The Romantic era, lasting from 1820-1900, brought about all sorts of changes in music. Instead of pieces that showed off musical capability and dramatic elements, the romantic period was filled with stories. Every song, every performance had a story to be told through the music. The music was written to bring people to a different place, a different time, full of feelings of love and wonder. The piano, which had really started gaining popularity in the late 1700’s, was now the trademark instrument of the Romantic era.

     Franz Schubert’s career started in the Classical Era and brings us into the Romantic Era. Schubert was born in 1797, and his father put effort into making sure he was musically educated. He was sent to a school in Vienna where he sang in the choir. He had a very beautiful singing voice that gained the admiration of his peers. When he left, his going away present was his First Symphony in D Major. After that he did a little bit of teaching, although he didn’t enjoy it at all. He made little money having his music published and only did one public concert in memory of Beethoven’s death. His friends insisted he write an opera, since that seemed to be the popular thing for composers to try in that day. He tried, and failed. But he continued to write, and at such a great rate of speed that eight songs of his were dated October fifteenth and seven songs were dated October nineteenth (Shippen 135).

     Schubert had so many ideas for compositions, it was not even a bit of a struggle to write. He wrote hundreds of songs and finally started to make some money off of them. Schubert enjoyed writing duets for the piano, and brought the romantic era about with his Unfinished Symphony. He did not write very technical or difficult work, but his music sang with a romantic sweetness that was unforgettable. He made piano accompaniments more than just background music. He gave them equal importance as the voices singing along with the piano. Schubert died in 1828 at the young age of thirty-two. His songs were put on a shelf, until a year later when one of his great fans, Robert Schumann, decided to bring his music back to life.

     Robert Schumann was not known for having incredible music, but what he contributed to musical world was still great. At twenty years of age he decided music was to be his career. He spent many hours practicing piano and trying to strengthen a crippled finger that he had. Because of this crippled finger, he knew he wouldn’t be able to play famously. So he put his energy into composing music. He married the daughter of one of his instructors, Clara Wieck, who was a concert pianist. During the first year of their marriage he wrote many songs that reflected the joy and excitement of being in love. He took his inspiration from love and nature, and tried to reflect feelings of springtime through his symphonies. It is said that his music could “make tears rush to the eyes or stir the listener to outbursts of delight” (Shippen 143).

     Schumann saw that people had forgotten the recent composers Beethoven and Schubert, and this upset him greatly. He knew how marvelous their work was, and it seemed a shame that all that be wasted. He decided to write music reviews and publish them. He did this for almost ten years, and it helped people remember the great composers before, and helped them recognize new talent among them. Schumann always seemed to have fresh perspective and honest criticism. He was respected and loved by all that knew him, and it was he who helped bring about the recognition of Chopin, Mendelssohn, Wagner and Brahms.

     Brahms was the type of guy that didn’t really care to follow the latest fashion of society. While the romantic music was all the rage at this time, Brahms had a heart for the dramatic symphonies of Beethoven’s time. However, he had a hard time figuring out how to be original with that type of music. He didn’t want to copy Beethoven, and the fear of sounding like he was simply imitating caused him to wait until he was over forty to attempt his first symphony. The symphony gained so much respect that his name was automatically linked with Beethoven and Bach. He was very modest of his performances, but he still got much praise. Every symphony he wrote seemed to be better than the previous. He had written beyond what he would dare boast that he could, and he would be remembered for his modesty and magnificent talent.

     Felix Mendelssohn was a talented young man who had such an imagination that it did enchanting things for his music. His talent was discovered as a young boy, and it was at this young age that he found his true inspiration in an opera, filled with realistic effects made to sound like nature. This brought him to a different world of music. At the age of seventeen, he composed the music to the overture of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It took the audience away from reality and was possibly the greatest of his work, and at such a young age.

     His career in music took him to many countries to perform many concerts. He was a great pianist and conductor, but he had other successes as well. He founded the Conservatory of Music in Leipzig, and in no time it was one of the most refined schools of music in Europe (Shippen 149). However, probably one of the greatest things he did was bring back the music of Bach. He discovered his music as a young boy and was intrigued by it. So although Bach’s music had been criticized over the years for being too complex, Mendelssohn disagreed. He gathered a large choir to rehearse one of Bach’s choruses, and when the performance was put on, it was a complete hit. Thanks to Mendelssohn, people would never again forget the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.

     The name most closely linked to the piano in the romantic era would have to be Frederic Chopin. When he was a little boy, just the mention of music brought him to tears because he loved it so much. His parents found him a teacher and he learned very quickly. A well-known teacher by the name of Joseph Elsner spoke of Chopin as having “…amazing capabilities, musical genius”. Unlike most composers of the time, he devoted himself almost solely to compositions for the piano. He didn’t hold much interest in orchestra. He spent years teaching and though he was very demanding, his students loved him. He lived in Paris and there he made friends with Franz Litz, who played Chopin’s compositions in a way that even made Chopin envious. He wrote pieces full of suspense and grandeur, but did not like to give concerts. He preferred to play in his home for his friends. Chopin became ill later in his life, and though he continued to write some amazing compositions and perform for royalty, he had to quite teaching. He died in 1849 and the same Requiem by Mozart that was played at Haydn and Beethoven’s funerals, was played at his.

     Music in America was beginning to break away from the sounds of the romantic composers. The people were singing lighthearted, oftentimes humorous songs that anyone could sing. Tunes like “Dixie”, and “Oh! Susanna” were very popular. Minstrels often went about imitating the Negroes’ music, more for laughs than true appreciation of the music. They would put on shows dressed like slaves and sing tunes trying to sound like them. Composers were not very serious at this time. America was just having fun with the tunes everyone could appreciate and sing. Probably one of the only composers to be recognized nationally was Edward MacDowell from New York City. He taught and composed more seriously than most in America at the time, and was respected by everyone. He was head of the music department at Columbia University, and he died in 1908.