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- Maddy Shaw Roberts
- Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) Frédéric Chopin was a virtuoso pianist, who wrote almost exclusively for the instrument. The piano went through significant changes during the 19th century as composers grew more ambitious in range, colours and dynamics.
- Franz Liszt (1811-1886) Another composer indelibly linked with the piano, Franz Liszt – dubbed “The World’s First Rock Star” – took virtuoso pianism to new heights.
- Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) The undisputed King of Italian opera, Verdi is known primarily – along with his monumental Requiem – for his great stage works La traviata, Rigoletto, Nabucco, Aida, La forza del destino, Il trovatore.
- Richard Wagner (1813-1883) New instruments, bespoke venues, ridiculously long works – the list of Richard Wagner’s innovations in 19th-century music goes on.
Part of the broader Romanticism movement of Europe, Ludwig van Beethoven, Gioachino Rossini and Franz Schubert are often seen as the dominant transitional figures composers from the preceding Classical era.
- Ludwig Van Beethoven
- Frédéric Chopin
- Fanny Mendelssohn
- Felix Mendelssohn
- Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- Richard Wagner
- Clara Schumann
- Franz Schubert
- Johannes Brahms
- Giuseppe Verdi
Placing Beethoven here might be a little bit of cheating, but his work laid the groundwork for the entirety of the Romantic period. While most of his work came before the beginning of the Romantic period, Beethoven challenged the conventional, strict rules of the classical period and spanned the transitional period between the two styles. Though he...
Frédéric Chopin was a virtuoso pianist who composed almost exclusively solo piano pieces. He was a world-renowned musician, with many claiming no one during his time could equal him on the piano. As a child prodigy, he had already composed his earliest works and was an established concert performer by the age of 20. Though he wasn’t a prolific conc...
Fanny Mendelssohn was one of the most productive composers of the Romantic period. Her work consists of over 125 pieces for the piano and over 250 lieder ( a piece that sets poetry to some style of classical music), in total reaching over 450 pieces of music. Her brother, who we’ll discuss next, was also a famous pianist and composer. Six of her wo...
The brother and better-known sibling of Fanny Mendelssohn (at least during their lifetimes), Felix Mendelssohn was a master composer and pianist in his own right. His compositions include a variety of symphonies, concertos, piano music, organ music, and chamber music. Perhaps his best-known work was compositions for A Midsummer Night’s Dream. While...
Tchaikovsky was the preeminent composer of the Romantic periodin Russia and the first Russian composer to establish a lasting international legacy. Many of today’s most popular classic theater and concert compositions today are attributed to Tchaikovsky, including the scores of masterpiece works like Swan Lake and the Nutcracker. In Russia, most co...
Richard Wagner is best known as an opera composer and theater director. What helped him stand out as an opera composer was that he wrote both the libretto and music for each stage work. Wagner’s work as an opera composer was revolutionary; using his vision of “Gesamtkunstwerk” (a total work of art), he combined poetry, visuals, dramatic arts, and m...
Widely regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic Era, Clara Schumann was also a wonderful composer and music teacher. Her 61-year career would be influential in lessening the importance of virtuoso works (the most complex, hard-to-play pieces) and changing the format and repertoire of the piano. Clara’s composing career enc...
Franz Schubert was another master composer straddling the line between the classical and Romantic periods due to his place in the timeline. His legacy was carried by over 600 secular vocal works, seven complete symphonies, and a large body of choral, chamber, piano, and sacred music. Schubert played several instruments, surpassing his teachers in a...
Even those with no knowledge of classical music have listened to one of Brahms’scompositions. Never intended as a major composition, Brahms’s lullaby would be played an untold number of times to help children fall asleep and has been used countless times in other media. The work was composed by him as a gift when his friend’s second child was born,...
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was another Romantic composer made famous for opera compositions. Eventually, Verdi would dominate the Italian opera scene which would eventually influence the style in France and England. Though he didn’t try to become a figurehead of a movement or get close to other high-profile politicians, his operas had numer...
These composers played crucial roles in the development of the Romantic era, known for its expressive and emotional music, rich harmonies, and expansion of traditional forms. Here’s a list of 18 of the greatest Romantic era composers: #1 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
Composers who made to this list are either prototypes of Romanticism (for example, the late-Classical/early-Romantic), fully-fledged romantics, or those who continue the Romantic traditions and push musical boundaries beyond their limits (as you will see in the Post-Romantic composers).
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The Romantic era of Western Classical music spanned the 19th century to the early 20th century, encompassing a variety of musical styles and techniques. Part of...
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This is a list of Romantic-era composers. Note that this list is purely chronological, and also includes a substantial number of composers, especially those born after 1860, whose works cannot be conveniently classified as Romantic.
