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Lesson 4 of 5
  • Year 10
  • OCR

The romantic concerto

I can identify and describe the key musical features of the Romantic concerto, and the ways that it differs from the classical concerto.

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Lesson 4 of 5
New
New
  • Year 10
  • OCR

The romantic concerto

I can identify and describe the key musical features of the Romantic concerto, and the ways that it differs from the classical concerto.

Copyrighted materials: to view and download resources from this lesson, you’ll need to be in the UK and

Copyrights help

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The Romantic concerto mirrored many typical features of Romantic music.
  2. These include more complex textures, chromatic harmony, a larger orchestra and an emphasis on intense, expressive music.
  3. Many Romantic concertos are extremely difficult for soloists and are highly virtuosic.
  4. Bruch’s Violin Concerto reflects many of these typical features.

Keywords

  • Chromatic - notes from outside the key; chromatic movement often involves moving by semitones

  • Virtuosic - shows off a performer's technical skill

  • Rubato - when a performer slightly changes the tempo to add expression

  • Cadenza - a solo section in a concerto in which the soloist plays virtuosically

Common misconception

Romantic music is romantic (i.e. about love).

Romantic music is generally expressive and emotional, but is not necessarily linked to the emotion of love. The emotions can be anything from dramatic and terrifying to dark and mournful. The name comes from a broader artistic movement.


To help you plan your year 10 music lesson on: The romantic concerto, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

The example used in this lesson exemplifies many key themes. Broader listening will help pupils deepen their understanding. Consider tasks for students to listen to and describe use of elements in other Romantic concertos (e.g. Elgar's Cello Concerto or one of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concertos).
Teacher tip

Equipment

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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