THE CLASSICAL PERIOD
1750-1820
WORLD EVENTS
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The American Revolution
The French Revolution
The War of 1812
Napoleon conquers most of Europe
The rise of the middle class
MUSICAL EVENTS
• Musicians became more
independent
• Opera continued to become
popular
• The pianoforte replaced the
harpsichord
Famous Artists of the
Classical Period
• Famous artists of the time included
Jacques Louis-David who painted in a
classical style
• Caspar David Friedrich painted in the
romantic style – he was anti-classical
• Movements in art do not always run
chronologically parallel to movements in
music
Characteristics…
• “Classical” is a term that can be used to
describe both a genre of music and a time
period.
• Music of this period was simple, balanced,
and symmetrical.
• Absolute music – music for music’s sake.
Music that sounds academic, not emotional
• The use of rigid musical forms was popular
(e.g. fugue, sonata)
Lifestyles of Musicians
• A big change in a musician’s life during the
Classical period was a movement away from
a patronage system to a freelance system
• Patronage system - musicians were hired by
the wealthy to compose music for their
“courts”. They often lived with their patrons.
• Freelance system - musicians composed
music on their own and sold it to interested
parties.