The Romantic Generation

"Three chapters on Chopin and not one on Wagner or Verdi?" Mr. Fuller asks rhetorically in another review, demanding for Rosen's book a different title. In fact, Verdi and Wagner were not members of the specific "Romantic generation" that is the subject of this book. Rosen is writing about the generation that came to maturity around 1830, the generation that produced its first characteristic and revolutionary works around that date: Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Berlioz, Bellini, and Meyerbeer. (The Symphonie fantastique was premièred in 1830, Norma and Robert le Diable in 1831. Schumann's first piano works date from 1830. Chopin's Mazurkas op. 6 & op. 7, the Études, op. 10, and the op. 15 Nocturnes were all composed between 1830 & 1833.) Indeed, Rosen intended for his book to have the clarifying subtitle, "Music from the Death of Beethoven to the Death of Chopin." Even if you consider such early works as Der fliegende Holländer and Ernani to be the first fully characteristic works of Wagner and Verdi, they were premièred in 1843 and 1844 respectively, more than a dozen years later than the first characteristic works of the generation Rosen is writing about, and both composers produced more substantial works in the 1850's: after the death of Chopin. Rosen also places Chopin, Schumann, Liszt et al in the immediate context of Beethoven's only song cycle, "An die ferne Geliebte," the music of Schubert, and the music of the precocious Mendelssohn, who -- a year older than Chopin and Schumann -- wrote his greatest works at the age of 16 in 1825.

"I think it is probable that Beethoven's death hastened the rapid development of new stylistic tendencies which had already made themselves felt and which, indeed, even influenced his own music," states Charles Rosen in his preface to one of the most detailed and enjoyable musical essays I've ever read. The leaders of the 1830s musical avant-garde -- Chopin, Liszt, and Schumann -- heard those "new stylistic tendencies" in Schubert and late Beethoven, and made them the basis of a revolutionary musical style, one offering rhythmic, harmonic, and structural freedom from Classical tradition. Rosen's focus on the piano is understandable. Apart from being a master pianist, his emphasis in this book isn't on late Romantic decadence, but on early Romantic experimentation, made possible in part by technological innovations in piano making, as well as by the new emphasis on the subjective experience of time, landscape, and memory in poetry and painting (as opposed to the Classical emphasis on the epic subjects of history and religion) -- major influences on an intensely self-reflexive generation of young musical artists. How would musically conservative audiences have received the new music of the 1830s? Chopin ironically intensifies the sentimental rhetoric of the salon style, embraces the rhythmic and harmonic freedom of dance music, and reinvents Classical counterpoint in terms of Romantic tone color; Schumann dislocates Classical rhythm and subverts the relation of consonance and dissonance, exploiting its expressive potential; Liszt elevates dynamics and tone color to a position of supremacy over pitch and rhythm, exploiting the dramatic and emotional intensity of crowd-pleasing music. These three musicians are the focus of Rosen's essay; chapters on Berlioz's rhythmic innovations, Mendelssohn's Classical revivalism, and the carefully bland republicanism of the new, middle-class grand opera of Meyerbeer and Bellini are less passionate, but no less interesting.

One of the most interesting essays I've ever read. Exciting the chapters devoted to Chopin and Schumann. Not only pianists can benefit from its reading, but every musician will find extraordinary subtle commentaries and analysis. A book made devoutly.

Rosen's "The Romantic Generation" is really written for people with a thorough grounding in music theory, but even with a limited understanding of harmony, counterpoint, and structure, I was able to derive much enjoyment from these essays.Rosen's first love is obviously Chopin, and his three chapters on the Polish master are essential reading, I think, for anyone trying to master the subject. Rosen effectively explodes any lingering remnants of the charge that Chopin was incapable of handling large forms, or was an "untrained genius." He makes a convincing case for Chopin as the most assiduously trained and capable musician of his generation -- and it was not a generation of lightweights. The structural analyses of the Ballades (particularly the 4th) are excellent, but where Rosen really shines is in his examination of the Etudes and Mazurkas. In the former, he elucidates the Etudes' pivotal place in the history of concert music, and the interplay of theoretical composition and physical execution that they embody. In the latter, Rosen explores the Mazurkas as the receptacles of Chopin's most subtle, and personal, artistic accomplishments.Other chapters are not always as convincing, but Rosen's examinations of Liszt, Mendellsohn, Berlioz, and Schumann all have their merits. After Chopin, Schumann is probably closest to Rosen's heart, and is given the most compelling treatment.

While I was studying at the Cleveland Institute of Music, it sometimes seemed that the professors chose only the most abstruse works of scholarship as their classroom texts. The worst example was a required text for a 20th Century analysis course, in which the author clearly had nothing to say, and merely strung along interminable chapters of the most irritating technical jargon. To add insult to injury, the campus bookstore stuck me for fifty or sixty dollars for this piece of academic trash. This text, and hordes of others like it, represents the poorest sort of scholarship. I often wonder what these writers hope to accomplish. I imagine their work must have some snob appeal, but education is too important, and life is far too short to waste time on this sort of foolishness. Imagine my elation than, upon discovering the work of Charles Rosen. I first read "Sonata Forms" in preparation for an analysis class I was teaching, and a little while later I read "The Classical Style," one of the very finest books ever written about music. Mr. Rosen has a lot to say, and his style has an engaging quality that would be the despair of many a young novelist. In fact he writes so well, that I frequently had difficulty in putting these books down. His points are well presented and amply supported with musical examples (a great challenge for the "inner ear" although I sometimes cheat and take them to the keyboard). I also enjoy Mr. Rosen's humor, which emerges at all the right moments. On the strength of these works, I devoured "The Romantic Generation" as soon as I could get a copy of it. This is a remarkable book. It maintains and even surpasses the depth of understanding achieved in "The Classical Style." Particularly with the inclusion of a breathtaking study of Romantic literature and painting, which does a very good job of showing the music in its context without going overboard into historical trivia. Mr. Rosen is (as always) very thorough. A special highlight of the book is its study of Chopin. Indeed, the Chopin section is so extensive that the other chapters seem a little cursory at first glance- especially the discussion of Mendelssohn. However, I'm sure this is just a reflection of my personal bias. So many great things are said, with such grace and wit about Liszt, Berlioz and Schumann, that I am reluctant to reiterate it in my own clumsy style, and can only commend to you the original. The only real criticism I have is that the enclosed CD is far too short. Mr. Rosen's performances have a clarity reminiscent of his prose, which is a real joy to hear. For all the penetrating analysis of the Chopin Ballades and the comprehensive study of the Mazurkas, it was odd to find him represented by only two Nocturnes. I was also sorry not to find more examples of the Schumann works: particularly the "Davidsbundlertanze." The Liszt examples though, were very well chosen. There was a time in my li