Final answer:
Composers such as Wagner and Liszt saw the legacy of Beethoven as providing a break in historical traditions and pointing toward a new direction in composition that combined music with words or a program.
Step-by-step explanation:
Composers such as Wagner and Liszt saw the legacy of Ludwig van Beethoven as providing a break in the historical traditions by pointing toward a new direction in composition that combined music with words or a program. Beethoven's later music, including the majority of his most famous music, is clearly Romantic in style and was influential in shaping the direction of composition during the Romantic era. Other composers of the Romantic era, such as Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Schumann, and Chopin, also embraced this combination of music with words or a program.