# Major Assignment-German Romanticism



## JohnB (Dec 6, 2007)

I am having difficulty locating any information for my assignment which has been set to discuss the divergent views of composers from Beethoven to Mahler in the romantic period towards programme music & absolute music.

My answer is to be supported with appropriate musical examples & quotations.

Can anyone provide guidance as to where I should be looking for relevant information on this topic?


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## David C Coleman (Nov 23, 2007)

This maybe a bit obvious. But have you tried the internet or libraries??


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## JohnB (Dec 6, 2007)

David

Can you suggest any internet sites

or books?


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## Kurkikohtaus (Oct 22, 2006)

That topic is so very broad, the formulation "composers from Beethoven to Mahler" scares me.

First of all, narrow down your composer list. A good pick of 5 that are relevant to this topic would be...

Beethoven
Berlioz
Dvorak
Tchaikovsky
Mahler
... in that they all wrote absolute *and *programme music, sometimes combining elements of the two in a single form. But even those 5 could leave you with a very unwiely project, I think comparing the works and approaches of 2 of them would make a very good essay.

As far as sources are concerned, to really be able to discuss this in any detail, you need scores more than books, you need a knowledge of the music itself and the techniques used by the composers. No book will tell you more about that than the score itself.

But if you must, try the general purpose Groves Encyclopedia for a start, perhaps it will list further references. Click HERE or try a library.


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