Musical romanticism is a common characteristic. Musical art of the era of romanticism-presentation at the Moscow Art Theater

Music has taken a special place in the aesthetics of romanticism. It was declared a model and norm for all areas of art, since, due to its specificity, it is able to most fully express the movements of the soul.“Music begins when words end” (G. Heine).

Musical romanticism as a direction developed at the beginningXIXcentury and developed in close connection with various trends in literature, painting and theater. First stage musical romanticism is represented by the works of F. Schubert, E. T. A. Hoffmann, K. M. Weber, N. Paganini, G. Rossini; the next stage (1830-50s) - the work of F. Chopin, R. Schumann, F. Mendelssohn, G. Berlioz, F. Liszt, R. Wagner, J. Verdi. The Late Stage of Romanticism Extends to the EndXIXcentury. Thus, if in literature and painting the romantic direction basically completes its development by the middleXIXcenturies, the life of musical romanticism in Europe is much longer.

IN musical romanticism, just as in other forms of art and literature, the opposition of the world of beautiful, unattainable ideals and everyday life permeated with the spirit of philistinism and philistinism gave rise, on the one hand, to dramatic conflict, the dominance of tragic motives of loneliness, hopelessness, wandering, etc., with the other - the idealization and poeticization of the distant past, folk life, nature. In common with the state of mind of a person, nature in the works of romantics is usually colored with a sense of disharmony.

Like other romantics, the musicians were convinced that feelings are a deeper layer of the soul than the mind:"the mind is mistaken, feelings - never" (R. Schumann).

The special interest in the human personality inherent in romantic music was expressed in the predominance ofpersonal tone . The disclosure of personal drama often acquired a connotation among romantics.autobiography, who brought a special sincerity to the music. So, for example, many piano works Schumann are connected with the story of his love for Clara Wieck. Berlioz wrote the autobiographical "Fantastic" symphony. The autobiographical nature of his operas was strongly emphasized by Wagner.

Very often intertwined with the theme of "lyrical confession"nature theme .

The real discovery of romantic composers wasfantasy theme. Music for the first time learned to embody fabulous-fantastic images by purely musical means. In operasXVII - XVIIIcenturies "unearthly" characters (such as the Queen of the Night from Mozart's " magic flute”) spoke in the “generally accepted” musical language, standing out little from the background of real people. Romantic composers have learned to convey the fantasy world as something completely specific (with the help of unusual orchestral and harmonic colors). A striking example is the "Wolf Gulch Scene" in Weber's Magic Shooter.

If XVIIIcentury was the era of virtuoso improvisers of a universal type, equally skilled in singing, composing, playing various instruments, thenXIXthe century was a time of unprecedented enthusiasm for the art of virtuoso pianists (K. M. Weber, F. Mendelssohn, F. Chopin, F. Liszt, I. Brahms).

The era of romanticism completely changed the "musical geography of the world." Under the influence of the active awakening of the national self-consciousness of the peoples of Europe, young composer schools in Russia, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Norway advanced to the international musical arena. The composers of these countries, embodying the images of national literature, history, native nature, relied on intonations and rhythms of native folklore.

Highly characteristic of musical romanticism is the interest infolk art . Like the romantic poets who, at the expense of folklore, enriched and updated literary language, musicians widely turned to national folklore - folk songs, ballads, epics (F. Schubert, R. Schumann, F. Chopin, I. Brahms, B. Smetana, E. Grieg, etc.). Embodying the images of national literature, history, native nature, they relied on the intonations and rhythms of national folklore, reviving the old diatonic modes.Under the influence of folklore, the content of European music has changed dramatically.

New themes and images required the development of romanticsnew means of musical language and the principles of shaping, individualization of melody and the introduction of speech intonations, expansion of the timbre and harmonic palette of music (natural frets, colorful juxtapositions of major and minor, etc.).

Since the focus of romantics is no longer humanity as a whole, but a specific person with his unique feeling, respectivelyand in the means of expression, the general is increasingly giving way to the individual, individually unique. The proportion of generalized intonations in melody, commonly used chord progressions in harmony, and typical patterns in texture are decreasing - all these means are being individualized. In orchestration, the principle of ensemble groups gave way to the soloing of almost all orchestral voices.

The most important pointaesthetics musical romanticism wasthe idea of ​​art synthesis , which found its most vivid expression in the operatic work of Wagner and inprogram music Berlioz, Schumann, Liszt.

Musical Genres in the Works of Romantic Composers

In romantic music, three genre groups clearly emerge:

• genres that occupied a subordinate place in the art of classicism (primarily song and piano miniature);
• genres perceived by the romantics from the previous era (opera, oratorio, sonata-symphony cycle, overture);
• free, poetic genres (ballads, fantasies, rhapsodies, symphonic poems). Interest in them is explained by the desire of romantic composers for free self-expression, the gradual transformation of images.

Foreground in musical culture romanticism advocatessong as a genre most suitable for expressing the innermost thoughts of an artist (whereas in the professional work of composersXVIIIcentury, the lyrical song was assigned a modest role - it served mainly to fill leisure). Schubert, Schumann, Liszt, Brahms, Grieg and others worked in the field of song.

The typical romantic composer creates very directly, spontaneously, at the behest of his heart. Romantic comprehension of the world is not a consistent philosophical grasp of reality, but an instantaneous fixation of everything that touched the artist's soul. In this regard, in the era of romanticism, the genre flourishedminiatures (independent or combined with other miniatures in a cycle). This is not only a song and a romance, but also instrumental compositions -musical moments, impromptu, preludes, etudes, nocturnes, waltzes, mazurkas (in connection with the reliance on folk art).

Many romantic genres owe their origin to poetry, its poetic forms. Such are sonnets, songs without words, short stories, ballads.

One of the leading ideas of romantic aesthetics - the idea of ​​a synthesis of the arts - naturally placed the problem of opera in the center of attention. Almost all romantic composers turned to the operatic genre with rare exceptions (Brahms).

The personal, confidential tone of expression inherent in romanticism completely transforms the classical genres of the symphony, sonata, and quartet. They receivepsychological and lyrical-dramatic interpretation. The content of many romantic works is associated withprogramming (piano cycles Schumann, Liszt's Years of Wanderings, Berlioz's symphonies, Mendelssohn's overture).

French romanticism

An artistic movement that emerged in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. first in literature (Germany, Great Britain, other countries of Europe and America), then in music and other arts. The concept of "romanticism" comes from the epithet "romantic"; before the 18th century he pointed out some features of literary works written in Romance languages ​​(that is, not in the languages ​​of classical antiquity). These were romances (Spanish romance), as well as poems and novels about knights. In con. 18th century “romantic” is understood more broadly: not only as adventurous, entertaining, but also as ancient, original folk, distant, naive, fantastic, spiritually sublime, ghostly, as well as amazing, frightening. “Romantics romanticized everything that they liked from the recent and distant past,” wrote F. Blume. They perceive the work of Dante and W. Shakespeare, P. Calderon and M. Cervantes, J. S. Bach and J. W. Goethe as “their own”, much in antiquity; they are also attracted by the poetry of Dr. East and medieval minnesingers. Based on the features noted above, F. Schiller called his "Maid of Orleans" a "romantic tragedy", and in the images of Mignon and Harper he sees the romanticism of Goethe's "Years of Wilhelm Meister's Teachings".

Romanticism as literary term first appears in Novalis as musical term- E. T. A. Hoffmann. However, in its content it is not very different from the corresponding epithet. Romanticism was never a clearly defined program or style; This wide circle ideological and aesthetic trends, in which the historical situation, the country, the interests of the artist created certain accents, determined various goals and means. However, the romantic art of different formations also has important common features regarding both the ideological position and style.

Having inherited many of its progressive features from the Enlightenment, romanticism is at the same time associated with deep disappointment both in enlightenment itself and in the successes of the entire new civilization as a whole. For early romantics who did not yet know the results of the Great french revolution, disappointing was the general process of rationalizing life, its subordination to an average sober "reason" and soulless practicality. In the future, especially during the years of the Empire and the Restoration, the social meaning of the position of the romantics - their anti-bourgeoisness - became more and more clearly outlined. According to F. Engels, “the public and political institutions established by the victory of reason turned out to be an evil, bitterly disappointing caricature of the brilliant promises of the enlighteners” (Marx K. and Engels F., On Art, vol. 1, M., 1967, p. 387 ).

In the work of the Romantics, the renewal of the personality, the affirmation of its spiritual strength and beauty, is combined with the exposure of the realm of the philistines; full-fledged human, creative is opposed to mediocre, insignificant, mired in vanity, vanity, petty calculation. By the time of Hoffmann and J. Byron, V. Hugo and George Sand, H. Heine and R. Schumann, social criticism of the bourgeois world had become one of the main elements of romanticism. In search of sources of spiritual renewal, romantics often idealized the past, tried to inspire new life into religious myths. Thus, a contradiction was born between the general progressive orientation of romanticism and the conservative tendencies that arose in its own channel. In the work of romantic musicians, these trends did not play a noticeable role; they manifested themselves mainly in the literary and poetic motifs of some works, however, in the musical interpretation of such motifs, the living, real-human principle usually outweighed.

Musical romanticism, which manifested itself tangibly in the second decade of the 19th century, was a historically new phenomenon and, at the same time, revealed deep successive ties with musical classics. The work of outstanding composers of the previous time (including not only the Viennese classics, but also the music of the 16th and 17th centuries) served as a support for the cultivation of a high artistic rank. It was this kind of art that became the model for the romantics; according to Schumann, “only this pure source can nourish the forces of the new art” (“On Music and Musicians”, vol. 1, M., 1975, p. 140). And this is understandable: only the lofty and perfect could be successfully opposed to the musical idle talk of the secular salon, the spectacular virtuosity of the stage and opera stage, indifferent traditionalism of artisan musicians.

The musical classics of the post-Bach era served as the basis for musical romanticism in connection with their content. Starting with C. F. E. Bach, the element of feeling more and more freely manifested itself in it, music mastered new means that made it possible to express both the strength and subtlety of emotional life, lyricism in its individual version. These aspirations made many musicians in the second half of the 18th century related. with the Sturm und Drang literary movement. Hoffmann's attitude to K. V. Gluck, W. A. ​​Mozart, and especially to L. Beethoven, as artists of a romantic warehouse, was quite natural. Such assessments reflected not only the predilection for romantic perception, but also attention to the features of "pre-romanticism" that were actually inherent in the major composers of the second half of the 18th and early 19th centuries.

Musical romanticism was also historically prepared by the movement that preceded it for literary romanticism in Germany among the "Jenian" and "Heidelberg" romantics (W. G. Wackenroder, Novalis, brothers F. and A. Schlegel, L. Tieck, F. Schelling, L. Arnim, C. Brentano, and others), from the writer Jean Paul, who was close to them, later from Hoffmann, in Great Britain, from the poets of the so-called. The “lake school” (W. Wordsworth, S. T. Coleridge, and others) had already fully developed the general principles of romanticism, which were then interpreted and developed in music in their own way. In the future, musical romanticism was significantly influenced by such writers as Heine, Byron, Lamartine, Hugo, Mickiewicz and others.

The most important areas of creativity of romantic musicians include lyrics, fantasy, folk and national original, natural, characteristic.

The paramount importance of lyrics in the romantic. art, especially in music, was fundamentally substantiated by him. R. theorists. For them, “romantic” is primarily “musical” (the most honorable place was given in the hierarchy of art in music), because feeling reigns supreme in music, and therefore the work of a romantic artist finds its highest goal in it. Therefore, music is the lyrics. In the abstract philosophical aspect, according to the theory of lit. R., allows a person to merge with the "soul of the world", with the "universe"; in the aspect of concrete life, music by its nature is the antipode of prose. reality, it is the voice of the heart, capable of telling with the highest completeness about a person, his spiritual wealth, about his life and aspirations. That is why in the field of lyrics of muses. R. belongs to the brightest word. Lyricism, immediacy and expression, individualization of lyricism achieved by romantic musicians were new. statements, the transfer of psychological. the development of a feeling full of new precious details at all its stages.

Fiction as a contrast to prose. reality is akin to lyrics and often, especially in music, is intertwined with the latter. In itself, fantasy reveals different facets that are equally essential for R. It acts as freedom of the imagination, a free play of thought and feeling, and at the same time. as freedom of knowledge, boldly rushing into the world of "strange", wonderful, unknown, as if in defiance of philistine practicality, wretched "common sense". Fantasy is also a kind of romantic beauty. At the same time, science fiction makes it possible in an indirect form (and, therefore, with maximum artistic generalization) to collide the beautiful and the ugly, the good and the evil. In arts. R. made a great contribution to the development of this conflict.

The interest of romantics in life "outside" is inextricably linked with the general concept of such concepts as folk and national identity, natural, characteristic. It was a desire to recreate the authenticity, primacy, integrity lost in the surrounding reality; hence the interest in history, in folklore, the cult of nature, interpreted as primordial, as the most complete and undistorted embodiment of the "soul of the world." For a romantic, nature is a refuge from the troubles of civilization; it consoles and heals a restless person. Romantics made a huge contribution to knowledge, to art. revival of people poetry and music of past eras, as well as "distant" countries. According to T. Mann, R. is “a longing for the past and at the same time a realistic recognition of the right to originality for everything that has ever really existed with its own local color and atmosphere” (Coll. soch., v. 10 , M., 1961, p. 322), started in the UK in the 18th century. collection of national folklore was continued in the 19th century. W. Scott; in Germany, it was the romantics who first collected and made public the treasures of the bunk beds. creativity of their country (collection of L. Arnim and K. Brentano "The Magic Horn of a Boy", "Children's and Family Tales" by brother Grimm), which had great importance and for music. The desire for a faithful transmission of the national-nat. arts. style ("local color") - a common feature of romantic musicians from different countries and schools. The same can be said about music. landscape. Created in this area by composers 18 - early. 19th centuries far surpassed by the romantics. In the music the embodiment of nature, R. reached a previously unknown figurative concreteness; this was served by the newly discovered expresses. means of music, primarily harmonic and orchestral (G. Berlioz, F. Liszt, R. Wagner).

"Characteristic" attracted romantics in some cases as original, integral, original, in others - as strange, eccentric, caricatured. To notice the characteristic, to expose it means to break through the leveling gray veil of ordinary perception and touch the real, bizarrely colorful and seething life. In striving for this goal, a typical for romantics art-in lit. and music. portraiture. Such a claim was often associated with the artist's criticism and led to the creation of parodic and grotesque portraits. From Jean Paul and Hoffmann, the tendency to a characteristic portrait sketch is transmitted to Schumann and Wagner. In Russia, not without the influence of the romantic. music traditions. portraiture developed among composers nat. realistic. schools - from A. S. Dargomyzhsky to M. P. Mussorgsky and N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov.

R. developed elements of dialectics in the interpretation and display of the world, and in this respect was close to contemporary him. classical philosophy. In the suit, the understanding of the relationship between the individual and the general is enhanced. According to F. Schlegel, romantic. poetry is “universal”, it “contains everything poetic, from the greatest system of arts, which again includes entire systems, to a sigh, to a kiss, as they express themselves in the artless song of a child” (“Fr. Schlegels Jugendschriften”, hrsg von J. Minor, Bd 2, S. 220). Unlimited variety with hidden ext. unity - that's what romantics value, for example. in Don Quixote by Cervantes; F. Schlegel calls the motley fabric of this novel “the music of life” (ibid., p. 316). This is a novel with "open horizons" - notes A. Schlegel; according to his observation, Cervantes resorts to "endless variations", "as if he were a sophisticated musician" (A. W. Schlegel. Sämtliche Werke, hrsg. von E. Böcking, Bd 11, S. 413). Such art. position generates special attention as to the otd. impressions, and their connections, to the creation of a common concept. In music directly. the outpouring of feeling becomes philosophical, the landscape, dance, genre scene, portrait are imbued with lyricism and lead to generalizations. R. shows a special interest in the life process, in what N. Ya. Berkovsky calls the “direct flow of life” (“Romanticism in Germany”, Leningrad, 1973, p. 31); this also applies to music. It is typical for romantic musicians to strive for endless transformations of the original thought, for “endless” development.

Since R. saw in all claims a single meaning and a single chapter. the goal is to merge with the mysterious essence of life, the idea of ​​​​synthesis of arts acquired a new meaning. “The aesthetics of one art is the aesthetics of another; only the material is different,” notes Schumann (“On Music and Musicians”, vol. 1, M., 1975, p. 87). But the combination of "different materials" increases the impressive power of the artistic whole. In the deep and organic fusion of music with poetry, with theater, with painting, new possibilities opened up for art. In the field of instr. music, the principle of programmability acquires an important role, i.e., inclusion both in the composer's idea and in the process of perceiving music, lit. and other associations.

R. is especially widely represented in the music of Germany and Austria. At an early stage - the work of F. Schubert, E. T. A. Hoffmann, K. M. Weber, L. Spohr, G. Marschner; further by the Leipzig school, primarily by F. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy and R. Schumann; in the 2nd floor. 19th century - R. Wagner, I. Brahms, A. Bruckner, Hugo Wolf. In France, R. appeared already in the operas by A. Boildieu and F. Aubert, then in a much more developed and original form by Berlioz. Romantic in Italy tendencies were noticeably reflected in G. Rossini and G. Verdi. Common European value received the work of the Polish computer. F. Chopin, Hung. - F. Liszt, Italian. - N. Paganini (the work of Liszt and Paganini was also the pinnacle of romantic performance), German. - J. Meyerbeer.

Under the conditions of national R. schools retained much in common and at the same time showed a noticeable originality in ideas, plots, favorite genres, and also in style.

In the 30s. beings were found. disagreement between him. and French schools. There are different ideas about the permissible measure of stylistic. innovation; controversial was also the question of the admissibility of aesthetic. artist's compromises to please the tastes of the "crowd". The antagonist of Berlioz's innovation was Mendelssohn, who firmly defended the norms of a moderate "classic-romantic" style. Schumann, who ardently defended Berlioz and Liszt, nevertheless did not accept what seemed to him the extremes of the French. schools; he preferred the much more balanced Chopin to the author of the Fantastic Symphony, extremely highly placed Mendelssohn and A. Henselt, S. Heller, V. Taubert, W. S. Bennett and others close to this composer. Schumann criticizes Meyerbeer with extraordinary sharpness, seeing in his spectacular theatricality, only demagogy and the pursuit of success. Heine and Berlioz, on the contrary, appreciate the author's "Huguenots" dynamic. music dramaturgy. Wagner develops critical Schumann's motives, however, in his work he goes far from the norms of a moderate romantic. style; adhering (unlike Meyerbeer) to strict aesthetic criteria. selection, he follows the path of bold reforms. All R. 19th century as an opposition to the Leipzig school, the so-called. New German or Weimar school; Liszt became its center in his Weimar years (1849-61), R. Wagner, H. Bülow, P. Cornelius, J. Raff and others were adherents. The Weimarians were supporters of program music, music. dramas of the Wagnerian type, and other radically reformed types of new music. lawsuit. Since 1859, the ideas of the new German school have been represented by the "General German Ferein" and the journal created as early as 1834 by Schumann. "Neue Zeitschrift für Musik", Krym since 1844 was directed by K. F. Brendel. In the opposite camp, along with the critic E. Hanslik, the violinist and composer J. Joachim, and others, was J. Brahms; the latter did not strive for controversy and defended his principles only in creativity (in 1860, Brahms single-handedly put his signature under a polemical article - a collective speech against certain ideas of the "Weimarites", published in the Berlin magazine "Echo"). What critics were inclined to consider conservatism in the work of Brahms, in fact, was a living and original art, where the romantic. the tradition was updated, experiencing a new powerful influence of the classic. music of the past. The prospects of this path were shown by the development of Europe. music next. decades (M. Reger, S. Frank, S. I. Taneev and others). In the same measure, the insights of the “Weimarites” turned out to be promising. In the future, the disputes between the two schools historically become obsolete.

Since in the mainstream of R. there were successful searches for nat. authenticity, social and psychological. truthfulness, the ideals of this movement were closely intertwined with the ideology of realism. Such connections are evident, for example, in the operas of Verdi and Bizet. The same complex is typical for a number of nat. music schools in the 19th century In Russian romantic music. elements are clearly represented already by M. I. Glinka and A. S. Dargomyzhsky, in the 2nd half. 19th century - from the composers of The Mighty Handful and from P. I. Tchaikovsky, later from S. V. Rachmaninov, A. N. Scriabin, N. K. Medtner. Under the strong influence of R. young muses developed. cultures of Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Norway, Denmark, Finland (S. Moniuszko, B. Smetana, A. Dvorak, F. Erkel, K. Sinding, E. Grieg, N. Gade, E. Hartman, K. Nielsen, I Sibelius and others), as well as Spanish. music 2nd floor. 19 - beg. 20th century (I. Albeniz, E. Granados, M. de Falla).

Muses. R. actively contributed to the development of chamber vocal lyrics and opera. In accordance with R.'s ideals in wok reform. music ch. role is played by the deepening of the synthesis of art-in. Wok. the melody sensitively responds to the expressiveness of the poetic. words, becomes more detailed and individual. Tool the party loses the character of neutral "accompaniment" and is increasingly saturated with figurative content. In the work of Schubert, Schumann, Franz, Wolf, a path can be traced from a plot-developed song to “music. poem." Among wok. genres, the role of the ballad, monologue, scene, poem increases; songs in pl. cases are combined into cycles. In the romantic opera, which developed in dec. directions, the connection between music, words, theater is steadily increasing. actions. This purpose is served by: the system of muses. characteristics and leitmotifs, the development of speech intonations, the merging of the logic of music. and stage development, the use of rich opportunities symphonic. orchestra (the scores of Wagner belong to the highest achievements of operatic symphony).

In instr. music, romantic composers are especially prone to FP. miniature. A short play becomes a fixation of the moment, desirable for a romantic artist: a cursory sketch of a mood, a landscape, a characteristic image. It appreciates and relates. simplicity, closeness to the vital sources of music - to song, dance, the ability to capture a fresh, original flavor. Popular varieties of romantic. short piece: “song without words”, nocturne, prelude, waltz, mazurka, as well as pieces with program names. In instr. miniature achieves high content, relief imagery; with a compact form, it is distinguished by a bright expression. As in wok. lyrics, here there is a tendency to unite otd. plays in cycles (Chopin - Preludes, Schumann - "Children's Scenes", Liszt - "Years of Wanderings", etc.); in some cases, these are cycles of a "through" structure, where between the individual ones they are relatively independent. plays arise diff. sort of intonation. communications (Schumann - "Butterflies", "Carnival", "Kreisleriana"). Such "through" cycles already give some idea of ​​the main tendencies of romanticism. interpretation of a large instr. forms. On the one hand, it emphasizes the contrast, the diversity of the individual. episodes, on the other hand, the unity of the whole is strengthened. Under the sign of these tendencies, a new creativity is given. interpretation of the classic sonata and sonata cycle; the same aspirations determine the logic of one-part “free” forms, which usually combine the features of a sonata allegro, a sonata cycle, and variation. "Free" forms were especially convenient for program music. In their development, in the stabilization of the genre of the one-part “symphony. poems" Liszt's merit is great. The constructive principle underlying Liszt's poems - the free transformation of one theme (monothematism) - creates an expression. contrasts and at the same time ensures the maximum unity of the entire composition (Preludes, Tasso, etc.).

In the style of music R. the most important role is played by modal and harmonic means. The search for new expressiveness is associated with two parallel and often interrelated processes: with the strengthening of functional and dynamic. sides of harmonies and with amplification of the harmonic. colorfulness. The first of these processes was the increasing saturation of chords with alterations and dissonances, which aggravated their instability, increased the tension that required resolution in the future harmonics. movement. Such properties of harmony best expressed the “languor” typical of R., the stream of “infinitely” developing feelings, which was embodied with particular completeness in Wagner's “Tristan”. Colorful effects appeared already in the use of the possibilities of the major-minor modal system (Schubert). New, very diverse colors. shades were extracted from the so-called. natural modes, with the help of which Nar was emphasized. or archaic. the nature of the music; an important role - especially in science fiction - was assigned to frets with whole-tone and "tone-semitone" scales. Colorful properties were also found in a chromatically complicated, dissonant chord, and it was at this point that the processes noted above clearly touched. Fresh sound effects were also achieved through comparisons of chords or modes within diatonic. scale.

In the romantic melodic acted the following ch. tendencies: in the structure - the desire for breadth and continuity of development, and partly for the "openness" of the form; in rhythm - overcoming traditions. regularity metric. accents and any automatic repetition; into intonation. composition - detailing, filling with expressiveness not only the initial motives, but also the whole melodic. drawing. Wagner's ideal of "endless melody" included all of these trends. The art of the greatest melodists of the 19th century is also connected with them. Chopin and Tchaikovsky. Muses. R. greatly enriched, individualized the means of presentation (texture), making them one of the most important elements of the muses. imagery. The same applies to the use of instr. compositions, especially symphonic. orchestra. R. developed color. the means of the orchestra and the dramaturgy of the orc. development to a height that the music of previous eras did not know.

Late music. R. (late 19th - early 20th centuries) still gave "rich seedlings", and among its largest successors the romantic. tradition still expressed the ideas of the progressive, humanistic. claims (G. Mahler, R. Strauss, K. Debussy, A. N. Skryabin).

New creativity is associated with the strengthening and qualitative transformation of R.'s tendencies. achievements in music. Newly detailed imagery is being cultivated - both in the sphere of external impressions (impressionistic colorfulness) and in exquisitely subtle transmission of feelings (Debussy, Ravel, Scriabin). The possibilities of music are expanding. figurativeness (R. Strauss). Refinement, on the one hand, and increased expressiveness, on the other hand, create a wider scale of emotional expressiveness of music (Scriabin, Mahler). At the same time, in the late R., which was closely intertwined with the new trends at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. (impressionism, expressionism), the symptoms of the crisis were growing. In the beginning. 20th century R.'s evolution reveals a hypertrophy of the subjective principle, a gradual degeneration of refinement into amorphousness and immobility. A polemically sharp reaction to these crisis features was the muse. anti-romanticism of the 10-20s (I. F. Stravinsky, young S. S. Prokofiev, composers of the French "Six", etc.); late R. was opposed to the desire for objectivity in content, for clarity of form; arose new wave"classicism", the cult of the old masters, ch. arr. pre-Beethoven era. Mid 20th century showed, however, the viability of the most valuable traditions of R. Despite the destructive tendencies intensified in Western music, R. retained its spiritual basis and, enriched with new stylistic. elements, was developed by many. outstanding composers of the 20th century. (D. D. Shostakovich, Prokofiev, P. Hindemith, B. Britten, B. Bartok and others).

Literature: Asmus V., Musical Aesthetics of Philosophical Romanticism, "SM", 1934, No 1; Nef K., History of Western European Music, translated from French. Edited by B. V. Asafiev. Moscow, 1938. Sollertinsky I., Romanticism, its general and musical aesthetics, in his book: Historical etudes, L., 1956, vol. 1, 1963; Zhitomirsky D., Notes on Musical Romanticism (Chopin and Schumann), "SM", 1960, No 2; his own, Schumann and Romanticism, in his book: Robert Schumann, M., 1964; Vasina-Grossman V., Romantic song of the 19th century, M., 1966; Konen, V., History of Foreign Music, vol. 3, M., 1972; Mazel L., Problems of classical harmony, M., 1972 (ch. 9 - On the historical development of classical harmony in the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century); Skrebkov S., Artistic principles musical styles, M., 1973; Musical aesthetics of France in the 19th century. Comp. texts, intro. article and intro. essays by E. F. Bronfin, M., 1974 (Monuments of musical and aesthetic thought); Music of Austria and Germany of the 19th century, book. 1, M., 1975; Druskin M., History of foreign music, vol. 4, M., 1976.

D. V. Zhitomirsky

Ideological artistic direction, which developed in all countries of Europe and North. America in con. 18 - 1st floor. 19th centuries R. expressed the dissatisfaction of bourgeois society. changes, opposing itself to classicism and enlightenment. F. Engels noted that "... the social and political institutions established by the "victory of reason" turned out to be an evil, bitterly disappointing caricature of the brilliant promises of the enlighteners." Criticism of the new way of life, outlined in the mainstream of enlightenment among the sentimentalists, was even more evident among the romantics. The world seemed to them deliberately unreasonable, full of mysterious, incomprehensible and hostile people. personality. For romantics, high aspirations were incompatible with the outside world, and the discord with reality turned out to be almost the main one. feature R. Lowlands and vulgarity of the real world R. opposed religion, nature, history, fantastic. and exotic. spheres, adv. creativity, but most of all - the inner life of man. Representations about her R. extremely enriched. If antiquity was the ideal of classicism, then R. was guided by the art of the Middle Ages and modern times, considering A. Dante, W. Shakespeare, and J. W. Goethe as his predecessors. R. asserted art, not provided for by models, but created by the free will of the artist, embodying his inner world. Not accepting the surrounding reality, R. actually knew it deeper and more fully than classicism. the highest art for R. was music, as the embodiment of the free element of life. She achieved great success during that time. R. was also a period of unusually rapid and significant development of ballet. The first steps of a romantic ballets were made in England, Italy, Russia (Sh. Didlo, A. P. Glushkovsky and others). However, R. most fully and consistently took shape in French. ballet theater, whose influence was reflected in other countries. One of the prerequisites for this was the high development of classical technology in France at that time. dance, especially women's. Most clearly romantic. tendencies manifested themselves in the ballets of F. Taglioni ("La Sylphide", 1832, etc.), where the action usually unfolded in parallel in the real and fantastic worlds. Fantasy freed dance from the need for private everyday justifications, opened up scope for the use of the accumulated technique and its further development in order to reveal the essential properties of the characters depicted in the dance. In the female dance, which came to the fore in R.'s ballet, jumps were introduced more and more widely, dance on pointe shoes, etc., arose, which perfectly corresponded to the appearance unearthly creatures- Willis, sylph. In the ballet R. dominated the dance. New compositional forms of the classical dance, the role of unison corps de ballet female dance has sharply risen. Ensemble, duet and solo dancing. The role of the leading ballerina increased, starting with M. Taglioni. A tunic appeared as a permanent costume for a dancer. The role of music has increased, often before that of the national team. The symphony of dances began. actions. The pinnacle of romance. ballet - "Giselle" (1841), staged by J. Coralli and J. Perrot. The work of Perrault marked a new stage in ballet R. The performance now relied heavily on lit. the original source ("Esmeralda" according to Hugo, "Corsair" according to Byron, etc.), and accordingly, the dance was more dramatized, the role of effective compositions (pas d "action" increased), dance folklore was used more widely. Similar aspirations manifested themselves in the work of the most prominent dates Ballet dancer in August Bournonville Dancers F. Elsler, C. Grisi, F. Cerrito, L. Grand, E. I. Andreyanova, E. A. Sankovskaya came forward.

Romantic type. performance, established in the ballets of Taglioni, Perrot, Bournonville, continued to exist until the end. 19th century However, the internal structure of these performances, primarily in the work of ballets. M. I. Petipa, transformed.

The desire for a romantic revival. ballet in its original guise manifested itself in the work of some ballet masters of the 20th century. M. M. Fokin gave R. in the ballet new features of impressionism.

Ballet. Encyclopedia, SE, 1981

I Music (from the Greek musike, literally the art of the muses) is a type of art that reflects reality and affects a person through meaningful and specially organized sound sequences, consisting mainly of tones ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

- (Greek moysikn, from mousa muse) a type of suit that reflects reality and affects a person through sound sequences that are meaningful and specially organized in height and time, consisting mainly of tones ... ... Music Encyclopedia

Contents 1 Historical aspects 2 Literature 2.1 Origin 2.2 Realism ... Wikipedia

This term is based on the Greek ή μουσική (implying τέχνη art), that is, the art of the Muses (primarily the goddesses of singing and dancing). Later, it received a broader meaning from the Greeks, in the sense of the harmonious development of the spirit in general, and with us again ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

SPIRITUAL MUSIC- music. works of Christ. content not intended to be performed during worship. D. m. is often opposed to secular music, and in this sense, an extremely wide range of phenomena from liturgical music is sometimes referred to this area ... ... Orthodox Encyclopedia

The roots of N. m go back to ancient times. Archaeological data. studies indicate the existence of other germs. tribes of various kinds of spirits. tools (lurs), the manufacture of krykh dates back to the Bronze Age. Lit. and historical ... ... Music Encyclopedia

Features of the formation of muses. US culture, which began in con. 17th century, were largely determined by the colonial type of development of the country. Transferred to Amer. the ground of music the traditions of Europe, Africa, later Asia were assimilated and, interacting, ... ... Music Encyclopedia

The origins of R. m. go back to the work of the East. glory. tribes that inhabited the territory of Dr. Rus' before the emergence in the 9th century. the first Russian gos va. ABOUT ancient species east glory. music can be hypothetically judged by otd. historical evidence... ... Music Encyclopedia

The origins of F. m. go back to the folklore of the Celtic, Gallic and Frankish tribes who lived in ancient times on the territory of present-day France. Nar. song art, as well as Gallo-Roman culture, became the foundation for the development of F. m. Ancient lit. And… … Music Encyclopedia

At the end of XVIII - early XIX century, such an artistic direction as romanticism appeared. In this era, people dreamed of an ideal world and "flee" in fantasy. This style found its most vivid and figurative embodiment in music. Among the representatives of romanticism, such composers of the 19th century as Carl Weber,

Robert Schumann, Franz Schubert, Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner.

Franz Liszt

The future was born in the family of a cellist. His father taught him music from an early age. As a child, he sang in a choir and learned to play the organ. When Franz was 12 years old, his family moved to Paris so that the boy could study music. He was not admitted to the conservatory, however, since the age of 14 he has been composing sketches. Such 19th century as Berlioz, Paganini, had a great influence on him.

Paganini became Liszt's real idol, and he decided to hone his own piano skills. The concert activity of 1839-1847 was accompanied by a brilliant triumph. During these years, Ferenc created the famous collection of plays "Years of Wanderings". A virtuoso of piano playing and a favorite of the public has become a true embodiment of the era.

Franz Liszt composed music, wrote several books, taught, and conducted open lessons. Composers of the 19th century from all over Europe came to him. We can say that almost all his life he was engaged in music, because he worked for 60 years. To this day, his musical talent and skill are a role model for modern pianists.

Richard Wagner

The genius created music that could not leave anyone indifferent. She had both admirers and fierce opponents. Wagner was fascinated by the theater since childhood, and at the age of 15 he decided to create a tragedy with music. At the age of 16, he brought his compositions to Paris.

For 3 years he tried in vain to stage an opera, but no one wanted to deal with an unknown musician. Such popular composers 19th century, like Franz Liszt and Berlioz, whom he met in Paris, do not bring him luck. He is in poverty, and no one wants to support his musical ideas.

Having failed in France, the composer returns to Dresden, where he begins working as a conductor in the court theater. In 1848, he emigrated to Switzerland, because after participating in the uprising he was declared a criminal. Wagner was aware of the imperfection of bourgeois society and the dependent position of the artist.

In 1859, he sang love in the opera Tristan und Isolde. In Parsifal, universal brotherhood is presented in a utopian way. Evil is defeated, and justice and wisdom win. All the great composers of the 19th century were influenced by Wagner's music and learned from his work.

In the 19th century, a national composing and performing school was formed in Russia. There are two periods in Russian music: early romanticism and classic. The first includes such Russian composers of the 19th century as A. Varlamov, A. Verstovsky, A. Gurilev.

Mikhail Glinka

Mikhail Glinka founded a school of composers in our country. The Russian spirit is present in all of his famous operas such as "Ruslan and Lyudmila", "Life for the Tsar" are imbued with patriotism. Glinka summarized the characteristic features in folk music, using old tunes and rhythms of folk music. The composer was also an innovator in musical dramaturgy. His work is the rise of national culture.

Russian composers gave the world many works of genius which still win the hearts of people today. Among the brilliant Russian composers of the 19th century, such names as M. Balakirev, A. Glazunov, M. Mussorgsky, N. Rimsky-Korsakov, P. Tchaikovsky are immortalized.

Classical music vividly and sensually reflects the inner world of a person. Strict rationalism was replaced by the romance of the 19th century.

Romantic period

The Romantic period in music lasted roughly from the 1830s to the 1910s. To some extent, the word "romantic" is just a label, a concept that cannot be rigorously defined, as, indeed, many others. Many of the works mentioned in all the chapters of our book without exception can rightfully be called "romantic".

The main difference of this period from others is that the composers of that era paid more attention to the feelings and perception of music, trying to express emotional experiences with its help. In this they differ from the composers of the classical period, for whom the most important thing in music was the form and who tried to follow certain rules for constructing composition.

At the same time, elements of romanticism can be seen in some composers of the classical period, and elements of classicism can be seen in the composers of the romantic period. So everything we talked about above is not a hard and fast rule at all, but just general characteristics.

History did not stand still, and all people suddenly did not become romantics, who are only interested in their emotional experiences. This is the time of the birth of socialism, postal reform and the founding of the Salvation Army. At the same time, vitamins and radium were discovered, the Suez Canal was built; Daimler designed the first car, and the Wright brothers made the first flight. Marconi invented radio by successfully sending a wireless message a mile and a half away. Queen Victoria sat on the throne of Great Britain longer than any other English monarch. The gold rush prompted thousands of people to travel to America.

Flipping through our book, you will notice that this is the largest of all its chapters, in which no less than thirty-seven composers are mentioned. Many of them lived and worked simultaneously in different countries. Therefore, we have divided this chapter into three sections: "Early Romantics", "National Composers" and "Late Romantics".

As you probably already guessed, this division also does not claim to be absolutely accurate. Nevertheless, we hope that it will help to keep the narrative consistent, although not always in chronological order.

These are composers who have become a kind of bridge between the classical period and the period of late romanticism. Many of them worked at the same time as the "classics", and Mozart and Beethoven had a great influence on their work. At the same time, many of them made their personal contribution to the development of classical music.

Our first composer of the Romantic period was a real star of his time. During his performances, he demonstrated the wonders of violin virtuosity and performed incredible stunts. Like the virtuoso rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix, who was born one hundred and sixty years later, Niccolo Paganini invariably impressed the audience with his passionate performance.

Paganini could play the whole piece on two violin strings instead of four. Sometimes

he even deliberately made the strings break in the middle of the performance, after which he still brilliantly finished the work to the noisy applause of the public.

As a child, Paganini was engaged exclusively in music. However, his father even punished him for not exercising enough by not giving him food or water.

As an adult, Paganini played the violin so virtuoso that it was rumored that he had made a pact with the devil himself, since no mortal could play so magnificently. After the death of the musician, the church at first even refused to bury him on their own land.

Paganini, no doubt, himself understood all the benefits of his public speeches, stating:

"I'm ugly, but when women hear me play, they crawl to my feet."

The style and structure of musical compositions continued to evolve both in instrumental compositions and in opera. In Germany, the avant-garde of opera led Carl Maria von Weber, although he lived in years that many do not attribute to the romantic period.

It can be said that for the Webers, opera was a family affair, and Carl traveled extensively with his father's opera company as a child. His opera Free Shooter (Magic Shooter) entered the history of music due to the fact that folk motifs were used in it.

A little later you will learn that such a technique is considered characteristic feature romantic period.

Weber also wrote several clarinet concertos, for which he is largely known today.

Italy is the birthplace of opera, and in the face Gioacchino Antonio Rossini Italians were lucky to find a new hero of this genre. He wrote operas of both comic and tragic content with equal success.

Rossini was one of those composers who compose quickly, and it usually took him only a few weeks to write an opera. At the height of his fame, he once said:

"Give me the laundry bill and I'll set it to music."

They say that Barber of Seville Rossini composed in just thirteen days. Such a fast pace of work led to the fact that his new operas were constantly staged in all theaters in Italy. But he did not always treat the performers of his compositions favorably and once even spoke disparagingly about them:

“What a wonderful opera would be if there were no singers in it!”

But at the age of thirty-seven, Rossini suddenly stopped writing operas, and over the past almost four decades of his life from major works he created only Stabat mater.

Until now, it is not completely clear what he was guided by when making such a decision, however, by that time a considerable amount had accumulated in his bank account - royalties from productions.

In addition to music, Rossini had a passion for the culinary arts, and many more dishes are named after him than other composers. You can even arrange a whole dinner, which will include Rossini Salad, Rossini Omelet, and Rossini Tournedo. (Turnedos are strips of meat fried in breadcrumbs, served with pâté and truffles.)

Franz Schubert, who lived only thirty-one years, already by the age of seventeen had established himself as a talented composer. For my own long life in total he wrote more than six hundred songs, nine symphonies, eleven operas and about four hundred other works. In 1815 alone, he composed one hundred and forty-four songs, two masses, a symphony and a number of other works.

In 1823 he contracted syphilis, and five years later, in 1828, he died of typhoid fever. A year earlier, he attended the funeral of his idol Ludwig van Beethoven.

It is noteworthy that Schubert was one of the first major composers to become famous thanks to the performance of other people's works. He himself gave only one big concert in the year of his death, and even then he was overshadowed by the performance of Paganini, who came to Vienna at about the same time. So poor Schubert never got the respect he deserved during his lifetime.

One of Schubert's greatest mysteries is Symphony No. 8, known by the name Unfinished. He wrote only two parts of it, and then stopped working. No one knows why he did this, but this symphony is still one of his most popular works.

Hector Berlioz was born in the family of a doctor, so that he, unlike many other composers mentioned in our book, did not receive a full-fledged musical education.

At first, he decided to follow in his father's footsteps and become a doctor, for which he went to Paris, but there he began to spend more and more time at the opera. He eventually decided to pursue music, much to the chagrin of his parents.

The image of Berlioz may seem caricatured to people so far from writing

any composers are presented: very nervous and irritable, impulsive, with sharp mood swings and, of course, unusually romantic in relations with the opposite sex. Once he attacked his former lover with a gun in his hand and threatened to poison her; another he pursued, dressed in women's clothing.

But the main subject of Berlioz's romantic aspirations was the actress Harriet Smithson, who later suffered from a severe nervous breakdown - apparently, she owes them to a large extent to Berlioz himself. He first saw her in 1827, but he managed to meet her personally only in 1832. At first, Smithson rejected Berlioz, and he, wanting to achieve reciprocity, wrote fantastic symphony. In 1833, they nevertheless got married, but, as was to be expected, a few years later Berlioz fell in love with another woman.

As for music, Berlioz loved scope. Take, for example, his Requiem, written for a huge orchestra and choir, as well as four brass bands placed in each corner of the stage. Such a fondness for large forms did not contribute much to his posthumous fame. Performing his works in the form in which he conceived them can be very expensive, and sometimes even impossible. But such obstacles did not bother him at all, and he continued to compose music with all the passion that he was capable of. Once he said:

"Every composer is familiar with the pain and despair that comes from not having enough time to write down what he has come up with."

Any schoolboy reading this book should be envious of people like Felix Mendelsohn, to people who became famous in childhood.

As we see from numerous examples, this is far from uncommon in the world of classical music.

However, Mendelssohn succeeded not only in music; he was one of the few people who manage to achieve a good result in everything they take on - in painting, poetry, sports, languages.

It was not difficult for Mendelssohn to master all this.

Mendelssohn was lucky - he was born into a wealthy family and grew up in the creative atmosphere of the Berlin artistic circles. As a child, he met many talented artists and musicians who came to visit his parents.

Mendelssohn made his first public appearance at the age of nine, and by the time he was sixteen he had already composed String octet. A year later he wrote an overture to Shakespeare's play A dream in a summer night. But he created the rest of the music for this comedy only after seventeen years (including the famous Wedding March, which is still often performed at weddings).

Mendelssohn's personal life also developed successfully: over the years of a long and lasting marriage, he and his wife had five children.

He worked and traveled a lot, including in Scotland, about the inhabitants of which he spoke not too approvingly:

"... [they] produce nothing but whiskey, fog and bad weather."

But this did not stop him from writing two wonderful works dedicated to Scotland. Thirteen years after the first trip was over Scottish Symphony; the basis Overtures of the Hebrides Scottish melodies lay down. Mendelssohn was also connected with Great Britain by his oratorio Elijah, which was first staged in Birmingham in 1846. He even met Queen Victoria and gave music lessons to Prince Albert.

Mendelssohn died of a stroke in a relatively young age at thirty-eight. Of course, it can be said that he did not spare himself and overworked himself from excessive work, but to a large extent his death was hastened by the death of his beloved sister Fanny, who was also a talented musician.

Before us is another romantic to the marrow of bones. Wherein Frederic Chopin he was also distinguished by a passionate devotion to one instrument, and this is a great rarity for the composers mentioned in our book.

To say that Chopin loved the piano is an understatement. He admired it, he devoted his whole life to composing piano compositions and improving the techniques of playing it. It was as if there were no other instruments for him, except perhaps as an accompaniment in orchestral compositions.

Chopin was born in 1810 in Warsaw; his father was French by birth, and his mother was Polish. Frederick began to perform at the age of seven, and his first compositions date back to the same time. It must be said that his hallmark always had a focus on the future.

Subsequently, Chopin became famous in Paris, where he began to give music lessons to rich people, thanks to which he himself became rich. He always kept a close eye on his appearance and to keep his wardrobe up to date with the latest fashions.

As a composer, Chopin was methodical and meticulous. He never allowed himself to be careless, every work was perfected by him to perfection. Not surprisingly, composing music was a painful process for him.

In total, he composed one hundred and sixty-nine solo works for piano.

In Paris, Chopin fell in love with Amandine Aurora Lucile Dupin, a well-known French writer with a fancy name, better known under the pseudonym George Sand. She was a rather remarkable person: she could often be found on the streets of Paris walking around in men's clothes and smoking cigars, which she shocked the well-mannered public. The romance between Chopin and George Sand proceeded stormily and ended in a painful break.

Like some other composers of the Romantic period, Chopin did not live long - he died of tuberculosis at the age of thirty-nine, shortly after his break with George Sand.

Robert Schumann- another composer who lived a short and exciting life, although in his case everything was seasoned with a fair amount of madness. Nowadays works for piano, songs and chamber music by Schumann are known.

Schumann was a brilliant composer, but during his lifetime he was in the shadow of his wife Clara Schumann, brilliant pianist of the time. As a composer, she is less known, although she also wrote quite interesting music.

Robert Schumann himself could not perform as a pianist due to a hand injury, and it was hard for him to live next to a woman who became famous in this field.

The composer suffered from syphilis and a nervous breakdown; once he even tried to commit suicide by throwing himself into the Rhine. He was rescued and placed in a psychiatric hospital, where he died two years later.

Schumann treated art pragmatically. The following statement is known:

“To compose, you just need to come up with a melody that no one else has thought of.”

If Paganini can be called the king of violinists-performers, then among romantic pianists this title rightfully belongs to Franz Liszt. He was also engaged in teaching activities and tirelessly performed the works of other composers, especially Wagner, who will be discussed later.

Liszt's piano compositions are extremely difficult to perform, but he wrote according to his playing technique, knowing full well that no one would play them better than him.

In addition, Liszt transcribed to the piano the works of other composers: Beethoven, Berlioz, Rossini and Schubert. Under his fingers, they acquired a bizarre originality and began to sound in a new way. Considering that they were originally written for the orchestra, it remains to marvel at the skill of the musician, who reproduces them surprisingly accurately on a single instrument.

Liszt was a real star of his time; a hundred years before the invention of rock and roll, he led a life worthy of any rock musician, including various love affairs. Even the decision to take holy orders did not stop him from starting an affair.

Liszt also popularized performances with the piano and orchestra, a genre that continues to this day. He liked to catch the admiring glances of fans and listen to the enthusiastic cries of the audience watching his fingers fly over the keys. So he turned the piano so that the audience could follow the pianist's playing. Before that, they sat with their backs to the audience.

The general public knows Georges Bizet as the creator of the opera Carmen but the list published at the end of our book included another of his works, Au Fond du Temple Saint(also known as Duet of Nadir and Zurgi) from the opera Pearl Seekers. It has consistently been at the top of the charts since we began compiling the list of the most popular songs among Classic FM listeners in 1996.

Bizet is another child prodigy who has demonstrated his exceptional musical ability even in childhood. He wrote his first symphony at the age of seventeen. True, he also died early, at the age of thirty-six, adding to the list of untimely departed geniuses.

Despite his talent, Bizet never achieved real recognition during his lifetime. Opera pearl seekers was staged with mixed success, and the premiere Carmen and completely ended in failure - the fashionable public of that time did not accept it. Favored by critics and true connoisseurs of music Carmen conquered only after the death of the composer. Since then, it has been put in all the leading opera houses peace.

Here is another extremely vague definition. Not only all Romantic composers, but also, to some extent, many representatives of the Baroque and the Classical period can rightfully be called “Nationalists”.

Nevertheless, in this section we will list fourteen leading composers of the Romantic period, whose works are written in such a style that even listeners who are not very familiar with classical music can tell where this or that master comes from.

Sometimes these composers are classified as belonging to one or another national musical school, although this approach is not entirely correct.

Usually, when the word “school” is used, a classroom is presented in which children, under the guidance of a teacher, perform the same task.

If we talk about composers, they were united by one common direction, and they each followed their own path, trying to find their own, unique means of musical expression.

If Russian classical music has a founding father, then it is, without a doubt, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka. Nationalist musicians are distinguished precisely by the fact that they use folk melodies in their works. Glinka was introduced to Russian songs by his grandmother.

Unlike many other talented composers who are so often mentioned on the pages of our book, Glinka began to seriously study music at a relatively late age - in his early twenties. At first, he served as an official in the Ministry of Railways.

When Glinka decided to change his career, he went to Italy, where he performed as a pianist. It was there that he developed a deep love for opera. Returning home, he composed his first opera Life for the king. The public immediately recognized him as the best Russian contemporary composer. His second opera Ruslan and Ludmila, was not as successful, although it stood the test of time better.

Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin belongs to the composers who, in addition to music, were actively involved in other activities. As for Borodin, he began his career as a scientist - a chemist. His first composition was called “On the action of ethyl iodide on hydrobenzamide and amarin”, and of course you will never hear it on Classic FM, since it is scientific work that has nothing to do with music.

Borodin was the illegitimate son of a Georgian prince; He took over his love for music and interest in art in general from his mother, keeping them for life.

Due to constant employment, he managed to publish only about twenty works, which include symphonies, songs and chamber music.

Together with Mily Balakirev, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Caesar Cui And Modest Mussorgsky Borodin was a member of the Mighty Handful musical community. The success of all these composers is even more remarkable in that they all had other pursuits besides music.

In this they are distinctly different from most of the other composers mentioned in this book.

The most popular work of Borodin - Polovtsian dances from his opera Prince Igor. It should be mentioned that he himself never completed it (although he worked on it for seventeen years). The opera was completed by his friend Rimsky - Korsakov, about whom we will talk in more detail later.

According to our opinion, Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky was the most inventive and influential of the composers of the "Mighty Handful", although he, as an unusual person, did not escape one or two vices inherent in many representatives of creative professions.

Leaving the army, Mussorgsky got a job in the civil service. In his youth, he loved, as they say, to take a walk, he was distinguished by impressionability, and towards the end of his life he suffered from alcoholism. For this reason, he is often depicted with tousled hair and an unnaturally red nose.

Mussorgsky often did not finish his works, and his friends did it for him - sometimes not in the way he intended, so now we are not sure what the original intention of the author was. Orchestration of the opera Boris Godunov remade Rimsky-Korsakov, as well as the famous " musical picture» Night on Bald Mountain(used in the Disney movie Fantasy). Orchestration to Pictures from the exhibition wrote Maurice Ravel, and in this version they are known in our time.

Despite the fact that Mussorgsky came from a wealthy family and had great talent as a pianist and composer, he died at the age of only forty-two from alcoholism.

Parents Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov dreamed of their son serving in the navy, and he lived up to their expectations. But, having served for several years in the Navy and having made a number of sea ​​voyages, he became a composer and music teacher, which undoubtedly came as a surprise to his family. To tell the truth, Rimsky-Korsakov was always interested in music, and even began to compose Symphony No. 1, when his ship was moored in the industrial area of ​​Gravesend at the mouth of the Thames. This is probably one of the least romantic places to compose the music mentioned in this book.

In addition to the fact that Rimsky-Korsakov completed and revised some of Mussorgsky's compositions, he himself created fifteen operas on themes from Russian life, although the influence of exotic countries is also felt in his works. For example, Scheherazade based on the story from the Thousand and One Nights.

Rimsky-Korsakov was especially good at showing the beauty of the sound of the entire orchestra. He paid great attention to this in his teaching activities and thus influenced many Russian composers who worked after him, especially Stravinsky.

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky also used Russian folk melodies in his compositions, but, unlike other Russian national composers, he processed them in his own way, as, indeed, the musical heritage of all of Europe.

Tchaikovsky's personal life, shrouded in various secrets (there were widespread rumors about his homosexual inclinations), was not easy. He himself once said:

“It would really be something to go crazy if it weren’t for the music!”

As a child, he was impressionable, and as an adult, he was prone to bouts of melancholy and even depression. More than once he had thoughts of suicide. In his youth, he studied law and worked briefly in the Ministry of Justice, but soon left the service to devote himself entirely to music. At the age of thirty-seven, he unexpectedly married, but his marriage became a real torment for both himself and his wife. In the end, his wife ended up in a psychiatric hospital, where she died. Tchaikovsky himself also suffered for a long time from a breakup that occurred just two months after the wedding.

The early works of Tchaikovsky were not recognized by the general public, and this caused him a lot of suffering. Curiously, many of these works, including Concerto for violin and orchestra And Piano Concerto No. 1, in are currently very popular. Recording Piano Concerto No. 1 in general became the first recording of classical music to be awarded the status of "Golden Disc" for selling a million copies.

Tchaikovsky wrote ten operas, including Eugene Onegin, and music for ballets such as Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty And Swan Lake. Listening to this music, you immediately realize all the greatness of Tchaikovsky's talent, who was able to create an extremely harmonious and exciting melody. His ballets are still often staged on world stages and arouse the invariable admiration of the public. For the same reason, musical phrases from his symphonies and concertos are known even to those who are not familiar with classical music.

For years, Tchaikovsky enjoyed the favor of a wealthy widow named Nadezhda von Meck, who sent him large sums of money on the condition that they never meet in person. It is possible that in a personal meeting they would not recognize each other.

The circumstances of the composer's death are still not entirely clear. According to the official conclusion, Tchaikovsky died of cholera: he drank virus-infected water. But there is a version according to which he himself committed suicide, fearing that his homosexual relationships would be made public.

If Glinka is considered the father of Russian classical music, then the same role in Czech classical music is played by Bedrich Smetana.

Smetana has always been inspired by Czech folk culture and nature home country. This is especially felt in his cycle of symphonic poems. My motherland, which took Smetana eight years to write.

Currently, the most popular work of this cycle is Vltava, dedicated to one of the largest Czech rivers flowing through Prague.

Towards the end of his life, Bedřich Smetana fell seriously ill (presumably with syphilis), became deaf and lost his mind. He died at the age of sixty.

His music influenced the next composer on our list, Antonín Dvořák, whose compositions are recognized far beyond the Czech Republic.

Antonin Dvorak was a real Czech national hero who passionately loved his homeland. His countrymen reciprocated and adored him.

The works of Dvorak were widely promoted by Brahms (who will be discussed a little later). Gradually, the name of Dvorak was recognized all over the world. So, for example, he gained fans in England, where he performed at the invitation of the Royal Philharmonic Society, as well as at festivals in Birmingham and Leeds.

After that, Dvorak decided to go to the United States, where in the 1890s he was offered the position of conductor of the National Conservatory in New York, which he held for three years. Dvorak greatly missed his homeland, but did not cease to be interested in local music. Her impressions are reflected in his Symphonies No. 9, named From the New World.

Ultimately, Dvorak decided to return home and spent the last years of his life in Prague, teaching.

In addition to music, Dvorak was interested in trains and ships, and it was this passion of his that, apparently, contributed to his agreeing to visit the United States, although the large fee offered to him could also play a decisive role.

d Representatives of the national Czech music school also include Josef Suk, Leos Janacek And Boguslav Martin.

Norwegian Edvard Grieg belongs to the circle of composers who passionately loved their homeland. And the motherland responded to him in return. In Norway, his compositions are still extremely popular. But everything could have turned out differently, since the Grieg family was actually of Scottish origin - his great-great-grandfather emigrated to Scandinavia after the defeat in the battle with the British near Culloden.

Best of all, Grieg turned out works of small genres, such as Lyric plays for piano. But his most famous concert is Piano concert, with an impressive introduction, in which the sounds of the piano seem to rain down under the timpani tremolo.

d Representatives of the Scandinavian national music school also include Carl Nielsen And Johan Svendsen.

Despite the fact that in XIX century in Spain, too, wrote classical music, there lived not so many composers who achieved world fame. One of the exceptions is Isaac Albeniz, in his youth he was not distinguished by a complaisant disposition.

They say that Albeniz learned to play the piano at the age of one. Three years later, he performed in public, and at the age of eight he began to tour. By the age of fifteen, he managed to visit Argentina, Cuba, the USA and England.

Albeniz was especially successful in improvisation: he could come up with some kind of melody on the fly and immediately beat it in several versions. He also demonstrated the wonders of mastering the instrument - he played, standing with his back to him. To top it off, he dressed up as a musketeer every time, adding to the spectacle of his performances.

In adulthood, he settled down a bit and amazed the audience no longer with his outrageous behavior, but with his compositions. He is especially famous for his cycle of piano pieces. Iberia. Thanks to his success, this composer brought Spain out of the shadows and attracted the attention of the world musical community to it.

d Albéniz had a great influence on many other composers of the national school of Spain, including Pablo de Sarasate, Enrique Granados, Manuel de Falla And Heitora Villa - Lobosa(who was Brazilian).

Arthur Sullivan well known today. But history did not treat him fairly, because today far from the best of his works are remembered. In the 1870s he began to collaborate with the poet and librettist W. S. Gilbert. Together they wrote several comic operettas: Trial by Jury, Pirates of Penzance, Her Majesty's Frigate Pinafore, Princess Ida, The Mikado, Yeoman the Guard and others.

Despite the huge success of their joint work, the two authors did not get along very well with each other, and in the end, after violent quarrels, they stopped communicating altogether. These quarrels, however, were empty.

So, for example, one of them concerned a new carpet in London's Savoy Theater, where their operettas were usually staged.

Sullivan dreamed of becoming famous as a serious composer, but by now his works, which do not belong to the operetta genre, have been forgotten.

However, he wrote an opera Ivanhoe quite interesting Symphony in E minor and anthem "Forward, Christ's army!"- perhaps his most frequently performed work.

d Representatives of the English National School of Music also include Arnold Bucks, Hubert Parry, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Charles Villiers Stanford And George Butterworth.

The French analogue of the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas can be called the works Jacques Offenbach, a man who definitely had a sense of humour. He was born in Cologne and therefore sometimes signed as "O. from Cologne” (“O. de Cologne” sounds like “cologne”).

In 1858, Offenbach amazed the Parisians can-can from an operetta Orpheus in hell; to a refined public, such dances of the common people seemed wild and obscene, however, the operetta itself was considered scandalous.

By the way, if this name seems familiar to you, it is worth remembering that Peri, Monteverdi and Gluck wrote music for the myth of Orpheus in previous centuries. Offenbach's version was satirical, intended for entertainment, and therefore included very frivolous scenes. Nevertheless, despite the first impression, the public eventually fell in love with the operetta, so that Offenbach himself hardly had any reason to regret what he had written.

Serious opera is known among his other works. Tales of Hoffmann in which it sounds Barcarolle.

Leo Delibes was no less influential composer than Offenbach, although now only one of his operas is mostly remembered - Lakme, in which the famous flower duo, used in numerous television screensavers and commercials.

Among Delibes' acquaintances were such great musicians as Berlioz and Bizet, with whom he worked as director of the choir of the Lyric Theater in Paris.

d Representatives of the French national school of music also include Alexis - Emmanuel Chabrier, Charles Marie Widor, Joseph Kante - Lub And Jules Massenet, opera Thais which, including the intermezzo Reflections (Meditation), popular with many contemporary violinists.

Our last two national composers - romance - are father and son, although the age difference between them (twenty-one years) is not so great for history. Johann Strauss Senior considered the "father of the waltz". He was an excellent violinist and led an orchestra that performed throughout Europe and received solid money for this.

Nevertheless, the title of "king of the waltz" rightfully belongs to his son, who was also called Johann Strauss. His father did not want him to become a violinist, but the younger Johann devoted his life to music anyway and organized his own orchestra, which rivaled his father's. At younger Strauss had a good business acumen, thanks to which he managed to strengthen his financial position.

Total Johann Strauss - son wrote one hundred and sixty-eight waltzes, including the most popular of them - On the beautiful blue Danube. In the end, as many as six orchestras were named after the Strauss, one of which was led by Johann's brother, the younger Joseph, and the other by his other brother, Eduard (each of them composed about three hundred compositions).

Johann's waltzes and polkas were real hits in Viennese coffee houses, and his light and perky style became the standard of dance music throughout Europe.

Some classical music lovers still consider the Strauss' compositions to be too vulgar and frivolous. Do not believe them and do not succumb to their provocations! This family was able to write truly great works, uplifting and memorable for a long time immediately after the first listening.

Many of the composers of this period continued to write music well into the 20th century. However, we talk about them here, and not in the next chapter, for the reason that it was precisely the spirit of romanticism that was strong in their music.

It should be noted that some of them maintained close ties and even friendship with the composers mentioned in the subsections "Early Romantics" and "Nationalists".

In addition, it should be borne in mind that during this period so many excellent composers worked in different European countries that any division of them according to any principle would be entirely arbitrary. If in various literature devoted to the classical period and the baroque period, approximately the same time frame is mentioned, then the romantic period is defined differently everywhere. It seems that the boundary between the end of the romantic period and the beginning of the 20th century in music is very blurred.

The leading composer of 19th-century Italy was undoubtedly Giuseppe Verdi. This man with a thick mustache and eyebrows, looking at us with shining eyes, stood head and shoulders above all other opera composers.

All Verdi's compositions are literally overflowing with bright, memorable melodies. In total, he wrote twenty-six operas, most of which are regularly staged to this day. Among them are the most famous and most outstanding works of operatic art of all time.

Verdi's music was highly valued even during the composer's lifetime. at the premiere Hades The audience gave such a long standing ovation that the artists had to bow as many as thirty-two times.

Verdi was a rich man, but money could not save both wives and two children of the composer from the early death, so there were tragic moments in his life. He bequeathed his fortune to a shelter for old musicians built under his direction in Milan. Verdi himself considered the creation of a shelter, and not music, to be his greatest achievement.

Despite the fact that the name of Verdi is primarily associated with operas, speaking of him, it is impossible not to mention Requiem, which is considered one of the finest examples of choral music. It is full of drama, and some features of the opera slip through it.

Our next composer is by no means the most charming person. In general, this is the most scandalous and controversial figure of all those mentioned in our book. If we were to make a list based only on personality traits, then Richard Wagner would never hit it. However, we are guided solely by musical criteria, and the history of classical music is inconceivable without this man.

Wagner's talent is undeniable. From - under his pen came some of the most significant and impressive musical compositions for the entire period of romanticism - especially for opera. At the same time, he is spoken of as an anti-Semite, racist, red tape, the last deceiver and even a thief who does not hesitate to take everything he needs, and rude people without remorse. Wagner had an exaggerated self-esteem, and he believed that his genius elevated him above all other people.

Wagner is remembered for his operas. This composer took German opera to a whole new level, and although he was born at the same time as Verdi, his music was very different from the Italian compositions of that period.

One of Wagner's innovations was that each main character was given his own musical theme, which was repeated every time he began to play a significant role on stage.

Today it seems self-evident, but at that time this idea made a real revolution.

Wagner's greatest achievement was the cycle Ring of the Nibelung, consisting of four operas: Rhine Gold, Valkyrie, Siegfried And Death of gods. They are usually put on four nights in a row, and in total they last about fifteen hours. These operas alone would be enough to glorify their composer. Despite all the ambiguity of Wagner as a person, it should be recognized that he was an outstanding composer.

A distinctive feature of Wagner's operas is their duration. His last opera parsifal lasts over four hours.

Conductor David Randolph once said of her:

“This is the kind of opera that starts at six, and when you look at your wristwatch after three hours, it turns out that it shows 6:20.”

Life Anton Bruckner as a composer, this is a lesson in how to not give up and insist on your own. He practiced twelve hours a day, devoted all his time to work (he was an organist) and learned a lot in music on his own, finishing mastering writing skills by correspondence at a fairly mature age - at thirty-seven.

Today, Bruckner's symphonies are most often remembered, of which he wrote a total of nine pieces. At times he was seized by doubts about his viability as a musician, but he still achieved recognition, albeit towards the end of his life. After executing it Symphonies No. 1 critics finally praised the composer, who by that time had already turned forty-four years old.

Johannes Brahms not one of those composers who was born, so to speak, with a silver wand in his hand. By the time of his birth, the family had lost its former wealth and barely made ends meet. As a teenager, he made a living by playing in the brothels of his hometown of Hamburg. By the time Brahms became an adult, he, no doubt, got acquainted with far from the most attractive sides of life.

Brahms' music was promoted by his friend, Robert Schumann. After Schumann's death, Brahms became close to Clara Schumann and eventually even fell in love with her. It is not known exactly what kind of relationship they had, although the feeling for her probably played some role in his relations with other women - he did not give his heart to any of them.

As a person, Brahms was rather unrestrained and irritable, but his friends claimed that there was softness in him, although he did not always demonstrate it to those around him. One day, returning home from a party, he said:

“If I haven’t offended anyone, then I ask their forgiveness.”

Brahms would not have won the competition for the most fashionable and elegantly dressed composer. He terribly disliked buying new clothes and often wore the same baggy, patched trousers, almost always too short for him. During one performance, his trousers almost fell off. On another occasion he had to take off his tie and use it instead of a belt.

Brahms' musical style was greatly influenced by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, and some music historians even claim that he wrote in the spirit of classicism, by that time already out of fashion. At the same time, he also owns several new ideas. He was especially successful in developing small pieces of music and repeating them throughout the work - what composers call a "repeating motif".

Opera Brahms did not write, but he tried himself in almost all other genres of classical music. Therefore, he can be called one of the greatest composers mentioned in our book, a true giant of classical music. He himself said this about his work:

"It's not difficult to compose, but it's surprisingly difficult to throw extra notes under the table."

Max Bruch was born just five years after Brahms, and the latter would certainly have overshadowed him, if not for one work, Violin Concerto No. 1.

Bruch himself acknowledged this fact, stating with modesty unusual for many composers:

"Fifty years from now, Brahms will be called one of the greatest composers of all time, and I will be remembered for writing the Violin Concerto in G Minor."

And he turned out to be right. True, the Brujah himself has something to remember! He composed many other works - about two hundred in all - he has especially many works for choir and operas, which are rarely staged these days. His music is melodic, but he did not contribute anything particularly new to its development. Against his background, many other composers of that time seem to be real innovators.

In 1880, Bruch was appointed conductor of the Liverpool Royal Philharmonic Society, but returned to Berlin three years later. The musicians of the orchestra were not happy with him.

On the pages of our book, we have already met many musical prodigies, and Camille Saint-Sans occupies not the most among them last place. At the age of two, Saint-Saens was already picking up melodies on the piano, and he learned to read and write music at the same time. At the age of three he was playing plays own composition. At the age of ten, he perfectly performed Mozart and Beethoven. However, he became seriously interested in entomology (butterflies and insects), and later in other sciences, including geology, astronomy and philosophy. It seemed that such a talented child simply could not limit himself to one thing.

After graduating from the Paris Conservatory, Saint-Saens worked as an organist for many years. With age, he began to influence musical life France, and it was thanks to him that the music of such composers as J.S. Bach, Mozart, Handel and Gluck began to be performed more often.

Most famous essay Saint - Sansa - animal carnival, which the composer forbade performing during his lifetime. He was worried about how music critics, having heard this work, did not consider it too frivolous. After all, it's funny when the orchestra on stage portrays a lion, hens with a rooster, turtles, an elephant, a kangaroo, an aquarium with fish, birds, a donkey and a swan.

Saint-Saens wrote some of his other compositions for not-so-frequent combinations of instruments, including the famous "Organ" Symphony No. 3, sounded in the movie "Babe".

The music of Saint-Saens influenced the work of others French composers, including Gabriel Faure. This young man inherited the position of organist in the Parisian church of St. Magdalene, which was previously held by Saint-Saens.

And although Faure's talent cannot be compared with the talent of his teacher, he was a great pianist.

Fauré was a poor man and therefore worked hard, playing the organ, directing the choir and giving lessons. He was writing in free time, which remained very few, but despite this, he managed to publish more than two hundred and fifty of his works. Some of them were composed for a very long time: for example, work on Requiem lasted over twenty years.

In 1905, Fauré became the director of the Paris Conservatory, that is, the man on whom the development of French music of that time largely depended. Fifteen years later Faure retired. At the end of his life he suffered from hearing loss.

Today Faure is respected outside of France, although he is most appreciated there.

For fans of English music, the appearance of such a figure as Edward Elgar, it must have seemed like a real miracle. Many music historians call him the first significant English composer after Henry Purcell, who worked during the Baroque period, although a little earlier we mentioned Arthur Sullivan.

Elgar was very fond of England, especially his native Worcestershire, where he spent most of his life, finding inspiration in the fields of the Malvern Hills.

As a child, he was surrounded by music everywhere: his father owned a local music store and taught little Elgar to play various musical instruments. At the age of twelve, the boy was already replacing the organist at church services.

After working in a lawyer's office, Elgar decided to devote himself to a much less financially secure occupation. For some time he worked part-time, giving violin and piano lessons, playing in local orchestras and even conducting a little.

Gradually, Elgar's fame as a composer grew, although he had to struggle to make his way outside his native county. Fame brought him Variations on an original theme, which are now better known as Enigma variations.

Now Elgar's music is perceived as very English and sounds during the biggest events of the national scale. At the first sounds of it Cello Concerto the English countryside appears immediately. Nimrod from Variations often played at official ceremonies, and Solemn and ceremonial march No. 1, known as Land of hope and glory performed at proms all over the UK.

Elgar was a family man and loved a quiet, orderly life. Nevertheless, he left his mark on history. This composer with a thick lush mustache can be immediately noticed on the twenty-pound banknote. Obviously, banknote designers found that such facial hair would be very difficult to fake.

In Italy, Giuseppe Verdi's successor in operatic art was Giacomo Puccini, considered one of the recognized world masters of this art form.

The Puccini family has long been associated with church music but when Giacomo first heard opera Aida Verdi, he realized that this was his calling.

After studying in Milan, Puccini composes an opera Manon Lesko, which brought him his first great success in 1893. After that, one successful production followed another: Bohemia in 1896, Yearning in 1900 and Madama Butterfly in 1904.

In total, Puccini composed twelve operas, the last of which was Turandot. He died without completing this composition, and another composer completed the work. At the opera's premiere, conductor Arturo Toscanini stopped the orchestra exactly where Puccini had left off. He turned to the audience and said:

"Here death has triumphed over art."

With the death of Puccini, the heyday of the operatic art of Italy ended. Our book will no longer mention Italian opera composers. But who knows what the future holds for us?

In life Gustav Mahler He was better known as a conductor than as a composer. He conducted in the winter, and in the summer, as a rule, he preferred to write.

As a child, Mahler is said to have found a piano in the attic of his grandmother's house. Four years later, at the age of ten, he already gave his first performance.

Mahler studied at the Vienna Conservatory, where he began composing music. In 1897 he became director of the Vienna State Opera and over the next ten years he gained considerable fame in this field.

He himself began to write three operas, but never finished them. In our time, he is best known as a composer of symphonies. In this genre, he owns one of the real "hits" - Symphony No. 8, in the performance of which more than a thousand musicians and singers are involved.

After Mahler's death, his music went out of fashion for fifty years, but in the second half of the 20th century it regained popularity, especially in Great Britain and the USA.

Richard Strauss was born in Germany and did not belong to the Viennese Strauss dynasty. Despite the fact that this composer lived almost the entire first half of the 20th century, he is still considered a representative of German musical romanticism.

The worldwide popularity of Richard Strauss suffered somewhat from the fact that he decided to stay in Germany after 1939, and after the Second World War he was completely accused of collaborating with the Nazis.

Strauss was an excellent conductor, thanks to which he perfectly understood how this or that instrument in the orchestra should sound. He often applied this knowledge in practice. He also gave various advice to other composers, such as:

"Never look at trombones, you only encourage them."

“Don't sweat while performing; only the listeners should get hot.”

Today, Strauss is remembered primarily in connection with his composition Thus spoke Zarathustra, the intro to which Stanley Kubrick used in his film 2001: A Space Odyssey. But he also wrote some of the best German operas, among them - Rosenkavalier, Salome And Ariadne on Naxos. A year before his death, he also composed very beautiful Four last songs for voice and orchestra. Actually, these were not the last songs of Strauss, but they became a kind of finale of his creative activity.

Until now, among the composers mentioned in this book, there was only one representative of Scandinavia - Edvard Grieg. But now we are again transported to this harsh and cold land - this time to Finland, where Jean Sibelius, great musical genius.

The music of Sibelius absorbed the myths and legends of his homeland. His greatest work Finland, is considered the embodiment of the national spirit of the Finns, just as in the UK the works of Elgar are recognized as a national treasure. In addition, Sibelius, like Mahler, was a true master of symphonies.

As for the composer's other passions, in his daily life he was excessively fond of drinking and smoking, so that at the age of forty-odd years he fell ill with throat cancer. He also often lacked money, and the state gave him a pension so that he could continue writing music without worrying about his financial well-being. But more than twenty years before his death, Sibelius stopped composing anything at all. He lived the rest of his life in relative solitude. He was especially harsh about those who received money for reviews of his music:

“Don't pay attention to what the critics say. So far, not a single critic has been given a statue.”

The last one on our list of Romantic composers also lived until almost the middle of the 20th century, although he wrote most of his most famous works in the 1900s. And yet he is ranked among the romantics, and it seems to us that this is the most romantic composer from the whole group.

Sergei Vasilyevich Rahmaninov was born into a noble family, which by that time had spent a lot of money. He developed an interest in music as early as early childhood, and his parents sent him to study, first in St. Petersburg, and then in Moscow.

Rachmaninov was a surprisingly talented pianist, and he also turned out to be a wonderful composer.

Mine Piano Concerto No. 1 he wrote at nineteen. He also found time for his first opera, Aleko.

But this great musician, as a rule, was not particularly satisfied with life. In many of the photographs, we see an angry, frowning man. Another Russian composer, Igor Stravinsky, once remarked:

“The immortal essence of Rachmaninoff was his frown. He was six and a half feet of frown... he was a fearsome man."

When the young Rachmaninoff played for Tchaikovsky, he was so delighted that he put a five with four pluses on the sheet of his score - the highest mark in the history of the Moscow Conservatory. Soon the whole city started talking about the young talent.

Nevertheless, fate remained unfavorable to the musician for a long time.

Critics were very harsh on him. Symphonies No. 1, whose premiere ended in failure. This gave Rachmaninov severe emotional experiences, he lost faith in his own strength and could not compose anything at all.

In the end, only the help of an experienced psychiatrist Nikolai Dahl allowed him to get out of the crisis. By 1901, Rachmaninoff had completed the piano concerto, which he had worked hard for many years and dedicated to Dr. Dahl. This time, the audience greeted the composer's work with delight. Since then Piano Concerto No. 2 became a favorite a classic performed by various musical groups Worldwide.

Rachmaninoff began touring Europe and the USA. Returning to Russia, he conducted and composed.

After the 1917 revolution, Rachmaninov and his family went to concerts in Scandinavia. He never returned home. Instead, he moved to Switzerland, where he bought a house on the shores of Lake Lucerne. He always loved water bodies and now, when he became a fairly rich man, he could afford to relax on the shore and admire the opening landscape.

Rachmaninoff was an excellent conductor and always gave the following advice to those who wanted to excel in this field:

“A good conductor must be a good driver. Both need the same qualities: concentration, continuous intense attention and presence of mind. The conductor only needs to know the music a little…”

In 1935 Rachmaninoff decided to settle in the USA. He first lived in New York, and then moved to Los Angeles. There he began to build for himself new house, completely identical to what he left in Moscow.

With age, Rachmaninoff conducted less and less and almost completely stopped composing music. He reached the pinnacle of his fame as an excellent pianist.

Despite the homesickness, Rachmaninov liked the USA. He was proud of his huge Cadillac and would often invite guests for a car ride just to show off his car.

Shortly before his death, Rachmaninoff received US citizenship. In this country he was buried.

We have paid much more attention to the Romantic period in our book than to all other periods of classical music.

In this era, so many interesting things happened in various countries that it is simply impossible to tell about everything in a small article. Classical music has changed a lot, as has its sound, which has become thanks to great symphony orchestras richer and more intense. In many ways, the works of Rachmaninoff are the perfect example of this sound. If we compare it with Beethoven, it becomes clear how grandiose the changes were.

But no matter how significant these same changes that took place in the world of music during about eighty years of the Romantic period, they cannot be compared with what happened later. And in the future, the music became even more diverse and unusual - which, according to our opinion, did not always go in its favor.