Abstract “Piano works by romantic composers. Musical culture of romanticism: aesthetics, themes, genres and musical language Composers of the era of romanticism and their works

30.10.2019

A short history of music. Henley Daren's most complete and concise reference book

Late Romantics

Many of the composers of this period continued to write music into the 20th century. However, we talk about them here, and not in the next chapter, for the reason that the spirit of romanticism was strong in their music.

It should be noted that some of them maintained close ties and even friendships with the composers mentioned in the subsections “Early Romantics” and “Nationalists”.

In addition, it should be borne in mind that during this period, so many magnificent composers worked in different European countries that any division of them according to any principle will be entirely conditional. If in various literature devoted to the classical period and the Baroque period, approximately the same time frames are mentioned, then the romantic period is defined differently everywhere. It seems that the line between the end of the Romantic period and the beginning of the 20th century in music is very blurred.

The leading composer of 19th century Italy was undoubtedly Giuseppe Verdi. This man with a thick mustache and eyebrows, looking at us with sparkling eyes, stood a whole head taller than all the other opera composers.

All of Verdi's works are literally filled with bright, memorable melodies. In total, he wrote twenty-six operas, most of which are regularly staged today. Among them are the most famous and most outstanding works of operatic art of all time.

Verdi's music was highly regarded during the composer's lifetime. At the premiere Hades the audience gave such a long ovation that the artists had to bow as many as thirty-two times.

Verdi was a rich man, but money could not save both of the composer’s wives and two children from the early deaths, so there were tragic moments in his life. He bequeathed his fortune to the shelter of old musicians, built under his leadership in Milan. Verdi himself considered the creation of the shelter, and not music, to be his greatest achievement.

Despite the fact that the name Verdi is primarily associated with operas, when talking about him it is impossible not to mention Requiem, which is considered one of the best examples of choral music. It is full of drama, and some features of opera appear in it.

Our next composer cannot be called the most charming person. In general, this is the most scandalous and controversial figure of all those mentioned in our book. If we were to make a list based only on personality traits, then Richard Wagner I would never have gotten into it. However, we are guided exclusively by musical criteria, and the history of classical music is unthinkable without this person.

Wagner's talent is undeniable. From his pen came some of the most significant and impressive musical works of the entire period of romanticism - especially opera. At the same time, he is described as an anti-Semite, a racist, a red tape, the ultimate deceiver and even a thief, who does not hesitate to take everything he needs, and is rude without remorse. Wagner had an exaggerated sense of self-esteem, and he believed that his genius elevated him above all other people.

Wagner is remembered for his operas. This composer took German opera to a whole new level, and although he was born at the same time as Verdi, his music was very different from the Italian works of the period.

One of Wagner's innovations was that each main character was given his own musical theme, which was repeated every time he began to play a significant role on stage.

Today it seems self-evident, but at that time this idea produced a real revolution.

Wagner's greatest achievement was the cycle Ring of the Nibelung, consisting of four operas: Rhine Gold, Valkyrie, Siegfried And Death of the Gods. They are usually performed on four consecutive evenings and last about fifteen hours in total. These operas alone would be enough to glorify their composer. Despite all the ambiguity of Wagner as a person, it must be admitted that he was an outstanding composer.

A distinctive feature of Wagner's operas is their length. His last opera Parsifal lasts more than four hours.

Conductor David Randolph once said of her:

“This is the kind of opera that starts at six, and when three hours later you look at your wristwatch, it turns out that it shows 6:20.”

Life Anton Bruckner As a composer, this is a lesson in how not to give up and insist on your own. He practiced twelve hours a day, devoted all his time to work (he was an organist) and learned a lot about music on his own, finishing mastering the art of composing by correspondence at a fairly mature age - at thirty-seven years old.

Today, people most often remember Bruckner's symphonies, of which he wrote a total of nine. At times he was overcome by doubts about his worth as a musician, but he still achieved recognition, albeit towards the end of his life. After performing it Symphonies No. 1 critics finally praised the composer, who by that time was already forty-four years old.

Johannes Brahms not one of those composers who were born, so to speak, with a silver stick in his hand. By the time of his birth, the family had lost its former wealth and was barely making ends meet. As a teenager, he made a living by playing in the brothels of his hometown of Hamburg. By the time Brahms became an adult, he had undoubtedly become acquainted with the less attractive aspects of life.

Brahms' music was promoted by his friend, Robert Schumann. After Schumann's death, Brahms became close to Clara Schumann and eventually even fell in love with her. It is not known exactly what kind of relationship they had, although feelings for her probably played some role in his relationships with other women - he did not give his heart to any of them.

Brahms was a rather unrestrained and irritable person, but his friends argued that he also had a gentleness, although he did not always show it to others. One day, returning home from a party, he said:

“If I didn’t offend anyone there, then I ask for their forgiveness.”

Brahms would not have won the competition for the most fashionable and elegantly dressed composer. He hated buying new clothes and often wore the same baggy, patched trousers, almost always too short for him. During one performance, his trousers almost fell off. Another time he had to take off his tie and wear it instead of a belt.

Brahms's musical style was greatly influenced by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, and some music historians even argue that he wrote in the spirit of classicism, which had already gone out of fashion. At the same time, he also owns several new ideas. He was especially able to develop small musical passages and repeat them throughout the work - what composers call a "repeating motif."

Brahms did not write operas, but he tried himself in almost all other genres of classical music. Therefore, he can be called one of the greatest composers mentioned in our book, a true giant of classical music. He himself said this about his work:

“It’s not hard to compose, but it’s surprisingly hard to throw extra notes under the table.”

Max Bruch was born just five years after Brahms, and the latter would certainly have eclipsed him, if not for one work, Violin Concerto No. 1.

Bruch himself acknowledged this fact, asserting with modesty unusual for many composers:

“Fifty years from now, Brahms will be called one of the greatest composers of all time, and I will be remembered for writing the Violin Concerto in G minor.”

And he was right. True, Bruch himself has something to remember for! He composed many other works - about two hundred in total - he especially wrote many works for choirs and operas, which are rarely staged these days. His music is melodic, but he did not contribute anything particularly new to its development. Compared to him, many other composers of that time seem to be true innovators.

In 1880 Bruch was appointed conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society, but three years later he returned to Berlin. The orchestra musicians were not happy with him.

On the pages of our book we have already met many musical prodigies, and Camille Saint – Sans ranks not the least among them. At the age of two, Saint-Saens was already selecting melodies on the piano, and he learned to read and write music at the same time. At the age of three he played plays of his own composition. At the age of ten he performed Mozart and Beethoven beautifully. At the same time, he became seriously interested in entomology (butterflies and insects), and then in other sciences, including geology, astronomy and philosophy. It seemed that such a talented child simply could not limit himself to just one thing.

After completing his studies at the Paris Conservatory, Saint-Saens worked for many years as an organist. As he grew older, he began to influence the musical life of France, and it was thanks to him that the music of such composers as J. S. Bach, Mozart, Handel and Gluck began to be performed more often.

The most famous work of Saint-Saens is animal carnival, which the composer forbade to be performed during his lifetime. He was worried that music critics, having heard this work, would consider it too frivolous. After all, it’s funny when the orchestra on stage depicts a lion, hens with a rooster, turtles, an elephant, a kangaroo, an aquarium with fish, birds, a donkey and a swan.

Saint-Saens wrote some of his other works for not so common combinations of instruments, including the famous "Organ" Symphony No. 3, heard in the film “Babe”.

The music of Saint-Saens influenced the work of other French composers, including Gabriel Fore. This young man inherited the position of organist in the Parisian Church of St. Magdalene, which had previously been occupied by Saint-Saens.

And although Fauré’s talent cannot be compared with the talent of his teacher, he was a magnificent pianist.

Faure was not a rich man and therefore worked hard, playing the organ, leading the choir and giving lessons. He wrote in his free time, of which there was very little, but despite this, he managed to publish more than two hundred and fifty of his works. Some of them took a very long time to compose: for example, work on Requiem lasted more than twenty years.

In 1905, Fauré became director of the Paris Conservatory, that is, the person on whom the development of French music of that time largely depended. Fifteen years later, Fauré retired. Late in his life he suffered from hearing loss.

Today, Fauré is respected outside of France, although he is valued most there.

For fans of English music, the appearance of such a figure as Edward Elgar, It must have seemed like a real miracle. Many music historians call him the first significant English composer after Henry Purcell, who worked during the Baroque period, although we also mentioned Arthur Sullivan a little earlier.

Elgar loved England very much, especially his native Worcestershire, where he spent most of his life, finding inspiration in the fields of the Malvern Hills.

As a child, he was surrounded by music everywhere: his father owned a local music store and taught little Elgar to play various musical instruments. At the age of twelve, the boy was already replacing the organist at church services.

After working in a lawyer's office, Elgar decided to devote himself to a much less reliable occupation from a financial point of view. For some time he worked part-time, giving violin and piano lessons, played in local orchestras and even conducted a little.

Gradually, Elgar's fame as a composer grew, although he had difficulty making his way outside his native county. Brought him fame Variations on an original theme, which are now better known as Enigma Variations.

Now Elgar's music is perceived as very English and is heard during major national events. At the first sounds of it Cello Concerto the English countryside immediately appears. Nimrod from Variations often played at official ceremonies, and Solemn and ceremonial march No. 1, known as Land of hope and glory, performed at proms throughout the UK.

Elgar was a family man and loved a calm, orderly life. Nevertheless, he left his mark on history. This composer with a thick, bushy mustache can be immediately spotted on the twenty-pound note. Obviously, the banknote designers felt that such facial hair would be very difficult to fake.

In Italy, Giuseppe Verdi's successor in operatic art was Giacomo Puccini, considered one of the world's recognized masters of this art form.

The Puccini family had long been involved in church music, but when Giacomo first heard opera Aida Verdi, he realized that this was his calling.

After studying in Milan, Puccini composed an opera Manon Lescaut, which brought him his first great success in 1893. After this, one successful production followed another: Bohemia in 1896, Yearning in 1900 and Madame Butterfly in 1904.

In total, Puccini composed twelve operas, the last of which was Turandot. He died without finishing this work, and another composer completed the work. At the premiere of the opera, conductor Arturo Toscanini stopped the orchestra exactly where Puccini stopped. He turned to the audience and said:

With the death of Puccini, the heyday of Italian opera ended. Our book will no longer mention Italian opera composers. But who knows what the future holds for us?

During life Gustav Mahler was better known as a conductor than as a composer. He conducted in the winter, and in the summer, as a rule, he preferred to write.

It is said that as a child, Mahler found a piano in the attic of his grandmother's house. Four years later, at the age of ten, he gave his first performance.

Mahler studied at the Vienna Conservatory, where he began composing music. In 1897, he became director of the Vienna State Opera and over the next ten years gained considerable fame in this field.

He himself began writing three operas, but never finished them. In our time, he is known primarily as a composer of symphonies. In this genre he owns one of the real “hits” - Symphony No. 8, More than a thousand musicians and singers are involved in its performance.

After Mahler's death, his music went out of fashion for about fifty years, but in the second half of the 20th century it regained popularity, especially in Great Britain and the USA.

Richard Strauss was born in Germany and did not belong to the Viennese Strauss dynasty. Despite the fact that this composer lived almost the entire first half of the 20th century, he is still considered a representative of German musical romanticism.

Richard Strauss's global popularity suffered somewhat from the fact that he decided to remain in Germany after 1939, and after World War II he was even accused of collaborating with the Nazis.

Strauss was an excellent conductor, thanks to which he perfectly understood how a particular instrument in an orchestra should sound. He often applied this knowledge in practice. He also gave various advice to other composers, such as:

“Never look at trombones, you only encourage them.”

“Don't sweat while performing; Only the listeners should feel hot.”

Nowadays, Strauss is remembered primarily in connection with his work Thus spoke Zarathustra, the intro that Stanley Kubrick used in his film 2001: A Space Odyssey. But he also wrote some of the best German operas, among them - Der Rosenkavalier, Salome And Ariadne on Naxos. A year before his death, he also composed very beautiful Four last songs for voice and orchestra. In general, these were not Strauss’s last songs, but they became a kind of finale of his creative activity.

So far, among the composers mentioned in this book there has been only one representative of Scandinavia - Edvard Grieg. But now we are again transported to this harsh and cold land - this time to Finland, where I was born Jean Sibelius, great musical genius.

Sibelius's music absorbed the myths and legends of his homeland. His greatest work Finland, is considered the embodiment of the Finnish national spirit, just as in Great Britain the works of Elgar are recognized as a national treasure. Moreover, Sibelius, like Mahler, was a true master of symphonies.

As for the composer’s other passions, in his daily life he was excessively fond of drinking and smoking, so that at the age of forty he fell ill with throat cancer. He also often lacked money, and the state provided him with a pension so that he could continue writing music without worrying about his financial well-being. But more than twenty years before his death, Sibelius stopped composing anything at all. He lived the rest of his life in relative solitude. He was especially harsh about those who received money for reviews of his music:

“Don't pay attention to what the critics say. Until now, not a single critic has been given a statue.”

The last one on our list of composers of the Romantic period also lived until almost the middle of the 20th century, although he wrote most of his most famous works in the 1900s. And yet he is considered a romantic, and it seems to us that he is the most romantic composer of the entire group.

Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninov was born into a noble family, which by that time had become quite spent. He showed interest in music in early childhood, and his parents sent him to study first in St. Petersburg and then in Moscow.

Rachmaninov was an amazingly talented pianist, and he also turned out to be a wonderful composer.

Mine Piano Concerto No. 1 he wrote at nineteen. He found time for his first opera, Aleko.

But this great musician, as a rule, was not particularly happy with life. In many photographs we see an angry, frowning man. Another Russian composer, Igor Stravinsky, once remarked:

“The immortal essence of Rachmaninov was his gloominess. He was six and a half feet of scowl...he was a fearsome man.”

When young Rachmaninov played for Tchaikovsky, he was so delighted that he gave his score an A with four pluses - the highest grade in the entire history of the Moscow Conservatory. Soon the whole city was talking about the young talent.

Nevertheless, fate remained unkind to the musician for a long time.

Critics were very harsh about it Symphonies No. 1, the premiere of which ended in failure. This caused Rachmaninov difficult emotional experiences, he lost faith in his abilities and could not compose anything at all.

In the end, only the help of an experienced psychiatrist Nikolai Dahl allowed him to get out of the crisis. By 1901, Rachmaninov completed the piano concerto, which he had worked hard on for many years and which he dedicated to Dr. Dahl. This time the audience greeted the composer's work with delight. Since then Piano Concerto No. 2 has become a beloved classic performed by various musical groups around the world.

Rachmaninov began to tour Europe and the USA. Returning to Russia, he conducted and composed.

After the 1917 revolution, Rachmaninov and his family went to concerts in Scandinavia. He never returned home. Instead, he moved to Switzerland, where he purchased a house on the shores of Lake Lucerne. He always loved bodies of water and now that he had become a fairly rich man, he could afford to relax on the shore and admire the opening landscape.

Rachmaninov was an excellent conductor and always gave the following advice to those who wanted to distinguish themselves in this field:

“A good conductor must be a good driver. Both require the same qualities: concentration, uninterrupted intense attention and presence of mind. The conductor only needs to know a little about the music...”

In 1935, Rachmaninov decided to settle in the USA. At first he lived in New York, and then moved to Los Angeles. There he began to build a new house for himself, completely identical to the one he left in Moscow.

Turchin V S

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At the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries, such an artistic movement as romanticism appeared. During this era, people dreamed of an ideal world and “fleeed” into fantasy. This style found its most vivid and imaginative embodiment in music. Among the representatives of romanticism, famous composers of the 19th century are Karl Weber,

Robert Schumann, Franz Schubert, Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner.

Franz Liszt

The future was born into the family of a cellist. His father taught him music from an early age. As a child, he sang in the choir and learned to play the organ. When Franz was 12 years old, his family moved to Paris so that the boy could study music. He was not accepted into the conservatory, however, since the age of 14 he has been composing etudes. Such 19th century artists as Berlioz and Paganini had a great influence on him.

Paganini became Liszt's real idol, and he decided to hone his own piano skills. The concert activity of 1839-1847 was accompanied by a brilliant triumph. During these years, Ferenc created the famous collection of plays “Years of Wanderings”. The piano virtuoso and public favorite became a true embodiment of the era.

Franz Liszt composed music, wrote several books, taught, and conducted open classes. Composers of the 19th century from all over Europe came to him. We can say that he was involved in music almost his entire life, since he created for 60 years. To this day, his musical talent and skill are a role model for modern pianists.

Richard Wagner

The genius created music that could not leave anyone indifferent. She had both fans and fierce opponents. Wagner was passionate about theater since childhood, and at the age of 15 he decided to create a tragedy with music. At the age of 16, he brought his works to Paris.

For 3 years he tried in vain to stage the opera, but no one wanted to deal with an unknown musician. Popular 19th-century composers such as Franz Liszt and Berlioz, whom he met in Paris, did not bring him luck. He is in poverty, and no one wants to support his musical ideas.

Having failed in France, the composer returned to Dresden, where he began working as a conductor in the court theater. In 1848, he emigrated to Switzerland, having been declared a criminal after participating in the uprising. Wagner was aware of the imperfection of bourgeois society and the dependent position of the artist.

In 1859, he glorified love in the opera Tristan and Isolde. The work "Parsifal" presents a utopian vision of universal brotherhood. Evil is defeated, and justice and wisdom prevail. All the great composers of the 19th century were influenced by Wagner's music and learned from his work.

In the 19th century, a national composition and performing school was formed in Russia. There are two periods in Russian music: early romanticism and classical. The first includes such Russian composers of the 19th century as A. Varlamov, A. Verstovsky, A. Gurilev.

Mikhail Glinka

Mikhail Glinka founded a school of composition in our country. The Russian spirit is present in all of him. Such famous operas as “Ruslan and Lyudmila”, “A Life for the Tsar” are imbued with patriotism. Glinka summarized the characteristic features of folk music and used ancient tunes and rhythms of folk music. The composer was also an innovator in musical dramaturgy. His work is the rise of national culture.

Russian composers gave the world many brilliant works that still captivate people’s hearts today. Among the brilliant Russian composers of the 19th century, such names as M. Balakirev, A. Glazunov, M. Mussorgsky, N. Rimsky-Korsakov, P. Tchaikovsky are immortalized.

Classical music vividly and sensually reflects the inner world of a person. Strict rationalism was replaced by the romance of the 19th century.

With his cult of reason. Its occurrence was due to various reasons. The most important of them is disappointment in the results of the French Revolution, which did not live up to the expectations placed on it.

For romantic worldview characterized by a sharp conflict between reality and dreams. Reality is low and unspiritual, it is permeated with the spirit of philistinism, philistinism and is worthy only of denial. A dream is something beautiful, perfect, but unattainable and incomprehensible to reason.

If in literature and painting the romantic movement basically completes its development by the middle of the 19th century, then the life of musical romanticism in Europe is much longer. Musical romanticism as a movement emerged at the beginning of the 19th century and developed in close connection with various movements in literature, painting and theater. The initial stage of musical romanticism is represented by the work of E. T. A. Hoffmann, N. Paganini,; the subsequent stage (1830-50s) - creativity, . The late stage of romanticism extends to the end of the 19th century.

The main problem of romantic music is put forward personality problem, and in a new light - in its conflict with the outside world. The romantic hero is always lonely. The theme of loneliness is perhaps the most popular in all romantic art. Very often the thought of a creative personality is associated with it: a person is lonely when he is an extraordinary, gifted person. The artist, poet, musician are favorite heroes in the works of the romantics (“The Love of a Poet” by Schumann, with its subtitle “An Episode from the Life of an Artist”, Liszt’s symphonic poem “Tasso”).

The deep interest in the human personality inherent in romantic music was expressed in the predominance in it personal tone. The disclosure of personal drama often acquired among romantics a hint of autobiography, who brought special sincerity to the music. For example, many are connected with the story of his love for Clara Wieck. Wagner emphasized the autobiographical nature of his operas in every possible way.

Attention to feelings leads to a change of genres - dominant Lyrics gain position, in which images of love predominate.

Very often intertwined with the theme of “lyrical confession” nature theme. Resonating with a person’s state of mind, it is usually colored by a feeling of disharmony. The development of genre and lyric-epic symphonism is closely connected with images of nature (one of the first works is Schubert’s “big” symphony in C major).

A real discovery of romantic composers was fantasy theme. For the first time, music learned to embody fabulous and fantastic images through purely musical means. In the operas of the 17th and 18th centuries, “unearthly” characters (such as the Queen of the Night from) spoke in a “generally accepted” musical language, standing out little from the background of real people. Romantic composers learned to convey the fantasy world as something completely specific (with the help of unusual orchestral and harmonic colors). A striking example is the “Wolf Gorge Scene” in The Magic Shooter.

Highly characteristic of musical romanticism is an interest in folk art. Like the romantic poets, who enriched and updated the literary language through folklore, musicians widely turned to national folklore - folk songs, ballads, epics (F. Schubert, R. Schumann, F. Chopin, etc.). Embodying images of national literature, history, and native nature, they relied on the intonations and rhythms of national folklore and revived ancient diatonic modes. Under the influence of folklore, the content of European music has changed dramatically.

New themes and images required the development of romantics new means of musical language and principles of form-building, individualization of melody and introduction of speech intonations, expansion of the timbre and harmonic palette of music ( natural frets, colorful comparisons of major and minor, etc.).

Since the focus of the romantics is no longer on humanity as a whole, but on a specific person with his unique feeling, accordingly and in the means of expression, the general is increasingly giving way to the individual, the individually unique. The share of generalized intonations in melody, commonly used chord progressions in harmony, typical patterns in texture decreases - all these means are individualized. In orchestration, the principle of ensemble groups gave way to soloing of almost all orchestral voices.

The most important point aesthetics musical romanticism was idea of art synthesis, which found its most vivid expression in and in program music Berlioz, Schumann, Liszt.

Music occupied a special place in the aesthetics of romanticism. It was declared a model and norm for all areas of art, since, due to its specificity, it is capable of most fully expressing the movements of the soul.“Music begins when the words end” (G. Heine).

Musical romanticism as a movement emerged at the beginningXIXcentury and developed in close connection with various movements in literature, painting and theater. The initial stage of musical romanticism is represented by the works of F. Schubert, E. T. A. Hoffmann, K. M. Weber, N. Paganini, G. Rossini; the subsequent stage (1830-50s) - the work of F. Chopin, R. Schumann, F. Mendelssohn, G. Berlioz, F. Liszt, R. Wagner, G. Verdi. Late Romanticism extends to the endXIXcentury. Thus, if in literature and painting the romantic direction basically completes its development by the middleXIXcentury, then the life of musical romanticism in Europe is much longer.

In musical romanticism, as well as in other forms of art and literature, the opposition of the world of beautiful, unattainable ideals and everyday life permeated with the spirit of philistinism and philistinism gave rise, on the one hand, to dramatic conflict, the dominance of tragic motives of loneliness, hopelessness, wandering, etc. ., on the other hand, the idealization and poeticization of the distant past, folk life, and nature. Echoing the human state of mind, nature in the works of romantics is usually colored by a feeling of disharmony.

Like other romantics, the musicians were convinced that feelings constitute a deeper layer of the soul than reason:“The mind goes astray, the feelings never” (R. Schumann).

The special interest in the human personality inherent in romantic music was expressed in the predominance in itpersonal tone . The revelation of personal drama often took on the connotation ofautobiographical, who brought special sincerity to the music. For example, many of Schumann's piano works are connected with the story of his love for Clara Wieck. Berlioz wrote the autobiographical Symphony Fantastique. Wagner emphasized the autobiographical nature of his operas in every possible way.

Very often intertwined with the theme of “lyrical confession”nature theme .

A real discovery of romantic composers wasfantasy theme. For the first time, music learned to embody fabulous and fantastic images through purely musical means. In operasXVII - XVIIIcenturies, “unearthly” characters (such as the Queen of the Night from Mozart’s “The Magic Flute”) spoke in a “generally accepted” musical language, standing out little from the background of real people. Romantic composers learned to convey the fantasy world as something completely specific (with the help of unusual orchestral and harmonic colors). A striking example is the “Scene in the Wolf Gorge” in Weber’s “The Magic Shooter”.

If XVIIIcentury was the era of virtuoso improvisers of a universal type, equally proficient in singing, composing, and playing various instruments, thenXIXcentury was a time of unprecedented passion for the art of virtuoso pianists (K.M. Weber, F. Mendelssohn, F. Chopin, F. Liszt, J. Brahms).

The era of romanticism completely changed the “musical geography of the world.” Under the influence of the active awakening of the national self-awareness of the peoples of Europe, young composition schools from Russia, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Norway came to the international musical arena. Composers of these countries, embodying images of national literature, history, and native nature, relied on the intonations and rhythms of their native folklore.

Highly characteristic of musical romanticism is an interest infolk art . Like the romantic poets, who enriched and updated the literary language through folklore, musicians widely turned to national folklore - folk songs, ballads, epics (F. Schubert, R. Schumann, F. Chopin, I. Brahms, B. Smetana , E. Grieg, etc.). Embodying images of national literature, history, and native nature, they relied on the intonations and rhythms of national folklore and revived ancient diatonic modes.Under the influence of folklore, the content of European music was dramatically transformed.

New themes and images required the development of romanticsnew means of musical language and principles of form-building, individualization of melody and introduction of speech intonations, expansion of the timbre and harmonic palette of music (natural frets, colorful comparisons of major and minor, etc.).

Since the focus of the romantics is no longer on humanity as a whole, but on a specific person with his unique feeling, accordinglyand in the means of expression, the general is increasingly giving way to the individual, the individually unique. The share of generalized intonations in melody, commonly used chord progressions in harmony, typical patterns in texture decreases - all these means are individualized. In orchestration, the principle of ensemble groups gave way to soloing of almost all orchestral voices.

The most important pointaesthetics musical romanticism wasidea of art synthesis , which found its most vivid expression in the operatic work of Wagner and inprogram music Berlioz, Schumann, Liszt.

Musical genres in the works of romantic composers

In romantic music, three genre groups clearly emerge:

genres that occupied a subordinate place in the art of classicism (primarily song and piano miniature);
genres adopted by the romantics from the previous era (opera, oratorio, sonata-symphonic cycle, overture);
free, poetic genres (ballads, fantasies, rhapsodies, symphonic poems). Interest in them is explained by the desire of romantic composers for free self-expression and gradual transformation of images.

In the musical culture of romanticism comes to the foresong as the genre most suitable for expressing the innermost thoughts of the artist (whereas in the professional work of composersXVIIIcenturies, lyrical song was assigned a modest role - it served primarily to fill leisure time). Schubert, Schumann, Liszt, Brahms, Grieg and others worked in the song field.

A typical romantic composer creates very directly, spontaneously, at the behest of his heart. Romantic comprehension of the world is not a consistent philosophical embrace of reality, but an instantaneous recording of everything that touched the artist’s soul. In this regard, the genre flourished in the era of romanticismminiatures (independent or combined with other miniatures in a cycle). This is not only a song and a romance, but also instrumental compositions -musical moments, impromptu, preludes, etudes, nocturnes, waltzes, mazurkas (due to the reliance on folk art).

Many romantic genres owe their origin to poetry and its poetic forms. These are sonnets, songs without words, short stories, ballads.

One of the leading ideas of romantic aesthetics - the idea of a synthesis of arts - naturally brought the problem of opera into the spotlight. Almost all romantic composers turned to the operatic genre with rare exceptions (Brahms).

The personal, confidential tone of expression inherent in romanticism completely transforms the classical genres of symphony, sonata, and quartet. They getpsychological and lyrical-dramatic interpretation. The content of many romantic works is related tosoftware (Schumann's piano cycles, Liszt's "Years of Wanderings", Berlioz's symphonies, Mendelssohn's overtures).

The romantic worldview is characterized by a sharp conflict between reality and dreams. Reality is low and unspiritual, it is permeated with the spirit of philistinism, philistinism and is worthy only of denial. A dream is something beautiful, perfect, but unattainable and incomprehensible to reason.

Romanticism contrasted the prose of life with the beautiful kingdom of the spirit, the “life of the heart.” The Romantics believed that feelings constitute a deeper layer of the soul than reason. According to Wagner, “the artist appeals to feeling, not to reason.” And Schumann said: “the mind goes astray, the feelings never.” It is no coincidence that the ideal form of art was declared to be music, which, due to its specificity, most fully expresses the movements of the soul. It was music in the era of romanticism that took a leading place in the art system.
If in literature and painting the romantic movement basically completes its development by the middle of the 19th century, then the life of musical romanticism in Europe is much longer. Musical romanticism as a movement emerged at the beginning of the 19th century and developed in close connection with various movements in literature, painting and theater. The initial stage of musical romanticism is represented by the works of F. Schubert, E. T. A. Hoffmann, K. M. Weber, G. Rossini; the subsequent stage (1830-50s) - the work of F. Chopin, R. Schumann, F. Mendelssohn, G. Berlioz, F. Liszt, R. Wagner, G. Verdi.

The late stage of romanticism extends to the end of the 19th century.

The main problem of romantic music is the problem of personality, and in a new light - in its conflict with the outside world. The romantic hero is always lonely. The theme of loneliness is perhaps the most popular in all romantic art. Very often the thought of a creative personality is associated with it: a person is lonely when he is an extraordinary, gifted person. The artist, poet, musician are favorite heroes in the works of the romantics (“The Love of a Poet” by Schumann, “Symphony Fantastique” by Berlioz with its subtitle “An Episode from the Life of an Artist”, Liszt’s symphonic poem “Tasso”).
The deep interest in the human personality inherent in romantic music was expressed in the predominance of a personal tone in it. The revelation of personal drama often acquired a touch of autobiography among the romantics, which brought special sincerity to the music. For example, many of Schumann's piano works are connected with the story of his love for Clara Wieck. Wagner emphasized the autobiographical nature of his operas in every possible way.

Attention to feelings leads to a change in genres - lyrics, in which images of love predominate, acquire a dominant position.
The theme of nature is very often intertwined with the theme of “lyrical confession”. Resonating with a person’s state of mind, it is usually colored by a feeling of disharmony. The development of genre and lyric-epic symphonism is closely connected with images of nature (one of the first works is Schubert’s “big” symphony in C major).
The theme of fantasy became a real discovery of romantic composers. For the first time, music learned to embody fabulous and fantastic images through purely musical means. In the operas of the 17th and 18th centuries, “unearthly” characters (such as the Queen of the Night from Mozart’s “The Magic Flute”) spoke in a “generally accepted” musical language, standing out little from the background of real people. Romantic composers learned to convey the fantasy world as something completely specific (with the help of unusual orchestral and harmonic colors).
Interest in folk art is highly characteristic of musical romanticism. Like the romantic poets, who enriched and updated the literary language through folklore, musicians widely turned to national folklore - folk songs, ballads, epics. Under the influence of folklore, the content of European music was dramatically transformed.
The most important point in the aesthetics of musical romanticism was the idea of a synthesis of arts, which found its most vivid expression in the operatic work of Wagner and in the program music of Berlioz, Schumann, and Liszt.

Hector Berlioz. "Fantastic Symphony" - 1. Dreams, passions...

Robert Schumann - “In the radiance...,” “I meet the gaze..”

From the vocal cycle "The Poet's Love"
Robert Schumann Heinrich Heine "In the glow of warm May days"
Robert Schumann - Heinrich "I meet the gaze of your eyes"

Robert Schumann. "Fantastic plays".

Schumann Fantasiestucke, op. 12 part 1: no. 1 Des Abend and no. 2 Aufschwung

Sheet. Symphonic poem "Orpheus"

Frederic Chopin - Prelude No. 4 in E minor

Frederic Chopin - Nocturne No. 20 in C - sharp minor

Schubert opened the way for many new musical genres - impromptu, musical moments, song cycles, lyric-dramatic symphony. But no matter what genre Schubert wrote - traditional or created by him - everywhere he appears as a composer of a new era, the era of romanticism.

Many features of the new romantic style were then developed in the works of Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, and Russian composers of the second half of the 19th century.

Franz Schubert. Symphony C major

Franz Liszt. "Dreams of Love"

Weber. Choir of hunters from the opera "Free Shooter"

Franz Schubert. Impromptu No. 3

The text is compiled from various sites. Compiled by:Ninel Nick