Romantic
DEFINITION
That era of music following the Classical era and ending around 1900. The compositions of the Romantic era are characterized by great, large ensembles, great dynamic fluctuations from fff to ppp, less tonal and melodic tunes, more discordant, atonal pieces, and immense, long compositions. The piano is a prominent instrument of the Romantic era. Major Romantic composers include: Fr'd'ric Chopin, Franz Liszt, Robert Schumann, Richard Wagner, Johannes Brahms, Hector Berlioz, Franz Schubert, etc. Relating to the nineteenth-century musical period characterized by subjectivity on the part of the composer, emotionalism in music, longer musical forms, and richer harmonies.