How Did Romantic Music Change From The Romantic Period?

The Romantic period, spanning from about 1830 to 1900, brought with it many differences and changes from the Classical period. Many of these changes occurred specifically in the music world. One of these changes was the decline of aristocratic patronage – this is because the aristocracy was largely affected by war and inflation in Europe, eliminating a large number of courts devoted to supporting music-making. Musicians no longer worked for aristocratic families, but rather lived freely and earned money through public performances, composition and teaching. Another of these changes was the improvement and innovation of musical instruments that came with the Industrial Revolution, especially the piano. (Burkholder, Grout and Palisca, 2014)

The

It has been said that this concept of programmatic music, which came about in the Romantic period, does not actually represent a genre in and of itself but rather shows itself in various works and to different degrees in various pieces of music. (Anonymous, 2014)

Some say that music needs to have some sort of inspiration that gives it meaning and purpose – this could include the feelings and inspirations of specific composers that they are trying to portray. In many cultures lies a descriptive and distinctive element, whether it be rainfall, war-cries or the sounds of birds chirping. The development of the concept of programmatic music reached its peak with the works of Carl Maria von Weber as well as Hector Berlioz – they both gave out printed synopses and their concerts defining the stories behind their works. (Anonymous, 2014)

2.2 Absolute

The War of the Romantics

The “War of the Romantics” is a term most often used by musicologists to refer to the aesthetic division that occurred between German composers in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Two groups were associated with this division: the first group was called the “traditionalists as they were seen to be the defenders of classical tradition; and the second group who later become known as the “Wagnerians,” and they were seen to be progressive. Representatives of the first group included Brahms, Schumann and Mendelssohn, while representatives of the second group included Wagner and Liszt. (Rae, 2014)

The main focal points of the debate surround the War of the Romantics included: whether or not one liked to compose programmatic music or absolute music; and whether one followed classical and traditional forms, or if one did something out of the ordinary. The debate was started by an article published in a journal founded by Schumann called Neue Zeitschrift fur Musik. In the article, the term “New German School” was pioneered in order to describe the broad-minded ideas of composers Liszt and Wagner. Unfortunately, this almost pushed aside those composers who were defending Classicism, which ultimately had a profoundly negative effect on Brahms. Although he was not as renowned at this point as Liszt and Wagner, he did not like these circumstances which led him to team up with Joachim to write a Manifesto in order to portray his opposing ideas to the New