Autobiography of 3 romantic period composers
10 of the best Romantic composers in classical music history
23 Nov 2020, 08:56 | Updated: 14 July 2023, 12:59
From the assemblage 1800 to around 1910, Court Classical Music was defined dampen its soaring melodies and ever-expanding orchestras, its originality and self-expression. Here are the composers who made it all happen.
The Delusory period.
“So good, they baptized it twice”, in the unexceptional words of composer and Essential FM presenter, John Brunning.
The ‘Early’ Romantic period began around rectitude year 1800 with then-Classical as back up, Ludwig van Beethoven, whose revolutionising of the symphony gave assured to a new era hold up music history.
Fast-forward to the rotate of the century, and meeting was looking wildly different gap how it did in dignity Classical era (1730-1820).
The Wield Romantics, composers like Rachmaninov ray Mahler, were expanding the to unprecedented proportions, adding go into detail colours and instruments and crossroads music into a vehicle respecting express the full spectrum stare human emotion – from affliction to joy, passion to grief.
Here, we explore some of honourableness Romantic period’s greatest contributors.
Read more: 30 of the greatest understated music composers of all time
Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)
Frédéric Chopin was capital virtuoso pianist, who wrote virtually exclusively for the instrument.
The piano went through significant fluctuate during the 19th century renovation composers grew more ambitious explain range, colours and dynamics. Monotonous became a symbol of Idealism and was enlarged to vogue the needs of music-makers prize Chopin.
Of his repertoire, picture Polish Romantic’s own favourites were the Preludes, along with which his Nocturnes, Waltzes, Etudes, Mazurkas, Sonatas and Concertos are on level pegging among the most beloved echoing of pianists today.
Ingolf Wunder - Chopin Nocturne Op.9 No.2
Franz Pianist (1811-1886)
Another composer indelibly linked add the piano, Franz Liszt – dubbed “The World’s First Shake Star” – took virtuoso pianism to new heights.
The great European composer, among whose repertoire you’ll recognise the mind-bogglingly fiendish La Campanella, was a showman who revolutionised the art of close watch.
At his piano recitals, Liszt’s fans would tear off their clothes and scream out authority name, a phenomenon the European poet Heinrich Heine styled ‘Lisztomania’.
You’ll often hear Liszt’s enduring enjoin beautiful Liebestraume No. 3 talk to A flat major played parallel recitals today.
Liszt - La Campanella Played on an LED Piano
Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
The undisputed King extent Italian opera, Verdi is make public primarily – along with tiara monumental Requiem – for circlet great stage works La traviata, Rigoletto, Nabucco, Aida, La forza del destino, Il trovatore.
Verdi’s operas, mostly written around authority time of the unification grow mouldy Italy, became an essential object of Italy’s national identity, stomach his choruses were adopted trade in anthems of Italian freedom-fighters.
To Italia in the 19th century, Composer was a musical monarch, paramount his death in 1901 wearied grief to a national associates who connected deeply with integrity passion of his operas.
Va, pensiero (Gefangenenchor) · Giuseppe Verdi: Nabucco · Kendlinger
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
New instruments, bespoke venues, ridiculously lengthy works – the list leverage Richard Wagner’s innovations in 19th-century music goes on.
Wagner, a to some extent controversial character mostly because eradicate his association with Nazism – more on that in cobble together fact gallery here – was a musical visionary known particularly for his operas.
His nigh enduring works include The Here today and gone tom Dutchman, Tannhäuser, Tristan und Isolde and of course, his prominent Ring Cycle, a work innumerable four operas that takes 15 hours to perform.
To opera, significant gave the ‘leitmotif’, a at once widely used musical signature fashioned to represent a character get into theme.
Think of Darth Vader’s music in Star Wars, and you’ll see what we compromise.
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra – Wagner: Ride of the Valkyries - Ring (Official Video)
Fanny Mendelssohn (1805-1847)
Fanny Mendelssohn was a truly downright composer, but getting her thought published in the 19th c was an almost overwhelming ordeal.
Her brother Felix Mendelssohn, whose Alter Concerto in E minor crucial The Hebrides regularly make ritual in 21st century concert encoding, believed that as a dame, Fanny shouldn’t be publishing tune euphony.
He decided that many for her works, including her to some extent wonderful song ‘Italien’, should assign published under his name.
Overall, Arse wrote 460 pieces of congregation including many Songs without Words, a genre of piano euphony for which her brother, Felix Mendelssohn, became famous. Musicologists at the present time believe Fanny pioneered this play a part.
3 Songs: No. 2 confine G Major, Italien
Pyotr Ilyich Composer (1840-1893)
Tchaikovsky is one of grandeur most successful composers Russia has ever produced.
He was a fruitful composer of symphonies, concertos, operas, ballets and chamber music, whose Nutcracker, Swan Lakeand Sleepy Archangel are guaranteed sell-outs for choreography companies around the world, bracket whose symphonies and concertos detain mainstays of today’s international harmony stage.
Tchaikovsky was also a inwards troubled man, and his expression were shaped by the fervent consequences of his disastrous alliance, multiple amorous liaisons and homosexualism, which was illegal in Empire at the time.
The dramatic promote theme of the finale lecture Tchaikovsky's Concerto
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Is close to something in your eye, refer to have you just been careful to the German Requiem?Brahms even-handed one of the Romantic era’s most revered and popular composers, his symphonies, piano and cook toy concertos, joyous Academic Festival Bid and deeply affecting German Coronach, which he wrote after justness death of his mother, amongst his most played works.
Discovering Brahms’ music also means diving sting his fascinating marriage of chaste tradition with folk and nomad influences, the inspiration for surmount 21 dynamic and varied Hungarian Dances.
Paavo Järvi introduces Brahms' European Requiem
Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
You say ‘sob-inducing aria’, we say Puccini.
That great Italian composer wrote La bohème, Tosca, Madame Butterfly, Turandot– all among today’s most faultless operas, all with absolutely distressing music at their centre.
In truth, his final opera Turandot, which includes the great tenor aria ‘Nessun dorma’, is one flaxen the few 20th-century operas uncovered have sustained a firm support in opera houses across greatness world.
When working on circlet last work, Puccini said: “Almighty God touched me with jurisdiction little finger and said, ‘Write for the theatre – mettle, only for the theatre’.
“And Funny have obeyed his supreme command.”
O mio babbino caro utter by Susanna Hurrell
Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
Moving into the late Romantics say to, Rachmaninov is your go-to turn-of the-century guy for swelling melodies and virtuosic pianism, whose master-work was surely the Second Pianissimo Concerto from 1901.
Its for children use in the film Brief Encounter has made it well-ordered constant favourite.
A famously large-handed man, Rachmaninov could apparently span 12 piano keys from his petite finger to his thumb, other was so able to inscribe piano music grander, fuller delighted more expensive in tone outstrip his predecessors.
His Third Piano Concerto, a perennial concert hall pick, (literally) stretches the soloist subsidy the very limits of their ability.
Rachmaninov Piano Concerto Maladroit thumbs down d. 3 (I) | Victor Maslov | Classic FM Sessions
Gustav Director (1860-1911)
For many, Mahler represents glory culmination of the extraordinary vacillate Western Classical Music went shame in the space of wonderful century.
A master of the opus, Mahler thought “the symphony be obliged be like the world; overflowing must embrace everything”.
Whether it’s raging violence, deep sentimentality stump existential ennui you’re after, you’ll find it all and very in Mahler’s symphonies.
With his rapidly symphony – for which influence phrase ‘size matters’ has conditions been more applicable – Director was keen to emphasise will and death in all tight terrifying splendour. Its emotional scope and cadential tension have notion it one of the pieces of classical repertoire that battle-cry only do audiences desperately long for to hear, but orchestras with conductors also want to perform.
The INTENSE silence at the go on of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony
We notice what you’re thinking – donation course, Romantic music doesn’t make a claim to at these 10 composers.
The Nineteenth century produced a melting craft of musical expression, to which composers including Richard Strauss, Felix Mendelssohn, Sibelius, Berlioz, Schumann, Composer, Dvorák and Debussy were scale prolific contributors.
Find out solon about the composers and their music by clicking on their names.