Romantic era music for kids: the composers, the sound, and pieces to hear

The Romantic era is the period of music from about 1820 to 1900. Its music is full of feeling. It tells stories, paints scenes from nature, and borrows the songs and dances of each composer’s homeland. Orchestras grew larger and louder, and the piano became the star instrument at home and on stage. A good first piece is “In the Hall of the Mountain King” by Grieg.

In this sense, the word romantic is not about love. It comes from the old romances, which were tales of adventure, magic, and far-off places.

When it was

The Romantic era runs from about 1820 to 1900. Beethoven, in his later works, opened the door to it.

Fewer composers worked for a prince or a church. Most earned a living from concerts, teaching, and printed music. Trains made it possible to tour, and the best players became famous across Europe. Cities built large concert halls and opera houses.

What it sounds like

Big feelings. The music can be tender, stormy, proud, or heartbroken, and it can swing from one to another.

Long, singing tunes. Romantic melodies stretch out and soar.

Stories and pictures. Many pieces have titles that tell what they are about: a swan, a sea cave, a hall full of trolls.

The sound of home. Composers used the folk tunes and dance rhythms of their own countries. Grieg sounds like Norway, Dvořák sounds like the Czech lands, and Tchaikovsky sounds like Russia.

A wide range of volume. The music can drop to a whisper and rise to a roar.

The instruments

A larger orchestra. More strings, more brass, and more percussion. The tuba, the harp, and the piccolo became regular members.

A stronger piano. Makers added an iron frame inside the piano. It could then hold more tension in its strings and play far louder than before.

Star soloists. Pianists and violinists with dazzling skill toured the great cities and drew huge crowds.

Ten composers to meet

Each one has a page on this site.

• Schubert, who wrote more than 600 songs
• Fanny Mendelssohn, who wrote a piano piece for each month of the year
• Felix Mendelssohn, who wrote fairy music at 17
• Chopin, who wrote almost all his music for the piano
• Clara Schumann, who played concerts for more than 60 years
• Brahms, who wrote the famous lullaby
• Saint-Saëns, who wrote The Carnival of the Animals
• Tchaikovsky, who wrote The Nutcracker and Swan Lake
• Dvořák, who loved folk dances and trains
• Grieg, who wrote the music for Peer Gynt

Five pieces to hear first

“In the Hall of the Mountain King,” by Grieg. Soft and slow at the start, loud and fast at the end. See the Peer Gynt guide.

“The Swan,” by Saint-Saëns. A cello glides over rippling pianos. See the Carnival of the Animals guide.

Hungarian Dance No. 5, by Brahms. A dance that races, stops short, and races again.

The swan tune from Swan Lake, by Tchaikovsky. An oboe sings over a harp. See the Swan Lake guide.

Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by Mendelssohn. Fairies in the strings and a donkey in the orchestra.

New kinds of pieces

The short piano piece. Nocturnes, waltzes, and “songs without words” that capture one mood in a few minutes.

The art song. A poem set to music for a singer and a pianist.

Program music. Music for orchestra that tells a story or paints a scene.

The story ballet. Full-length ballets with music by leading composers, such as The Nutcracker.

How to tell it is Romantic

Ask three questions. Does the music seem to tell a story or show a feeling? Is the orchestra big, with brass that swells? Do the tunes stretch out in long lines? Three yes answers point to the Romantic era.

Things to do together

Name the feeling. Play one minute of a piece. Ask for one word for how it feels. Play another and compare.

Draw the story. Play a piece with a title and have your child draw the scene on a listening journal page.

Guess the country. Play a Slavonic Dance by Dvořák and a Norwegian piece by Grieg. Find each country on a map.

Then and now. Play Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik and then Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. Ask which orchestra sounds bigger.

Print and play

Sort the composer cards by period. See who was alive in the same years with the composer timeline.

The period before was the Classical era. The next is the Modern era. For all four, see the guide to composers by era.