The Romantic Era Never Ended - by Bryan Caplan - Bet On It
Fans of classical music often lament the modern implosion of the genre. We had the Baroque Period, usually dated from 1600-1750. We had the Classical Period, usually dated from 1750-1825. We had the Romantic Period, usually dated from 1825-1900. Ever since, we’ve been stuck in the Modern Period: 1901-present.
When the characteristically atonal music of the Modern Period first appeared, many predicted that fans would eventually come to love it, but almost no one sincerely has. The only widely beloved post-1900 composers in the classical repertoire are Late Romantics like Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich. Since their heyday, classical fans periodically curse the stars: “How come no one continues to compose in the greatest of all musical genres?”
It’s true, I’ll grant, that over the last century, little notable music has been written in the genres of 1600-1825. The Romantic Era, however, is still going strong. Great compositions in the style of Berlioz, late Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Dvorak, Grieg, Mahler, Nielsen, Rachmaninoff, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rubinstein, Shostakovich, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, and Wagner continue to be created. Though they’re rarely performed live, billions of people enjoy them on screens big and small.
