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Unlike their 16th- to early 18th-century predecessors, many of whom worked equally well inside and outside the Church, composers of the late 18th-century Enlightenment created music chiefly for the concert hall. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Franz Joseph Haydn wrote Masses and other liturgical works, but their symphonies, concertos, sonatas, operas, and chamber works far surpassed their church music in quantity and probably also in importance. Composers of this era invented a new way of handling the development of their musical ideas, ideally suited to Enlightenment philosophy. Their chief aim was to present different ideas in music and then to develop, negotiate, and harmonize these differences. In a nutshell, this aesthetic also described the structure of the novel–a literary form that was being developed at this time. Two or more different characters were introduced and placed in tension. The body of the novel usually was a description of the negotiation of the differences between the characters. The novel ended when the conflict reached resolution. In music the comparable structure was called sonata form and it eventually was applied chiefly in such works as:
In the late 18th century sonata form referred specifically to one movement of a work of several movements written for one instrument, one instrument plus piano, or for an instrumental ensemble. The first movements of these works usually followed a similar design:
The major early practitioners of this plan were, of course, Mozart and Haydn. They were followed by Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert and Robert Schumann. Their magnificent works dominated musical literature from the end of the 18th century to the middle of the 19th century. As the Age of Enlightenment gave way to the Romantic Era, the scope of these pieces swelled to gigantic proportions. At times, the musical forces needed to perform them grew to include hundreds, and occasionally even thousands, as in the case of Hector Berlioz. The length of individual pieces also increased to well in excess of an hour. Towards the end of the century the symphonies of Gustav Mahler and some of his contemporaries were famous for their great length. Size was one of the elements that heightened the effect music had on the listener. Size gave the listener a sense of transcendence. The Age of Enlightenment detested this quality in music because it appealed to emotion rather than reason but Romanticism gloried in it. Mystical experience became an important goal for 19th century composers. Many European cities established conservatories where composers and performers were trained in the latest pedagogical methods. Occasionally, important composers assisted in this educational endeavor. During the 19th century people developed a kind of historical consciousness that previously was unknown. They began to understand the concept of "heritage" in a new way. Historical tradition became an important force in society. In the late 18th century, the Academy of Ancient Music was established to perform "early music," that is, music that was in some cases only 20 years old. Scholars in the 19th century discovered that interesting music had been written centuries before "modern" times. Musical instruments were altered to accommodate the requirements of large concert halls and also to produce new dynamic and other tonal effects. Monumental effect became a goal in itself. Instruments were made louder than ever before. Following German pianist Clara Schumann, performers began to memorize the scores they played. They concentrated on increased speed, technical proficiency, and volume. The piano became the dominant solo instrument of the Romantic period with composers such as Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, and Liszt leading in exploring its expressive and dynamic potential. The violin followed a similar development. Pianists, who formerly sat facing the audience, turned their instruments sideways so that the audience saw and could be amazed by their skill. Composers even began to write exercises called "etudes," that is, studies whose chief purpose was to increase the technical facility of the performer. People flocked to admire the wizardry of their favorite performers. The cult of the virtuoso was born. Vocal solos, especially the German "Lieder" (songs) were written to tell Romantic tales or to express states of emotion by such composers as Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms. These were often gathered into "cycles" and always included important piano participation. From the late 18th century to the end of the 19th, opera became an important vehicle, not only for heart-stopping music, but also for the spread of new ways of thinking. Radical composers with social or political agendas, like Giuseppi Verdi, used opera to voice important social and political commentary. Richard Wagner developed a type of opera that integrated all of the arts, visual and oral, into a new form of Romantic dramatic unity.
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