Romantic Music

Nineteenth-century era of expanded orchestras, chromatic harmony, and intense personal expression.

Core Principles & Analysis

• Program music such as Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique tied instrumental works to explicit narratives.
• Orchestras grew to over 90 players with valved brass and expanded percussion sections.
• Nationalism led composers such as Chopin, Grieg, and Dvořák to draw on native folk idioms.

Specifications & Metrics

• ERA: 1800 – 1910