Romantic Period (1820–1910)

Beethoven died in March of 1827 in Vienna at age 56. The last of the great Classical composers, he was also the first of the Romantics. In fact, the start of the Romantic movement in music traditionally dates from his death. Beethoven had broken just about every musical rule, and no one that lived after him could be unaware of his legacy. Not only did he change the face of music, he also changed its image. He started the cult of the composer as an individual and refused to accept that the artist was subservient to his patron, as Haydn was only some years earlier. Beethoven showed that the creative artist was above service to nobility. “Music for music's sake” became a cornerstone of the Romantic creed.

 Even though the standard of living for the majority of the population in the 19th century remained low, higher wages allowed the emerging middle class to enjoy musical luxuries, such as learning an instrument or attending a concert... 

The dissolution of the aristocracy, and thus the system of patronage, meant that composers had to find new ways to earn a living. The men who became the new pillars of 19th-century society were bankers, politicians, generals, and ceremonial occasion. The days when composers such as Haydn could live off the patronage of a royal family or work for the church for their entire career were over. Instead, composers now needed to earn their livelihood by performing, writing and publishing music, or from commissions. Franz Liszt and Frédéric Chopin traded on their fame as performers, and Robert Schumann on his reputation as a critic, to finance their composing. However, some composers such as Franz Schubert struggled under the new order of things. Still others, including Gaetano Donizetti, accommodated their compositions to public taste, knowing that the success of one piece increased the probability that another would sell.

Even though the standard of living for the majority of the population in the 19th century remained low, higher wages allowed the emerging middle class to enjoy musical luxuries, such as learning an instrument or attending a concert. A rising middle class joined civic choruses, bands, and choral societies; in fact, choral music enjoyed its highest popularity since the Renaissance with the emergence of such choral groups. Johannes Brahms, Hector Berlioz, Giuseppe Verdi, and Felix Mendelssohn are among the important choral composers of the 19th century who benefitted from this trend.