French romanticism

An artistic movement that formed in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. first in literature (Germany, Great Britain, other countries of Europe and America), then in music and other arts. The concept of “romanticism” comes from the epithet “romantic”; up to 18th century he pointed out some features literary works, written in Romance languages ​​(i.e. not in the languages ​​of classical antiquity). These were romances (Spanish romance), as well as poems and novels about knights. In con. 18th century “Romantic” is understood more broadly: not only as adventurous, entertaining, but also as ancient, original folk, distant, naive, fantastic, spiritually sublime, ghostly, as well as amazing, frightening. “The romantics romanticized everything that they liked from the recent and ancient past,” wrote F. Blume. They perceive as “theirs” the works of Dante and W. Shakespeare, P. Calderon and M. Cervantes, J. S. Bach and J. W. Goethe, much in antiquity; They are also attracted to the poetry of Dr. East and medieval Minnesingers. Based on the characteristics noted above, F. Schiller called his “Maid of Orleans” a “romantic tragedy”, and in the images of Mignon and the Harper he sees the romance of Goethe’s “The Years of the Teaching of Wilhelm Meister”.

Romanticism as a literary term first appears in Novalis, as musical term- from E. T. A. Hoffmann. However, in its content it is not very different from the corresponding epithet. Romanticism was never a clearly defined program or style; This is a wide range of ideological and aesthetic trends in which the historical situation, country, and interests of the artist created certain accents and determined various goals and means. However, romantic art of different formations also has important general features, relating to both ideological position and style.

Having inherited many of its progressive features from the Age of Enlightenment, romanticism is at the same time associated with deep disappointment both in the Enlightenment itself and in the successes of the entire new civilization as a whole. For the early romantics, who did not yet know the results of the Great French Revolution, the general process of rationalization of life, its subordination to the average sober “reason” and soulless practicality was disappointing. Subsequently, especially during the years of the Empire and Restoration, the social meaning of the position of the romantics - their anti-bourgeoisism - became increasingly clear. According to F. Engels, “the social and political institutions established by the victory of reason turned out to be an evil, bitterly disappointing caricature of the brilliant promises of the Enlightenment” (Marx K. and Engels F., On Art, vol. 1, M., 1967, p. 387 ).

In the works of the romantics, the renewal of personality, the affirmation of its spiritual strength and beauty is combined with the exposure of the kingdom of the philistines; the fully human and creative is contrasted with the mediocre, insignificant, mired in vanity, vanity, and petty calculations. By the time of Hoffmann and J. Byron, V. Hugo and George Sand, G. Heine and R. Schumann, social criticism of the bourgeois world had become one of the main elements of romanticism. In search of sources of spiritual renewal, romantics often idealized the past and tried to breathe new life into religious myths. This is how a contradiction was born between the general progressive orientation of romanticism and the conservative tendencies that arose in its own mainstream. These trends did not play a noticeable role in the work of romantic musicians; they manifested themselves mainly in the literary and poetic motives of some works, but in the musical interpretation of such motives the living, real-human principle usually outweighed.

Musical romanticism, which significantly manifested itself in the 2nd decade of the 19th century, was a historically new phenomenon and at the same time revealed deep, continuous connections with musical classics. The work of outstanding composers of the previous time (including not only the Viennese classics, but also the music of the 16th and 17th centuries) served as a support for the cultivation of a high artistic rank. It was this kind of art that became the model for the romantics; according to Schumann, “only this pure source can nourish the forces of new art” (“On Music and Musicians”, vol. 1, M., 1975, p. 140). And this is understandable: only the lofty and perfect could be successfully opposed to musical idle talk secular salon, spectacular virtuosity of the stage and opera stage, indifferent traditionalism of artisan musicians.

The musical classics of the post-Bach era served as the basis for musical romanticism and in connection with its content. Beginning with C. F. E. Bach, the element of feeling manifested itself more and more freely, music mastered new means that made it possible to express both the strength and subtlety of emotional life, lyricism in its individual version. These aspirations brought many musicians in common in the 2nd half of the 18th century. with the Sturm und Drang literary movement. Hoffmann’s attitude towards K.V. Gluck, W.A. Mozart and especially L. Beethoven as artists of a romantic type was quite natural. Such assessments reflected not only the bias of romantic perception, but also attention to the features of “pre-romanticism” actually inherent in the largest composers of the 2nd half of the 18th - early 19th centuries.

Musical romanticism was also historically prepared by the literary romanticism movement that preceded it in Germany among the “Jena” and “Heidelberg” romantics (W. G. Wackenroder, Novalis, brothers F. and A. Schlegel, L. Tieck, F. Schelling, L. Arnim, C. Brentano, etc.), from a writer close to them, Jean Paul, later from Hoffmann, in Great Britain from the poets of the so-called. The “lake school” (W. Wordsworth, S. T. Coleridge, etc.) has already fully developed general principles romanticism, which were then interpreted and developed in music in their own way. Subsequently, musical romanticism was significantly influenced by such writers as Heine, Byron, Lamartine, Hugo, Mickiewicz and others.

The most important areas of creativity of romantic musicians include lyrics, fantasy, folk and national originality, natural, characteristic.

The primary importance of lyrics in romantic literature. art, especially in music, was fundamentally based on it. theorists R. For them, “romantic” is, first of all, “musical” (in the hierarchy of art music was given the most honorable place), for in music feeling reigns supreme, and therefore the work of a romantic artist finds its highest goal in it. Therefore, music is lyrics. In the abstract-philosophical aspect, according to the theory of literature. R., allows a person to merge with the “soul of the world”, with the “universe”; In the aspect of concrete life, music by its nature is the antipode of prosaic. reality, she is the voice of the heart, capable of telling with the highest completeness about a person, his spiritual wealth, his life and aspirations. That is why in the field of lyric music. R. has the brightest word. The lyricism, spontaneity and expression, and individualization of lyricism achieved by romantic musicians were new. statements, transmission of psychological the development of a feeling full of new precious details at all its stages.

Fiction as a contrast to prose. reality is akin to lyrics and is often, especially in music, intertwined with the latter. Fantasy itself reveals different facets, equally significant for R. It acts as freedom of imagination, free play of thoughts and feelings, and at the same time. as freedom of knowledge, boldly rushing into the world of the “strange,” wonderful, unknown, as if in defiance of philistine practicality, wretched “common sense.” Fantasy is also a type of romantic beauty. At the same time, science fiction makes it possible, in an indirect form (and therefore with maximum artistic generality), to collide the beautiful and the ugly, the good and the evil. In arts. R. made a great contribution to the development of this conflict.

The interest of the romantics in life “outside” is inextricably linked with the general concept of such concepts as folk and national originality, natural, characteristic. It was a desire to recreate the authenticity, primacy, and integrity lost in the surrounding reality; hence the interest in history, folklore, the cult of nature, interpreted as primordial nature, as the most complete and undistorted embodiment of the “soul of the world.” For a romantic, nature is a refuge from the ills of civilization; it consoles and heals a restless person. The Romantics made a huge contribution to knowledge and to the arts. revival of people poetry and music of past eras, as well as “distant” countries. According to T. Mann, R. is “a longing for the past and at the same time a realistic recognition of the right to originality for everything that has ever really existed with its own local flavor and its own atmosphere” (Collected works, vol. 10 , M., 1961, p. 322), In Great Britain, which began back in the 18th century. gathering of national folklore was continued in the 19th century. W. Scott; In Germany, it was the romantics who first collected and made the people's treasures public. creativity of their country (collection of L. Arnim and C. Brentano " Magic horn boy", "Children's and family tales" br. Grimm), which had great importance and for music. The desire for the faithful transmission of national-national. arts style (“local color”) is a common feature of romantic musicians different countries and schools. The same can be said about music. landscape. Created in this area by composers of the 18th - early. 19th centuries far surpassed by the romantics. In music in the embodiment of nature, R. achieved previously unknown figurative concreteness; This was due to the newly discovered expressions. means of music, primarily harmonic and orchestral (G. Berlioz, F. Liszt, R. Wagner).

“Characteristic” attracted romantics in some cases as distinctive, integral, original, in others - as strange, eccentric, caricatured. To notice the characteristic, to expose it, means to break through the leveling gray veil of ordinary perception and touch the real, bizarrely colorful and seething life. In the pursuit of this goal, a literary art typical of the romantics developed. and music portraiture. Such an art was often associated with the artist’s criticism and led to the creation of parodic and grotesque portraits. From Jean Paul and Hoffmann, the penchant for characteristic portrait sketches was passed on to Schumann and Wagner. In Russia, not without the influence of romanticism. traditions of music Portraiture developed among national composers. realistic. schools - from A. S. Dargomyzhsky to M. P. Mussorgsky and N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov.

R. developed elements of dialectics in the interpretation and reflection of the world, and in this respect was close to his contemporary German. classic philosophy. The art strengthens the understanding of the relationship between the individual and the general. According to F. Schlegel, romantic. poetry is “universal”, it “contains everything poetic, from the greatest system of arts, which again includes entire systems, to a sigh, to a kiss, as they express themselves in the artless song of a child” (“Fr. Schlegels Jugendschriften”, hrsg von J. Minor, Bd 2, S. 220). Infinite variety with hidden internals. unity is what romantics value, for example. in Don Quixote by Cervantes; F. Schlegel calls the motley fabric of this novel “the music of life” (ibid., p. 316). This is a novel with “open horizons,” notes A. Schlegel; according to his observation, Cervantes resorts to “endless variations”, “as if he were a sophisticated musician” (A. W. Schlegel. Sämtliche Werke, hrsg. von E. Böcking, Bd 11, S. 413). So artistic. position generates special attention both to the department. impressions, and to their connections, to the creation general concept. Directly in music. the outpouring of feeling becomes philosophical, landscape, dance, genre scene, portrait are imbued with lyricism and lead to generalizations. R. shows a special interest in the life process, in what N. Ya. Berkovsky calls “the direct flow of life” (“Romanticism in Germany”, Leningrad, 1973, p. 31); this also applies to music. For romantic musicians, it is typical to strive for endless transformations of the original thought, “endless” development.

Since R. saw in all claims a single meaning and a single chapter. the goal is to merge with the mysterious essence of life, the idea of ​​synthesis of art acquired new meaning. “The aesthetics of one art is the aesthetics of another; only the material is different,” notes Schumann (“On Music and Musicians,” vol. 1, M., 1975, p. 87). But the combination of “different materials” increases the impressive power of the artistic whole. In the deep and organic fusion of music with poetry, with theater, with painting, new opportunities opened up for art. In the field of tools music, the principle of programmaticity acquires an important role, i.e. inclusion both in the composer’s plan and in the process of perceiving music. and other associations.

R. is especially widely represented in the music of Germany and Austria. On early stage- the works of F. Schubert, E. T. A. Hoffmann, K. M. Weber, L. Spohr, G. Marschner; then the Leipzig school, primarily F. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy and R. Schumann; in the 2nd half. 19th century - R. Wagner, J. Brahms, A. Bruckner, Hugo Wolf. In France, R. appeared already in the operas of A. Boildieu and F. Aubert, then in a much more developed and original form in Berlioz. In Italy it is romantic. trends were noticeably reflected in G. Rossini and G. Verdi. Pan-European The creativity of Polish computers gained importance. F. Chopin, Hung. - F. Liszt, Italian. - N. Paganini (the work of Liszt and Paganini also showed the pinnacle of romantic performance), German. - J. Meyerbeer.

In the conditions of national R.'s schools retained much in common and at the same time showed noticeable originality in ideas, plots, favorite genres, as well as in style.

In the 30s creatures were discovered. disagreements between him. and French schools. There are different ideas about the acceptable measure of stylistic. innovation; The question of the admissibility of aesthetics was also controversial. the artist’s compromises to please the tastes of the “crowd”. The antagonist of Berlioz's innovation was Mendelssohn, who firmly defended the norms of the moderate "classical-romantic" style. Schumann, who ardently spoke out in defense of Berlioz and Liszt, still did not accept what seemed to him the extremes of the French. schools; he preferred the much more balanced Chopin to the author of the “Fantastastic Symphony”; he rated Mendelssohn and those close to this composer A. Henselt, S. Heller, W. Taubert, W. S. Bennett and others extremely highly. Schumann criticizes Meyerbeer with extraordinary sharpness, seeing in his spectacular theatricality only demagoguery and the pursuit of success. Heine and Berlioz, on the contrary, appreciate the dynamic nature of the author of The Huguenots. music dramaturgy. Wagner develops criticism. Schumann's motives, however, in his work he goes far from the norms of moderate romanticism. style; adhering (unlike Meyerbeer) to strict aesthetic criteria. selection, he follows the path of bold reforms. All R. 19th century as an opposition to the Leipzig school, the so-called. New German or Weimar school; Liszt became its center during his Weimar years (1849-61); its adherents included R. Wagner, H. Bülow, P. Cornelius, J. Raff and others. The “Weimarians” were supporters of program music, muses. dramas of the Wagnerian type and other radically reformed types of new music. lawsuit Since 1859, the ideas of the new German school were represented by the “General German Verein” and the journal created back in 1834 by Schumann. “Neue Zeitschrift für Musik”, Crimea was headed by K. F. Brendel from 1844. In the opposite camp, along with the critic E. Hanslick, the violinist and composer J. Joachim and others, there was J. Brahms; the latter did not strive for controversy and defended his principles only in his work (in 1860, Brahms put his signature for the only time under a polemical article - a collective statement against certain ideas of the “Weimarites”, published in the Berlin magazine “Echo”). What critics tended to consider conservatism in Brahms’s work was in fact a living and original art, where the romantic. tradition was renewed, testing new things powerful impact classic music of the past. The prospects of this path have been shown by the development of Europe. music next decades (M. Reger, S. Frank, S. I. Taneyev, etc.). The insights of the “Weimarians” turned out to be equally promising. Subsequently, the disputes between the two schools become historically obsolete.

Since there was a successful search for the national in the riverbed. authenticity, social and psychological. truthfulness, the ideals of this movement were closely intertwined with the ideology of realism. This kind of connection is obvious, for example, in the operas of Verdi and Bizet. The same complex is typical for a number of nationalities. music 19th century schools In Russian romantic music elements are clearly represented already in M.I. Glinka and A.S. Dargomyzhsky, in the 2nd half. 19th century - from the composers of “The Mighty Handful” and from P. I. Tchaikovsky, later from S. V. Rachmaninov, A. N. Scriabin, N. K. Medtner. Young muses developed under the strong influence of R. cultures of Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Norway, Denmark, Finland (S. Moniuszko, B. Smetana, A. Dvorak, F. Erkel, K. Sinding, E. Grieg, N. Gade, E. Hartman, K. Nielsen, I . Sibelius, etc.), as well as Spanish. music 2nd half 19 - beginning 20th centuries (I. Albéniz, E. Granados, M. de Falla).

Music R. actively contributed to the development of chamber vocal lyrics and opera. In accordance with the ideals of R. in the reform of the wok. music ch. deepening the synthesis of art plays a role. Wok. the melody sensitively responds to the expressiveness of the poetic. words becomes more detailed and individual. Instr. the party loses the character of neutral “accompaniment” and is increasingly saturated with figurative content. In the works of Schubert, Schumann, Franz, Wolf, the path from a plot-based song to “music” can be traced. poem." Among the woks. genres, the role of the ballad, monologue, scene, poem increases; songs in plural cases are combined into cycles. In romantic opera, which developed in various directions, the connection between music, words, and theater is steadily strengthening. actions. This purpose is served by: a system of music. characteristics and leitmotifs, development of speech intonations, merging the logic of music. and stage development, use of rich opportunities symphony. orchestra (Wagner's scores belong to the highest achievements of opera symphonism).

In instr. music romantic composers especially prone to FP. miniature. A short play becomes a desired fixation of a moment for a romantic artist: a quick sketch of a mood, a landscape, a characteristic image. It is valued and respected. simplicity, closeness to the vital sources of music - to song, dance, the ability to capture a fresh, original flavor. Popular varieties of romantic. short plays: “song without words”, nocturne, prelude, waltz, mazurka, as well as plays with program titles. In instr. the miniature achieves high content and relief imagery; while the form is compressed, it is distinguished by its bright expression. Just like in a wok. lyrics, here there is a tendency to combine departments. plays in cycles (Chopin - Preludes, Schumann - "Children's Scenes", Liszt - "Years of Wanderings", etc.); in some cases these are cycles of a “end-to-end” structure, where between individual ones they are relatively independent. different plays arise. kind of intonation connections (Schumann - “Butterflies”, “Carnival”, “Kreisleriana”). Such “end-to-end” cycles already give some idea of ​​the main trends of romanticism. interpretations of major instruments forms. On the one hand, it emphasizes the contrast and diversity of departments. episodes, on the other hand, the unity of the whole is enhanced. Under the sign of these trends, new creativity is being given. interpretation of the classic sonatas and sonata cycles; the same aspirations determine the logic of one-movement “free” forms, which usually combine the features of a sonata allegro, sonata cycle and variation. “Free” forms were especially convenient for program music. In their development, in stabilizing the genre of the one-movement “symphony.” poem" great merit is due to Liszt. The constructive principle underlying Liszt's poems - the free transformation of one theme (monothematicism) - creates an expression. contrasts and at the same time ensures maximum unity of the entire composition (“Preludes”, “Tasso”, etc.).

In the style of music. R. modal and harmonic means acquire the most important role. The search for new expressiveness is associated with two parallel and often interconnected processes: with the strengthening of functional-dynamic. sides of harmonies and with increased mode-harmonic. colorfulness. The first of these processes is the increasing saturation of chords with alterations and dissonances, which exacerbated their instability and increased tension, which required resolution in the future harmoniously. movement. Such properties of harmony best expressed the “languor” typical of R., the flow of “endlessly” developing feelings, which was embodied with particular completeness in Wagner’s “Tristan”. Colorful effects were already evident in the use of the capabilities of the major-minor mode system (Schubert). New, very diverse color schemes. shades were extracted from the so-called. natural modes, with the help of which the vernacular was emphasized. or archaic the nature of the music; An important role - especially in science fiction - was assigned to modes with whole-tone and "tone-semitone" scales. Colorful properties were also revealed in chromatically complicated, dissonant chords, and it was at this point that the processes noted above clearly came into contact. Fresh sound effects were also achieved by dif. comparisons of chords or modes within diatonic. scale.

In romantic The following chapters were in effect in the melody. tendencies: in the structure - the desire for breadth and continuity of development, partly for the “openness” of the form; in rhythm - overcoming traditions. regularity metric accents and any automatic repetition; in intonation composition - detailing, filling with expressiveness not only the initial motives, but also the entire melodic. drawing. Wagner's ideal of “endless melody” included all these trends. The art of the greatest melodists of the 19th century is also connected with them. Chopin and Tchaikovsky. Music R. greatly enriched and individualized the means of presentation (texture), making them one of the most important elements of music. imagery. The same applies to the use of tools. compositions, especially symphonic ones. orchestra. R. developed colorism. means of the orchestra and dramaturgy of the orchestra. development to a height unknown to the music of previous eras.

Late music R. (late 19th - early 20th centuries) still gave “rich shoots,” and its greatest successors had a romantic attitude. tradition still expressed the ideas of a progressive, humanistic. art (G. Mahler, R. Strauss, C. Debussy, A. N. Scriabin).

New creativity is associated with the strengthening and qualitative transformation of R.'s tendencies. achievements in music. Newly detailed imagery is cultivated - both in the sphere of external impressions (impressionistic colorfulness) and in the exquisitely subtle transfer of feelings (Debussy, Ravel, Scriabin). The possibilities of music are expanding. figurativeness (R. Strauss). Refinement, on the one hand, and increased expressiveness, on the other, create a wider scale of emotional expressiveness of music (Scriabin, Mahler). At the same time, in late R., which was closely intertwined with new trends at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. (impressionism, expressionism), symptoms of crisis grew. In the beginning. 20th century R.'s evolution reveals a hypertrophy of the subjective principle, a gradual degeneration of sophistication into amorphousness and immobility. A polemically sharp reaction to these crisis features was the music. anti-romanticism of the 10-20s. (I. F. Stravinsky, young S. S. Prokofiev, composers of the French “Six”, etc.); late R. was opposed by the desire for objectivity of content and clarity of form; a new wave of “classicism” arose, the cult of the old masters, ch. arr. pre-Beethoven era. Mid 20th century showed, however, the viability of the most valuable traditions of R. Despite the increasing destructive tendencies in Western music, R. retained its spiritual basis and, enriched with new stylistics. elements, was developed by many. outstanding composers of the 20th century. (D. D. Shostakovich, Prokofiev, P. Hindemith, B. Britten, B. Bartok, etc.).

Literature: Asmus V., Musical aesthetics of philosophical romanticism, “SM”, 1934, No. 1; Nef K., History of Western European music, translation from French. B.V. Asafieva, M., 1938; Sollertinsky I., Romanticism, its general and musical aesthetics, in his book: Historical Etudes, L., 1956, vol. 1, 1963; Zhitomirsky D., Notes on musical romanticism (Chopin and Schumann), “SM”, 1960, No. 2; his, Schumann and Romanticism, in his book: Robert Schumann, M., 1964; Vasina-Grossman V., Romantic song of the 19th century, M., 1966; Konen V., History of foreign music, vol. 3, M., 1972; Mazel L., Problems of classical harmony, M., 1972 (chapter 9 - On the historical development of classical harmony in the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century); Skrebkov S., Artistic principles of musical styles, M., 1973; Musical aesthetics of France in the 19th century. Comp. texts, intro. article and introduction essays by E. F. Bronfin, M., 1974 (Monuments of musical and aesthetic thought); Music of Austria and Germany of the 19th century, book. 1, M., 1975; Druskin M., History of foreign music, vol. 4, M., 1976.

D. V. Zhitomirsky

Ideological artistic direction, developing in all countries of Europe and Northern. America in con. 18 - 1st floor. 19th centuries R. expressed the dissatisfaction of the bourgeois society. changes, opposing itself to classicism and enlightenment. F. Engels noted that “...the social and political institutions established by the “victory of reason” turned out to be an evil, bitterly disappointing caricature of the brilliant promises of the Enlightenment.” Criticism of the new way of life, which emerged in the wake of enlightenment among the sentimentalists, manifested itself even more among the romantics. The world seemed to them obviously unreasonable, full of mysterious, incomprehensible and hostile people. personality. For the romantics, high aspirations were incompatible with the world around them, and the discord with reality turned out to be almost the greatest. feature of R. R. contrasted the baseness and vulgarity of the real world with religion, nature, history, and fantasy. and exotic spheres, adv. creativity, but most of all - the inner life of a person. R.'s ideas about her were extremely enriched. If the ideal of classicism was antiquity, then R. was guided by the art of the Middle Ages and modern times, considering A. Dante, W. Shakespeare, and J. V. Goethe as his predecessors. R. affirmed art, not provided for by models, but created by the free will of the artist, embodying his inner world. Not accepting the surrounding reality, R. in fact understood it deeper and more fully than classicism. Highest art for R. music became the embodiment of the free element of life. She achieved enormous success at that time. R. was also a period of unusually rapid and significant development of ballet. The first steps are romantic. ballets were made in England, Italy, Russia (C. Didelot, A. P. Glushkovsky, etc.). However, R. took shape most fully and consistently in French. ballet theater, the influence of which was felt in other countries. One of the prerequisites for this was the high development of classical technology in France at that time. dance, especially women's. Most clearly romantic. tendencies appeared in the ballets of F. Taglioni (La Sylphide, 1832, etc.), where the action usually unfolded in parallel in the real and fantastic worlds. Science fiction freed dance from the need for private everyday justifications, opened up space for the use of accumulated equipment and its further development in order to identify in dance the essential properties of the characters depicted. In women's dance, which came to the fore in R.'s ballet, jumping was increasingly introduced, dance on pointe shoes, etc. arose, which perfectly corresponded to the appearance of unearthly creatures - jeeps, sylphs. Dance dominated R.'s ballet. New classical compositional forms have emerged. dance, the role of unison corps de ballet female dance increased sharply. Ensemble, duet and solo dances developed. The role of the leading ballerina has increased, starting with M. Taglioni. The tunic appeared as a dancer's permanent costume. The role of music has increased, previously often a national team. The symphony dance began. actions. The pinnacle of romance ballet - "Giselle" (1841), staged by J. Coralli and J. Perrault. Perrault's work marked a new stage in ballet R. The performance now relied heavily on lit. the original source ("Esmeralda" according to Hugo, "Corsair" according to Byron, etc.), and accordingly, dance was more dramatized, the role of effective compositions (pas d'action) increased, and dance folklore was used more widely. Similar aspirations manifested themselves in the work of the most prominent dates .Ballet of August Bournonville.Dancers F. Elsler, C. Grisi, F. Cerrito, L. Gran, E. I. Andreyanova, E. A. Sankovskaya came forward.

Romantic type performance, which developed in the ballets of Taglioni, Perrot, Bournonville, continued to exist until the end. 19th century However, the internal structure of these performances is primarily in the work of ballets. M.I. Petipa, transformed.

The desire for a romantic revival. ballet in its original guise appeared in the work of some choreographers of the 20th century. M. M. Fokin gave R. new features of impressionism to ballet.

Ballet. Encyclopedia, SE, 1981

ROMANTICISM
The artistic movement of romanticism arose in European and American culture at the end of the 18th - first half of the 19th centuries as a reaction to the aesthetics of classicism. New criteria in art have become freedom of expression, naturalness, sincerity and relaxedness, and increased attention to a person’s individual traits. The Romantics rejected classical severity and restraint. They were replaced by very strong emotions, intuition, spirituality, and creative imagination.

The appearance of the style was preceded by important historical events: the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. These were dark years, and it seemed that all hopes, everything that the advanced enlighteners of the 18th century had dreamed of, had collapsed. However, the 19th century was marked by the rise of the liberation movement in Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, and Spain. Hence the great interest of romantics in the national past of each country: legends, rituals, fairy tales, customs, songs. The beauty of folk art was the first of the “eternal values” discovered by the romantics. Before them, no one had turned to folklore so consistently. The second value is the peace of the human soul, the uniqueness of each individual person, the diversity of the subtlest shades of feelings that cannot always be expressed in words. Who is he - the hero of the romantics? This is a person with strong feelings, with an acute reaction to the world. He rejects the laws by which others live, therefore he is always placed above those around him.

Increased interest in a person peace of mind contributed to the flourishing of lyrical and lyric-epic genres in literature. The romanticism style produced great national poets: Hein in Germany, Byron in England, Hugo in France. Colorfully conveyed the flavor historical novels V. Scott and A. Dumas. This period was marked by the flourishing of literary translation. In Russia, a brilliant master of poetic translation was V.A. Zhukovsky, who made many pearls of world poetic creativity into the property of Russian literature.

IN fine arts Romanticism manifested itself most clearly in painting and graphics. The artists asserted in their works the individuality of their creative style, the strength and richness of color, pictorial dynamics, and contrasts of light and color. They were characterized by historical topics, landscapes, heightened interest in personality (W. Turner, T. Gericault, E. Delacroix, O. Kiprensky, K. Bryullov).

Musical creativity and performing arts are flourishing. The striking features of romantic music are: frequent changes of mood (major, minor) free form of construction musical compositions, programming, interest in national culture, appeal to genres related to literature.

In the work of the Austrian composer Franz Schubert, song is given importance. He has about 600 of them. Schubert combined his songs into cycles, creating a varied musical story, full of contrasting images and moods. His most famous works “Serenade”, “Ave Maria”, “The Forest King”, “Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel”, the vocal cycles “The Beautiful Miller’s Wife” and “Winter Reise” belong to the great creations of musical art.

Following Schubert, Robert Schumann becomes the master of German lyric song. Among his best song cycles are “The Poet’s Love,” “Myrtles,” and “The Love and Life of a Woman.” These works were a real discovery in the field of musical psychological lyrics. Schumann went down in the history of music both as a master of a musical “portrait”, a musical “story” (“Carnival piano cycle”), and as a publisher, editor and author of articles for his “New Musical Journal”. The composer wrote a lot of program music. He believed that the titles of works should give impetus to the imagination of listeners. The famous play “Rush” can serve as an epigraph to his entire work, imbued with the desire for space and light.

Schumann expressed words of admiration for the Polish composer and pianist Fryderyk Chopin. His phrase: “Hats off, gentlemen, before you is a genius!” - became famous. Chopin's works are thoroughly permeated with Slavic intonations, a sensitive sense of the beauty of Polish folk songs, and Polish dance rhythms. National dances occupy a prominent place in the composer’s work: lively peasant dances, brilliant ballroom dances, poetic gentle mazurkas and excited polonaises, elevated like a poem. Chopin is called the "singer of the piano" because all of his works were written for this instrument. The favorite type of romantic piano lyricism is the nocturne (“night piece”), and the preludes and waltzes are uniquely original.

Chopin is the first creator of the instrumental ballad, and together with the Hungarian composer Liszt, the founder of a new type of piano music - the concert etude. Full of vitality and beauty, the composer’s creations sound like the personification of love for the Motherland and freedom. Not a single pianist in the world can ignore his works, which remain a measure of musical and artistic taste.
A prominent representative of romanticism in music is a major composer, a brilliant pianist, conductor, and musical public figure, the pride of the Hungarian people, Franz Liszt. The main place in his work is given to piano and symphonic music. Liszt's works are characterized by a picturesque, figurative beginning. He sought to convey visible images - what aroused creative imagination when communicating with nature, getting acquainted with works of painting, sculpture, and literature. This was reflected in his program plays. The cycle “Years of Wanderings” gained the greatest popularity. The lyrical “Betrothal” based on the painting by Raphael contrasts with the stern “The Thinker” based on the sculpture by Michelangelo.

“Three Sonnets of Petrarch” full of deep passionate feeling. “Hungarian Rhapsodies” are written on bright contrasts of song and dance tunes. A remarkable monument of program music consists of 12 symphonic poems. Liszt is an innovative pianist. He significantly expanded the expressive capabilities and technique of piano playing, proving that the instrument could be as full-voiced as an orchestra.
The Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi wrote music in a variety of genres, but he was most attracted to opera. The plots were taken from the Bible, history, and romantic dramas by Hugo and Schiller. The composer’s focus is on the personality of a person, his inner world. Verdi's best operas: “Regoletto”, “La Traviata”, “Aida”, “Otello”, “Don Carlos” are performed on opera stages all over the world, attracting many spectators. The exceptional popularity of the composer’s work is explained by his deep nationality, connection with national culture, high humanism and extraordinary melodic richness.
Bright figure in musical world- German composer Richard Wagner. This is a whole era in musical art. His work is associated with the national traditions of German artistic culture, German folk - poetic and folk music. Wagner was not only a great composer, but also a poet, playwright, conductor, music critic and publicist, and a reformer of the art of opera. He owns thirteen operas. All of them are written in their own poetic texts. The source of his plots was the German epic: legends about the “Flying Dutchman” doomed to eternal wanderings, about the rebel singer Tanzheuser, about the legendary knight Lohengrin. These bright characters became the heroes of Wagner's operas. The problems of humanity: birth and death, love and struggle, youth and old age, fear and courage, the composer reflected in a grandiose cycle consisting of four operas(“Das Rheingold”, “Walkyrie”, “Siegfried”, “Twilight of the Gods”) under the general title “The Ring of the Nibelung”. Richard Wagner is the last major romantic of the 19th century.

Foreign composers of the Romantic era created a lot of interesting and artistically valuable things. Their music is a great treasure of world culture. She excites millions of listeners, captivates with her courageous strength, sincerity and warmth of melodic expression, and the depth of the feelings expressed in her.

Larisa Putintseva.

The romantic worldview is characterized by a sharp conflict between reality and dreams. Reality is low and unspiritual, it is permeated with the spirit of philistinism, philistinism and is worthy only of denial. A dream is something beautiful, perfect, but unattainable and incomprehensible to reason.

Romanticism contrasted the prose of life with the beautiful kingdom of the spirit, the “life of the heart.” The Romantics believed that feelings constitute a deeper layer of the soul than reason. According to Wagner, “the artist appeals to feeling, not to reason.” And Schumann said: “the mind goes astray, the feelings never.” It is no coincidence that the ideal form of art was declared to be music, which, due to its specificity, most fully expresses the movements of the soul. It was music in the era of romanticism that took a leading place in the art system.
If in literature and painting the romantic direction basically completes its development towards the middle XIX century, then the life of musical romanticism in Europe is much longer. Musical romanticism as a movement emerged at the beginning of the 19th century and developed in close connection with various movements in literature, painting and theater. The initial stage of musical romanticism is represented by the works of F. Schubert, E. T. A. Hoffmann, K. M. Weber, G. Rossini; the subsequent stage (1830-50s) - the work of F. Chopin, R. Schumann, F. Mendelssohn, G. Berlioz, F. Liszt, R. Wagner, G. Verdi.

The late stage of romanticism extends to the end of the 19th century.

The main problem of romantic music is the problem of personality, and in a new light - in its conflict with the outside world. Romantic hero forever alone. The theme of loneliness is perhaps the most popular in all romantic art. Very often the thought of a creative personality is associated with it: a person is lonely when he is an extraordinary, gifted person. The artist, poet, musician are favorite heroes in the works of the romantics (“The Love of a Poet” by Schumann, “Symphony Fantastique” by Berlioz with its subtitle “An Episode from the Life of an Artist”, Liszt’s symphonic poem “Tasso”).
The deep interest in the human personality inherent in romantic music was expressed in the predominance of a personal tone in it. The revelation of personal drama often acquired a touch of autobiography among the romantics, which brought special sincerity to the music. For example, many of Schumann's piano works are connected with the story of his love for Clara Wieck. Wagner emphasized the autobiographical nature of his operas in every possible way.

Attention to feelings leads to a change in genres - lyrics, in which images of love predominate, acquire a dominant position.
The theme of nature is very often intertwined with the theme of “lyrical confession”. Resonating with a person’s state of mind, it is usually colored by a feeling of disharmony. The development of genre and lyric-epic symphonism is closely connected with images of nature (one of the first works is Schubert’s “big” symphony in C major).
The theme of fantasy became a real discovery of romantic composers. Music for the first time learned to embody fabulous and fantastic images purely musical means. In the operas of the 17th and 18th centuries, “unearthly” characters (such as the Queen of the Night from Mozart’s “The Magic Flute”) spoke in a “generally accepted” musical language, standing out little from the background real people. Romantic composers learned to convey the fantasy world as something completely specific (with the help of unusual orchestral and harmonic colors).
Interest in folk art is highly characteristic of musical romanticism. Like the romantic poets, who enriched and updated the literary language through folklore, musicians widely turned to national folklore - folk songs, ballads, epics. Under the influence of folklore, the content of European music was dramatically transformed.
The most important point aesthetics of musical romanticism was the idea of ​​a synthesis of arts, which found its most vivid expression in operatic creativity Wagner and in the program music of Berlioz, Schumann, Liszt.

Hector Berlioz. "Fantastic Symphony" - 1. Dreams, passions...

Robert Schumann - “In the radiance...,” “I meet the gaze..”

From vocal cycle"The Poet's Love"
Robert Schumann Heinrich Heine "In the glow of warm May days"
Robert Schumann - Heinrich "I meet the gaze of your eyes"

Robert Schumann. "Fantastic plays".

Schumann Fantasiestucke, op. 12 part 1: no. 1 Des Abend and no. 2 Aufschwung

Sheet. Symphonic poem "Orpheus"

Frederic Chopin - Prelude No. 4 in E minor

Frederic Chopin - Nocturne No. 20 in C - sharp minor

Schubert opened the way for many new musical genres- impromptu, musical moments, song cycles, lyric-dramatic symphony. But no matter what genre Schubert wrote - traditional or created by him - everywhere he appears as a composer of a new era, the era of romanticism.

Many features of the new romantic style were then developed in the works of Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, and Russian composers of the second half of the 19th century century.

Franz Schubert. Symphony C major

Franz Liszt. "Dreams of Love"

Weber. Choir of hunters from the opera "Free Shooter"

Franz Schubert. Impromptu No. 3

The text is compiled from various sites. Compiled by:Ninel Nick

At the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries, such an artistic movement as romanticism appeared. During this era, people dreamed of an ideal world and “fleeed” into fantasy. This style found its most vivid and imaginative embodiment in music. Among the representatives of romanticism, famous composers of the 19th century are Karl Weber,

Robert Schumann, Franz Schubert, Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner.

Franz Liszt

The future was born into the family of a cellist. His father taught him music early years. As a child, he sang in the choir and learned to play the organ. When Franz was 12 years old, his family moved to Paris so that the boy could study music. He was not accepted into the conservatory, however, since the age of 14 he has been composing etudes. Such 19th century artists as Berlioz and Paganini had a great influence on him.

Paganini became Liszt's real idol, and he decided to hone his own piano skills. The concert activity of 1839-1847 was accompanied by a brilliant triumph. During these years, Ferenc created the famous collection of plays “Years of Wanderings”. The piano virtuoso and public favorite became a true embodiment of the era.

Franz Liszt composed music, wrote several books, taught, and conducted open classes. Composers of the 19th century from all over Europe came to him. We can say that he was involved in music almost his entire life, since he created for 60 years. To this day, his musical talent and skill are a role model for modern pianists.

Richard Wagner

The genius created music that could not leave anyone indifferent. She had both fans and fierce opponents. Wagner was passionate about theater since childhood, and at the age of 15 he decided to create a tragedy with music. At the age of 16, he brought his works to Paris.

For 3 years he tried in vain to stage the opera, but no one wanted to deal with an unknown musician. Popular 19th-century composers such as Franz Liszt and Berlioz, whom he met in Paris, did not bring him luck. He is in poverty, and no one wants to support his musical ideas.

Having failed in France, the composer returned to Dresden, where he began working as a conductor in the court theater. In 1848, he emigrated to Switzerland, having been declared a criminal after participating in the uprising. Wagner was aware of the imperfection of bourgeois society and the dependent position of the artist.

In 1859, he glorified love in the opera Tristan and Isolde. The work "Parsifal" presents a utopian vision of universal brotherhood. Evil is defeated, and justice and wisdom prevail. All the great composers of the 19th century were influenced by Wagner's music and learned from his work.

In the 19th century, a national composition and performing school was formed in Russia. There are two periods in Russian music: early romanticism and classical. The first includes such Russian composers of the 19th century as A. Varlamov, A. Verstovsky, A. Gurilev.

Mikhail Glinka

Mikhail Glinka founded a school of composition in our country. The Russian spirit is present in all of him. Such famous operas as “Ruslan and Lyudmila”, “A Life for the Tsar” are imbued with patriotism. Glinka summarized the characteristic features of folk music and used ancient tunes and rhythms of folk music. The composer was also an innovator in musical dramaturgy. His work is the rise of national culture.

Russian composers gave the world many brilliant works that still captivate people’s hearts today. Among the brilliant Russian composers of the 19th century, such names as M. Balakirev, A. Glazunov, M. Mussorgsky, N. Rimsky-Korsakov, P. Tchaikovsky are immortalized.

Classical music vividly and sensually reflects the inner world of a person. Strict rationalism was replaced by the romance of the 19th century.

Essay By academic discipline"Culturology"

on the topic: "Romanticism in music."

Plan

1. Introduction.

2. Characteristic features of the era of romanticism in music.

3. Geography of romantic music.

5. Conclusion.

6. List of references.

1. Introduction.

Romanticism is a new artistic movement of the 19th century. It replaced classicism, and its signs began to appear already at the end of the 18th century. The birthplace of romanticism is Germany, but it quickly spread and penetrated into other European countries, as well as Russia and America. The term “romanticism” itself first appeared in literature, thanks to the activities of German writer Novalis (1772 - 1801). It was introduced into music by E.T. A. Hoffmann (1776 - 1882). Romanticism developed in struggle and at the same time in close interaction with its predecessors - classicism and sentimentalism. In the depths of these literary trends it was born. Classic writers were convinced that only those who clearly understand it, who are capable of curbing their passions - personal interests and aspirations, can fulfill their civic duty. But this, they believed, was the lot of only a few, “noble” people, mainly nobles. They had to be ready to selflessly, sacrificially serve their fatherland. Civic duty, in their opinion, consists, first of all, of noble honor and virtue.

The Romantics sought to romanticize everything around them, all life phenomena. They adopted some principles from the previous era of classicism, but the very essence of romanticism is a protest against the principles of the Enlightenment, disappointment in them. Representatives of romanticism could not accept the cult of reason, rationalism, logic and practicality. For them, the soul and individuality of a person, his feelings were important.

The originality of romanticism also lies in the fact that they did not strive for a clear division of art into types and genres. They were impressed by the idea of ​​a synthesis of arts, and they successfully implemented it. Romanticism belongs to one of the most interesting and fruitful cultural eras.

2. Characteristic features of the era of romanticism in music.

He reigned for more than a hundred years musical culture romanticism (1800 - 1910). It was in this art that he turned out to be a long-liver, while in literature and painting he could only last fifty years. This cannot be called an accident. In the understanding of the romantics, music is the most spiritual art and has the greatest freedom. One of the most important features of the music of the Romantic era is its synthesis with other forms of art. Moreover, the Romantics were not supporters of strict and clear genre divisions.

Aesthetic categories were also mixed. Tragedy easily coexisted with comedy; the ugly with the beautiful; the mundane with the sublime. Such contrasts did not look unconvincing or unnatural. Chief artistic device- romantic irony - made it possible to connect the incompatible. Thanks to her, a special picture of the world emerged, inherent in romanticism.

Despite the tendency to mix genres, many of them, of course, had the right to independent existence and managed to develop significantly during this period; Specific genres also emerged. First of all, this is the genre of romantic musical poem and ballad (the brightest representative is F. Schubert); songs; piano miniatures.

Special mention should be made about the piano miniature. It was intended to convey some image that impressed the author, or his mood. A piano miniature could have a genre specification: waltz, song, song without words, mazurka, nocturne. Composers often turned to program music and combined their works into cycles.

Characteristic of the era of romanticism is the famous piano cycle by R. Schumann “Carnival”, reflecting the free nature of the aesthetics of romanticism. "Carnival" contains twenty-one numbers. These are sketches that replace each other, differing from each other in mood, pictures, portraits, but many of them are united by a single plot. The composer paints an imaginary holiday to which masked guests are invited. Among them are the usual carnival characters - timid Pierrot, mischievous Harlequin, Columbine and Pantalone grumbling at each other (all this is superbly conveyed by musical means).

“Carnival” is fraught with a very original concept. The composer himself called his cycle “miniature scenes on 4 notes,” since the entire melody is built on them. The composer took four notes different sequences and combinations and as a result they formed a semblance of a theme underlying each play.

From a compositional point of view, Carnival demonstrates the highest degree of compositional skill. All songs in the cycle are distinguished by perfect finishing, brilliance and virtuosity. In general, the entire cycle is an example of harmonious combination and integrity.

If we talk about program music in more detail, here we can highlight such a feature as connection with other genres: literature, painting. The form of the essay becomes dependent on the plot. In this regard, symphonic poems, one-movement concerts and sonatas arise; multi-movement symphonies. Thus, in the era of romanticism, both vocal chamber music and instrumental chamber music developed.

Opera also became special during this period. She begins to gravitate towards symphonism; there is a close and justifiable connection between text and music; Stage action had equal significance with them.

Romantics had favorite themes. The plots were mostly based on the theme of loneliness and love, because at the center of the aesthetics of romanticism was a proud and lonely person, in whose soul strong passions raged. The romantic hero has always been opposed to society, to the whole world. Therefore, it is quite logical that during the period of romanticism, authors turned to themes close to the image of such a hero: the theme of death, the theme of the road and wanderings, the theme of nature. In romantic works, a lot of space was devoted to elements of fantasy invading the boring material world.

Composers who worked in the era of romanticism had their own musical language. They paid great attention to melody, emphasizing the meaning of the word, and artistic expressiveness (the last remark also applies to the accompaniment).

The harmony was noticeably transformed and enriched. Through harmony, passions, languor, contrast of moods, tension, and the fantastic beginning of the works were conveyed. Thus, melody, texture and harmony are equal in importance.

So, the main features of the music of the Romantic era can be called a synthesis of arts and genres; special expressiveness and close relationship between melody, accompaniment and harmony; contrast; fantastic; increased emotionality and expression.

3. Geography of romantic music.

Romanticism covered a fairly wide area: from Europe and Russia to America, and everywhere its development was carried out specifically. In Europe, the art of music during this period in some countries had both cultural commonality and differences. For example, the music of Austria and Germany developed in approximately the same direction. The musical romanticism of these countries was influenced by the Vienna School of Music, powerfully manifested literature. A common language also brought them together. German-Austrian romanticism was distinguished not only by advanced works of various genres, but also by active enlightenment. The defining feature of German and Austrian romanticism is songfulness.

Romanticism in Poland is a combination of vocality and instrumentality - characteristic Polish folk music. Thus, in the intonations of F. Chopin one can quite clearly hear the echoes of the epic genre of Polish folk music - the Polish Duma. This genre in the mature period of its development is characterized by a slow epic chorus, often of a mournful tone. And subsequent dramatically intense episodes, alternating with the return of the melody of the initial chorus. There is no doubt that it was the West Slavic dumas that served as the prototype for Chopin’s ballads and similar works. Thus, the basis of Polish romanticism is folk art.

Italian romanticism is an unprecedented flowering of the art of opera; Bel Canto takeoff. Thus, Italian opera became the leader in this direction throughout the world. In France, too, opera acquires one of the leading meanings. Much credit for this belongs to G. Berlioz (1803 - 1869), who was the creator of such an interesting phenomenon as comic opera, which directly reflected the national specifics of this country.

In Russia, romanticism developed under the influence of the ideas of the Decembrists, the Great French Revolution, and the Napoleonic War of 1812, that is, it was associated with global social events. The principles of citizenship and service to the homeland were transferred to the art of music, in which the idea of ​​national consciousness was clearly heard. Thus, the musical romanticism of all countries was united common features: the desire for high spirituality, dreams of beauty, a reflection of the sensory sphere of a person.

4. Great composers and musicians of the Romantic era.

Romanticism gave musical culture many magnificent composers: F. Liszt (1811 - 1886, Hungary), R. Schumann (1810 - 1856, Germany), F. Schubert (1797 - 1828, Austria), K. Weber (1786 - 1826, Germany ), R. Wagner (1813 - 1883, Germany), J. Bizet (1838 - 1875, France), N. Paganini (1782 - 1840, Italy), E. Grieg (1843 - 1907, Norway), G. Verdi ( 1813 - 1901, Italy), F. Chopin (1810 - 1849), L. van Beethoven (last stage of creativity, Germany), etc. Let us briefly characterize the work of some of them.

Franz Liszt, like W.A. Mozart, was a young virtuoso and very early made Europe talk about himself, performing in front of the public as a pianist. His gift as a composer manifested itself just as early. Subsequently, F. Liszt combined touring and composing activities. He also made transcriptions of symphonic music for piano, and he can rightfully be considered a great educator.

F. Liszt's original works are characterized by virtuosity and depth, expression and frenzy. These are his famous cyclical works: “Years of Wanderings”, “Etudes of Transcendental Performance”, “Grand Etudes after Paganini’s Caprices”, “Hungarian Rhapsodies”. F. Liszt made a huge contribution to the popularization and development of Hungarian musical culture.

Franz Schubert is considered the first composer of the Romantic era to be ranked among the great composers. His music is pure, joyful, poetic and at the same time sad, cold, and despairing. As is typical for romantics, F. Schubert's music is contrasting, but it amazes with its freedom and ease, the beauty of the melodies.

F. Schubert wrote a huge number of songs that are true masterpieces. This is especially true for works written to poems by V.I. Goethe (“The Forest King”, “Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel”) and many others.

The composer also worked in other genres: operas, chamber vocal and instrumental works. And yet, first of all, the name of F. Schubert is associated with his songs and various cycles: “The Beautiful Miller's Wife”, “Winter Reise”, “Swan Song”.

French composer Georges Bizet entered the history of world culture as the author of the unsurpassed opera Carmen. Already at the age of ten he became a student at the Paris Conservatory. The young composer at the beginning of his creative path tried myself in different genres, but his true passion was opera. In addition to Carmen, he wrote such operas as The Pearl Fishers, The Beauty of Perth, and Jamile. The music he wrote for A. Daudet’s drama with the same name “The Arlesian” also stands out. J. Bizet is rightfully considered an outstanding composer of France.

Edvard Grieg is the most famous composer of Norway, one of the symbols of this country. His music is a distinctive and original phenomenon, demonstrating the unique individuality of the creative thinking of this composer. The works of E. Grieg, including “Piano Concerto”, romances, “Lyric Pieces”, “Second Violin Sonata” and, of course, “Peer Gynt” - music for the play by G. Ibsen - have become the property of not only Norwegian, but also world music .

One of the personifications of romanticism is the Italian violinist and composer Niccolo Paganini. The most accurate definitions of his art are brightness, brilliance, frenzy, rebellion. He wrote virtuoso and passionate works, which are still present in the repertoire of famous violinists today. We are talking about the First and Second Violin Concertos, “24 Capricci”, “Venice Carnival” and “Perpetual Motion”. In addition, N. Paganini was an excellent improviser and made arrangements and variations of fragments of operas for solo violin. He was an inspiration for many figures of the Romantic era.

Speaking about the music of the outstanding Polish composer Fryderyk Chopin (1810 - 1849), first of all, it is worth saying that this is the “soul of the Polish people”, which found varied expression in Chopin’s art. His music contains pages of epic grandeur and heroic ascent. In the tragic episodes of Chopin's music one can hear the sorrow of a courageous heart. Chopin's art is a deeply folk art of a patriotic artist, a humanist artist, inspired by the progressive ideals of the era in which he had to live and create.

Chopin's career as a composer began with the composition of Polish everyday dances (mazurka, polonaise, waltz). He also turned to nocturnes. His “Ballad in G minor”, ​​“Scherzo in B minor” and “Etude in C minor” turned out to be revolutionary for piano music. F. Chopin's etudes and preludes (along with F. Liszt's etudes) are the pinnacle of piano technique of the Romantic era.

Romanticism took root very well on Russian soil. The new worldview found a response in the minds and souls of the intelligentsia. His concept of resistance to the evil that has engulfed the whole world turned out to be very close to Russian art and literature.

One of the manifestations of romanticism was Russian romantic prose. Having emerged in the first half of the 19th century, it itself became a unique phenomenon. Presented with the names of not only great Russian writers, but also second-tier authors. Some works of these authors clearly demonstrate an affinity for fantasy, an unusual and surreal atmosphere, a magical plot twist, and strange characters. In these works one can feel Hoffmann's trace, but refracted through Russian reality. As in Germany, Russian music of this period was closely connected with literature. This can be seen in the example of the work of V.F. Odoevsky (1804 - 1869), who succeeded in both areas.

In general, the romantic era produced a galaxy of outstanding composers. This is P. I. Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893), A. A. Alyabyev (1787 - 1851), A. P. Borodin (1833 - 1887), M. I. Glinka (1804 - 1857), A. S. Dargomyzhsky (1813 - 1869), M.P. Mussorgsky (1839 - 1881), M. A. Balakirev (1837 - 1910), N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov (1844 - 1908), A. N. Scriabin (1872 - 1915), Ts.A. Cui (1835 - 1915), S.V. Rachmaninov (1873 - 1943). Of course, most of the listed composers were only romantics. They made a huge contribution to the development of realism in Russian culture, but certain periods of their work fell on the stage of romanticism.

The exponent of the Russian idea in music was M.I. Glinka. His appearance in Russian musical culture forced it to take a different path. In his work, he managed to combine European and Russian national traditions. The romantic period of M.I.’s creativity Glinka's are beautiful romances filled with harmony, lyricism and passion, perfect in form and content.

In addition to the activities of composers, creative associations played a huge role during this period. In general, this was a time of great and significant changes for Russia, including in musical life. There is a development of science and literature, which carries with it Russian art. Its best representatives are beginning to realize the great social power of art. So, the trends of the times also capture music, the influence of literature on it increases and, as a result, their interaction. The scope of its relationships with other forms of art is expanding, various musical communities are emerging: Dargomyzhsky’s circle, Rubinstein’s circle, Belyaev’s circle and, finally, Balakirev’s musical community, called the “Mighty Handful”.

The expression “The Mighty Handful” was coined by the critic V.V. Stasov (1824 - 1906). This oxymoronic expression subsequently became popular and was repeated in both respectful and ironic contexts, referring to the musicians grouped around M.A. Balakireva.

First of all, they sought to revive interest in Russian folk art. Attaching great importance to the national originality of music, they rightly believed that it could only be achieved if the composer turned to folk song origins. Anyone who is brought up only on salon compositions, even the best ones, will not be able to create anything worthwhile. Until now, the members of the Balakirev circle believed, professional music, with rare exceptions (meaning M.I. Glinka, 1804 - 1857), was far from folk art. In the understanding of the “kuchkists”, the composer is obliged to imbue himself with the spirit of folk music. Thus, Russian romanticism is Russian national art.

5. Conclusion.

A new, romantic view of the world in European art at the turn of the 18th - 19th centuries. In romanticism, the everyday world is adjacent to the fantastic world, where the dramatic hero runs, hoping to escape from everyday life. The Romantics believed that art is one; Poetry and music are especially close. Music can “retell” the poet’s thought, paint an image literary hero, and poetry quite often amazes with its musicality. The trend of new art was also reflected in the work of the great romantic composers.

Musical romanticism had its own heroes, its own themes, its own aesthetic principles and artistic language. His goal was free form, not limited by genre or type boundaries. Musical romanticism existed for a very long time and brought rich fruits.

However, the moment of his crisis has come. This happened at a time when the approach of the twentieth century, with its peculiar tendencies, began to destroy the ideals of romanticism. And although it was eventually replaced by modernism, romanticism did not sink into eternity, and its traditions continued to live in the art of the new century and even in our modern times.

6. List of references.

1. Belousova S.S. Romanticism. - M.: Rosman, 2004. - 115 p.

2. Galatskaya V.S. German composer Robert Schuman/V.S. Galatskaya. - M.: Knowledge, 1956. - 33 p.

3. Gordeeva E.M. Mighty bunch/E.M. Gordeeva. - M.: Music. - 270 s.

4. Solovtsov A.A. Fryderyk Chopin. Life and art. - State Music Publishing House/A.A. Solovtsov. - Moscow, 1960. - 504 p.