Characteristics+of+Romantic+Music

**Romantic Period Characteristics ** As a generalisation, music composed during the Romantic era possessed the following characteristics:
 * A freedom in composing. With a strong importance on expressing an emotion. Also fantasy, imagination and a sence of adventure were explored.
 * Emphasis on lyrical melodies. Rich, often chromatic harmonies, with a use of discords.
 * Sense of vagueness: especially in tonailty or harmony, but also in rhythm and meter.
 * Denser textures with bold dramatic contrasts, exploring a wider range of pitches, dynamics and tone-colours.
 * Expansion of the orchestra. The development of the brass section, whose power often dominate the texture of the compositions.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">Rich variety of types of piece, ranging from song, short piano pieces and musical canvasses with spectacular, dramatic, and dynamic climaxes.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">Keen interest in programme music such as programme symphony, symphonic poem, concert overture.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">Shape was brought to work through the use of recurring themes, such as, nature, reigion and nationalism (a reaction against German influence).
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">The pieces of the time also had great technical diffulcutly. This was due to the fact that many of the composers of the time were musicans themselves, main pianists.