Here is the listening list for the ROMANTIC era. As always, students will be expected to know the name of the piece AND its composer. Listen to these pieces on a regular basis for optimum results and be sure that the student always knows what they’re listening to. Now would also be a good time to discuss the stylistic differences you’ve noticed between the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras of music. We’ll briefly discuss them during studio class in April. These are just a few of the musical masters of the Romantic era of music. This was the era where composers REALLY took piano music to the limits. A fortune of the best pieces in the piano repertoire come from this era! I challenge you to listen to more piano music from this era. It’s amazing! 

1. Liebestraum (“Love Dream”)  – Franz Liszt (A very famous piece of Liszt’s. So gorgeous!)

2. Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 – Frederic Chopin (Nocturne comes from the word “nocturnal” and is considered “night music.”)

3. Traumerei – Robert Schumann (This is a movement from his collection of pieces “Scenes from Childhood”. Traumerei means “Dreaming”.) Have you noticed how much more programmatic Romantic era music is vs. Classical or Baroque? Classical = Sonata no. ? in ? major. Romantic = Liebstraum or Traumerei. I personally think it’s very fascinating.

4. Prelude in C-sharp minor – Sergei Rachmaninov (This is one of the most recognizable pieces of the entire era.)

5. Etude Op. 10 No. 1 – Frederic Chopin (As you can imagine, this is an etude to practice intricate arpeggios.)

6. Transcendental Etude (S.139) No. 4 – Franz Liszt (Observe the moments where there’s so much going on, that the music is written on 3 staves instead of 2!)