The Romantic Era in Classical Music
8-weeks | Registration opens 2/14/2026 9:00 AM EST
The Romantic Era (approximately 1830–1920) saw classical music reach its peak of popularity and cultural impact. Using a mix of historical and composer biographical content, explanatory information about Romantic Era classical music forms and genres, and generous recorded musical excerpts, we will explore in depth this critical period of classical music history. The goal of the course is to provide a comprehensive understanding of this pivotal era, when classical composers and performers were lionized, numerous professional symphony orchestras were founded, star conductors emerged, most middle-class homes owned a piano and every town that could afford one built an opera house.
Andrew Hartman
Andrew Hartman has presented the course “The Glory of Classical Music” at the Vassar LLI and has taught classical music history at the New York City Opera Guild at Lincoln Center and at several Bruderhof Communities to both school children and adult audiences. He has published a dozen articles on classical music on MusicWeb International, a premier classical music website, and has attended over 1,000 live performances of classical music. He owns a comprehensive collection of thousands of classical music recordings, from which he will provide all musical examples for the course.