“Music is the one incorporeal entrance into the higher
Ludwig van Beethoven
world of knowledge which comprehends mankind
but which mankind cannot comprehend.”
Proto-Romantic Era: 1800-1828
Background of Proto-Romanticism
Although most sources define Romanticism as the period between 1800 and 1910, its foundations were laid somewhat earlier, at least within the artistic and literary landscape. In the visual arts, hints of Romantic ideals appeared as early as the 1760s, with foundational pioneers including Joseph Vernet and Henry Fuseli, whose Shipwreck (1759) and Nightmare (1781), respectively, are considered rudimentary prototypes of the soon-to-flourish Romantic movement. France, the country that would soon be the hub of Romantic life, did not actually have a strong history with the movement until Napoleon, because Neoclassicism still held popular opinion within academies. Strangely, the most culturally isolated parts of Western Europe, namely Great Britain and Spain, had some of the most pronounced expressions of Romanticism in the 18th century. Look at English painter George Stubbs’ A Lion Attacking a Horse, or even famed Spanish painter Francisco Goya, who in the 1780s began incorporating hallmark traits of Romantic art, despite still aligning mostly with Enlightenment-era Neoclassicism.
In the literary world, British Romanticism led the pack. William Blake and Robert Burns were key predecessors of later popular Romantics, such as Lord Byron and William Wordsworth. Though Germany’s golden age of Romanticism in the musical world postdates that of France’s, in a literary sense, it had a more timely beginning. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe began composing his early works in the 1770s, decades before the Bourbon Restoration, when Romanticism would become popular. Such a delay was likely because the values of Romanticism were closely associated with the ancien régime and were thus pushed aside during the revolutionary period by more rational forms of writing. In this particular field, Germany also produced another notable artistic movement: Sturm und Drang, influenced by Jean-Jacques Rousseau and characterized by a radical rejection of Neoclassicism.
As with many musical movements in history, Romanticism in music arose in popularity approximately two decades after the movement in literature and art. This was mainly because music during the period was not as “absolute” as it had been during the Classical (equivalent to “Neoclassical” in artistic and literary lingo) era. Romanticism meant that music had to mean something, and composers often connected their work with existing Romantic novels, artworks, or stories. In other words, because art and literature became a basis for music, it also meant that Romantic art and literature must have predated Romantic music; otherwise, the music would have nothing to base itself on. In general, musical movements have lagged behind their brethren and will continue to do so.
The Heart of Proto-Romanticism
For ease of study and to maintain a consensus within the musical community, the start of the 19th century marks the beginning of the Proto-Romantic era. There were traces of the Romantic Sturm und Drang period as early as Joseph Haydn’s “Farewell” Symphony of 1772, though the music’s core remained structurally classical. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart comes to mind as a direct precursor to Proto-Romanticism. His compositions (as the movie Amadeus portrays with impressive accuracy) were extremely radical and pushed against classical values. Two of his most popular operas, The Marriage of Figaro (1786) and Don Giovanni (1787), were considered dangerous because they challenged 18th-century social norms. During Mozart’s exceptionally productive summer of 1788, he also composed Symphonies Nos. 40 and 41 “Jupiter”, nowadays considered his magna opera (Latin for “greatest works,” not to be confused with the performance “opera”). However, most of these forebodings were confined to larger-scale works such as operas and symphonies. Additionally, these radical compositions emerged few and far between, and it’s only because modern musicians give special attention to these unusual works and forget all the others that their atypical character is numbed.
Although Mozart pushed ideas that aligned with Romanticism, his music remained, for the most part, quintessentially classical. However, Ludwig van Beethoven was the first to embody Romanticism in all aspects. His earlier works remain true to the classical period, but he developed newer ideas at the turn of the century. Primarily due to psychological pressure stemming from his hearing loss, Beethoven’s music became increasingly uncanny. In 1805, he premiered the now infamous Symphony No. 3 “Eroica”, revolutionizing instrumentation, performance length, and the structural forms of movements and sections within each movement (developments and codas grew). His later symphonies, such as Symphony No. 5 “Fate” and Symphony No. 6 “Pastoral”, expanded the musical form and developed the first Romantic symphony orchestra. Unlike Mozart, Beethoven also used these pre-Romantic ideas in smaller compositions, namely Piano Concerto No. 5 “Emperor” and Piano Sonata No. 29 “Hammerklavier”. His Romantic ideals extended into string repertoire, too.
Another notable Proto-Romantic composer was Franz Schubert, who admired Beethoven and borrowed many of his ideas. In addition to his many lieder, Schubert also incorporated Romanticism into his Piano Sonatas (unfortunately, they are not as popular as Beethoven’s nowadays). Schubert’s most famous piano works are the 6 Moments Musicaux and, in our opinion, his greatest masterpiece: the Wanderer Fantasy.
A few more Proto-Romantic composers of note: Gioachino Rossini‘s bel canto operas (especially his popular opera buffas) transformed the art, influencing future Italian opera composers, Gaetano Donizetti and Vincenzo Bellini. Their arguably most popular works from this area are The Barber of Seville, Zoraida di Granata, and Il Pirata, respectively (Donizetti and Bellini’s most significant works of all time would come in the 1830s, however). In Germany, Carl Maria von Weber was a famous figure. He relinquished the Singspiel style of classical operas for a new, distinct Romantic style prevalent in Der Freischütz. He himself also contributed to the piano world with Konzertstück in F minor, a famed piano concerto that even a young Franz Liszt would perform frequently. In this genre, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, too, was a serious contributor. His piano concertos were undoubtedly the most performed of any composer in the 1820s, though their popularity died down significantly by the end of the 19th century. However, Hummel was a classical composer, rejecting Romanticism and maintaining a style similar to that of Haydn, Antonio Salieri, and his teacher, Mozart. And yet his classical works were still important enough to be mentioned in the Proto-Romantic era, proving that this period was very much a tentative, transitional one.
Niccolò Paganini also impacted the violin community through his virtuosic, bravura-filled compositions, namely the Violin Concerto No. 1 and the 24 Caprices, though he would gain fame later in the Early Romantic period.
The End of Proto-Romanticism
The Proto-Romantic era came to an end when Romantic ideals became widely adopted. A rejection of the Enlightenment era and classical music marked the beginnings of the most significant movement in musical history. A new generation of composers born in the same couple of years (Liszt, Schumann, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Burgmüller, Wagner, and Verdi were all born between 1806 and 1813) displaced the old, a pattern also found in political regimes during the time.
1828 is specifically chosen as an example because of Schubert’s death, the last of the Proto-Romantics. Beethoven had died a year earlier, and Paganini would begin his famous virtuosic European tour in Vienna in 1828, indicating a stark shift in culture. In opera, the “invention” of the grand opera (a type of French opera characterized by four or five acts, elaborate orchestration and choruses, mature historical themes, and massive overall scale) ushered in a new age of entertainment. Daniel Auber‘s La Muette di Portici, the very first French grand opera, and Giacomo Meyerbeer‘s Robert le Diable stand as near opposites from the opera of the classical age.
The piano world changed significantly during the First Industrial Revolution: the piano underwent technological developments, including a wider keyboard and dynamic range, the damper pedal, and a rapid key return. These expansions of the instrument enabled more complex music, thanks to pioneering manufacturers like Ignaz Pleyel and Sébastien Érard. The piano became a solo instrument capable of competing with entire orchestras. Pianists Ignaz Moscheles and Liszt, inspired by the success of Paganini’s solo tours, popularized the piano recital and romanticized the solo musician to legendary heights. In the 1700s, musicians were inferior in class and genius to their aristocratic patrons and audience. Now, the musicians were the ones to be admired and worshipped for their divine brilliance.