# Exploring Romantic Composers



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Of course I know Chopin and Beethoven, and I believe Schubert transitioned from Classical to Romantic too, but post works you feel are great examples from this dramatic era in music. I believe it's my favorite era of composition, so I want to explore it more!

No rules, just post and say a few words about what you enjoy about the work!


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Feel free to post lesser known works by some of the giants too


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## WildThing (Feb 21, 2017)

Verdi: Requiem (infuses the mass with human drama and theatrical flair)
Schumann: Kinderszenen (spontaneous, improvisational piano pieces with extra-musical associations)
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (A mystical exploration of the soul and meditation on the nature of existence)


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

WildThing said:


> Verdi: Requiem (infuses the mass with human drama and theatrical flair)
> Schumann: Kinderszenen (spontaneous, improvisational piano pieces with extra-musical associations)
> Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (A mystical exploration of the soul and meditation on the nature of existence)


I'll check all of those out! I'm finishing up Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 right now...


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Sibelius Symphony 1 is one I can contribute that is lesser known, but probably not around here! :lol:


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Firing up Verdi's Requiem; first reaction, it's long!
I'm sure it's good though.


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## WildThing (Feb 21, 2017)

Captainnumber36 said:


> I'll check all of those out! I'm finishing up Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 right now...


Another great one! There are so many pieces that epitomize certain aspects of Romanticism in their own way, I just picke a few of my favorites that first came to mind!

And if you don't have 4 hour to devote to Tristan anytime soon, here's a good place to start:






:tiphat:


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

WildThing said:


> Another great one! There are so many pieces that epitomize certain aspects of Romanticism in their own way, I just picke a few of my favorites that first came to mind!
> 
> And if you don't have 4 hour to devote to Tristan anytime soon, here's a good place to start:
> 
> ...


Boy, Wagner's ideas couldn't be expressed in short periods!


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## WildThing (Feb 21, 2017)

Captainnumber36 said:


> Firing up Verdi's Requiem; first reaction, it's long!
> I'm sure it's good though.


Also definitely not a short piece! :lol:

Perhaps the most famous bit from the work is the beginning of the Dies Irae:






I also especially love the Offertorio:


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

No one else to chime in on Romantic Era greats?


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

The only Romantic Era piece I still listen to often is Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Phil loves classical said:


> The only Romantic Era piece I still listen to often is Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique.


You love the serial stuff, we know!


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Johann Nepomuk Hummel.
Explore and enjoy!


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Romantics for beginners:

Chopin: Nocturnes, Etudes, Ballades
Mendelssohn: Symphony 3, Violin concerto, Octet
Schumann: Piano concerto, Symphony 3, Kinderszenen 
Berlioz: Sinfonie fantastique, Les nuits d'ete, Harold en Italie
Liszt: Les preludes, Piano concerto 2, Faust symphony
Bruckner: Symphonies 4,8,9
Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem, Violin concerto, Symphony 4
Tchaikovsky: Violin concerto, Serenade, Symphony 6
Dvorak: Symphony 9, Cello concerto, String quartet 12
Grieg: Peer Gynt suites, Holberg suite, Piano concerto
Mahler: Symphonies 2,4,5 

If you sample these romantic war horses and like (a lot of) them, you can go deep (these composers) and/or broad (other composers).


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

Liszt - Piano Concerto no.1. Love this piece - I like the mixture of grandiosity, cheekiness and romanticism - qualities quite often found in his music.


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

Brahms - Piano Concerto no.2 

His first piano concerto wasn't received that well but this was an immediate success.


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## Genoveva (Nov 9, 2010)

Captainnumber36 said:


> Of course I know Chopin and Beethoven, and I believe Schubert transitioned from Classical to Romantic too, but post works you feel are great examples from this dramatic era in music. I believe it's my favorite era of composition, so I want to explore it more!
> 
> No rules, just post and say a few words about what you enjoy about the work!


I can see some merit in this approach, but I think you might finish up with a haphazard list and may be unsure about what to try out next.

A better procedure IMO would be to take a set of classical music recommendations that have already been worked on by the members here in the past. If you go to the TC _Recommended lists_, there are quite a few lists but not all are suitable for your present purposes. The ones that you need are:

1	Opera (watch out as this was updated)
2	Choral
3	Symphony
4	Orchestral
5	Keyboard Concerto
6	String Concerto
7	Wind Concerto
8	Solo instrument
9	Chamber Duo
10	Chamber Strings
11	Chamber Piano

There is also a list for harp concerto that you may wish to add. It has 10 items.

If you take the top 50 works (nb: the list for string concerto only goes to 30) you'll have 530/540 works. Place these lists in 11 columns in a spreadsheet and then apply a different colour to highlight each main type in terms of era: renaissance, baroque, classical, classical/romantic transition, 19th C romantic, impressionism, 20th C romantic, other 20th C.

A little bit of work like this should repay itself. I have done it and have found it useful in filling out some missing works in my collection, and I now have most of them (plus lots of others). You have to take the specific ranks in each list with a pinch of salt, but at least you know that the most important works are all included. You may not want the baroque works or whatever at this stage, but you can work around that to select what you do want to meet your present purposes.

If you need any help in categorising any of the works listed into their respective eras, there's plenty of willing people here to assist. It should keep you busy over Easter.


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

Genoveva said:


> I can see some merit in this approach, but I think you might finish up with a haphazard list and may be unsure about what to try out next.
> 
> A better procedure IMO would be to take a set of classical music recommendations that have already been worked on by the members here in the past. If you go to the TC _Recommended lists_, there are quite a few lists but not all are suitable for your present purposes. ...
> 
> If you need any help in categorising any of the works listed into their respective eras, there's plenty of willing people here to assist. It should keep you busy over Easter.


I agree with Genoveva's more systematic approach and the use of the Recommended Lists if you want to be thorough, although probably most of us have had an enjoyable time just discovering works haphazardly.

A while back I ran some polls to see which works were liked by the most people, and I've assembled the most-popular works in a chronology here: https://sites.google.com/site/nereffid/chronological-highlights/chronological-favourites

It's not fully comprehensive and certainly in no way definitive, but like the TC lists it's a reasonable "rough guide".


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## pjang23 (Oct 8, 2009)

Genoveva said:


> I can see some merit in this approach, but I think you might finish up with a haphazard list and may be unsure about what to try out next.
> 
> A better procedure IMO would be to take a set of classical music recommendations that have already been worked on by the members here in the past. If you go to the TC _Recommended lists_, there are quite a few lists but not all are suitable for your present purposes. The ones that you need are:
> 
> ...


*12 Art Songs*


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Art Rock said:


> Romantics for beginners:
> 
> Chopin: Nocturnes, Etudes, Ballades
> Mendelssohn: Symphony 3, Violin concerto, Octet
> ...


Working my way through some of these suggestions starting with Mendelssohn's symphony 3.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Robert Schuman was for me the epitome of Romanticism in music, in particular, the solo piano works such as the Fantasie in C and Kreisleriana.

This is music that simply sweeps you away with its feverish passion.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Mendelssohn's 3rd was amazing, I loved it! That is exactly the type of stuff I'm looking for.

I've of course heard and loved all of Chopin's Nocturnes and Waltzes. I'll check out some of his etudes!


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

I'm going back and forth between checking out new Classical and New Jazz. Right now I have M. Davis' - _Someday My Prince Will Come_. After that I'll put on Schumann's symphony 3!


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

Art Rock said:


> Romantics for beginners:
> 
> Chopin: Nocturnes, Etudes, Ballades
> Mendelssohn: Symphony 3, Violin concerto, Octet
> ...


This is an excellent list for this purpose. It is maybe just a little weighted towards Bruckner and Liszt and maybe it needs some Wagner and Verdi (somehow).


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## EdwardBast (Nov 25, 2013)

Captainnumber36 said:


> Mendelssohn's 3rd was amazing, I loved it! That is exactly the type of stuff I'm looking for.
> 
> I've of course heard and loved all of Chopin's Nocturnes and Waltzes. I'll check out some of his etudes!


Chopin recommendations: Third Piano Sonata, Ballades.
For Brahms, his chamber music is the center of his output. I'd recommend Piano Quartet No. 3, Piano Quintet, String Sextet no. 2.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Tchaikovsky is one I listen to more often. Symphony 5 if you like big emotions. My favourite version is Dutoit’s which is a rare version I have only as part of a box set. (Soon to become rarer?)


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## Room2201974 (Jan 23, 2018)

Captainnumber36 said:


> I've of course heard and loved all of Chopin's Nocturnes and Waltzes. I'll check out some of his etudes!


There are some of us who believe that the heart of Chopin can be found in the mazurkas. I'm currently working on learning Opus 6, No. 1, and I highly recommend this sub genre of his ouvre.


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## E Cristobal Poveda (Jul 12, 2017)

Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov are the most Romantic the Romantic era gets. (And also the best)


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