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Romanticism has always and always will be in art and music. Walter Pater defines Romanticism as "the addition of strangeness to beauty." Lord Bacon adds, "there is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in it."
Throughout history music cycles between a mainly classical idea of art and music and a mainly romantic idea of art and music. Curt Sachs describes this as a cycle of ethos and pathos, or logic and passion.
This concept may be argued. How can we describe the work of any master composer without describing the passion of his finished work? Even the work of J.S. Bach is not exempt. Can all art be described as Romantic? What lasting work exhibits no strange, unseen, or extraordinary qualities? Event he depiction of religious scenes during the classical era of art show some extraordinary qualities.
Therefore, the question seems to be, what works of art or music are not Romantic?

Learn more about this author, James C. Minor.
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