The Romantic period was a time of intense emotional expression. Musicians, painters, writers, and dancers used their art to express feelings that are both personal and universal. Although the name “Romantic” makes us think of love, the composers of this era wrote about the full spectrum of human emotion – the beautiful and the painful. Although he is associated with the Classical period, many people credit Beethoven with starting this trend of emotional expression in music.

Romantic composers explored the art of orchestration to bring their music to life. Orchestration is the use of a variety of instruments to achieve unique sounds. Every instrument has a distinct timbre, or tone quality that can be effective in creating a mood. For instance, trumpets are good for majestic fanfares, and an oboe is a suitable choice for a mournful melody. Romantic composers thoroughly explored the expressive capabilities of the various instruments. They found that they could write highly emotional music, even without the use of lyrics. This became such a common practice that they even created a term for it: program music is an instrumental work that tells a story through musical sound, without words. Romantic orchestras grew substantially in size compared to those of the classical period. In particular, the percussion section expanded considerably and took on a more important role.

Two opposing trends emerged in Romantic music: nationalism and exoticism. Nationalism is the celebration of one’s culture through music. German composers like Carl Maria von Weber used German folk stories as the basis for their operas, and the Russian composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote the 1812 Overture to celebrate his country’s victory over Napoleon. But composers also looked to foreign cultures for inspiration. The Czech composer Antonin Dvorak used African American themes in his New World Symphony.