Chapter 19 Romanticism revolted against the Age of Reason It was a period when order and balance gave way to passionate subjective emotion Artists and musicians sought inspiration in the wonders of nature and in such intense human emotions as love frenzy exaltation and despair The pursuit of unobtainable love became an obsession and when expressed in music produced the sounds of longing and yearning that characterize the Romantic era In the nineteenth century audiences began to view the composer as a sort of demigod able to inspire through works that were morally uplifting as well as beautiful Music was similarly elevated from disposable entertainment to enduring Art The exaltation of the composer brought a more serious tone to the concert hall the audience now sat in respectful silence and was challenged by ever longer and more complex music The idea of a musical canon of masterpieces that would endure and be enjoyed by future generations took hold during the Romantic period In many respects the attitudes about art and music that arose in the early nineteenth century still govern our thinking today In musical terms Romantic style was not so much a revolt against Classical ideals as an evolution beyond them Composers adapted forms already in use and introduced only two new genres the art song and symphonic poem The glory of Romantic music is its melody characterized by broad powerful streams of sound that engulf the listener Countless love songs and movie scores embrace this style with long singable themes and sublime triumphant climaxes The three dominant characteristics of Romantic harmony are chromaticism bold chordal shifts and prolonged dissonance The flexible treatment of rhythm such as rubato and dynamics enabled musicians to achieve intensely personal and perhaps excessively exaggerated performances Romantic composers greatly extended the forms of the Classical era Symphonic movements were expanded in length and incorporated the sweeping melodies gigantic crescendos and luxurious sound of the enlarged orchestra Romantic composers were also fascinated by the miniature as exemplified in the genre of the character piece Usually written for piano the character piece captures a single mood or emotion and employs simple binary or ternary form Romanticism revolted against the Age of Reason It was a period when order and balance gave way to passionate subjective emotion Artists and musicians sought inspiration in the wonders of nature and in such intense human emotions as love frenzy exaltation and despair The pursuit of unobtainable love became an obsession and when expressed in music produced the sounds of longing and yearning that characterize the Romantic era In the nineteenth century audiences began to view the composer as a sort of demigod able to inspire through works that were morally uplifting as well as beautiful Music was similarly elevated from disposable entertainment to enduring Art The exaltation of the composer brought a more serious tone to the concert hall the audience now sat in respectful silence and was challenged by ever longer and more complex music The idea of a musical canon of masterpieces that would endure and be enjoyed by future generations took hold during the Romantic period In many respects the attitudes about art and music that arose in the early nineteenth century still govern our thinking today In musical terms Romantic style was not so much a revolt against Classical ideals as an evolution beyond them Composers adapted forms already in use and introduced only two new genres the art song and symphonic poem The glory of Romantic music is its melody characterized by broad powerful streams of sound that engulf the listener Countless love songs and movie scores embrace this style with long singable themes and sublime triumphant climaxes The three dominant characteristics of Romantic harmony are chromaticism bold chordal shifts and prolonged dissonance The flexible treatment of rhythm such as rubato and dynamics enabled musicians to achieve intensely personal and perhaps excessively exaggerated performances Romantic composers greatly extended the forms of the Classical era Symphonic movements were expanded in length and incorporated the sweeping melodies gigantic crescendos and luxurious sound of the enlarged orchestra Romantic composers were also fascinated by the miniature as exemplified in the genre of the character piece Usually written for piano the character piece captures a single mood or emotion and employs simple binary or ternary form Romantic composers prescribed an extravagant range of dynamics Such contrasts took advantage of the enlarged symphony orchestra which was now comprised of more than 100 players Not only did the symphony orchestra increase in size but its sound was transformed by advancements in instrument technology The flute for example was now made from silver instead of wood and brass instruments were provided with valves that improved technical facility As the orchestra increased in size the role of the conductor grew in importance No longer a mere time beater the conductor became the revered interpreter of the musical score Appropriate for an era that glorified the individual the nineteenth century was the age of the solo virtuoso Performers like Franz Liszt and Niccol Paganini developed show stopping technical skills and achieved superstar status Chapter 20 The decade 1803 1813 was perhaps the most auspicious in the history of Western music It witnessed the birth of Berlioz Mendelssohn Chopin Schumann Liszt Verdi and Wagner all unconventional individuals who lived lives characterized by passion self expression excess selfishness irresponsibility and even a bit of lunacy One of the hallmarks of the Romantic era was a lively interest in literature and especially poetry Composers believed that music could intensify poetic sentiments by expressing things that words alone could not The near frenzy of poetic activity in the nineteenth century inspired Romantic composers to set poems to music with increasing frequency This resulted in a genre called the art song a song for solo voice and piano accompaniment with high artistic aspirations In German speaking lands the art song is called the Lied Although many composers wrote art songs Schubert was the most successful He had a special talent for fashioning music that captured both the spirit and detail of the text the voice and especially the piano expresses every nuance of the