Romanticism is an artistic movement which evolved at the end of the nineteenth century in different fields of art such literature, painting, and music. The artists of the Romantic era were influenced by the reaction to the Industrial Revolution, the revolt against the notions of the Enlightenment, and doubt against the rationalization of nature by science. The major characteristics of Romanticism were the emphasis of emotion and nature, a tendency towards the mystic and supernatural, attention to national identity. More specifically in music the important elements are the emphasis on the expressions of emotions, use of folk songs and exotic melodies, expansion in the use of form, and expansion of harmony from tonality towards increased chromaticism.
One of the most powerful ways that Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) influenced romantic music was his use of an emotional expression. During his first years, he worked with the classical idiom. However, the condition of his life near the end changed his perception over composition. His increased age, loss of hearing, and his personal problems were reflected in his music. Eroica, his 3rd Symphony expressed his own struggle against depression and disability. Beethoven’s musical style became more expressive and individualistic. He used extensively expressive dynamics, he often scored his instruments to range from piano to forte within a few seconds. Furthermore, he experimented with the lowest and highest registers of the orchestral instruments to accentuate their expressiveness. The 5th Symphony is an accurate example of this practice. The first movement is fatalistic and dark, the second moves to even more malicious paths, the third resembles a hymn, and the last one is optimistic and triumphant. According to the musicologist George Grove, the expressiveness of the 5th Symphony is the major proof of Beethoven being the prophet of the Romantic Movement (Grove 67).
Regarding the aspect of folk songs, Beethoven made arrangements of over one-hundred and fifty folk songs, towards the end of his career. The main instrument is piano, accompanied by violin and cello. Another important element to support his introduction to the romantic era is that he had to work with modal harmonizations, using drone basses and bag pipe. The folk arrangements were also used as parts of his symphonies. In the third movement of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, where he described the happy gathering of villagers, he used folk material of Austrian origins (Grove 102). He was interested in amateur bands playing such folk tunes though they were less than accomplished. On the other hand, Beethoven did not work much with exotic melodies from oriental music.
Last but not least, Beethoven expanded the orchestra. He included a choir for the 9th Symphony and Missa Solemnis. Another new element was the use of a triple wind combination. He, also, explored the potential of piano concertos which acquired a vital role in the Romantic period. He expanded the piano technique by using the pedal to sustain the sound and produce a supernatural, mystic effect, much appreciated by the composers of the beginning of the twentieth century (Cooper 23).
Romanticism in music was mainly a German phenomenon. In 1810 Hoffmann named Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven ‘the ones who breathe the romantic spirit (Hoffmann 127). Beethoven’s music conveys a sense of monstrous with the pain of endless longing. The rise of a new middle class at the end of the nineteenth century created new, larger audiences which sought for fresh sensations from the art world. Beethoven’s compositions with the intellectual depth and intense, personal expression came to fulfill this desire and he became the crucial figure in the transition between the Classical to the Romantic period.
Works Cited
Cooper, Barry. Beethoven. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print.
Grove, George. Beethoven and his Nine Symphonies. London: Novello & Co, 1896. Print.
Locke, Arthur W. & E.T.A. Hoffmann. ‘Beethoven’s Instrumental Music.’ The Music Quartely 3.1 (1917): 123-133.
