The Romantic Period

Select all that apply Select all the non-musical terms that illustrate how Schumann thought of his music.

Autobiographical Emotional Literary

Listen to the audio clip. Which aria is sung in this excerpt from Bizet's Carmen? 00:20 secs

Habañera

Which of the following best describes the music of Johannes Brahms?

Personal but rooted in tradition of classical composers

To display his mastery at the piano, Liszt composed the ______ études.

Transcendental

Listen to the audio clip. What vocal section of romantic opera is demonstrated by this musical selection from Verdi's Rigoletto? 00:40 secs

Aria

The music of Dvořák is most strongly inspired by which of the following?

Bohemian folksong and dance

Which instrument family did Wagner favor in his operas?

Brasses

Giuseppe Verdi's initial musical studies were in which city?

Busseto

Listen to the audio clip. How does Chopin connect the widely spaced notes of the accompaniment in this passage? 00:22 secs

By using the damper pedal

Tchaikovsky started his career as a ______.

Clerk

Which subject was most commonly explored by romantic composers?

Feelings

What is the type of romantic music specifically designed to be performed during a play?

Incidental music

Which features characterized the use of harmony and chord progressions in romantic-era music?

Instability and delayed resolution

Which of the following best describes the use of tempo in romantic-era music in comparison to the music that came before it?

More variation

Listen to the audio clip. (It is one of several clips from Puccini's La Bohème you will encounter.) What is the term for the type of vocal line in romantic opera heard in the selection? 00:28 secs

Recitative

Select all that apply Select all the examples of romantic-era song cycles.

Schubert's Winterreise (Winter's Journey) Scumann's Dicterliebe (Poet's Love)

Which composer personally encouraged Brahms and praised him in a magazine article?

Schumann

Listen to the audio clip. How does Mendelssohn Hensel introduce the B section of the String Quartet in E-Flat Major? 00:17 secs

The viola plays a solo melody that is imitated in succession by the other strings.

Select all that apply Select all the statements that describe composers in the Romantic era.

They emphasized a unique personal style in their compositions. They created music to reflect their own feelings.

Which set of the following dynamic symbols became more widely used in the romantic era?

ffff and pppp

In Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, the single melody used to represent the beloved is called the ______,

idée fixe

The short musical idea Wagner associated with a character, object, or idea in his operas is called a(n) ______.

leitmotif

When Hector Berlioz was a young adult, his father sent him to Paris to study ______.

medicine

Music that reflects a specific national identity is called musical ______.

nationalism

As a child and teenager, Clara Wieck Schumann was known primarily as a child prodigy as a ______.

pianist

To achieve a more expressive tone color in the romantic era, an orchestra might include up to how many musicians?

100

At what age did Mendelssohn compose his Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream?

17

At what age did Schubert write his first great song?

17

Approximately how many musical works did Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel compose in her lifetime?

450

Who was Tchaikovsky wealthy benefactress?

Nadezhda von Meck

What physical ailment complicated Schumann's desire to become a piano virtuoso at a young age?

He had a permanently disabled finger.

Which of the following is true about Chopin's use of harmony?

It was unique and influenced later composers.

Although program music can be enjoyed without knowing its title or program, it is often more enjoyable when we can relate it to which of the following?

Literary or pictorial ideas

Which prestigious award did Berlioz win in 1830, which subsidized two years of musical study?

Prix de Rome

Which composition reflects the romantic spirit of exoticism as reflected in music?

Scheherezade by Rimsky-Korsakov

Select all that apply Select all the events that occurred in Clara Schumann's life.

She married Robert Schumann, contrary to her father's wishes. She met violinist Joseph Joachim, with whom she performed chamber concerts. She met composer Johannes Brahms, whose compositions she would later perform.

Select all that apply Select all the descriptions that characterize the instrumental works of Schubert.

Song-inspired Powerful and intense Long, lyrical melodies

Listen to the audio clip. What technical ability is developed in Chopin's Revolutionary Etude in C Minor and demonstrated here? 00:12 secs

Speed in the pianist's left hand

After 1840, Schumann composed four works in which genre?

Symphonies

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the statements that apply to this section of Wieck Schumann's Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano. 00:17 secs

The cello plays the main melody. The violin plays the countermelody.

What features of the romantic era led to the rise of the "free artist"?

The decline of private opera houses, orchestras, and other aristocratic support systems

Listen to the audio clip. (It is one of several clips from Schubert's The Erlking you will encounter.) In this particular audio clip, which character is depicted? 00:27 secs

The evil Erlking

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the musical changes that occur in Variation 4 of the Trout Quintet by Schubert.

The mood shifts from softer and lyrical, to dramatic and louder. There is a sudden dynamic change to fortissimo (very loud). The key changes from major to minor.

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the musical characteristics of the second theme in the first movement of Mendelssohn's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in E Minor. 00:26 secs

The music is pianissimo (very soft). The upper woodwinds begin the second theme. The mood is tranquil and lyrical.

Select all that apply Select all the statements about the piano accompaniment in an art song.

The piano adds depth and dimension to the text. The piano assists in interpreting the poem or text of the lied.

Listen to the audio clip. What visual image is depicted by the piano's ascending figures? 00:21 secs

The piano figure depicts the twists and leaps of a trout.

Select all that apply Select all the ways in which public interest in writing and performing music increased in the romantic era.

The public bought transcriptions of operas and orchestral works to study and perform. Middle-class families began to keep pianos in their homes. Young composers and performers began to attend music conservatories.v

Select all that apply Select all the statements about the second movement of Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique.

The second movement depicts a lively, grand ball. The form is ABA with a coda.

Select all that apply Select all the common motivations that romantic composers had for writing music.

To leave a musical legacy. To sell works to performing societies.

A melody that returns altered in a different section of a romantic composition is called thematic ______.

transformation

What is an idée fixe?

A single melody used in every movement by Berlioz to represent the beloved

What piece did Mendelssohn conduct that led to a historical revival of the composer's music?

Bach's St. Matthew's Passion

Which statement best describes the attitude of Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel's family toward her musical aspirations when she was a teenager?

Both her father and her brother discouraged her from pursuing music as a career.

Listen to the audio clip. How does Mendelssohn Hensel create contrast between the high and low strings in this section?

Both low and high strings alternate between bowed and pizzicato string sounds.

Select all that apply Select all the elements that contributed to Berlioz's unique sound.

Changes in tempo Fluctuating dynamics Abrupt contrasts

Listen to the audio clip. Identify the composer and title of the work. 00:39

Chopin's Polonaise in A Flat Major

Romantic composers used which type of harmony to create exciting color and motion through expanded dissonance?

Chromatic

In the 1860s, for what profession did Liszt travel to Rome?

Church composer

Listen to the audio clip. Which section of the third movement of Wieck Schumann's Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano is represented here? 00:22 secs

Coda

Select all that apply Select all the characteristics of Mendelssohn's personality that are reflected in his music.

Elegance Balance

Listen to the audio clip. In this clip from Schumann's Warum?, which of his musical personalities is represented? 00:15secs

Eusebius

Which of the following is the best description of a romantic-era melody?

Expressive and song-like

What technique does Berlioz use to emphasize the fact that there is no response to the English horn line at the end of the third movement of the Symphonie fantastique?

A faint timpani roll

Listen to the audio clip. (It is one of several clips from Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy you will encounter.) In this particular audio clip, which program theme is represented? 00:27 secs

Funeral march

Listen to the audio clip. Which theme is heard in this passage from The Great Gate of Kiev? 00:10 secs

Promenade

What prize did Georges Bizet win for his compositional excellence at age nineteen?

Rome Prize

Listen to the audio clip. (It is one of several clips from Wagner's Die Walkure you will encounter.) Which leitmotif is heard in this selection? 00:16 secs

Sword

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the melodies that are combined in the concluding fuguelike section of the fifth movement of Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique. 00:19 secs

The Dies irae The rapid witches' dance

Select all that apply Select all the statements about the third movement of Symphonie Fantastique.

The form is ABA with a coda. The third movement depicts a peaceful, pastoral scene.

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the ways that the B section, heard in this passage from Brahms's Symphony No. 3, contrasts with the A section. 00:23 secs

The key is major. The rhythm is a playful waltz. The melody is played by the woodwinds.

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the musical characteristics of the first theme in Dvorak's Symphony No. 9, as heard in this passage. 00:11 secs

The mood is quick and dancelike. The key is minor. The theme has an arpeggio figure.

Listen to the audio clip. Which theme is the flute playing in this example from Symphony No. 9, From the New World? 00:18 secs

The theme inspired by the spiritual Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.

Listen to the audio clip. Which statement best describes the interaction between the orchestra and the chorus in this passage from A German Requiem? 00:20 secs

The voice part imitates the string melody.

Select all that apply Select all the forms in which the idée fixe appears in the second movement of the Symphonie fantastique.

As a solo clarinet line. As a waltz with oom-pah-pah accompaniment

Select all that apply Select all the styles of American music in which Dvořák was interested.

Black American spirituals. Native American melodies

How does Berlioz create the feeling of being at a ball in the second movement of the Symphonie fantastique?

By giving the music a waltzlike atmosphere to represent dancing

Select all that apply Select all the new types of dramatic works Berlioz invented in his pieces.

Dramatic legend Dramatic symphony

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the ways in which Verdi creates a polyphonic texture in this passage from the "Quartet" section of Rigoletto.

Emotions are conveyed through varying rhythmic lines such as legato, quick and intense, etc. Each voice sings a different melody.

Select all that apply Select all the instruments that open the introduction of the third movement of Symphonie fantastique, the first time these instruments had been used to open a symphony movement together.

English horn Oboe

Select all that apply Select all the characteristics of most nineteenth-century nationalistic music that made the trend popular.

It was a celebration of cultural identity. It was often based on folkloric themes. It was a symbol of liberation from oppression.

What was the name of the play for which Bizet composed the music that he later turned into an orchestral suite?

L'Arlésienne

Listen to the audio clip. What rhythmic pattern can be heard in this passage from the aria "La donna e mobile" from Rigoletto? 00:40 secs

Long-long-long-long-short-long

Listen to the audio clip. (It is one of several clips from Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy you will encounter.) In this particular audio clip, which program theme is represented? 00:24 secs

Love

Listen to the audio clip. (It is one of several clips from Wagner's Die Walkure you will encounter.) Which leitmotif is heard in this selection?

Love

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the techniques used by Brahms to create variety and contrast in the third movement of Symphony No. 3 in F Major.

Melody in different tone colors. Melody in a higher octave.

What was the nineteenth-century musical movement that featured distinctive cultural and political themes that were often based on regional folk songs and dance melodies?

Nationalism

Select all the changes introduced to romantic opera by Wagner.

Spectacular and massive staging. Powerful voices with large orchestras. Unconventional chromatic harmony.

Listen to the audio clip. (It is one of several clips from Wagner's Die Walkure you will encounter.) Which leitmotif is heard in this selection? 00:23 secs

Spring

Select all that apply Select all the compositions that are examples of Tchaikovsky's music for ballet.

The Nutcracker Swan Lake Sleeping Beauty

Listen to the audio clip. Which aria is sung in this excerpt from Bizet's Carmen? 00:23

The Toreador Song

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the features of this passage from Puccini's La Boheme.

The rhythm is legato and lyrical. The texture is polyphonic. The mood is intimate and romantic.

Listen to the audio clip. In this selection from the fourth movement of Symphonie Fantastique, which theme is being played? 00:18

The second theme; a syncopated march tune by brasses and woodwinds

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the ways that the melody in this passage changes from when it first appears in the Toreador Song.

The texture is first homophonic, then becomes polyphonic with voices singing different melodies. The chorus joins in and sings with Escamillo.

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the features of this passage from Puccini's La Boheme. 00:48

The texture is polyphonic. The rhythm is legato and lyrical. The mood is intimate and romantic.

Select all that apply Select all the changes introduced to romantic opera by Wagner.

Unconventional chromatic harmony Powerful voices with large orchestras Spectacular and massive staging

Listen to the audio clip. (It is one of several clips from Wagner's Die Walkure you will encounter.) Which leitmotif is heard in this selection? 00:14

Valhalla

What is the artistic trend, evident in Puccini's work, that is described as being realistic, illustrating true-to-life situations and circumstances?

Verismo

Select all that apply Select all the artists with whom Chopin was acquainted.

Delacroix Berlioz Liszt

In 1826, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel published two of her works under whose name?

Her brother's name

Listen to the audio clip. In what way is the main theme different from previous variations in Variation 6 of the fourth movement in Schubert's Trout Quintet? 00:21 secs

It is played at a faster tempo.

The founding of music conservatories throughout Europe and the United States led to what?

It allowed more young people to study music than ever before.

Select all that apply Select all the ways in which the rising middle class shaped the role of music in society during the romantic era.

More orchestras and opera groups were formed. Music societies across Europe were founded. The demand for public concerts was greater.

What musician awed Liszt at age 19 and inspired him to practice 8 to 12 hours a day?

Paganini

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the features of this section of Aufschwung by Schumann. 00:17

Songlike melody. Long-short-long-short rhythm.

Which piece is an example of Schubert's use of his own song in his compositions?

The Trout Quintet in A Major

Select all that apply Select all the themes that can typically be found in an art song.

The sense of yearning The beauty of nature Events found in folktales

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the statements that describe the opening passage and the first theme of the first movement in Mendelssohn's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in E Minor. 00:24 secs

The solo violin introduces the first theme. The first theme is in a minor key.

Franz Liszt is credited with creating which of the following romantic-era symphonic forms?

The symphonic poem (tone poem)

Select all that apply Select all the statements about romantic-era symphonies.

They tend to be longer than classical symphonies. They often reuse the same themes throughout the composition.

Select all that apply Select all the song forms commonly used in the Romantic era for setting music to poetry.

Through-composed. Strophic

Listen to the audio clip. The solo piano section at the end of Schubert's Die Forelle is an example of a(n) ______.

postlude

Listen to the audio clip. The solo piano section at the end of Schubert's Die Forelle is an example of a(n) ______. 00:17

postlude

An instrumental music composition associated with a story, poem, idea, or scene is called ______ music.

program

Music in the Romantic era reflected the composer's need for ______.

self-expression

Two of Verdi's last operas, Otello and Falstaff, were based on which source?

Shakespeare's plays

Listen to the audio clip. In this selection from the fifth movement of Symphonie Fantastique, which theme is being played?

Shrill clarinet playing the idée fixe representing the beloved transformed into a grotesque dance tune

Listen to the audio clip. In this selection from the fifth movement of Symphonie Fantastique, which theme is being played? 00:26 secs

Shrill clarinet playing the idée fixe representing the beloved transformed into a grotesque dance tune

What was Wagner's dream as a child?

To become a poet and playwright

Which of the following terms best describes Berlioz as a composer?

Pioneer

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the musical elements used to convey the emotion of the text Meine Seele verlanget from Brahms's Ein Deutsche Requiem.

A long crescendo across the phrase. Quicker rhythms instead of sustained notes. Polyphonic interplay between the voice parts

Listen to the audio clip. In this passage from the fourth movement of Ein Deutsches Requiem, what is the primary texture of the music? 00:12 secs

Homophonic

Among the following Romantic composers, who is considered "traditional" as opposed to "experimental"?

Brahms

Select all that apply Select all the ways in which romantic works differ from classical works.

Emphasis on tone color. Greater range of dynamics. More colorful harmony.

True or false: Dvořák commonly quoted actual Bohemian folk tunes in his music.

False

Brahms wanted to become conductor of which orchestra?

Hamburg Philharmonic

Select all that apply Select all the facts about composer Robert Schumann.

His works are autobiographical. He studied law but rarely attended lectures. He discovered some of the leading composers of his day.

Listen to the audio clip. In this passage from the fourth movement of Ein Deutsches Requiem, what is the primary texture of the music? 00:10 secs

Homophonic

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the musical qualities of the opening passage of The Great Gate of Kiev.

It is a processional theme. The rhythms are longer and sustained. The dynamics are forte and stately.

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the ways in which the first theme in "March to the Scaffold" from Symphonie Fantastique is varied in this selection. 00:21 secs

It is in a major key. It moves upward rather than downward.

Listen to the audio clip. What is the distinguishing characteristic of the "processional" theme in comparison with the other themes in Liszt's Transcendental Étude No. 10 in F Minor? 00:13 secs

It is played in a low register.

Select all that apply Which of the following is true of strophic form?

It makes a song easier to remember. It is almost always used in folksongs. It repeats the same music for each stanza.

Select all that apply Which descriptions apply to Chopin's compositional style?

It was personal and original. It was elegant, graceful, and melodic.

Select all that apply Select all the elements found in the piano compositions of Liszt.

Large leaps Rapid octave runs Arpeggios that sound like three hands playing

Select all that apply Select all the ways in which emotions are expressed in romantic music.

Love stories include melancholy and longing. Aspects of nature, for example thunderstorms, are depicted. Emotions are often unpredictable or flamboyant.

To enhance tone colors, romantic composers called for the flute to play in which of the following registers?

Lower

Select all that apply Select all the stylized dances that Chopin used to capture the Polish spirit.

Mazurka Polonaise

Puccini studied music at which school?

Milan

Smetana's The Moldau, which depicts several scenes related to the main river of Bohemia, is an example of which type of music?

Program music

Select all that apply Select all the reasons Puccini's operas have achieved long-lasting popularity.

Puccini had a strong understanding of theatrical elements. The orchestra had an integral role in creating the atmosphere and even the physical landscape. The operas feature catchy, memorable melodies.

Listen to the audio clip. In this selection from Transcendental Étude No. 10 by Franz Liszt, which best describes the work's rhythmic character? 00:26

Rapid tempo with rapid, agitated rhythms

In the introduction to the first movement of the Symphonie fantastique, what does the violin melody represent?

Sadness from unrequited love

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the ways that the first theme differs from the second in Liszt's Transcendental Étude No. 10 in F Minor.

The first theme is in a minor key, and the second is in a major key. The first theme is in the middle voice, and the second is much higher. The first theme is syncopated, and the second is more lyrical.

Listen to the audio clip. (It is one of several clips from Schubert's The Erlking you will encounter.) In this particular audio clip, which character is depicted? 00:22 secs

The horse

Listen to the audio clip. (It is one of several clips from Schubert's The Erlking you will encounter.) In this particular audio clip, select the two characters that are depicted. 00:16 secs.

The ill-fated son The horse

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the characteristics heard in this section of Chopin's Revolutionary Etude.

The left hand (lower range) playing rapid, running notes The right hand (higher range) playing a melody in octaves

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the ways in which the second theme, heard in this passage, contrasts with the opening entrance of the first theme in Dvorak's Symphony No. 9. 00:18 secs

The melody is more dancelike and contains more rising pitches. The second theme is introduced by the flute and oboe. Strings are present but used as harmonic support rather than as the melody instrument.

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the ways in which the melody in this passage from the Habañera is different from the first melody. 00:25 secs

The melody is no longer descending. The key has shifted to major.

Listen to the audio clip. Which theme is heard in this passage from The Great Gate of Kiev? 00:18 secs

The theme that incorporates a Russian hymn

How are the introduction and conclusion of the first movement of Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique similar?

They both feature slow chords and melodies.

True or False: Brahms reinterpreted classical forms while introducing newer elements.

True

True or false: Although Wagner was a musical genius, he accumulated debts and incited unrest in Germany.

True

True or false: Although loved by the public, Verdi's operas Il Trovatore, La Traviata, and Rigoletto were considered scandalous by critics.

True

True or false: As Verdi grew older, his musical style became increasingly unconventional.

True

True or false: Bizet made a living by teaching music and accompanying singers.

True

True or false: Tchaikovsky thought of himself primarily as a Russian composer, but his music was influenced just as much by German, French, and Italian music as it was by Russian music.

True

Which of the following is a one-movement romantic era piece for orchestra that is usually presented in sonata form?

A concert overture

Listen to the audio clip. In this particular audio clip from Aufschwung, which of Schumann's musical personalities is represented? 00:18 secs

Florestan

Listen to the audio clip. How is the questioning motive performed in this section of Schumann's Warum?

In the middle voice, answered by the bass

Which news journal did Schumann found and edit, helping him discover new musical talent

New Journal of Music

What is the only popular genre of music in which Mendelssohn did not write?

Opera

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the characteristics of Chopin's Nocturne in E Flat Major. 00:25

Pervasive sense of melancholy. Waltzlike accompanimen. Legato melody.

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the ways in which Chopin conveys a feeling of passion in the conclusion of the Nocturne in E Flat Major.

Rapidly increasing the tempo. Playing the melody in octaves. Introducing a sudden crescendo.

What event in Chopin's youth caused him to lament "doing nothing, only heaving sighs and pouring out my grief at the piano"?

The Russian conquest of Warsaw

What is a distinguishing feature of the romantic-era piano pieces written by Chopin and Schubert?

They often last only a few minutes.

Listen to the audio clip. Why does Chopin introduce a short decrescendo before the conclusion of his Polonaise in A Flat Major? 00:25

To emphasize the heroic return of the main theme

Listen to the audio clip. In Variation 2 of the Trout Quintet by Schubert, which instrument plays the theme? 00:25

Viola

Listen to the audio clip. In Variation 2 of the Trout Quintet by Schubert, which instrument plays the theme? 00:25 secs

Viola

Which instrument did Schubert play as a student at the Imperial Seminary?

Violin

Listen to the audio clip. How does Wieck Schumann signal the transition between the lyrical A section and agitated B section in the third movement of her Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano? 00:22 secs

With a dramatic crescendo

Listen to the audio clip. The solo passage that displays the virtuosity of the performer, such as that heard in this selection from Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E Minor, is called a(n) ______.

cadenza

Schubert's Winterreise (Winter's Journey) and Schumann's Dichterliebe (A Poet's Love) are two examples of which of the following?

song cycle