more

Question 2

Introduction of a Conductor

Answer 2

• conductors rose out of the Romantic Period, and they used batons instead of bows or rolls of paper
• Louis Spohr was the first
• around 1840, conductors started to do more than just keep time

Question 3

Audiences and Concerts

Answer 3

• concerts drew a lot of middle class
• music selection was very diverse (symphony followed by choral chamber work, then solo, etc)
• orchestral works were arranged for piano so middle class could take them home and play them

Question 4

The Rise of “Classical Repertoire”

Answer 4

• orchestras more often played works of deceased composers
• these pieces were cheaper and easier for amateurs
• Haydn/Mozart/Beethoven’s works were deemed “masterpieces that were crafty and have emotional depth and immediate appeal with lasting interest”

Question 5

Change in Audience Behavior

Answer 5

-the Romantic period showed an increase in silent audiences

Question 6

Schubert’s Symphonic Style

Answer 6

-he kept the form of the symphony, but focused on theme and melody rather than phrase structure and symmetry

Question 7

The Unfinished Symphony

Answer 7

• Schubert
• two movements
• included different thematic subjects, but developed them differently than Classical themes
• he didn’t die during the symphony. he just didn’t finish it

Question 8

Schubert’s Symphony No. 9 in C Major (1825)

Answer 8

• uses his usual 3 key exposition
• known as the “Great Symphony”
• blended Romantic lyricism and Beethoven’s drama with Classic form

Question 9

Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)

Answer 9

• programmatic symphonies like Beethoven 5 and 6
• Symphonie fantastique, Harold in Italy, Grand Funeral and Triumphant Symphony
• leader of the radical side of Romanticism

Question 10

Symphonie fantastique

Answer 10

• Berlioz, 1830

- idee fixe (melody in each movement to represent the beloved)

Question 11

Classical Romanticism: Mendelssohn

Answer 11

• grounded in Classical symmetry, forms, and sounds

- Italian and Scottish Symphonies

Question 12

Mendelssohn’s Overtures

Answer 12

• Fingal’s Cave
• Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture
• Becalmed at Sea and Prosperous Voyage (Goethe)

Question 13

Robert Schumann’s Symphonies

Answer 13

• composers would “make it” if they wrote symphonies
• his Fourth Symphony was the most radical: one movement that includes all four movement stereotypes, like the Wanderer Fantasy that he wrote, organically unified thematic cycle

Question 14

The Romantic Legacy

Answer 14

-Schubert, Berlioz, Mendelssohn, Schumann

Question 15

Chamber Music in the Romantic Period

Answer 15

-it continued to be music played in the home, but more and more quartets and trios were performed in concert

Question 16

Schubert’s Quartets

Answer 16

• most famous is String Quartet in C Major
• added a second cello
• treated all instruments individually

Question 17

Romantic Choirs

Answer 17

• they were more amateur than orchestras
• dominated by music of the past
• amateurs organized as choral societies

Question 18

Part Songs

Answer 18

• choral parallel to the Leid

- scored for two or more voice parts and sung unaccompanied