OPPapers.com

Chopin

In my opinion, Chopin was the most influential composer of the 19th century, of course
after Beethoven... As I see it, he propelled the emerging Romantic era to it's greatest heights. For
me, Chopin was the beginning, middle and end of the Romantic era. Of course, this might apply
more to piano music. But for me he slam-dunked the whole era, just like Beethoven did with the
Classical era. Both men left a massive wake behind them through which no one could navigate
with equal success. As I understand it, the Romantic era in music was about a more personal and
emotional expression of music. Beethoven shocked the world with his candid and emotionally
charged music and changed music forever. What came next was an era in which composers had
new tools and freedom to express a whole new sensibility in their music. Beethoven paved the
way for composers to express a far wider range of emotionality. And thus the Romantic era was born.

-------Earlier music, of course, had emotional elements, and much of it was profoundly emotional.
After all, the experience of music is inherently emotional. One cannot help having emotional
reactions to even the driest music. What I see as being new about the Romantic era, among other
things, was the focus on emotionality as a primary ingredient in the music. Of course, opera had
been around for a long time, and it was rich in dramatic and emotional content, but other musical
genres of the day didn't seem to have the freedom to express emotions so directly. When I read a
biography on Chopin , I was surprised to learn that he was influenced primarily by vocal music
like that found in Italian opera . Even at a very early age, his mother's singing
would bring him to tears. It is fitting, however, that this should be the case. The human voice is
naturally the most emotional instrument of all, and music, as well as the instruments it is played
on, has always seemed to strive to imitate this most moving...