Romantic period

Emotional subjectivity

Expressive, personal style

Extremes in Romantic music

Louder louds, softer softs, faster/slower tempos, wider pitch range, very long or very short pieces

Nationalism (Romantic)

Use of folk songs, legends, and homeland history

Exoticism

Musical references to distant places or historical periods

Program music

Music associated with a story, poem, picture, or descriptive idea

Rubato

Performer's freedom to vary the tempo

Art song (Lied/Lieder)

Classical piece for solo voice and piano

Song cycle

Set of 8-20 songs intended to be performed in sequence

Piano cycle

Piano work consisting of 8-20 short movements

Virtuoso

A performer of extreme technical skill

Schubert (Austrian)

Known for songs and song cycles; influenced by folk music; wrote The Willow-King

Chopin (Polish)

Mostly piano solo music; lived in Paris; wrote Mazurkas, Waltzes, Nocturnes, Etudes, Preludes

Schumann (German)

Wrote song cycles and piano cycles; programmatic style; repetitive rhythms; sudden contrasts; Dichterliebe

Brahms (German)

Serious, deep, mellow style; wrote Violin Concerto

Tchaikovsky (Russian)

Famous for operas and ballets (e.g., The Nutcracker); great orchestrator; wrote 1812 Overture

Opera

A drama with orchestral music and singing throughout; invented around 1600 by Italian composers trying to revive Greek drama

Recitative

Speech-like singing in opera used to move the story forward

Aria

Song in an opera where the action stops and a character expresses emotions

Monteverdi (Italian)

Early opera composer; wrote Orfeo

Mozart (Austrian)

Mixed comic and serious elements; greater dramatic continuity; wrote Così fan tutte

Verdi (Italian, late 19th century)

Catchy melodies; strong emotional situations; more continuous musical flow; wrote Rigoletto

Puccini (Italian, late 19th-early 20th)

Verismo (realism); natural, believable drama; wrote La Bohème

Wagner (German, late 19th century)

Wrote 13 operas; large orchestras; extreme continuity; wrote his own librettos; famous for The Ring Cycle and Tristan und Isolde