Beethovens Contributions To The Transition To The Romantic Era Of Music

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Beethoven’s Contributions to the Transition to the Romantic Era of Music

Introduction

The transition that triggered the romantic era in music has remained a crucial topic of

discussion among historical scholars and musicologists during the past decade or so. However, it

remains challenging to specify when the era began and its end, as well as the changes it brought

about in the area of music. Typical of other transition times, it is not clear the exact year it started

and the one it ended, during the particular historical time (Newman 5). In an attempt to address

the question, almost all historians studying the topic, particularly musicologists claim that there

was the overlap of the era with the previous one and the succeeding one, which makes a lot of

sense. The romantic era marked a gradual shift from the classical era, which offered the

foundations and models that led to the start of the new era. However, it is crucial to note that due

to the musical careers of people such as Beethoven, the romantic era saw the creation of ideas

that are unique from those of the past, and thus original in many ways (Newman 477). In an

attempt to define the transition from the previous to the romantic era, it is crucial to explore the

role that one of the most influential musicians, Beethoven played in the shift, and ways they

marked the change.

The Characteristics of Music Compositions Characterize Romanticism

It is crucial to explore the characteristics of the music created by Beethoven among others

that are considered typical of the new era. The categorization is very broadly conceived, but they

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are in many ways typical of the works created after the shift. Notably, the characteristics are

typically the same aspects of compositions that characterize romantic artworks and literature. As

an example, the typical music written during the shift and after the change to romanticism is in

many ways inspired by nature. Further, one of the characteristics that are seen in almost all

romantic era music is the evidence of experimentation, in the ways the compositions are made

and the thematic focus of the musicians (Walker 1). Generally, the shift to the romantic era was

marked by the increased levels of liberation and freedom from the limitations that characterized

the previous eras, particularly those typical of the classical era. In that line of thought, the music

created during the romantic era was limitless in terms of themes and style, as compared to that

created during the classical era, and that makes it more challenging to explore (Walker 1). In

light of the characteristics of the era, Beethoven among other musicians of the era is credited for

triggering the start of the new era.

Beethoven, together with other romantic music composers such as Frederick Chopin and

Franz Liszt, among romantic musicians of the time is considered as the trendsetters in

experimenting with new tone colors, harmonies and themes (Stolba 430). In particular,

Beethoven is credited for experimenting with the structural changes that characterized the

musical creations of the romantic era, and the years that followed. The harmonic and structural

changes evident from the music of Beethoven, in particular, are fundamental to the definition of

the changes that characterized the shift to the new era. As a result, the characteristics of his

music indicate the central role that he played in the area of music, including the clear integration

of personal feelings and emotions in the portrayal of the musical themes (Gamwell and Neil

360). Through the use of different chords, for example, Beethoven and other notable musicians

of the time expanded the available musical ideas and broke away from traditional norms and

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cadences. The changes helped musicians to better articulate the emotions and feelings and

messages they were trying to convey to their audiences, and also helped to grow the music

composed to a new model of composition. The change of style by Beethoven, like other

musicians of the time, indicates the ways he made a major contribution to the area of music, and

thus triggered the shift from classical to romantic music era.

In order to understand the role that Beethoven played in triggering the shift to the

romantic era and music in general, it is crucial to explore the beginning of the transition, and his

role in music. To better comprehend the role and impact of Beethoven in music, it is crucial to

study his music, towards highlighting the changes it triggered or reflected from the previous era.

Beethoven is acclaimed for his prolific musical creation; he created world-leading symphonies,

quartets, operas, and concerti that can take a musicologist a decade to fully analyze and study.

However, to simplify the work of analyzing the impact of the music he created, it is crucial to

focus on a single area that he ventured, and the Piano Sonata is an ideal one (Wallace 18).

Beethoven’s impact in the field of music is evident to his creation of 32 Piano Sonatas, which

remained very valuable tools that marked the shift from Classical to Romantic eras of music. The

Sonatas were written between 1795 and 1822, and thus clearly depict the evolution of the Sonata

and the general change of style from the previous to the new era. The musical works depict

Beethoven’s experimentation with concepts such as musical structure and emotional content,

which are evident from the chronological creation of the Sonatas from the early to the latter years

(Burkhart and Rothstein 207). In a notable way, the experimentation that the sonatas show

highlights the transition from the classical to the romantic era, and that indicates his contribution

to music.

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Over the years of creating piano sonatas, as well as, other musical forms, Beethoven

continued to reshape and remodel the structure of his musical creations in both the general and

the internal components, right from the start to the end. To Beethoven, the sonata was a changing

and living type of musical creation (Gordon 147). As an example, Gordon notes that earlier in his

musical career, Beethoven followed the conventional style of sonata style that was established by

classical composers such as Mozart and Franz Joseph Haydn, and showed little evidence of

experimentation (147). However, as the years went on, he showed more signs of experimentation

and then in his final stage, he was arguably the most experimental composer, which helped him

to set the trend for other romantic era composers. The first three piano sonatas created by

Beethoven were dedicated to the prolific classical composer, Franz Joseph Haydn, who was

among the greatest sources of influence for him. In the three pieces created during 1795 and

1796, Beethoven clearly used the structure and model used by classical composers, including

that he opens them in a way reflecting the sonata-allegro style (van Beethoven and Gordon 5).

The new style, which combined both the style approaches of the classical and romantic era

became the norm, but the style changed as Beethoven’s music moved further away from the

classical model of music.

The typical characteristic of the style is opening with the introduction of the underlying

theme of the movement, for example, the musical figure or fundamental melody. After

communicating the main them, he moved to highlight non-thematic information that aids with

the transition to the succeeding parts of the piece (van Beethoven and Gordon 5). The

transformation in Beethoven’s musical career was crucial in setting the trend and standards for

the romantic era musicians of the time, and thus indicates his impact in music. Later in his

musical career, Beethoven’s sonatas reflect very detailed expressiveness and tempo, and many of

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them he wrote in German and not Italian. In many ways, Beethoven’s change of style was an

attempt to communicate to the performer and audience, the way the music of the time needed to

feel, away from the vague allegretto and Allegro of the time. The change of style that Beethoven

championed for, which became characteristic of the music of the romantic era and the times that

came after included the constant attempt to express emotion (Gamwell and Neil 360). The

change of style became an essential characteristic of romantic music as well as the succeeding

era in music.

Conclusion

The transition that brought about the romantic era in music remains an important topic of

discussion for historical scholars and musicologists. Unfortunately, it remains a challenge to

explain the time that marked the start and the end of the era. Despite the challenges of defining

the boundaries of the era, it is clear that Beethoven is among the most influential romantic era

composers, despite that he started writing using the classical style. Over the years, historians and

musicologists agree that there are characteristics that mark the romantic era of music, including

the extensive use of emotions and experimentation with new forms of structure and thematic

focus. The analysis of Beethoven’s work showed that he was a trend and standards setter in

music, as one of the central romantic music era composers and musicians. As an artist,

Beethoven was highly influenced by classical artists such as, Franz Joseph Haydn and Mozart,

but still, he went on to adopt the new romantic style that was adopted by many of the composers

of the time. As an example, Beethoven composed in a characteristically classical style but then

changed over the years to adopt the new and highly experimental style that soon characterized all

romantic era composes and the coming eras in music.

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Works Cited

Burkhart, Charles, and Rothstein, William. Anthology for Musical Analysis: The Common-

Practice Period. Seventh Edition. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning, 2015. Print.

Gamwell, Lynn, and Tyson, Neil deGrasse. Mathematics + art: a cultural history. Princeton,

New Jersey; Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2016. Print.

Gordon, Stewart. A History of Keyboard Literature. New York: Schirmer Books, 1996. Print.

Newman, William. The Sonata in the Classical Era. New York: W. W. Norton & Company,

INC, 1983. Print.

Stolba, Marie. The Development of Western Music, third edition. Boston, M.A.: McGraw-Hill,

1998. Print.

Van Beethoven, Ludwig, and Gordon, Stewart. Piano Sonatas, Volume 1 (Nos. 1-8). New York:

Alfred publishing Co., Inc, 2002. Print.

Walker, Michael. Romance! Compositions from the 19th Century Romantic Movement in

Tablature and Musical... Notation Transcribed for the Baritone Ukulele. S.I.: Lulu.Com,

2016. Print.

Wallace, Robert. Emily Bronte and Beethoven: Romantic Equilibrium in Fiction and Music.

Athens, Georgia: University Of Georgia Pre, 2009. Print.

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Beethovens Contributions to the Transition to the Romantic Era of Music

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