Classicism vs.

Romanticism

Olivia Hyun LimMozart’s Worlds Summer 2006 NEH Institute for Teachers

The philosophical trends

of a period in history certainly influence the literature of that time,

but they can also influence other forms of

art, such as

music.

Classical Music• A genre (or style) of music originating in Western Europe

• Contains distinct, stylistic periods

• Classical period: 18th - 19th c.

• Romantic period: 19th - 20th c.

Classicism (17th-18th c.) The Age of Reason/ Enlightenment• Reason governs nature and human nature• Reason is valued over imagination• People are basically good. A perfect society is possible but requires freedom.

• Social is valued over personal/individual

• Order, harmony, balance, and tradition• Influenced Classical period in classical music

Romanticism (18th-19th c.)• Rejection of idealization and rationality

• Emotion and intuition over reason, the senses over the intellect

• Individual is valued over society• Beauty and mystery of nature• Focus on human nature - the personality and its moods, passions, inner struggles

• The occult, the diseased, the satanic• Influenced the Romantic period in classical music

Music of the Classical PeriodExamples• Mozart’s Sonata No. 7 in C, K. 309

• Mozart’s Concerto Nr. 17 in G major

“A piece by Mozart contains not one note more or less than necessary to make it perfect.”

Features• Light, clear texture • Short melodies • Clear-cut phrases

• Attention to balance and proportion

• Importance of structure

• Development of the sonata form

Music of the Romantic Period

Examples• Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata

• Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18

Features• Powerful expression of

emotion - not only love, e.g. hate or death

• Rise of the virtuoso performer

• Larger orchestra, larger range of pitch, volume

• Richer harmonies, more use of chromaticism

• Interest in themes relating to far-off lands, dreams, nature, and the mysterious or supernatural

Discussion• Name a piece of literature we read that

reflected the Age of Reason (Classicism). What characteristics do the literature and Classical period music have in common?

• Name a piece of literature we read that reflected the Romanticism. What characteristics do the literature and Romantic period music have in common?

• What do you imagine art from the Age of Reason to look like? architecture?

• What do you imagine art from the Romantic period to look like? architecture?

Neoclassical Art

Neoclassical Architecture

Romantic Art

Romantic Architecture

Bibliography• NEH Mozart’s Worlds Summer Institute

• Los Angeles Opera Opera for Educators

seminars

• Prentice Hall Literature textbooks

• Urban Education Partnership (UEP) LA:

Humanities instructional materials

• www.en.utexas.edu/Classes/Moore/index.h

tm

• www.wikipedia.com