musiconline blog

Romanticism is much more than sweet words and lovely surprises. It also refers to a philosophy. It has shown itself in various ways for different cultures.

The concept of Romanticism is much larger than one can initially perceive but we will take a teeny tiny musical slice and stay more specific. Why? Well, because we are fully focused on exploring the beauty of music!

German culture is one of the most productive ones when it comes to classical music. As musiconline , we decided to take a closer look at this productive culture and present you some of the biggest names for their times.

• • Ludwig van Beethoven

One of the most popular figures of classical music, Beethoven is also an important figure for Romantic Era. What makes his special is that he has composed with Classical and Romantic styles throughout his career. This was something almost never seen in his time. Being deaf never stopped him and to be honest, he has composed his most popular pieces when he wasn't able to hear anything at all.

• • Johannes Brahms

Being born right after Beethoven can be considered as luck and misfortune at the same time for Brahms.

With his huge respect and admiration, Brahms learned a lot from Beethoven's style. Brahms is mostly known with his Hungarian Dances, a perfect mixture of Romanticism with traditional Hungarian music. However, just like many great minds, Brahms unnecessarily criticized himself and developed a dissatisfaction with his work, thinking "they will never be as good as Beethoven's".

• • Franz Liszt

Despite being Hungarian, Franz Liszt spent most of his life in Germany and he is a native speaker of German language. He is known for his "dissonant" style and foundational work for 20th century impressionism. Long story short, Liszt has never been sticking with the traditional and always seeking out for the new.

• • Robert Schumann

Schumann was both a composer and a highly respected music critic of his era. Besides his refined taste in music, he was also known for discovering young talented musicians.

Frederic Chopin and Johannes Brahms are the two prominent examples for Schumann's talent-hunt skills.

• • Richard Wagner

Although he is a controversial figure with his social Darwinist ideas, Wagner's music is undoubtedly among the best. Almighty heroes, brave women, epic stories and European ideals... There is no other composer than Wagner who focused on these.