Editing Romantic music (section)

==History==
===Early Romantic===
{{See also|Transition from Classical to Romantic music}}
[[File:Joseph Karl Stieler's Beethoven mit dem Manuskript der Missa solemnis.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Ludwig van Beethoven]]]]
The transition of [[Viennese classicism]] to Romanticism can be found in the work of [[Ludwig van Beethoven]]. Many typically romantic elements are encountered for the first time in his works. These works stand here in contrast to [[vocal music]] and are "purely" instrumental music. According to Hoffmann, the pure [[instrumental music]] of Viennese classical music, especially that of [[List of compositions by Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]], since it is free of material or program, is the embodiment of the romantic art idea.<ref>E.T.A. Hoffmann on Beethoven's Fifth. 16. April 2020, retrieved on 2. December 2021.</ref> Another one of the most important representatives of  late classicism and early romanticism is [[Franz Schubert]]. Because only with him did romantic features come into the German-language opera with his [[List of compositions by Franz Schubert|chamber music works]] and later also [[symphonies]]. In this field, his work is supplemented by the ballads of [[Carl Loewe]]. [[Carl Maria von Weber]] is important for the development of the [[German opera]], especially with his popular Freischütz. In addition, there are fantastic-horrious materials by [[Heinrich Marschner]] and finally the cheerful opera by [[Albert Lortzing]], while [[Louis Spohr]] became known mainly for his instrumental music. Still largely attached to classical music is the work of [[Johann Nepomuk Hummel]], [[Ferdinand Ries]], and the Frenchman [[George Onslow (composer)|George Onslow]].

[[Italy]] experienced the heyday of the [[Belcanto]] opera in early Romanticism, associated with the names of [[Gioachino Rossini]], [[Gaetano Donizetti]], and [[Vincenzo Bellini]]. While Rossini's comic operas are primarily known today, often only through their rousing [[overtures]], Donizetti and Bellini predominate tragic content. The most important Italian instrumental composer of this time was the legendary "devil's violinist" [[Niccolò Paganini]].
In [[France]], on the one hand, the light Opéra comique developed, its representatives are [[François-Adrien Boieldieu]], [[Daniel-François-Esprit Auber]], and [[Adolphe Adam]], the latter also known for his [[ballets]]. One can also quote the famous eccentric composer and harpist [[Robert Nicolas-Charles Bochsa]] (seven operas). In addition, the Grand opéra came up with pompous stage sets, ballets and large choirs. Her first representative was [[Gaspare Spontini]], her most important [[Giacomo Meyerbeer]].

Music development has now also taken an upswing in other European countries. The Irishman [[John Field (composer)|John Field]] composed the first [[Nocturnes]] for [[piano]], [[Friedrich Kuhlau]] worked in Denmark and the Swede [[Franz Berwald]] wrote four very idiosyncratic [[symphonies]].

===High Romantic===
{{unreferenced section|date=November 2024}}
{{See also|Neo-romanticism|War of the Romantics}}
[[File:Richard Wagner, Paris, 1861.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|[[Richard Wagner]] in Paris, 1861|alt=A photograph of the upper half of a man of about fifty viewed from his front right. He wears a cravat and frock coat. He has long sideburns and his dark hair is receding at the temples.]]
The high romanticism can be divided into two phases. In the first phase, the actual romantic music reaches its peak. The Polish composer [[Frédéric Chopin]] explored previously unknown depths of emotion in his character pieces and dances for piano. [[Robert Schumann]], mentally immersed at the end of his life, represents in person as well as in music almost the prototype of the passionate romantic artist, shadowed by tragedy. His idiosyncratic piano pieces, chamber music works and symphonies should have a lasting influence on the following generation of musicians.

[[Franz Liszt]], who came from the German minority in Hungary, was on the one hand a swarmed piano virtuoso, but on the other hand also laid the foundation for the progressive "[[New German School]]" with his harmoniously bold [[symphonic poems]]. Also committed to program music was the technique of the [[Idée fixe (music)|Idée fixe]] (leitmotif) of the Frenchman [[Hector Berlioz]], who also significantly expanded the orchestra. [[Felix Mendelssohn]] was again more oriented towards the classicist formal language and became a role model especially for [[Scandinavia]]n composers such as the Dane [[Niels Wilhelm Gade]].
In opera, the operas of [[Otto Nicolai]] and [[Friedrich von Flotow]] still dominated in Germany when [[Richard Wagner]] wrote his first romantic operas. The early works of [[Giuseppe Verdi]] were also still based on the Belcanto ideal of the older generation. In France, the [[Opéra lyrique]] was developed by [[Ambroise Thomas]] and [[Charles Gounod]]. [[Russian music]] found its own language in the operas of [[Mikhail Glinka]] and [[Alexander Dargomyzhsky]].

The second phase of high romanticism runs in parallel with the style of realism in literature and the visual arts. In the second half of his creation, Wagner now developed his [[Leitmotif|leitmotif technique]], with which he holds together the four-part [[ring of the Nibelungen]], composed without [[arias]]; the orchestra is treated symphonically, the chromaticism reaches its extreme in [[Tristan and Isolde]]. A whole crowd of disciples is under the influence of Wagner's progressive ideas, among them, for example, [[Peter Cornelius]]. On the other hand, an opposition arose from numerous more conservative composers, to whom [[Johannes Brahms]], who sought a logical continuation of classical music in symphony, [[chamber music]] and song, became a model of scale due to the depth of the sensation and a masterful [[Musical technique|composition technique]]. Among others, [[Robert Volkmann]], [[Friedrich Kiel]], [[Carl Reinecke]], [[Max Bruch]], [[Josef Gabriel Rheinberger]], and [[Hermann Goetz]] are included in this party.

In addition, some important loners came on the scene, among whom [[Anton Bruckner]] particularly stands out. Although a Wagner supporter, his clear-form style differs significantly from that of that composer. For example, the block-based instrumentation of Bruckner's symphonies is derived from the registers of the organ. In the ideological struggle against Wagner's adversaries, he was portrayed by his followers as a counterpart of Brahms. [[Felix Draeseke]], who originally wrote "future music in classical form" starting from Liszt, also stands between the parties in composition.

Verdi also reached the way to a well-composed [[Italian opera|musical drama]], albeit in a different way than Wagner. His immense charisma made all other composers fade in Italy, including [[Amilcare Ponchielli]] and [[Arrigo Boito]], who was also the librettist of his late operas Otello and Falstaff.
In France, on the other hand, the light muse triumphed first in the form of the socio-critical [[operettas]] of [[Jacques Offenbach]]. Lyrical opera found its climax in the works of [[Jules Massenet]], while in the Carmen by [[Georges Bizet]], realism came for the first time. [[Louis Théodore Gouvy]] built a stylistic bridge to German music. The operas, symphonies and chamber music works of the extremely versatile [[Camille Saint-Saëns]] were, as were the ballets of [[Léo Delibes]], more tradition-oriented. New orchestra colors were found in the compositions of [[Édouard Lalo]] and [[Emmanuel Chabrier]]. The Belgian-born [[César Franck]] was accompanied by a revival of organ music, which was continued by [[Charles-Marie Widor]], later [[Louis Vierne]] and [[Charles Tournemire]].

A specific national romanticism had by now emerged in almost all European countries. The national Russian current started by Glinka was continued in Russia by the "[[The Five (composers)|Group of Five]]": [[Mily Balakirev]], [[Alexander Borodin]], [[Modest Mussorgsky]], [[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov]], and [[César Cui]]. More western oriented were [[Anton Rubinstein]] and [[Pyotr Tchaikovsky]], whose [[ballets]] and symphonies gained great popularity.
[[Bedřich Smetana]] founded [[Czech Republic|Czech]] national music with his operas and the Symphony poems oriented towards Liszt. The symphonies, concerts and chamber music works of [[Antonín Dvořák]], on the other hand, have Brahms as a model. In Poland, [[Stanisław Moniuszko]] was the leading opera composer, in Hungary [[Ferenc Erkel]]. Norway produced its best-known composers with [[Edvard Grieg]], creator of lyrical piano works, songs and orchestral works such as the Peer-Gynt Suite; England's voice resonated with the Brahms-oriented [[Hubert Parry]] and symphonist, as well as the comic operas of [[Arthur Sullivan]].

===Late Romantic===
{{See also|Post-romanticism}}
[[File:Photo of Gustav Mahler by Moritz Nähr 01.jpg|thumb|alt=Middle-aged man, seated, facing towards the left but head turned towards the right. He has a high forehead, rimless glasses and is wearing a dark, crumpled suit|[[Gustav Mahler]], photographed in 1907 by [[Moritz Nähr]] at the end of his period as director of the [[Vienna State Opera|Vienna Hofoper]]]]
In late Romanticism, also called post-Romanticism, the traditional forms and elements of music are further dissolved. An increasingly colorful orchestral palette, an ever-increasing range of musical means, the spread of [[tonality]] to its limits, exaggerated emotions and an increasingly individual tonal language of the individual composer are typical features; the music is led to the threshold of [[Modernism (music)|modernity]].
Thus, the symphonies of [[Gustav Mahler]] reached previously unknown dimensions, partly give up the traditional four-sentence and often contain vocal proportions. But behind the monumental facade is the modern expressiveness of the [[Fin de siècle]]. This psychological expressiveness is also contained in the songs of [[Hugo Wolf]], miniature dramas for voice and piano. More committed to tradition, particularly oriented towards Bruckner, are the symphonies of [[Franz Schmidt (composer)|Franz Schmidt]] and [[Richard Wetz]], while [[Max Reger]] resorted to Bach's polyphony in his numerous instrumental works, but developed it harmoniously extremely boldly. Among the numerous composers of the Reger successor, [[Julius Weismann]] and [[Joseph Haas]] stand out. Among the outstanding late romantic sound creators is also the idiosyncratic [[Hans Pfitzner]]. Although a traditionalist and decisive opponent of modern currents, quite a few of his works are quite close to the musical progress of the time. His successor include [[Walter Braunfels]], who mainly emerged as an opera composer, and the symphonist [[Wilhelm Furtwängler]].
The opera stage was particularly suitable for increased emotions. The folk and fairy tale operas of [[Engelbert Humperdinck (composer)|Engelbert Humperdinck]], [[Wilhelm Kienzl]] and [[Siegfried Wagner]], the son of Richard Wagner, were still quite good. But even [[Eugen d'Albert]] and [[Max von Schillings]] irritated the nerves with a German variant of verism. Erotic symbolism can be found in the stage works of [[Alexander von Zemlinsky]] and [[Franz Schreker]]. [[Richard Strauss]] went even further to the limits of tonality with ''Salome'' and ''Elektra'' before he took more traditional paths with ''Der Rosenkavalier''. In the style related to the works of Strauss, the compositions of [[Emil von Reznicek]] and [[Paul Graener]] are shown.

In Italy, opera still dominated during this time. This is where verism developed, an exaggerated realism that could easily turn into the striking and melodramatic on the opera stage. Despite their extensive work, [[Ruggero Leoncavallo]], [[Pietro Mascagni]], [[Francesco Cilea]], and [[Umberto Giordano]] have only become known through one opera at a time. Only [[Giacomo Puccini]]'s work has been completely preserved in the repertoire of the opera houses, although he was also often accused of sentimentality. Despite some veristic works, [[Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari]] was mainly considered a revival of the Opera buffa. [[Ferruccio Busoni]], a temporarily defender of modern classicity living in Germany, left behind a rather conventional, little played work. Thus, instrumental music actually only found its place in Italian music again with [[Ottorino Respighi]], who was influenced by Impressionism.

The term [[Impressionism in music|Impressionism]] comes from painting, and like there, it also developed in music in France. In the works of [[Claude Debussy]], the structures dissolved into the finest nuances of rhythm, dynamics and timbre. This development was prepared in the work of [[Vincent d'Indy]], [[Ernest Chausson]] and above all in the songs and chamber music of [[Gabriel Fauré]]. All subsequent French composers were more or less influenced by Impressionism. The most important among them was [[Maurice Ravel]], a brilliant orchestral virtuoso. [[Albert Roussel]] first processed exotic topics before he anticipated [[Neoclassicism (music)|Neoclassical]] tendencies like Ravel. [[Gabriel Pierné]], [[Paul Dukas]], [[Charles Koechlin]], and [[Florent Schmitt]] also dealt with symbolic and exotic-oriental substances. The loner [[Erik Satie]] was the creator of spun piano pieces and idol of the next generation. Nevertheless, Impressionism is often attributed to the epoch of modernity, if not seen as its own epoch.
[[Hubert Parry]] and the Irishman [[Charles Villiers Stanford]] initiated late Romanticism in England, which had its first important representative in [[Edward Elgar]]. While he revived the oratorio and wrote symphonies and concerts, [[Frederick Delius]] devoted himself to particularly small orchestral images with his own variant of Impressionism. [[Ethel Smyth]] wrote mainly operas and chamber music in a style that reminded Brahms. [[Ralph Vaughan Williams]], whose works were inspired by [[English folk songs]] and [[Renaissance music]], became the most important symphonist of his country. [[Gustav Holst]] incorporated Greek mythology and Indian philosophy into his work. Very idiosyncratic composer personalities in the transition to modernity were also [[Havergal Brian]] and [[Frank Bridge]].

In Russia, [[Alexander Glazunov]] decorated his traditional composition technique with a colorful orchestral palette. The mystic [[Alexander Scriabin]] dreamed of a synthesis of colors, sound and scents. [[Sergei Rachmaninov]] wrote melancholic-pathetic piano pieces and concertos full of intoxicating virtuosity, while the piano works of [[Nikolai Medtner]] are more lyrical.

In the Czech Republic, [[Leoš Janáček]], deeply rooted in the music of his [[Moravia]]n homeland, found new areas of expression with the development of the language melody in his operas. The local sounds are also unmistakable in the music of [[Zdeněk Fibich]], [[Josef Bohuslav Foerster]], [[Vítězslav Novák]], and [[Josef Suk (composer)|Josef Suk]]. On the other hand, there is a slightly morbid exoticism and later classicist measure in the work of the Polish [[Karol Szymanowski]].
The most important Danish composer is [[Carl Nielsen]], known for symphonies and concerts. Even more dominant in his country is the position of the Finn [[Jean Sibelius]], also a symphonist of melancholy expressiveness and clear line design. In Sweden, the works of [[Wilhelm Peterson-Berger]], [[Wilhelm Stenhammar]], and [[Hugo Alfvén]] show a typical Nordic conservatism, and the Norwegian [[Christian Sinding]] also composed traditionally.

The music of [[Spain]] also increased in popularity again after a long time, first in the piano works of [[Isaac Albéniz]] and [[Enrique Granados]], then in the operas, ballets and orchestral works of [[Manuel de Falla]], influenced by Impressionism.

Finally, the first important representatives of the United States also appeared with [[Edward MacDowell]] and [[Amy Beach]]. But even the work of [[Charles Ives]] belonged only partly to late Romanticism - much of it was already radically modern and pointed far into the 20th century.