Romanticism, Virtuosity and Fantastic Symphonies

By Thomas Erma Møller (Translated from Norwegian by Sarah Osa)

Orchestra music composed between 1800 and 1850 will suit you if you aren’t just satisfied with music being beautiful and well-balanced, but want to feel your insides surge and feelings overflow as the whole orchestra lifts you to a new level. Music from this period will also be to your liking if you enjoy spectacular solo performances on violin or piano, or if you just want to be carried away by exquisite Romantic melodies. This music is not background music though — it forces you to listen, think and fully savour it.

Many believe musical Romanticism to have begun in 1803 with the orchestral explosions in the opening of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3. Not only did this symphony have a strong, politically-loaded energy — it was originally dedicated to Napoleon — but it also broke down all barriers for what orchestra music could contain and express. Like the classical symphony, its Romantic counterpart was also divided into four main parts, but each of the movements was longer and the music was characterised by larger contrasts in character. Moreover, Beethoven and other composers in the first half of the 19th century were experimenting with more complex rhythms, harmonies and types of melodies in order to make the music more impactful and suitable for expressing strong feelings.

The Romantic symphony also developed the potential to express a narrative beyond the musical. This could be more or less explicitly stated. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 has a musical plot which develops from struggle to victory while Symphony No. 6 bears the subtitle “Pastorale” and is a sort of mood description of life in the countryside. Hector Berlioz went even further in his Symphonie Fantastique from 1830, where he explained what the music was about in a written “programme”. To what extent music could express more than just itself was one of the  big philosophical debates of the 19th century. Franz Schubert and Robert Schumann and their symphonies became representatives of “absolute music” where the music had no explicit programme. Franz Liszt, on the other hand, wrote “symphonic poems” with descriptive titles, and became a champion of programme music.

Concurrent to the vast developments within orchestra music, the first half of the 19th century was also the golden age of the great virtuosos — soloists who were so proficient on their instruments that they became international superstars and gained an almost mythical status. The violinists Niccolò Paganini and Ole Bull, and the pianists Franz Liszt and Frédéric Chopin counted among these, and all four wrote music for their instrument which challenged perceptions of what was technically possible, and what was possible to produce in terms of sound. The most famous solo concerto from this period is still Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, where technical feats are combined with especially expressive and memorable melodies in true Romantic spirit.

Opera also entered a new century and adopted new stylistic expressions, first with Carl Maria von Weber’s Der Freischütz from 1821, and later with bravura operas by Italian composers Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini. The style and manner of singing was often called bel canto — Italian for “beautiful song”— and sums up how the opera was an arena for great melodies, strong emotions and dramatic narratives. Also the popular love of myths and mysticism which characterised this period streamed into the opera world. Although the singers were still the biggest attraction for the audience, the orchestra gained a more important and more independent role than earlier. Here, Richard Wagner was a trailblazer. The instrumental ouverture at the beginning of operas was further developed. In addition, music for the orchestra was supposed to evoke moods or to give the audience a hint as to what had happened or was about to happen. Ouvertures, interludes and other orchestra parts from the operas of the period are often performed independently in concert halls today.

The Romantic emphasis on the emotional life of the individual, and the focus on musical forms such as the symphony, the solo concerto and opera, didn’t stop composers from writing magnificent church music. Beethoven and Schubert wrote masses and Mendelssohn oratorios. Still, the musical religiousness of this period is first and foremost a kind of artistic religion — an elevation of art and in particular wordless, instrumental music to religious, philsophical and existential heights. The work which most clearly and famously expresses this Romantic idea is Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 from 1824 which concludes with choir and solo singers praising the greatness of art in “Ode to Joy”.

In the 2017-2018 season the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra will perform the following work from this period:

Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique. A fantastic symphony, to say the least. Berlioz uses the orchestra in inventive ways in order to evoke twisted imaginings of a witches’ sabbath and a march to the scaffold. Is it a dream or reality? 

Schumann: Symphony No. 1 and Symphony No. 4. Two full-blooded Romantic symphonies: the first an energetic tribute to spring and the last a unique musical story. Let yourself be embraced by Schumann’s full orchestra sound and exquisite melodies.

Schumann: Cello Concerto and Piano Concerto. Experience soloists of the highest level in full expressive creation. Schumann put his heart and soul into his very personal cello concerto, and the piano concerto became an example of its kind. Did Grieg happen to hear this work before writing his A-minor concerto…? 

Schumann: Ouverture, Scherzo og Finale. Would you like to hear Schumann at his most innovative? This is no ordinary symphony, but a unique form. The composer is uncharacteristically free of convention also in terms of expression and content. 

Schumann: Dichterliebe, arrangement for cello and piano. This song cycle features sumptuous texts by German Romantic poet Heinrich Heine, but here you can hear its tantalising melodies played on the cello. And it’s no less expressive for that reason. 

Beethoven: Violin Concerto. A highlight among the Romantic solo concertos. Beethoven conjures up memorable melodies, and the soloist faces challenges of both technique and interpretation in this massive violin concerto. 

Listening tips:

Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 “Eroica”. This is a symphony with explosive energy. Its hero is said not to have been Napoleon, but possibly the composer himself — who knows?

Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto. If you only hear one Romantic solo concerto, it should be this one. Featuring Mendelssohn’s most ravishing melodies and technical feats, it is embodied by a true Romantic spirit from beginning to end.

Beethoven: Symphony No. 5. Ta-ta-ta-taaaa! You’ve probably heard this one before. This motif represents one of the best-known musical moments in history. And not without reason.

Schubert: Symphony No. 8 “Unfinished”. Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony is his most perfect. Admire the melodies, drama and the ingenious way he processes his musical ideas.

Schumann: Piano Concerto. A model of its kind. Grieg might have used this as a starting point for his own piano concerto, and it counts as one of the highlights among concertos for piano from this period.

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9. This music will elevate you to great heights as choir, soloists and orchestra praise the greatness of art in “Ode to Joy”.

Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 “Italian”. A real vitamin injection of a symphony, with warm melodies and  lively accompaniment, bursting with energy from start to finish.

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 “Emperor”. Beethoven gives it everything he has got in his final piano concerto,  and the middle movement is among his most beautiful.

Wagner: Overture to The Flying Dutchman, Lohengrin and Tannhäuser. The first casts you out into the stormy sea, the second features Wagner’s most sensitive orchestration and the last is one of his most powerful.

Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1. This piano legend’s short bravura piece is full of virtuosity, but if you crave something even more powerful you should try his devilishly difficult Trancendental Etudes for solo piano or Paganini’s equally demonic Caprices for solo violin.

Selected composers:

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Robert Schumann (1810-1856)

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)

Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

Richard Wagner (1813-1883)

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)

Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840)

Johan Strauss I (1804-1849)

Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826)

Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)

Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848)

Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835)

Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864)

Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857)

Clara Schumann (1819-1896)

Louis Spohr (1784-1859)

Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837)

Halfdan Kjerulf (1815-1868)