During the Classical era from 1750-1825, art and music embraced order, balance, and classical ideals inspired by ancient Greece and Rome. This era saw the rise of the symphony, string quartet, and sonata forms, as well as major composers like Haydn, Mozart, and the early Beethoven. Their instrumental works featured memorable melodies, homophonic textures, and an emphasis on form and structure over improvisation. Opera and chamber music were also popular genres during this period.

1. CLASSICAL ERA
(1750 - c.1825)
Art and architecture was modeled
after Roman and Greek images.

2. The Age of Enlightenment
• Rise in intellect - first encyclopedia (1771)
• Significant inventions
Ben Franklin - electricity & Edward Jenner - perfected vaccination
• Industrial Revolution
James Watts-steam engine, Eli Whitney-cotton gin
• Classical ideals
order, reason, serenity, BALANCE
• Rise in middle class, pursuit of liberty
American Revolutions (1775-83)
French Revolution (1789-99)

3. STYLE CHARACTERISTICS
• Great experimentation
• LARGER FORMS
• Major/minor tonalities
exploited to full potential
• Continue many Baroque genres (opera, masses, oratorios,
sonatas, solo concertos)
• New genres (SYMPHONIES, STRING QUARTETS, and
other chamber groups)
• Influences of aristocratic elegance fused with secular dances,
waltzes, and folk music elements.

4. STYLE CHARACTERISTICS
• Harmonic structure less chromatic
• Melodies are elegant & memorable (often diatonic)
• Preference for homophony (non-homorhythmic)
• Reserved use of counterpoint
• Improvisation only used for specific solo moments
known as cadenzas
• Most common meters 4/4 - quadruple, 3/4- triple, 2/4-
duple, 6/8 -compound duple

5. Joseph Haydn Ludwig van
(1732-1809) Beethoven
(1770-1827)
Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart
(1756-1791)
Viennese School

6. Joseph Haydn
• Austrian composer
• “Father of the symphony and string quartet”
• Responsible for expanding the size of the orchestra
• Friend to Mozart and teacher of Beethoven.
• Influenced by C.P.E. Bach (JS Bach’s son)
• Studied music at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna
• Patron was Prince Nikolaus Esterházy
• The Hungarian Esterházy family was extremely
wealthy
• one of Europe’s best known patrons to the arts
• Palace was among Europe’s most luxurious (with its
own opera house)
• Under this patronage, Haydn gained a high level of
European fame
• After Prince Esterházy’s death in 1790, Haydn travelled to England twice for performances
of his own compositions = Great success. Composed 12 London Symphonies as a result.
• Composed 100+ symphonies, 68 string quartets, 14 operas, a variety of sacred music
(masses and oratorio), and helped to develop the piano trio and the “sonata-allegro” form

7. WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
b. Salzburg, Austria - child prodigy on piano
• learned piano from his dad, Leopold (established court
composer)
• older sister Maria Anna (aka Nannerl) was also a gifted pianist
who toured with her younger brother to display their
virtuosic talents
• composed before he was 5, by 13 he had written sonatas,
concertos, symphonies, and several opera
• Wrote in all the popular genres of the era and are considered some
of the greatest masterpieces in all of music history.
• Known for elegant and songful melodies and brilliant display of
balance and form.
• Wrote 626 different works (identified by K. #’‘s - chronological list
compiled by Ludwig von Kochel)
• Wrote over 40 symphonies, 23 operas, numerous masses, concertos,
string quartets, dances, serenades, divertimentos, church sonatas, and
other chamber works

8. Ludwig van Beethoven
• Born in Bonn, Germany
• virtuoso performer on keyboards (mostly piano)
• Career in aristocratic patronage and concerts to the
middle-class in concert halls.
• Wrote 1 opera, 9 symphonies, 5 piano concerti, 32
piano sonatas, 9 concerti, and 16 string quartets -
among others
• Began to lose his sense of hearing in his early 30’s.
• eventually completely lost his hearing, continued to
compose but could no longer perform
3 style periods
• 1st - first 2 symphonies (his “classical period”)
• 2nd - symphonies 3-8 (his “herioc period”)
enlarged orchestra
music had a fire and rhythmic drive that gave a
“heroic” sensibility.
• 3rd - final symphony (his “romantic period”)

9. Instrumental music
absolute music - there is no prescribed story or text
• Dependent on form
• non-dramatic, no story line, no text, no pictorial
• Dominant instrumental music type (as opposed to “program” music)
• Sonata, Solo, Chamber, Orchestral
Classical Sonata
• for solo or duet (typically piano was one of the instruments)
• popular in homes and in performance
Classical composers preferred multi-movement works from 1750 well into
the Romantic period.
•3-4 movements
•each movement had prescribed forms and tempos
•found in symphonies, string quartets, concertos, and sonatas

10. Multimovement Form
1st movement - form: sonata-allegro (aka sonata form)
• tempo = Allegro, meter=4/4
• most organized form in multimovement works
2nd (contrasting key) - ABA or theme & variations
• tempo = Adagio, Andante, meter=varies
• t&v form, intro theme may be newly invented or borrowed but is always
simple in order to allow for melodic, harmonic, and/or rhythmic variation.
3rd (opt.) - “dance” minuet & trio or scherzo & trio (19th c.)
• ternary form (A=minuet or scherzo, B= trio)
• tempo = varies from “stately” to “lively”, meter = 3/4
Final movement - sonata-rondo (aka rondo form)
• A B A C A (etc.) the rondo theme (A) is known as a “refrain”

11. Classical Symphony
• Symphony was the dominating
genre in the Classical era
• Multimovement work for
symphony orchestra
• The model for the symphony
orchestra is still the standard
today
• Orchestra rose to maturity
new instruments- clarinet, modern trumpets, horns, and trombones.
• Rooted in Italian Opera overture
3 sections typical in overture expanded to 3 separate movements.
• Use of memorable melodies and dramatic dynamics
the steamroller effect = long drawn out crescendos
• Title often indicates the key and includes a (chronological) number
Ex: Haydn’s Symphony No. 94 in G Major, Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550

12. Chamber music
• one player per part
• used at evening and social functions
• popularity rose
convenience of only 4 musicians
charming form of entertainment.
String • 2 violins, viola, cello
Quartet • played multi-movement works
• lighter genres like divertimento and serenade were
popular. Each are light and can serve as centerpieces or
as background music.
• Most Classical composers wrote for String Quartet and
helped to establish the trends in literature

13. Listen to Mozart’s
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Key: G major
Written for string quartet supported by a double bass
often performed by a string orchestra
•1st mvmt: Allegro, SONATA-ALLEGRO form
opening theme is known as his rocket theme
INTRO
(opt.)
•3rd mvmt: Allegro, MINUET & TRIO form
Active Listening Question:
Is this recording a string quartet or a string orchestra?

14. Classical Concerto
• Classical concerto featured a soloist plus orchestra
•piano and violin were the most popular solo instruments
•other solo instruments like the trumpet and clarinet were
used
•3 movements (fast - slow - fast) were the standard (as
opposed to the symphony which favored 4 movements)
•concerti often featured the soloist alone during cadenzas.
The orchestra would drop out completely so the soloist
could freely present a dazzling passage of improvised/virtuoso
melodic runs (often used one or more themes from the
movement)

15. Classical Opera
Opera in classical era split into 2 types
opera seria - “serious” subject matter, often has a tragic ending
comic opera - comedic subject
opera seria
•Italian opera that grew out of the Baroque era
•“serious” overly dramatic depictions of figures in Mythology or history
•3 acts = static- with convoluted plots that were subordinate to music
•largely shaped by the ideas of poet/librettist Pietro Metastasio
•Favored the soloists
• prima donna = heroin “first lady”
• prima uomo = hero “first male” (often a tenor voice)
• the castrati were still used
•REFORMED by Christoph Willibald Gluck (fused French opera trends with
Italian tradition) which pushed opera to be less dependent on solo virtuosity and
unrealistic situations in plot. Instead, opera should be more beautiful, natural,
and accessible with larger use of chorus for more contrast.
• Ex: Gluck’s Orfeo and Euredice -1762

16. comic opera
• Realistic, relatable, and lively story lines
• Humorous and grew to use more satire when
depicting the aristocrats.
• Written in vernacular (native language)
• Common characters (lawyers/doctors/servants)
• Large use of ensemble and low male voice
buffa – traditional bass voice character who
spoke to the audience with a “wink and a nod”)
Different names given to different regions - slightly different interpretations for
each region
• opera buffa - Italy (Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, & Don Giovanni)
• opéra comique - France (Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Querelle des Bouffons)
• Singspiel - Germany (Mozart’s The Magic Flute)
• ballad opera (dialogue opera) - England (Johanne Pepusch/ John Gay’s The
Beggar’s Opera)