Romantic period (1810–1900)

In the early 19th century artists and writers claimed the right to express their personal feelings: passion, melancholy, dreams, love of nature. The composer was no longer a servant of court or church but an independent artist living from concerts, pupils and publications.

The piano changed deeply: Érard’s double escapement (which lets a note repeat very quickly), a metal frame, higher string tension, a wider keyboard. The instrument became powerful and singing, and found its way into every middle-class home. Liszt invented the solo piano recital; Chopin wrote almost only for his instrument.

Romantic music loves short, poetic character pieces (nocturne, impromptu, song without words, scenes from childhood) as much as huge works (Brahms’s symphonies, the operas of Verdi and Wagner). Harmony grew richer in chromaticism and distant modulations; the sustain pedal wraps the sound.

Tempo became more flexible (rubato: you “steal” time from one note and give it back to another). Music told stories and painted landscapes: this is programme music, from Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique to Liszt’s symphonic poems. On the guitar, Tárrega laid the foundations of modern technique.