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Late Romantic

In late Romanticism, also called post-Romanticism, the traditional forms and elements of music are further dissolved. An increasingly colorful orchestral palette, an ever-increasing range of musical means, the spread of tonality to its limits, exaggerated emotions and an increasingly individual tonal language of the individual composer are typical features; the music is led to the threshold of modernity.Thus, the symphonies of Gustav Mahler reached previously unknown dimensions, partly give up the traditional four-sentence and often contain vocal proportions. But behind the monumental facade is the modern expressiveness of the Fin de siècle. This psychological expressiveness is also contained in the songs of Hugo Wolf, miniature dramas for voice and piano. More committed to tradition, particularly oriented towards Bruckner, are the symphonies of Franz Schmidt and Richard Wetz, while Max Reger resorted to Bach's polyphony in his numerous instrumental works, but developed it harmoniously extremely boldly. Among the numerous composers of the Reger successor, Julius Weismann and Joseph Haas stand out. Among the outstanding late romantic sound creators is also the idiosyncratic Hans Pfitzner. Although a traditionalist and decisive opponent of modern currents, quite a few of his works are quite close to the musical progress of the time. His successor include Walter Braunfels, who mainly emerged as an opera composer, and the symphonist Wilhelm Furtwängler.The opera stage was particularly suitable for increased emotions. The folk and fairy tale operas of Engelbert Humperdinck, Wilhelm Kienzl and Siegfried Wagner, the son of Richard Wagner, were still quite good. But even Eugen d'Albert and Max von Schillings irritated the nerves with a German variant of verism. Erotic symbolism can be found in the stage works of Alexander von Zemlinsky and Franz Schreker. Richard Strauss went even further to the limits of tonality with Salome and Elektra before he took more traditional paths with the Rosenkavalier. In the style related to the works of Strauss, the compositions Emil Nikolaus von Rezniceks and Paul Graeners are shown.

In Italy, opera still dominated during this time. This is where verism developed, an exaggerated realism that could easily turn into the striking and melodramatic on the opera stage. Despite their extensive work, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Pietro Mascagni, Francesco Cilea, and Umberto Giordano have only become known through one opera at a time. Only Giacomo Puccini 's work has been completely preserved in the repertoire of the opera houses, although he was also often accused of sentimentality. Despite some veristic works, Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari was mainly considered a revival of the Opera buffa. Ferruccio Busoni, a temporarily defender of modern classicity living in Germany, left behind a rather conventional, little played work. Thus, instrumental music actually only found its place in Italian music again with Ottorino Respighi, who was influenced by Impressionism.

The term Impressionism comes from painting, and like there, it also developed in music in France. In the works of Claude Debussy, the structures dissolved into the finest nuances of rhythm, dynamics and timbre. This development was prepared in the work of Vincent d'Indy, Ernest Chausson and above all in the songs and chamber music of Gabriel Fauré. All subsequent French composers were more or less influenced by Impressionism. The most important among them was Maurice Ravel, a brilliant orchestral virtuoso. Albert Roussel first processed exotic topics before he anticipated Neoclassical tendencies like Ravel. Gabriel Pierné, Paul Dukas, Charles Koechlin, and Florent Schmitt also dealt with symbolic and exotic-oriental substances. The loner Erik Satie was the creator of spun piano pieces and idol of the next generation. Nevertheless, Impressionism is often attributed to the epoch of modernity, if not seen as its own epoch. Hubert Parry and the Irishman Charles Villiers Stanford initiated late Romanticism in England, which had its first important representative in Edward Elgar. While he revived the oratorio and wrote symphonies and concerts, Frederick Delius devoted himself to particularly small orchestral images with his own variant of Impressionism. Ethel Smyth wrote mainly operas and chamber music in a style that reminded Brahms. Ralph Vaughan Williams, whose works were inspired by English folk songs and Renaissance music, became the most important symphonist of his country. Gustav Holst incorporated Greek mythology and Indian philosophy into his work. Very idiosyncratic composer personalities in the transition to modernity were also Havergal Brian and Frank Bridge.

In Russia, Alexander Glazunov decorated his traditional composition technique with a colorful orchestral palette. The mystic Alexander Scriabin dreamed of a synthesis of colors, sound and scents. Sergei Rachmaninov wrote melancholic-pathetic piano pieces and concertos full of intoxicating virtuosity, while the piano works of Nikolai Medtner are more lyrical.

In the Czech Republic, Leoš Janáček, deeply rooted in the music of his Moravian homeland, found new areas of expression with the development of the language melody in his operas. The local sounds are also unmistakable in the music of Zdeněk Fibich, Josef Bohuslav Foerster, Vítězslav Novák, and Josef Suk. On the other hand, there is a slightly morbid exoticism and later classicist measure in the work of the Polish Karol Szymanowski.The most important Danish composer is Carl Nielsen, known for symphonies and concerts. Even more dominant in his country is the position of the Finn Jean Sibelius, also a symphonist of melancholy expressiveness and clear line design. In Sweden, the works of Wilhelm Peterson-Berger, Wilhelm Stenhammar, and Hugo Alfvén show a typical Nordic conservatism, and the Norwegian Christian Sinding also composed traditionally.

The music of Spain also increased in popularity again after a long time, first in the piano works of Isaac Albéniz and Enrique Granados, then in the operas, ballets and orchestral works of Manuel de Falla, influenced by Impressionism.

Finally, the first important representatives of the United States also appeared with Edward MacDowell and Amy Beach. But even the work of Charles Ives belonged only partly to late Romanticism - much of it was already radically modern and pointed far into the 20th century.