The Romantic Period in Musical History

There are six periods of music that are each known for their own unique style of music. The first of the periods was the medieval or gothic period which started in approximately 500 A.D., and lasted until about 1400. Next there was the Renaissance period which was from 1400, to 1600. The third period is known as the Baroque period which lasted from about 1600 to 1750. The fourth period was known as the Classical period that started in 1750 and ended in 1820. The second to last period was the Romantic period which lasted from 1830 through 1910. The most recent period is the Modern period that started in 1910 and it still going on today. In this essay I am going to talk about and go into depth about the Romantic period. I will first talk about what type of music was created, made, and popular. I will then inform you on what composers were known for making music during this period. Next, I will talk about what was going on in the world and the time and where Romantic music was played. I will lastly go over the many different types of instruments that were played in orchestras and bands during the Romantic period.

The Romantic period began around 1830 and the music created in the time was dubbed ‘Romantic’ because it was more passionate and expressive than music during the Classical period. During the Romantic period, composers began to use their music to express their deep emotions such as love, grief, and tragedy. Music was much more intimate and personal for the people listening because they could connect to it. There became a larger amount of diversity in music during this period because of the vast diversity of human emotions. The type of music that was composed became much more dramatic. The tones became richer, harmonies became more complex, and the dynamics in the music began to get much more wild and dramatic. During the Romantic period something called rubato tempo became very popular. Rubato tempo is a musical term that refers to rhythmic freedom that is achieved by a slight speeding up and then slowing down of the tempo in a piece which is decided by the conductor. This became popular because of the expressive and rhythmic freedom that it gave the music.

Next, I am going to talk about the composers that were popular during the Romantic period. The first artist I am going to talk about is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, who is one of the most well-known composers from the Romantic period. Tchaikovsky began writing songs dedicated to his mother at the age of just four. He then studied at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, and by twenty-nine years old his talent had been recognized and he became a professor of music at the Moscow Conservatoire. He is also well known for writing the two most famous ballets of musical history: ‘Swan Lake’ and ‘The Nutcracker’.

The next composer is Fryderyk Chopin, who was a Polish-born composer and also a pianist. Chopin got his musical education at the Warsaw Conservatoire, where he also composed his first of many pieces such as nocturnes, preludes, and etudes. When he was only twenty, he was sent abroad by his father to get away from the Polish-Russian War. He is acknowledged as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic period and is also recognized as one of the most talented pianists of the nineteenth century.

The last composer I am going to talk about is Ludwig van Beethoven. Beethoven was born into a very musical family in Bonn Germany. He began composing when he was only twelve years old, and despite not being able to hear all the notes with his ears, Beethoven ended up writing some of the best-known symphonies of all time such as ‘Symphony No.9’, ‘Symphony No. 5’, and ‘Piano Sonata No. 14.’ He is regarded as one of the first Romantic composers, and is known for helping to turn the corner from Classical period into the Romantic.

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Now, I am going to inform you about what was happening in the world at the time of the Romantic period and where this type of music was popular. The Romantic movement took place all over the world but began in Europe and was very popular in Germany. During the time of this period (from 1830 to around 1910) the Industrial Revolution was happening. The Industrial Revolution industrialized the manufacturing of textiles and also began the move of production from homes to factories. Steam power and the cotton gin played a big role in this period which lasted from the late 1700s to the mid-1800s. Because of all of the machines and labor-saving devices that were being invented and used, lives began to improve for people. This caused the middle class to grow, and the amount of extremely poor people to lower. Now, with a larger middle class suddenly it wasn't only the very wealthy people who were able to pay for the viewing of symphonies and fine music. Big public concert settings began to become popular because more than just the wealthy could attend. This was important because now music was for everyone to enjoy. A few other things that happened during this period include the abolishment of slavery in 1865, Alexander Graham bell's invention of the telephone in 1875, and the unveiling of the statue of liberty in 1886.

Lastly, I am going to inform you of the many different and unique types of instruments that were played in orchestras and in bands during the romantic period. Instruments improved a lot during this period because of the industrial revolution which led to improvements in the mechanical and metal pieces in instruments such as the valves and keys used in instruments. To start, I will talk about the woodwinds during this time. Although woodwinds had always been a big part of the orchestra, woodwind sections grew in the Romantic period with the improvements in instrumentation. These growing sections included at least two bassoons, oboes, flutes and clarinets while previous orchestras usually only would have featured one or even none of these woodwinds. The romantic woodwind sections also added completely new instruments to their ensemble including the piccolo and the English horn. These sections also featured new variations on traditional instruments, such as contrabassoons and bass clarinets which added a unique pazzaz to the normal sounds of an orchestra. Next, since new technological innovations lead to brass instruments that had valves, the brass section of the Romantic period orchestra was able to increase in size and also in scope. The brass section at the time included trumpets, horns, trombones and tubas.

The next section of music I will talk about is percussion. Orchestras had already used the timpani during the classical period, which was a small drum made of a copper bowl and a calfskin drumhead. The percussion section expanded during the Romantic period, as musicians started using bass drums, gongs, cymbals, bells, chimes and many other percussion instruments that only added to the variety and invention that created the Romantic period. There was also the piano, that when not used as a solo instrument, could be considered a part of the percussion section of the orchestras, as the instrument functions as a percussion instrument. Some orchestras also relegated the organ and the harpsichord into the percussion section.

Lastly, I will talk about the strings section during this period. Although the Romantic period didn’t bring many new innovations in the string family, the string section in orchestras did begin to grow larger as a way to balance out the sound from the larger and newer woodwind and brass sections. The string section was also still the largest section in the orchestra, since the strings provided the basis of much of the orchestra's sound. String instruments during the time included violins, viola, cello and stringed bass, also known as double bass. Harp is another string instrument that was used in orchestras of the period.

In conclusion, the Romantic period is important in musical history because it helped to make music available for everyone no matter what income they made, it brought forward a new and more expressive type of music, and it introduced many new instruments to the world.