also individuals. Heightened sensibility was now a convention in literature, and intensified feeling became characteristic of the visual and musical arts.
In music, Romanticism in Germany was expressed through the works of Beethoven, Franz Schumann, Richard Wagner, and Franz Liszt. Beethoven spanned the two eras of Classicism and Romanticism. Classicism was, on one level, a preference for balance, while Romanticism was a rage for power. Beethoven used these opposing forces to reshape the symphony as a musicoemotional form, and this was probably the single most important achievement in the development of the Romantic Symphony. Beethoven was also noted for his expansion of the piano sonata and the string quartet. Biographers often emphasize Beethoven as a wretched human being, uncouth, bad-tempered, and often unfair in his business and personal relationships. His personality brought him into constant conflict with publishers, musicians, patrons, family, and friends. His music is highly dramatic, and he was noted for his innovations and the sublimity of his musical vision. In his work "Eroi
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