MUSIC 9

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QUARTER 4. MODULE 16. ROMANTIC MUSIC

After using this module, you are expected to:

Explore other arts and media that portray Romantic period elements
Relate Romantic period music to its historical and cultural background

Romantic music refers to Western music composed in the late 18th century to
the 19th century. Composers and artists believed in letting their imagination and
passion be seen through their works.
Program music became the main form of instrumental compositions which is evident in
concert overtures, Program symphonies, symphonic poems and incidental music.
Program music is a form that portrays an idea or relays a story to the audience. An
example of this musical form may be seen in Hector Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique.”
Some of the other famous composers of the period are Franz Liszt, Frederic Chopin,
Camille Saint-Saëns, Robert Schumann and Peter Ilyich Tchaikowsky.
Short piano pieces in ABA form that shows emotion were developed during this period.
As the century progressed, music became increasingly available and popular among
the middle class. Concert halls provided venues for musical performances, and
instrumental music was available to a wide audience.
Nationalism is reflected in most of the music of the Romantic era. In the previous
historical periods, composers borrowed musical styles from Germany, Italy, and France.
However, composers of the Romantic period began incorporating their country’s native
folk songs and musical styles into their compositions.
MUSIC OF THE ROMANTIC PERIOD 1820-1910
Romantic Period is described as a cultural movement that stressed emotion,
imagination, individualism and freedom of expression. These characteristics are evident
in music, art and literature of the era.
Nationalism was also incorporated in the music of the Romantic period. An
example of a composition that shows nationalism is the Polonaise of Frederic Chopin,
which is a dance composition for piano and is famous in Poland until today.
Ludwig Van Beethoven bridged the music from Classical to Romantic era by
expressing his passion and emotions through his music. Other composers were inspired
by this musical style that they started to use music as a means of expressing their
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emotions and individuality. This change in musical form also paved the way for
expanding the orchestra as the composers explored various instrumentations.
Piano music of the Romantic period is in free form such as fantasy, rhapsody,
ballade and nocturne. Program music was expressed in tone poems such as Symphony
Fantastique.
Most of the musical compositions of the era portray literature, history, emotions,
and nature.
VIOLIN AND STRINGS MUSIC
NICCOLO PAGANINI
He was born in October 27, 1782 in Genoa, Italy in a
family of six children. His musical skills started with playing
the mandolin at the age of five. He eventually transferred
his training to the violin at the age of seven with different
violin professors in Italy. His violin teachers could not keep
up with the progress of his violin skills that he kept on
transferring from one violin teacher to another. This led him
to adopt all his teachers’ influences in playing the violin.
Paganini became the most famous violin virtuoso in
the world. However, together with his fame came the
rumors about his amazing violin skills that was said to be a
gift from the devil and that he sold his soul in exchange for
those skills. He was also rumored to have a problem with
women and gambling.
His compositions inspired a lot of other composers
such as Franz Liszt, Frederic Chopin and Robert Schumann.
Some Works of Niccolo Paganini:
• “La Campanella”
• 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, Op. 1
• Concerto No. 1 in Eb , Op. 6
• 15 Quartets for Guitar and Strings Trio
• The Carnival of Venice

PIANO MUSIC

Piano music of the Romantic period was filled with innovations. Most of the
compositions require a high level of virtuosity. Some were reinventions of sonatas from
the Classical era.

Today, some piano compositions from the Romantic period have been adapted into
songs. An example of this is Chopin’s Etude Op. 10, No. 3 in E major that was used for
the song “No Other Love”.

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1. FREDERIC CHOPIN
Frederic Chopin was known as the
“Poet of the Piano”. He was born on
March 1,1810 in Zelazowa, Poland.

Frederic Chopin began to play piano at

age 4. He composed polonaise at the
age of 7. He studied piano at Warsaw
Conservatory under Wilhelm Würfel and
most of his music was influenced by
folk music. He finished his formal
education at the higher school in 1829
and soon traveled to Europe giving
concerts in places such as Vienna,
Munich, Paris, and London. He wrote
almost exclusively for piano. He made
extensive use of piano pedal in most of his compositions.

Chopin composed almost primarily for the piano and some of his most well
known compositions are Fantasie in F minor, Op. 49, Revolutionary Etude, Op.
10, No. 12 and 24 Preludes, Op. 28.

In 1831, Chopin arrived in Paris and met other legendary composers such as
Franz Liszt, Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann. During this time in Paris,
Chopin met and married the famous French writer George Sand which later
became a source of inspiration as well as a maternal figure in Chopin’s life. In the
latter part of Chopin’s life, his health began to decline and he was diagnosed with
pulmonary tuberculosis. Chopin died on October 17, 1849, in Paris. Chopin’s
music is recognized worldwide for its beauty and his works on the piano are
mainstays in the piano repertoire.

Some of hismusic is characterized byits beautiful tone, rhythmic flexibility, grace

and elegance. Some of his compositions like mazurkas and polonaise express
his love for Poland.

Chopin is famous for the following:

• BALLADE- a verse form or narrative that is set to music
• ETUDE –a piece composed for the development of a specific technique.
• MAZURKA - a Polish dance in triple time signature
• NOCTURNE - an instrumental composition of a pensive, dreamy mood, for the
piano
• POLONAISE - aslow Polish dance in triple time that consists of a march or
procession
• PRELUDE - a short piece of music that can be used as a preface, and
introduction to another work or may stand on its own
• WALTZ - aGerman dance in triple meter
• IMPROMPTU–a short free-form musical composition usually for a solo
instrument, like the piano
• SCHERZO - a musical movement of playful character, typically in ABA form
• SONATA - composition for one or more solo instrumentsusually consisting of
three or four independent movements varying in key, mood, and tempo
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 2. FRANZ LISZT

The best word that describes the works

of Franz Liszt is “virtuosity”. He was known as
the virtuoso pianist, a composer and the busiest
musician during the romantic era. He played
and studiedin Vienna and Paris whileperforming
in concerts inthe rest of Europe.

Liszt was born in the village Doborjan,

Hungary. He displayed remarkable talent at a
young age and easily understood sight
[Link] father was his first teacher at age
six. A turning point came when, in his early
twenties, Liszt heard the virtuoso violinist
NiccoloPaganini perform so he decided to
dedicate himself in becoming a virtuoso pianist.

He was known for his symphonic poems where he translated great literary
works into musical compositions. He also made piano transcriptions of operas
and famous symphonies. Many of his piano compositions are technically
challenging pieces.
He was also known with his generosity in sharing time and money to the
orphans, victim of disasters and the many students he taught music for free.

Some of Liszt’s Piano works:

• La Campanella
• Liebestraume No. 3
• Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsodies" were originally written for solo piano, but
many were arranged for orchestra or other combinations of
[Link] Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 is the most popular and was
the basis for the Tom & Jerry cartoon called the Cat Concerto
• Un Sospiro
• Sonata in B Minor
• Arrangements of the 9 Beethoven Symphonies
• Transcriptions of Lieder by Schubert

ORCHESTRAL COMPOSITION
• Symphonic Poems (Hamlet, Les Preludes)

3. ROBERT SCHUMANN
One of the famous Romantic composers that beautifully combined music and
words is Robert Schumann. He was a composer and music critic.

Robert Alexander Schumann was born in 1810 in Zwickau. His father wanted him
to study law and so in 1821, Schumann went to Leipzig to study law. However,
he spent most of his time with musical and literary circles thru the effort of
Friedrich Wieck who took some time to teach Schumann how to play the piano.

It was also this time when he wrote some of his first piano compositions. He
eventually convinced his family that he should put aside law in favor of a
performing career. In 1830, Schumann went to live with Wieck in Leipzig. He

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 soon developed a problem with his hands, effectively ending his dreams as a
pianist.

It was in 1834 when Schumann founded the music journal, Jornal Neue
Zeitschrift fur Musik, wherein he edited and wrote music criticism for his
publication. He wrote numerous write-ups and one of which was the performance
of Frederic Chopin in Paris, France. In his journal, Schumann often wrote under
two pseudonyms - Eusebius (his sensitive, lyrical side) and Florestan (his fiery,
stormy side).

Piano Works
• "Abegg Variations," Opus 1(1830)
• "Davidsbundlertanze" ("Dances of the Band of David"), Opus 6 (1837)
• "Carnaval," Opus 9 (1835) - a portrait of a masked ball attended by his
allies and his beloved Clara
• "Phantasiestucke," Opus 12 (1837) - a series of mood pieces
• Kreisleriana," Opus 16 (1838) - a fantasy on the mad Kapellmeister
• "Kinderszenen," Opus 15 (1838) - a poetic series of evocations of a
child's world

He wrote over 100 Art Songs. Some of which are:

• "Frauenliebe und Leben" ("A Woman's Love and Life")
• "Dichterliebe" ("A Poet's Love")

Orchestral music:
• "Piano Concerto in A Minor," Opus 54
• "Overture, Scherzo
• “Finale," Opus 52 (a mini symphony)
• "Konzertstuck in F Major for Four Horns and Orchestra," Opus 86
PROGRAM MUSIC
Program music is an instrumental composition that
conveys images or scenes to tell a short story without
text or [Link] entices the imagination of the listener.
COMPOSERS OF PROGRAM MUSIC:
1. HECTOR BERLIOZ

Hector Berlioz is a French romantic

composer born on December 11, 1803. At his
young age, he learned to play guitar and flute
but never became skilled in a specific musical
instrument. His father was a physician who sent
Hector to medical school but he ended up
pursuing a career in music.

One of his famous musical compositions is a five movement symphony called

“Symphonie Fantastique”. In this composition which is also known as “Fantastic
Symphony”, Berlioz showcased the important features in his composition in
creating tone color. He assembled hundreds of musicians to produce a powerful
sound. In most of his compositions, he made tone color as the basic part of his
musical language.

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 STORY OF SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE
A young, extremely sensitive and imaginative musician tries to kill himself
with opium due to depression caused by discouraged love. Unfortunately, the
dose was not enough and does not kill him but instead, plunges him into a heavy
sleep flocked with nightmares. His experiences, feelings and memories are
translated into hallucinations of musical thoughts and images. The girl he loves
was transformed into a melody and like a recurring theme, he meets and hears
everywhere. Each movement of the symphony refers to a different vision in the
young musician’s mind.

2. PETER ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY (Pyotr Ilyich Chaykowsky)

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky who was born on May 7, 1840 in Votkinsk,

Russia,was known for his ballet music. He first studied law and became a law
clerk in St. Petersburg in his twenties. He rebelled and began to study music at
the conservatory also in St. Petersburg.

As a big fan of Mozart, Tchaikovsky studied composition with Anton Rubinstein

and moved to Moscow and started teaching at the new conservatory.

He continued his music career in New York despite having marital problems and
became famous after composing the musical poem “Fatum” and “Romeo and
Juliet”. He composed haunting melodies and used a great deal of folk music in
his symphonic works. Unfortunately, there are very few surviving manuscripts
written by Tchaikovsky. His fame peaked in the last ten years of his life and later
died due to cholera.

Tchaikovsky’s Famous Compositions:

• Swan Lake • Symphony No. 2
• Sleeping Beauty • Symphony No. 6 “Pathetique”
• The Nutcracker • Piano Concerto No. 1
• Romeo & Juliet • 1812 Overture

3. CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS

Camille Saint-Saëns was known as a talented

musician from an early age. He was born in Paris on
October 9, 1835 and started his music through the help of
his aunt by teaching him piano lesson when he was only
two years old and afterward he began composing piano
piece at age three.
He was considered as a composer who creates
elegant music, neat, clean, polished and never excessive.
One of this is example is “The Swan”. As an organist and
one of the best pianists of his time, he sat very still at the
piano and played gracefully and cool.

Some of the facts during the peak of his career in musician and composer,
many beautiful building, churches and instruments were being built in France
which includes the famous Eiffel Tower.

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 Best known music of Camille Saint-Saëns:
• Carnival of the Animals
• Danse Macabre and his SymphonyNo. 3
• The Swan
• Over 300 works, unusually in all genres, including
o 3 operas (Samson and Delilah the only one remembered)
o 5 Symphonies (best known No3 the Organ Symphony )
o 3 concertos for violin and orchestra
o 5 concertos for piano and orchestra
o 2 concertos for cello and orchestra
o organ music o numerous pieces for the piano
o approximately 100 songs
o chamber music
o sacred music including a Requiem

Explore Understanding
1. Frederick Chopin wrote most of his music for the following instrument.
a. Violin b. Flute c. Piano d. Orchestra
2. What does the term “Nationalism” means?
a. Being patriotic b. Having a srong feeling for one’s nation
c. Pride in one’s own composition d. Pride for another country or culture
3. Name the composer who bridged the Classical Period to the Romantic Period.
a. Bach b. Bruckner c. Berlioz d. Beethoven
4. Which of these is not a characteristic of the romantic period?
a. A freedom in writing and designing an intense personal expression of self-emotion
b. Has a rich variety of piece types
c. Has a shape and unity of the theme
d. The textures are more expressive e. None of the above
5. Which one of the following is not a type of Program music?
a. Song cycle b. Symphonic poem
[Link] overture d. Incidental music

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Firm up
Listen a recording of one of the new artist and Explain why you like/ Choose the
Artist/Song .
Deepen
[Link] is it called a Romantic Music?

Transfer
PAINT THE MUSIC

Base on your firm up, draw your own interpretion of the song in a LONG bondpaper.

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