Romantic virtuosity essay

Jankélévitch 1979 (cited under Theoretical and Philosophical Approaches) claims that virtuosity as a phenomenon is “as old as music,” but virtuoso and virtuosity as terms originated in Italy during the 16th century.

Virtuosity in the Romantic Period. Music was brought to the people and the people prized what was now available to them; thus the public concert was borne, and with it, virtuosity. The romantic period broke away from the constraints and rules of the classical period - the ideals of balance, proportion and disciplined expression,...

Historians argue over the start and end dates of the Romantic Period. Some date it as the 19 th century, while others place it in the late 18 th century. This is true for Romantic literature. Works like William Blake's Songs of Innocence (1789) and Samuel Coleridge's Kubla Khan (1797) are considered examples of early Romantic poetry.

Paganini, Liszt, and Brahms are all excellent examples of the Romantic virtuoso. The origins of the musical virtuoso are both artistic and practical. Romanticism is about self-expression, particularly through an artist's self-expression.