What is Romantic music?
'''Romantic music''' is music written in the [[19th century]]. This was the period called the “[[Romanticism|Romantic]] period” by [[musician]]s. In [[literature]] and some other arts the “Romantic period” is often said to begin and finish earlier: around mid [[18th century|18th]] to mid 19th century. In the [[Classical music period|Classical period]] artists liked to see clear forms. [[18th century]] [[architecture]] nearly always shows a lot of [[symmetry]]. The gardens of the palace at [[Versailles]] are a good example of this with their very tidy patterns of straight paths, [[circle|circular]] ponds and neatly clipped [[hedge|hedges]]. In music the [[Classical music period|Classical]] composers such as [[Joseph Haydn|Haydn]], [[Mozart]], [[Beethoven]], and [[Schubert]] liked to compose music which had a clear plan like [[sonata form]]. In the Romantic period artists thought that feeling and passions were more important than formal plans. This can be seen in the [[garden|gardens]] designed by [[Capability Brown]], e.g. in at [[Blenheim]] Palace, [[Oxford]]. The gardens are made to blend into [[nature]]. In music the Romantic composers may still use plans like sonata form, but feelings and passions are important. They often write what is called [[programme music]] which means: music that describes something or tells a story. Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony is called the “Pastoral” which means that it is about the countryside. Although Beethoven is usually called a composer of the Classical period he is also an early Romantic. Later composers such as [[Felix Mendelssohn]] wrote pieces like ''Hebrides Overture'' which describes the sea coming into Fingal’s Cave in the [[Inner Hebrides]] Islands in [[Scotland]]. [[Hector Berlioz]] (1803-1869) wrote a lot of music which tells a story. His ''Symphonie Fantastique'' is about an artist madly in love. Berlioz’s whole way of life was wild and romantic. He fell in love with an [[actress]] he saw on stage playing the part of Juliet in [[William Shakespeare|S