1. What is the meaning of Romanticism, the time definition of the Romanticism period and the characteristics of its music style? 1. Meaning and time definition

The term "romantic" originally refers to the knightly stories and legendary novels with bizarre plots, adventures and fantasy written in the Romance language about the European Middle Ages. European historians use this term to refer to the literary and artistic trends and schools that prevailed from the end of the 18th century to the beginning of the 19th century. At that time, the democratic revolutionary movements in European countries were on the rise. Due to the failure of the French bourgeois revolution represented by Napoleon, which finally ended with the restoration of the old dynasty, people People are generally disappointed with reality and have no illusions about the spiritual sustenance of "freedom, equality, and fraternity." These trends of thought are reflected in art and form a kind of romanticism that is not satisfied with reality and pursues ideals. Later, the term was borrowed into the field of music, and a group of European composers from the early 19th to the early 20th century were regarded as representatives of romantic music, which is what we call the "Romantic School".

In terms of time, the time definition of the Romantic period is relatively vague, usually referring to the more than one hundred years before and after the 19th century (1790-1910), which covers the period from Weber to Richard Strauss. work. The romantic period is divided into four stages: early stage, middle stage, middle to late period, and late stage: Early stage (10-20s of the 19th century): Weber, Schubert, Beethoven (late period), etc.

Middle period (heyday) (1830s-1840s): Berlioz, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Chopin, etc. Middle and late period (1840s-1880s): Liszt, Wagner, Brahms, Frank, Tchaikovsky, etc. Late period (1890s to early 20th century): Bruckner, Puccini, Wolf, Mahler, Richard Strauss 2. Music style characteristics

The characteristics of music in the Romantic period Generally speaking, the characteristics are as follows:

(1) From the perspective of style: the works strongly promote subjective emotions and personality characteristics, and each composer's works have a personalized imprint. (2) From the perspective of cultural tradition: the works emphasize national concepts, and the composer's creations are generally rooted in the cultural soil of the nation, especially the late Romantics. (3) From the perspective of genre: the limitations of the stylization of classical music have been broken, and genres such as "title music" that expresses clear intentions, multi-movement symphonies, single-movement symphonic poems, and characteristic ditties have emerged. (4) From the perspective of specific musical elements: ① The composition of melody phrases is not restricted by fixed forms, and tends to be asymmetrical and free form, with great flexibility and enhanced lyricism. ② The structure of harmony is expanded, and dissonant chords are used more freely. ③ Semitone modulations and distant modulations are often used. Late Romantic works sometimes give people a sense of tonality ambiguity, but tonal music is still the mainstay. ④ The intensity and speed change drastically, and the contrast in intensity caused by these elements expressing emotional tension has become a typical feature of this era. ⑤The musical form structure is free and changeable. The composer only focused on content and subjective expression, breaking the strict and highly logical musical form of the classical period. Section 1 The Development of Romantic Opera