Beethovens Influence on Romanticism
... Even though many of Beethoven’s traits affected Romanticism, his style, which principally includes his musical form, his individuality, and the rhythmic, harmonic, and emotional complexity of his compositions, had the greatest influence. ... Beethoven’s works, however, contained landmark ideas that spurred Romanticism. ... Maynard Solomon describes the influence of two of Beethoven’s sonatas on piano compositional style: With the ‘Waldstein’ and ‘Appassionata’ Sonatas, opp. ... According to the USAD, Berlioz, a French composer, “was the leading representative of Romanticism” (27). ... The idée fixe became a common practice in Romantic programmatic music because of Beethoven’s influence on Berlioz. Beethoven’s personality was also a major factor in his foundation of Romanticism. ... By the middle of the 19th century, while in the heart of Romanticism, the top composers took pleasure in fame very similar to Beethoven’s during his time. ... Although many people assume that Classicism and Romanticism were similar movements because of their similar instrumentations that sound similar to the untrained ear, the philosophies and ideas of the two were enormously different. Beethoven is generally categorized as a Classicist, but he laid the foundation for Romanticism and bridged the gap between the two movements.