Romantic artists, fascinated by northern landscapes, found violent emotions in its mists and strange stories, contrasting with the rationalism of the Enlightenment.
Compositional Technique
Before the 19th century, ballads often used a simple, repeated melody for each stanza, but Romantic composers innovated by making them mostly 'through-composed,' with unique music for each verse.
Performer Biography
Simon Lepper, a collaborative pianist, is a professor and coordinator of collaborative piano at the Royal College of Music, London, and has been the official accompanist for the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition since 2003.
Composer Biography
Carl Loewe, a baritone born just two months before Schubert, was known for touring widely and performing his lieder and ballads while accompanying himself on the piano.
Critical Reception
Albert B. Bach's classic study, "The Art Ballad: Loewe and Schubert" (1890), declared Schubert the creator of the art song and Loewe the creator of the art ballad, highlighting their differing lyrical and dramatic strengths.
Composer Biography
Robert Schumann's "Year of song" in 1840 saw him compose nearly 150 songs, a shift from his initial focus on piano and instrumental music.
Performer Biography
Stéphane Degout, a baritone, was named 'Vocal Artist of the Year' at the Victoires de la Musique Classique in 2012 and 2019, and 'Musical Personality of the Year 2018' by French performing arts critics.
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