Editing Romantic music (section)

=== The German Conservatives===
[[File:Schumann-photo1850.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Robert Schumann]] in an 1850 [[daguerreotype]]]]
The conservatives were a broad group of musicians and critics who maintained the artistic legacy of [[Robert Schumann]] who adhered to composing and promoting [[absolute music]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Burger|first=Ernst|title=Robert Schumann|publisher=Schott|year=1999|location=Mainz|page=334}}</ref>

They believed in continuing along the footsteps of [[Ludwig van Beethoven]] of composing the [[Symphony|symphony genre]] in the classical mold, though they would implement their own musical language.<ref>Bonds, ''New Grove'' (2001), 24:835, 837.</ref>

The most prominent members of this circle were [[Johannes Brahms]], [[Joseph Joachim]], [[Clara Schumann]], and the [[Leipzig Conservatoire]], which had been founded by [[Felix Mendelssohn]].