Romanticism from the top.

To begin the semester, it is important to define what romanticism is on the way in. Based on past experience, I'd define Romanticism as a period in all art and literature that focused on emotion. In music specifically, it showed a trend toward greater chromaticism, loosening of the stricter rules of the Baroque and Classical periods, and use of innovations in instrument technology to create very powerful music. Because of the creation of new instruments, (id est Tuba) Romantic is the first period from which I can get repertoire that was written specifically for tuba, as opposed to other bass instruments. That is to say, I like it best.