Richard Wagner

Musical context

Late Romanticism · c. 1850–1910

Industrial growth, expanding concert institutions, and nationalist movements shaped musical life in the later nineteenth century. Wagner pursued continuous musical drama, while Brahms renewed inherited symphonic and chamber forms; composers including Dvořák drew on national musical traditions. Larger orchestras and more adventurous harmony expanded Romantic practice, alongside competing ideas about the relationship between music, poetry, and dramatic narrative. Explore the era →

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