Characteristics Of Romanticism In Music

Romanticism is the movement in the arts and literature emphasizing inspiration, subjectivity, and the primacy of the individual. This idea originated in the late 18th century, featuring composers such as Felix Mendelssohn, Richard Wagner, Franz Liszt, and Frederic Chopin. In the current 21st century, original classical-styled composition is difficult to discover. These days, unique instrumental music is found movie scores and soundtracks. Some renowned film score composers include Hans Zimmer (The Pirates of the Caribbean), James Howard Newton (The Hunger Games), and John Williams (Star Wars). Though the music in the background of a movie may be subtle, it promotes emotions within the movie. For example, music which is loud and

Just as Felix Mendelssohn was a romantic composer, Hans Zimmer uses characteristics found in the Romantic Era in his film scores. Some of the traits often attributed to Romanticism found in both Mendelssohn and Zimmer's compositions are strong senses, emotions, and feelings and importance of imagination. Some pieces, such as A Midsummer Night's Dream (1826), are incidental music, “the 19th century soundtrack.” Likewise, Zimmer's profession revolves around incidental music of the cinema. While Mendelssohn's creative originality was recognized and evaluated, proclaiming him as one of the most prominent Romantic composers, Zimmer's individuality has made him one of the most outstanding film

Mendelssohn followed the footsteps of his predecessors, like Mozart, and followed guidelines and structures laid out in the Classical Era while continuing to search out the advancing ideas of Romanticism. The Overture is probably one of the most profound of his pieces. It is perhaps the earliest example of a concert overture, a piece not deliberately written to accompany a staged performance, but to evoke a literary theme in performance on a concert platform. This idea soon became a popular genre form in the Romantic Era. One of the events that gained Mendelssohn his popularity was his revival of Bach's St. Matthew Passion in 1829. This performance of the almost forgotten masterpiece was an important element in the advancement of J. S. Bach's music throughout Europe. His first paid post as a musician was in 1833 when Mendelssohn was musical director between Britain and Dusseldorf. Like his performance of Bach, Mendelssohn reawakened interest in Handel after directing a performance of Handel's oratorio Israel in Egypt. In an interview with the German television station ZDF in 2006, Hans Zimmer remarked: “My father died when I was just a child, and I escaped somehow into the music and music has been my best friend.” Zimmer began his career playing keyboards and synthesizers in 1970s with the band Krakatoa. Throughout the next ten years, he played his instruments for and helped produce