by Cicely Richard

Created on: January 23, 2012

The Romantic era took place during the late 18th century and the 19th century, particularly dominating the time around the Industrial Revolution. Composers of the era wrote songs that covered a wide range of emotions, with many of their works dealing with love, tragic romance and literature. The music also covered aesthetics and the strangeness and beauties of nature. Many of the talented Romantic era composers gained inspiration from their predecessors, and their music lives on to the present.  

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)    

Ludwig van Beethoven is appropriately called the “Universal Composer,” as his music overlapped both the Classic and the Romantic era. Born in Bonn, Germany, Beethoven came from a musical family; his grandfather and father was a musician. Beethoven’s father, a taskmaster, taught him piano, often bringing young Ludwig to tears. He made his first public appearance at the age of five. He began losing his hearing in his 20’s, and he continued composing, conducting and performing after becoming completely deaf. Beethoven composed more than 200 pieces, and his “Fifth Symphony” remains on of the most recognizable compositions.

Georges Bizet (1838-1875)

French composer Georges Bizet lived a short life, dying at the age of 36, but he created a few impressive works before the end of his life. Born in Paris, his father was a hairdresser and wigmaker before he became a singing instructor. His mother was a pianist and came from a musical family. An only child, Bizet first learned music from his parents before studying at the Paris Conservatoire. He won prizes while at the Conservatoire and wrote two songs around 1850. At 17, he wrote “Symphony in C Major.” Bizet wrote other operas, including his well-known “Carmen.” Despite his early death, “Carmen” still lives, having been adapted more than 50 times in film and on stage.

Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)

Frederic Francois Chopin is the Polish composer and virtuoso pianist known for his romantic waltzes. Born in Zelazowa Wola near Warsaw, his French father Nicolas Chopin was a tutor to aristocratic families, and his mother Justyna Krzyzanowska was a poor relative of a wealthy family. The Chopin’s filled their home with music and the arts. He learned to play the piano at a young age and wrote to Polish dances for the piano at seven years old. At the same time, he began studying the violin and continued

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