Download - Classicism vs. Romanticism Olivia Hyun Lim Mozart’s Worlds Summer 2006 NEH Institute for Teachers
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