romantic vs impressionist music

Romantic Period

vs.

Impressionist Period

The following slides contain a series of links to YouTube video recordings of Romantic and Impressionist works in various musical genres

(solo piano works, songs, chamber music, orchestral music, opera and ballet.)

Listen to a minute or two of each Romantic work, followed with its Impressionist

counterpart. By doing so, you will learn to recognize the differences in sound and

other qualities between Romantic and Impressionist music.

Piano Music

Romantic• Chopin: Polonaise in A-flat (Vladimir Horowitz)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZGi49Bnghs

Impressionist • Debussy: La Cathedrale Engloutie(“The Sunken Cathedral”)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsdIkUSjXv8

Piano Music

Romantic• Brahms Intermezzo in A Majorhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqBzK5tKFVc

Impressionist• Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit - III. Scarbo (1909)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ4BKX5R1ko

(See next slide for a description of this work.)

Piano Music

Impressionist• Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit - III. Scarbo (1909)

This movement depicts the nighttime mischief of small fiend or goblin of some sort, making pirouettes, flitting in and out of the darkness, disappearing and suddenly reappearing. Its uneven flight, hitting and scratching against the panels of the bed, casting a growing shadow in the moonlight creates a nightmarish scene for the observer lying in his bed.

Songs (German Lied/French Art Song)

RomanticSchubert• An die Musik (Lieder)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-VqK088TF4

Impressionist• Debussy: "Green"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2PaUySrhRk

Songs (German Lied/French Art Song)

Romantic• Schubert Ave Mariahttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXdqprmpgoM Impressionist• Nebbie ("Fog" or "Mists")http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfPQcROKxqw

Chamber Music

Romantic• Johannes Brahms: Quintet for Clarinet and

Strings in B Minorhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtN1scGYJKA

Impressionist• Maurice Ravel:• Introduction & Allegro for Harp, Flute, Clarinet &

Stringshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBm1w8J63mg

Orchestral Music

Romantic• Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 - Scherzohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwhmbK6Av_w&feature=fvst

Impressionist• Claude Debussy: La Mer - 1st Movement (1905)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66hX8Ms0FwE

Orchestral Music

Romantic• Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 8 - Finale (1906)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WhNn6zxqVg Impressionist • Charles Tomlinson Griffes: (American; 1884-1920)

Poeme for Flute & Orchestrahttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTb3UtQIrZs

Piano Solo & Orchestra

Romantic• Tchaikovsky: Concerto No. 1 in Bb for Piano http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1axL9ZNnJIE

Marta Argerich, pianist (start at 1:31)Impressionist• Manuel De Falla (Spanish Composer)Nights in the Gardens of Spainhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgy0d2lJv9M

Opera

Romantic• Richard Wagner“Du bist der Lenz” from Die Walkurehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcYADZGp5DY

Impressionist Claude Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande (Mes longs

cheveux)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJENlHEZi18

Ballet Music

Romantic• Peter Illych Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake (Ballet)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S76CGGPqI3s&feature=fvst

Impressionist• Maurice Ravel: Daphnis & Chloe (Ballet)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzwHjEOwVno&feature=fvst