What is the difference between classical and romantic music

Romantic music is associated with the movement Romanticism that occurred in the eighteenth century Europe. Romanticism was not only a movement related to music; it was a comprehensive movement of art, literature, music and intellect.

The music of the romantic era had a number of features: themes of romantic music were often linked to nature and self-expression. Simply put, classical music is the music of the classical period that began in to AD. Although that is the original reference to the classical music in the history of western music, the term is now being extensively used, rather colloquially, to refer to a variety of western music from the ancient times to the present; a kind of music which is neither modernized nor complex, but light, simple, and soothing.

Classical music is linked to classicalism, a style of the arts, literature, and architecture in the mid-eighteenth century Europe. The young Mendelssohn. Felix Mendelssohn grew up in a household belonging to the intellectual and financial elite of Berlin society. By the time he had reached his 14th birthday, he already had an impressive variety and number of works in his compositional portfolio.

In fact, between and alone, he composed a total of 12 symphonies for strings. The teenage composer assembled a series of compositions that skillfully synthesized Classical forms with Baroque techniques and Romantic orchestral techniques and symphonic processes. Mozartian in its formal clarity and expressive contrast, the development takes full advantage of this thematic simplicity by presenting the material in a variety of harmonic and instrumental guises.

The harmonic progressions are highly sophisticated, and the fugal conclusion must have caused some mild surprises. Here as elsewhere in Mendelssohn, classical poise and romantic fervor happily coincided side by side.

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. When we look for the precursors of musical romanticism, we clearly need to consider Bach. He was highly esteemed during his lifetime and praised by Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven, but his name fell into neglect during the 19th century.

Working in Berlin, C. Concordantly, he was a close personal friend of the poet Johann Gellert. Gellert paved the way for a movement in German literature and art in which subjectivity and extremes of emotion were given free expression. Relying on extreme unpredictability and a wide range of emotions, C.

His true legacy is not merely felt in the psychological realm of Romanticism, but in the improvisatory and cyclic musical experiments of the19th century. Johannes Brahms, c. In stark contrast to the stormy and passionate works of composers like Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt , Johannes Brahms retained reverence for the classical heritage and maintained the Romantic tradition of his great predecessors.

During his compositional career, Brahms exhibited a heightened sense of musical insecurity. He self-consciously responded to criticism, even when leveled by his closest personal friends, and he ruthlessly destroyed or severely reshaped his compositions. As a case in point, Brahms completed his B-major Trio in but revised the work some 36 years later.

The revised work combines youthful romantic exuberance with sophisticated musical textures and an entirely logical and classical way of constructing motive and controlling their subsequent development. Brahms combines the warm lyricism of romantic imagination with a muscular intellectual rationality. The title of this article talks about the collision of two musical worlds, but in reality it never happened. It is true that the composers featured in this article tried to artistically make sense of conflicting worldviews, but they still talked to each other and learned from each other.

They drew inspiration from both sides of this aesthetic divide, and their artistic solutions and compromises are of fundamental significance to Western cultural and artistic thought. For more of the best in classical music, sign up to our E-Newsletter. Great article describing the differences and commonalities of classical and romantic music. Also, wonderful examples of performances. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. All All. Most people who are not that updated about the types confused these two terms but that is not the case.

The main difference between these two type is that romantic music has a little bit of emotional touch and is more intense. It is usually about a lover, of a place which a person is attached to and therefore involves personal feelings which dominate the tone in which this music exists.

Classical music, on the other hand, follows certain traditions and music rules which have been existent for a very long time. This music is soothing and always has a structure. Most famous musicians which were involved with romantic music include Beethoven and Brahms while the most famous musicians in classical music include Vivaldi and Mozart.

There is no certain date which can help the user decide which music form existed before the other but it is said that the modern music is the romantic music while classical music has been in existence for a very long time.

According to one research, classical music belonged to the era of the beginning of 17 th century to the mid th century while the romantic music began making inroads during the 19 th century and did not last for a very long time because of the social and political situation.

The difference between the two types and a brief explanation of them is given in the next sections. This type of music began in , a time which was politically and socially stable. People had time to self-reflect and explore different things therefore this type of music came into existent in Europe but quickly made its roots in other parts of the world including Asia and Africa and currently every area has their own classical music forms in the local languages which always follow a particular set of rules and specific instruments which are used.