Mapeh Unit 4 (Composers Of The Romantic Period)

• Richard Wagner (1813-1883) dominated the German music theater of the late nineteenth century, he is a poet-musician and was born in Leipzig and came from a theatrical family, was overwhelmed by Beethoven's music and decided to become a composer. He wrote many operas but most of them are German and he called his works Music Dramas rather than opera. He also believed that music and drama were of equal interest.
• Richard Wagner (1813-1883) had little formal education in music, he applied emotional effects in writing music to his dramas, he wrote his own librettos and one of his famous works is Tristan and Isolde, based on a medieval romance. His dramas often depended upon supernatural intervention, which dealt completely with human conditions.
• Richard Wagner (1813-1883) is considered a master of orchestration and his operas were on a large scale, sometimes took four or five hours to perform. His expressions involve more than spoken language.
• Leitmotifs unites texture of melodic fragments and chords. Each one represents a particular character, emotion, idea, event, or place.
• Wagner used leitmotif as an important compositional technique
• Franz Schubert (1797-1828) was a composer who connected the classical and romantic periods. He was born in Himmelpfortgrund, Austria. He was the fourth surviving son of Franz Theodor and Elisabeth Vietz. He and his siblings played string instruments and formed a string quartet where he played as violist
• Franz Schubert (1797-1828) also got foundations of music education from his father and his brother Ignaz. Continued music theory and organ playing under the instruction of the parish church organist. Also received music education under the famous composer Antonio Salieri, he is also a member. Then, latter instrument appointed him to be the concert master of an orchestra
• Franz Schubert (1797-1828) continued enhancing his musical gifts and wrote his earliest work, Fantasia for Piano Duet and it gave him motivation to write more compositions. He is also noted for the melody and harmony in his songs (lieder) and chamber music.