Ludwig van Beethoven and Robert Schumann

Ludwig van Beethoven faced hearing problems which he noticed at about age 26. He accepted at age 32 that he would possibly become completely deaf. He tried to suppress the problem by using headphones though by age 50, he could hardly hear any sound. This however did not deter him from writing his 9th and final symphony (Hosler, 2009).

His career was badly affected as he surged into depression and became embarrassed that he would lose his auditory sense though he was a composer. Both the music of the romantic period and other art forms of the period focused on bringing out the expression of intense feelings and emotions.

Both aspects were ruled by the depiction of beauty, strangeness and sublimity. Both music types are nourished by and closely linked to other forms of art such as poetry and drama. Classical music is dominated by the aspect of sound building and universality whereas romantic music is predominated by sound feeling and individualism. Ideals of order, control and equilibrium are associated with classical music while romanticism is deep in passion, movement, fantasy and imagination. Question 2 (Robert Schumann)

Robert Schumann intensified his composition after marrying Clara who led him into orchestral music and chamber works in an effort to expand his style. As a result, his love for the piano facilitated a good combination with symphonic orchestration which enabled him to produce the “Piano Concerto in A Minor”. Robert had seven children with Clara and this created a new dimension of composition in that they started composing songs for children and those about children such as “Child Falling Asleep” (Schneider, 2002).

Johannes Brahms is the composer of the famous Intermezzo and Cantata Rinaldo in addition to his first published work on sonata in C major. Fredric Chopin is the composer of the famous Revolutionary Etude and Opus in addition to writing about lovers who part in his popular Les Adieux (library. thinkquest. org, n. d). Richard Wagner wrote about ten operas which are today regularly performed in opera houses. He also invented the leitmotiv which is a form of signature tune for events, persons, physical objects and emotions.

The orchestra pit and orchestration invented by Richard brought new aspects in the sound properties of the theatre. Composers and other music professionals have gained a lot of knowledge and have been inspired by the harmony, melodic structure and the great orchestration present in Wagner’s inventions. The inventions have been a source of dynamism in the world of music (Roy, n. d). References Hosler, H. (2009). Medical Mystery Behind Beethoven. Retrieved July 13, 2010, from http://lifebridgeblogs.

blogspot. com/2009/11/medical-mystery-behind-beethoven. html library. thinkquest. org. (n. d). The Romantic Era Composers. Retrieved July 13, 2010, from http://library. thinkquest. org/15413/history/history-rom-comp. htm Roy, E. (n. d). Wagner the Innovator. Retrieved July 13, 2010, from http://www. bikwil. com/Vintage10/Wagner-Innovator. html Schneider, E. (2002). Robert and Clara Schumann – a biography. Retrieved July 13, 2010, from http://www. essortment. com/all/robertclarasch_rjya. htm