The Evolution of Musical Romanticism

Including Late Romanticism & Impressionism

Romanticism in music, as a general trend,is usually said to begin in approximately 1820,

when the early Romantic-period composers who followed Beethoven began composing

their music in the new Romantic style. The leading early-Romantic composers

include Carl Maria von Weber, (1786-1826) Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) and

Franz Schubert, (1798-1828) among others. These early Romantic composers were all

rooted in the traditions of the Classical period, and their music, like Beethoven’s,

reflects this influence.

A second generation of Romantic composers, whose music is not as deeply-rooted in the Classical style,

began composing music in the 1820s. This second-generation of Romantic

composers, including the Italian opera composers Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) and Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835) and the

French composer Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) enjoyed success forging

a new style of music that moved further away from the Classical style.

Berlioz in particular created a sensation in 1830 when his gargantuan Symphonie Fantastique was premiered in Paris.

In Germany, Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)emerged during the late 1820s in his teenage years as a composer with

a distinctly new and important voice. In 1829, Mendelssohn presented and

conducted the first performance of J.S. Bach’s great Saint Matthew Passion, the first

performance of this landmark work since Bach’s death in 1750, which eventually led to

a resurgence in interest in Bach’s music throughout Europe.

The 1830s saw the emergence of such important early-Romantic composers as

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) and Robert Schumann, (1810-1856).

In the 1840s, pianist-composer Franz Liszt, (1811-1886) and operatic composers

Richard Wagner, (1813-1883) and Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) came to the public’s attention. By the 1850s, they all emerged as leading composers in their respective genres of Romantic music.

During the 1850s, composers of opera and operetta, such as Charles Gounod (1818-1893) and Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880)

in Paris and Johann Strauss, Jr. (1825-1899) and Franz von Suppé (1819-1895) in Vienna

were becoming popular with the public.

In the 1860s and 1870s, musical Romanticism was in full swing throughout Europe, as more and more

composers came to the public’s attention. Composers such as the

German composer Johannes Brahms, Austrian composer Anton Bruckner, (1824-1896) Czech composer Bedřich Smetana, (1824-1884) French composers Georges Bizet (1838-1875)

and Camille Saint-Saëns, (1835-1921) Russian composers Modest Mussorgsky

(1839-1881) and Peter Illych Tchaikovsky, (1840-1893)and Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, (1843-1907)

all gained attention with compositions that would eventually become part of the standard repertoire.

In the 1880s, as musical Romanticism was flourishing in Europe, a backlash against what some perceived as the hyper-emotional

or overly-heavy aspects of the music of some Romantic composers began to emerge in the form of a new musical trend that came

to be known as Impressionism.

Musical Impressionism, based in France, became a trend that was so distinctive

that in retrospect, some historians came to regard it as a separate period or sub-period

of Western musical history. However, unlike the other periods of Western musical history, during which virtually all the important composers adhered or contributed

to the musical trends of their respective periods, Impressionism in music was only

embraced by a few composers.

But because the works of several of these composers (Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel

and Ottorino Respighi) have come to be accepted as highly significant,

Impressionism is a trend that is worthy of serious consideration and study.

It is also important to note that many other composers adopted Impressionist influences

in some of their works, and that trend continued through the 20th century

and beyond.

However, it is important to note that during the heyday of musical Impressionism, musical

Romanticism continued to flourish without interruption in the works of such Late-Romantic composers as:

Austrian composer Gustav Mahler, (1860-1911)German composer Richard Strauss, (1864-1949) Italian composer Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)

Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) and Russian composers Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915)

and Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943).

A quick examination of the dates of the lives of many of the composers who were born in the late 19th century shows that for many of these

composers, musical Romanticism, like Impressionism, continued well into the 20th

century. This is true, despite the fact that a new period of musical history, the Modern period,

began in the early 1900s. Many of these Late-Romantic composers would

eventually incorporate modernistic elements into their works.

The following seven slides contain a chronological list of 51 important composers of the Romantic and Impressionist periods.

This list is sorted by the years of the composers’ births, not the years in which

they emerged as prominent composers.The purpose of including this list is to introduce

some of the lesser-known Romantic period composers, so that you can familiarize yourself with their names. Please read through all of the names on the list, focusing on the last names.

This is by no means a complete list of all Romantic-period composers.

Important Composers of the Romantic Period

Early Romantic Period:

Ludwig van Beethoven German 1770-1827 Niccolò Paganini Italian 1782-1840Carl Maria von Weber German 1786-1826

Gaetano Donizetti Italian 1797-1848Vincenzo Bellini Italian 1801-1835Frédéric Chopin Polish1810-1849 Robert Schumann German 1810-1856

Important Composers of the Romantic Period

Early Middle Romantic Period:

Franz Liszt Hungarian 1811-1886 Richard Wagner German 1813-1883 Giuseppe Verdi Italian 1813-1901Mikhail Glinka Russian 1804-1857Felix Mendelssohn German 1809-1947Charles Gounod French 1818-1893Jacques Offenbach French 1819-1880Franz von Suppé Austrian 1819-1895

Important Composers of the Romantic Period

Middle Romantic Period:

César Franck French 1822-1890Bedřich Smetana Czech 1824-1884Anton Bruckner Austrian 1824-1896 Johann Strauss Jr. Austrian 1825-1899 Johannes Brahms German 1833-1897 Camille Saint-Saëns French 1835-1921Georges Bizet French 1838-1875Modest Mussorgsky Russian 1839-1881

Important Composers of the Romantic Period

Middle Romantic Period:

Peter Illych Tchaikovsky Russian 1840-1893 Emmanuel Chabrier French 1841-1894Antonin Dvorak Czech 1841-1904 Arrigo Boito Italian 1842-1918Jules Massenet French 1842-1912Edvard Grieg Norwegian 1843-1907

Important Composers of the Romantic Period

Late Romantic Period:Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Russian 1844-1908Gabriel Fauré French 1845-1924Engelbert Humperdinck German 1854-1921Leoš Janáček Czech 1854-1928Edward Elgar English 1857-1934Ruggero Leoncavallo Italian 1857-1919Giacomo Puccini Italian 1858-1924Gustav Mahler Austrian 1860-1911Pietro Mascagni Italian 1863-1945

Important Composers of the Romantic Period

Late Romantic Period:Richard Strauss German 1864-1949 Jean Sibelius Finnish 1865-1957Erik Satie French 1866-1925Enrique Granados Spanish 1867-1916Franz Lehár Austrian 1870-1948Alexander Scriabin Russian 1872-1915Sergei Rachmaninoff Russian 1873-1943Gustav Holst English 1874-1934

Important Composers of the Romantic Period

Late Romantic / Impressionist Composers:

Claude Debussy French 1862-1918Frederick Delius English 1862-1934Ralph Vaughan Williams English 1872-1958Maurice Ravel French 1875-1937Manuel de Falla Spanish 1876-1946Ottorino Respighi Italian 1879-1936