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The Music of the Romantic EraHistorical Background

Music is affected by many things; ideas, attitudes, discoveries, inventions, and historical events can change music of the times. For example, the "Industrial Revolution" was gaining steam throughout the nineteenth century. This had a very practical effect on music: there were major improvements in the mechanical valves and keys that most woodwinds and brass instruments depend on. The new, improved instruments could be played more easily and reliably, and often had a bigger, fuller, better-tuned sound. Strings and keyboard instruments dominate the music of the Baroque and Classical periods, with small groups of winds added for color. As the nineteenth century progressed and wind instruments improved, more and more winds were added to the orchestra, and their parts became more and more difficult, interesting, and important.

As in any time of change, new musical techniques came about to fit in with the current trends. Composers began to experiment with length of compositions, new harmonies, and tonal relationships. Additionally, there was the increased use of dissonance.:tones sounding simultaneously are said to be dissonant if they produce an unpleasant effectNew Musical FormsSymphonic Poem,: an orchestral work that portrayed a story or had some kind of literary or artistic background to it.Art Song, :a vocal musical work with tremendous emphasis placed on the text or the symbolical meanings of words within the text.Programme music : music that tells a story or describes a scene.

Another social development that had an effect on music was the rise of the middle class. Classical composers lived on the patronage of the aristocracy; their audience was generally small, upper-class, and knowledgeable about music. The Romantic composer, on the other hand, was often writing for public concerts and festivals, with large audiences of paying customers who had not necessarily had any music lessons. In fact, the nineteenth century saw the first "pop star"-type stage personalities. Performers like Paganini and Liszt were the Elvis Presleys of their day. BrahmsThe son of a double bassist in the Hamburg Philharmonic Society, Brahms demonstrated great promise from the beginning. He began his musical career as a pianist, contributing to the family coffers as a teenager by playing in restaurants, taverns, and even brothels.

Brahms composed for piano, chamber ensembles, symphony orchestra, and for voice and chorus. A virtuoso pianist, he premiered many of his own works; he also worked with the leading performers of his time, including Robert and Clara Schumann.Brahms became a closeFriend of the Schumannfamily and supposedly helped Clara raise her children afterRoberts mental breakdown.

Facts:Born: May 7, 1833 Hamburg Died: April 3, 1897 - ViennaDuring his teenage years Brahms was described as , having long fair hair, blue eyes, slender, and a high voice; he was often mistaken for a girl. Brahms was given an honorable grave site next to Beethoven and Schubert; two composers he greatly admired. Brahms parents married in 1830. His father was 24 and his mother was 41.WorksBrahms - Violin Concerto in D major Brahms, Hungarian Dance No. 5 Wondrous CoolLullabyFranz LisztOctober 22, 1811 July 31, 1886Liszt became known throughout Europe during the romantic era for his skill as a pianist. Supposedly he played with such passion that women would faint during his performances He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age and perhaps the greatest pianist of all time.One of his most notable contributions was the invention of the symphonic poem.

The effects PaganiniAfter attending an April 20, 1832 concert for charity, for the victims of a Parisian cholera epidemic, by Niccol Paganini, Liszt became determined to become as great a virtuoso on the piano as Paganini was on the violin.

WorksTotentanzMazeppa, Symphonic PoemOrpheusPyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyA Russian composer, his wide ranging output includes symphonies, operas, ballets, instrumental and chamber music. He wrote some of the most popular concert and theatrical music in the classical repertoire, including the ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker, the 1812 Overture.