Editing German Romanticism (section)

==Composers==
[[Image:Richard Wagner, Paris, 1861.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=alt text|[[Richard Wagner]], 1860]]
* [[Ludwig van Beethoven]]. In his earlier works, Beethoven was a Classicist in the traditions of [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]] and [[Joseph Haydn|Haydn]] (his tutor), but his Middle Period, beginning with his third symphony (the '[[Symphony No. 3 (Beethoven)|Eroica]]'), bridges the worlds of Classical and Romantic music. Because Beethoven wrote some of his greatest music after he became totally deaf, he embodies the Romantic ideal of the tragic artist who defies all odds to conquer his own fate.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} His later works portray the triumph of the human spirit, most notably his 'Choral' Symphony No. 9; the stirring '[[Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)|Ode to Joy]]' from this symphony has been adopted as the anthem of the [[European Union]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://european-union.europa.eu/principles-countries-history/symbols/european-anthem_en | title=European anthem &#124; European Union }}</ref>
* [[Johannes Brahms]]. His works are cast in the formal moulds of Classicism; he had a profound reverence for Beethoven. Brahms was also attracted to the exoticism of Hungarian folk music, and used it in such pieces as his famous ''[[Hungarian Dances (Brahms)|Hungarian Dances]]'', the final movement of his [[Violin Concerto (Brahms)|Violin Concerto]], and the 'Rondo alla zingarese' from his [[Piano Quartet No. 1 (Brahms)|Piano Quartet No. 1, op. 25, in G minor]].
* [[Franz Liszt]]. Liszt was by nationality a Hungarian, but nevertheless he spent many years in Germany, and his first language was German. Credited as the inventor of the [[tone poem]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} In his old age, Liszt adopted a more dissonant, ominous flavour, characteristic works being 'la Lugubre Gondola' and 'Die Zelle in Nonnenwerth'—predating [[Impressionist music|Impressionism]] and 20th-century [[atonality]].
* [[Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy]]. A composer of the Early Romantic period, together with such figures as Schumann, Chopin and Liszt. One of the persons responsible for reviving interest in the somewhat neglected music of [[Johann Sebastian Bach]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}
* [[Franz Schubert]]. Like Beethoven, his early works like his symphonies, string quartets, and piano sonatas were in the Viennese classical traditions of Mozart and Haydn. His later body of work consists mainly of song cycles and German [[Lieder]] set to poems by his contemporaries, many of which are among the most common repertoire in those categories performed today.
* [[Robert Schumann]]. His works recall the nostalgia of lost childhood innocence, first love, and the magnificence of the German countryside.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} As an influential critic, he played a major role in discovering new talents, among them [[Chopin]] and Brahms.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}
* [[Richard Wagner]]. The most famous composer of German opera; was an exponent of [[Leitmotif]]. One of the main figures in the so-called [[War of the Romantics]].
* [[Carl Maria von Weber]]. Perhaps the very first of Romantic musicians, if we exclude Beethoven and Schubert, in the sense that Weber was the first major composer to emerge wholly as a product of the Romantic school, as contrasted with Beethoven, who had started off as a Classicist.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} The emotional intensity and supernatural, folklore-based themes in his operas presented a radical break from the Neoclassical traditions of that time.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}<!--In music, "neoclassical" usually refers to a 20th-century movement. Who refers to early 19th-century opera as "neoclassical"?-->