The Romantic Era

While the title Romantic seems like the kinds of music made then would be centered around romance, that’s far from the truth! The Romantic period of music lasted from roughly 1830 to 1900, and was named after the Romantic era of art. It received this name for its notable features, like its new ideas, and intense way of showing emotion. Composers and artists in general used art as a form of expression during this period, which is different from past periods! While this period harbors many differences from its predecessors, it takes music from the Classical period as inspiration, using some of the techniques found in the period, but casting a wider net during this one.

Continuing with changes, major ones in the types of instruments and changes in the orchestra could also be found in Romanticism. The piano had a large size up, from five octaves all the way to eight octaves! It also switched from wood mechanics to metal systems. During this period, an entirely new instrument was curated, like the Wagner tuba! Also, the size of the orchestra changed drastically. In the Classical period, the size of the orchestra usually was around 30 musicians, while in the Romantic era it skyrocketed to 100 and more!

This period took very heavy inspiration from things found in the natural world. Emotions were displayed frequently, with emphasis on the aspect of humanity. The exploration of nature could also be even heard in the music, with things like thunder booms being integrated into pieces.

Romanticism had certain new characteristics in the era unlike the past eras, like the freedom of musical design, having things like melodies and harmonies, and even the inclusion of new genres that hadn’t existed before. A way to identify music from this time period is to listen to the chord progressions that can be found in the composition! To put it simply, a chord progression is a series of chords played in succession of one another. In romantic music, try to listen for the dominant eleventh and thirteenth chord!

During this era, most likely the most recognizable musical composer – Beethoven – made plenty of music! Born in 1770, Beethoven composed over seven hundred compositions during his lifetime, most of them contributing to the Romantic theme of music. Out of his pieces, one of the most famous is the Fur Elise, with a simple and catchy portion of the piece, making it popular with beginners.

The Romantic period had a large impact on how music has evolved. What’s your favorite musical era? 

Sources

Romantic Era Techniques. (n.d.). https://tobyrush.com/theorypages/pdf/en-us/romantic-era-techniques.pdf

Classic FM. (n.d.). https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/periods-genres/romantic/. 

Team, S. O. (n.d.). The Romantic Period of Music. Connolly Music Company. https://www.connollymusic.com/stringovation/the-romantic-period-of-music.