Page 171 - (DK) The Classical Music Book - Big Ideas Simply Explained

ROMANTIC 1810–1920 169

considerable acclaim. In using Form gives way
programmatic titles and literary to expression
references, as well as in the very
sounds of the music he produced, The music composed by the
Schumann helped to define the Romantic generation strove to
I feel so entirely in my element early Romantic ethos. reflect the importance of the
individual. Taking their cue in
with a full orchestra; even if The early Romantic symphony part from Beethoven—whose
my mortal enemies were … paid more attention to orchestration Ninth Symphony had broken
before me, I could lead them, than the classical symphony had; the mold—composers sought
master them, surround it used a wider palette of orchestral to create music free from
them, or repulse them. timbres and combined instrumental well-established structures,
Robert Schumann forces in new ways. Instruments such as the minuet and trio
that had previously been less and the rondo, and develop
popular—such as the harp, tuba, other forms, such as the
and trombone, as well as a number sonata principle and fugue.
of percussion instruments—also Their innovations gave
became standard features. the music of the Romantic
Composers of this period seldom composers an immediacy that
movement as a scherzo and trio, thought of themselves as markedly enabled it to be more easily
Schumann was influenced by different from their classical understood by middle-class
Beethoven, who had created this forebears and were essentially audiences, who were generally
untrained in music but wished
structure out of the older minuet trying to bring the new “Romantic” to enjoy it as entertainment.
and trio, but here, too, Schumann’s spirit of revolutionary politics to In the same vein, Romantic
composition contains further life, using quite traditional means. works were often given titles
innovation: there are two trios However, as the wider Romantic to help new listeners grasp
instead of the usual one, and they movement gained traction, some the mood and story of the
are in different time signatures. innovative composers—such as music. Some musicians, such
The last movement of the “Spring” Berlioz and Liszt—experimented, as Berlioz and Liszt, would
Symphony is traditional in its not always successfully, with new even provide a written
structure but full of a humor that approaches to harmony, rhythm, program to explain the
seems to anticipate Tchaikovsky and structure. It was this spirit of intended narrative of the
in his lighter moments. Toward experimentation that paved the music to their audience.
the end, Schumann has one last way for late Romanticism. ■
surprise in store—a theme from his
piano piece Kreisleriana suddenly
appears in a slightly altered form.
Although it is not known why he
did this, such self-quotation was
not unusual for Schumann.

New approach
Almost entirely self-taught as
a composer, Schumann brought
an originality and freshness to
the symphony that earned him

The German city of Leipzig became
Schumann’s home from 1828. He wrote
many works at the house he shared
with his wife, Clara Wieck. Situated on
Inselstrasse 18, this is now a museum.

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