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Three Romantic Composers: Beethoven, Berlioz, and Chopin

Chapter 29Humanities 103Instructor Beth Camp

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Romanticism and Music

What did Romantic composers contribute to classical music?

Note to online students: Please listen to a work by one of the Romantic composers mentioned here or in Fiero.

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Romantics and Music

19th Century great interest in music All genres = explosion of feeling

Orchestras grew in size Instruments more varied, complex Symphony + concerto key forms Popular songs (German art songs)

Musicians = composers + virtuoso performers

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Romantic Composers 1800-1850

Celebrate intense personal feeling, close connection to nature

Musician as hero-genius, virtuoso, mysterious, exotic, melancholic, melodramatic close to mystery

Music as conduit to express nationalism and liberal values (political independence, concept of republic and democracy)

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Beethoven 1770-1827

9 symphonies Beethoven drawn to democratic and republican

ideals of the French Revolution. 3rd symphony originally dedicated to Napoleon (“Eroica” = “heroic”) not just 1-2 themes but 6

6th symphony theme “Pastorale” close to nature

Tragic early life, problems with deafness at 28; music often shows struggle then triumph

Successful because he sold compositions directly, no patronage

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Beethoven 1770-1827

Sonata Op. 27 No. 2 “Moonlight” CD:

#1 Evgeny Kissin (15:37) Beethoven Violin Concerto, Op. 61,

First Movement. CD: #1 Pinchas Zukerman (24:07)

Listen for these technical elements: Dynamics (varying loudness and softness), Virtuosity Dramatic spontaneity over formal structure

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Beethoven 1770-1827

Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 “Ode to Joy” Movement 4

CD Bernstein in Berlin: Ode to Freedom 1989 Fall of the Wall in Berlin

Four movements1. Desperate condition of humanity2. Search for happiness3. Turn to religion4. Ends with radiant song of joy

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Berlioz 1803-1869

Berlioz introduced program music with Symphonie fantastique (Faust) Musical motifs tell a story Idee fixe (fixed idea) = theme to hold

“mood” music together Invented new forms for symphony (5

movements instead of 4) Expanded orchestra to 400 musicians

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Berlioz 1803-1869

Symphonie Fantastique Op. 14 “March to the Scaffold”

#14 Fiero CD 2 How would you describe the mood

of this music? Its technical characteristics? Why would this music be considered Romantic?

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Chopin 1810-1849

Wrote 200 “small” pieces for piano Preludes, dances, nocturnes,

impromptus, etudes, polonaise, mazurkas, waltzes

Performed at virtuoso level with small hands that spread over piano keys like “jaws of a snake” (Fiero 63)

Known for arpeggios

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Chopin 1810-1849

1. Polnaise in A-Flat Op. 53 (“Heroic”) #6 Rubinstein The Chopin Collection (7:05)

2. Waltz in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 64, No. 2 #4 Rubinstein The Chopin Collection (3:40)

Listen for these technical elements: Arpeggio (rolling chords in a trill) Dynamics (varying loudness and softness), Virtuosity

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Romantics and Music

“Music is the most romantic of all the arts -- one might almost say, the only genuine romantic one -- for its sole subject is the infinitive.”

--E.T.A. Hoffmann (Fiero 59)

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Informal Writing:

Write a brief comparison of Beethoven to Chopin or Berlioz. What differences do you notice the works of these composers? What themes are suggested by their music? Would you define all three as Romantic composers?

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Realistic Themes 1800-1850

Reaction against sentimentality of Romanticism

Reaction against militarism, industrialism, colonialism

Concern for natural landscapes, rural and urban = Show nature as it truly is

Social realism (women, working class themes)

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Ideals of Realism

“A painter should paint only what he can see . . . . Show me an angel and I’ll paint one.”

Courbet (qtd. in Fiero 92)

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Puccini 1858-1924

Italian opera saw “verismo” or “truth-ism”

Heroes drawn from everyday lifeLa BohemeMadama Butterfly

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What’s Next?

Chapter 30 introduces the cultural trend away from romanticism and toward realism. How might you describe the difference between “romanticism” and “realism” as it relates to music?

Activity: Compare Verdi’s Rigoletto to Puccini’s Madama Butterfly