Music

Music

1. Romantic period

   • was between 1828 - 1900
   • had an emphasis on three things:
     • Beauty of nature
     • Importance of The indivisual
     • Expression of deep emotion
   • Composers wrote for themselves and the masses
   • music could be written for very large orchestras
   • many new instruments were used or very small ensembles such as piano and solo voice to be very intimate in nature
   • Number of great romantic period composers are:
     • Richard Wagner (1813-1833)
     • Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)
     • Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
   • many woodwind and brass instruments were perfected and standardised due to mass production techniques .This enabled many amateur musicians to attain good quality

2. Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)

   • Born in La Cote-Saint Andre, ,France on December 11th 1803
   • He wrote very complex and large scale symphonies
     • His most famous symphony is Symphonie Fantastique
   • Symphonie Fantastique
     • first symphony ever written with a story line
       • making it a piece of programme music and not absolute music
     • Symphonie Fantastique was also the first piece of orchestral music to use the suspended cymbal
   • He developed a compositional technique called "idee fixe"
   • His symphonies were:
     • Symphonie Fantastique
     • Harold In Italy
     • The Damnation of Faust

3. Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

   • Born on October 22nd 1811 in (from) Raiding, Hungary
   • He was taught to play the piano by his father who was also a musician
   • He was 9 years old when he first preformed in concert halls in Europe and was recognised as a piano protegee
   • He composed over 700 compositions
   • He also invented a new form of music called the Tone poem or symphonic poem
   • He was the first to use music as therapy for the physically and mentally ill by visiting hospitals and playing for the patients
   • considered as one of the first modern conductors who focussed on the expression of music and interpreting it for the orchestra rather than just beating time
   • He had perfect pitch and was the first performer of any instrument to play entirely from memory
   • Some of his most famous piano works are:
     • La Campanella
     • Liebestruame
     • Hungarian Rhapsody No 2
     • Un Sospiro

4. Richard Wagner(1813-1833)

   • Born on May 22nd 1813 in Leipzip, Germany
   • Went on to become one of the world's most influential and controversial composers of opera
   • Wrote very complex and large scale operas. One opera - The Ring Cycle - lasts 18 hours
   • Believed that all aspects of a production must work together to create an ultimate viewing experience
     • One aspect of this was his invention of the Leitmotif which simply put s a theme that is specific to a character or object in an opera
   • Many of Wagner's operas were based on German mythical characters and stories
   • Wagner wrote The Flying Dutchman after his journey on a ship from Riga London
   • Some of Wagner's most famous operas are:
     • The Ring Cycle
     • The Flying Dutchman
     • Tristan and Isolde