The Classical Style (17501820)
 Background
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belief in progress
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reason, not custom or tradition, was the best
guide for human conduct
middle-class vs. aristocracy
American & French Revolutions
changes in visual art
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rococo: light colors, curved lines, graceful
ornaments
neo-classical: firm lines, clear structure, moralistic
subject matter
The Classical Style (1750-1820)
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Changes in music
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Preclassical period (ca.1730-1770) - transitional
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Carl Phillip Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)
Johann Christian Bach (1735-1782)
style galant: concentration on simplicity and clarity
Classical
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term borrowed from visual art
 refers to influence of Greek and Roman models
 no such reference in music
Characteristics of Classical Style
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Contrast of mood
Flexibility of rhythm
Basically homophonic texture
Balanced, symmetrical, tuneful melodies
Dynamics and the Piano
End of Basso Continuo
The Classical Orchestra
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Strings - 1st/2nd violin, viola, cello, double bass
Woodwinds - flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon (2 each)
Brass - 2 French horns, 2 trumpets
Percussion - 2 timpani
Classical Forms
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Instrumental compositions
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4 movements that contrast in tempo and character
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1. Fast
2. Slow
3. Dance-related
4. Fast
symphony
string quartet
sonata
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Contrasting themes in movements
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Balance within larger structure of movement
Composer, Patron, and Public in
the
Classical Period
 Social Trends and Classical Composition
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Effects on musicians
More people with more $
Middle Class influence
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public concerts
pieces for amateur musicians
comic opera
familiar tunes in “serious” music
Vienna
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seat of Holy Roman Empire
one of the music centers of Europe
aristocrat winter quarters
outdoor music
Sonata Form
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Exposition (may be preceded by Introduction)
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Development
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First theme in tonic key
Bridge - modulation to new key
Second (contrasting) theme in new key
Closing section in key of second theme
new treatment of themes; modulations to different keys /
retransition
Recapitulation
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First theme in tonic key
Bridge
Second theme in tonic (or parallel major) key
Closing section in tonic / (may be followed by a coda)
Classical Forms
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Theme and Variations
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theme repeated over and over with alterations melody,
rhythm, harmony, accompaniment, dynamics, or tone color
each time
A(theme) - A’(variation 1) - A’’ (variation2) - …
use of countermelody
Minuet and Trio
often used as 3rd movt. / 3/4 usually in mod.tempo
Minuet
Trio
Minuet
A
B
A
||:a:||:ba’:||
||:c:||:dc’:||
aba’
 da capo
 scherzo - faster than minuet
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Classical Forms
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Rondo
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as an independent piece or a movement
often serves as a finale
A B A C A (B A)
sonata-rondo
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Symphony
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B A - development - A B A
4 movements - FSDF - attributes of each movement
Concerto
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3 movements - FSF
double exposition
cadenza
Classical Chamber Music
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Characteristics
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designed for intimate setting of a room (chamber)
2-9 musicians, with one player to a part
lighter sound than orchestral music
musicians work as a team
no conductor
Types
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String Quartet
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2 violins, viola, cello
usually 4 mvts. - FSDF or FDSF
Sonata for Violin and Piano
Piano Trio (violin, cello, piano)
String Quintet (2 violins, 2 violas, cello)
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
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Background
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Born in Rohrau, Austria
musical background until age 6 - folk songs and peasant
dances
sent to a relative to receive basic music lessons
age 8 - choirboy at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna
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upon his voice change - dismissed from St. Stephen’s
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had no composition or instrumental lessons
barely stays alive by teaching lessons for 8 years
also took odd jobs
Haydn’s talent gradually noticed by aristocracy
music director for court of a Bohemian count
age 29 (1761) - enters service of Esterházy family
Haydn and the Esterházy Family
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1761-1790 - most of Haydn’s music composed for
the Esterházy’s, richest and most powerful
Hungarian noble family
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Eszterháza - family’s palace in Hungary
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opera house, theater, 2 concert halls, 126 guest rooms
Haydn’s responsibilities as musical director
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compose all music requested by patron
conduct 25-member orchestra
coach singers
oversee instrument conditions and music library
two concerts and two opera performances weekly
daily chamber music
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150 pieces with baryton part for Nicholas Esterházy
Joseph Haydn
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Advantages and disadvantages of patronage
Personal characteristics of Haydn
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good-humored and unselfish
cared about personal interests of his musicians
early 1780’s - met Mozart, became close friends
Haydn’s popularity grows while serving the
Esterházy’s
1790 - Nicholas dies - Haydn free to go to London
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Salomon / London symphonies
servant to celebrity
Joseph Haydn
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1795 - returns to Vienna
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wrote two oratorios
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new agreement with Nicholas Esterházy II
one mass composed each year (6 written)
The Creation
The Seasons
1809 - dies at age 77
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during time of Napoleon’s occupation of Vienna
memorial service of Viennese with French
generals and an honor guard of French soldiers
Haydn’s Music
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pioneer in development of symphony and
string quartet
use of folk tunes / original folk-like melodies
master of theme development
musical “jokes”
104 symphonies
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68 string quartets
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many known by nicknames
may have invented the string quartet
Other works - piano sonatas, piano trios,
divertimentos, concertos, operas, masses.
Haydn’s Music
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Symphony No. 94 (“Surprise”)
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key, form, tempo, notable features of
each movement
Trumpet Concerto in E-flat Major
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 born in Salzburg, Austria
1791)
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age 6 - playing the harpsichord and violin,
improvising fugues, writing minuets, sight-reading
perfectly
compositions as a child
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age 8 - 1st symphony
age 11 - 1st oratorio
age 12 - 1st opera
Leopold Mozart (father) shows off his son
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age 6-15 - Mozart tours Europe almost half the time
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Empress Maria Theresa of Austria
Louis XV of France
George III of England
Mozart
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Visit to Sistine Chapel
age 15 - return to Salzburg - under patronage of
Prince-Archbishop Colloredo
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only given subordinate seat in orchestra
lack of initiative
insubordinate / requests for dismissal
1781 (age 25) - goes to Vienna to be free-lance
musician
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concerts attended by the emperor and nobility
married Constanze Weber
friendship with Haydn
Mozart
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1786 - Vienna loves The Marriage of Figaro
1787 - Vienna dislikes Don Giovanni
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Leopold dies during the composition of D.G.
Mozart’s popularity deteriorates
1791 
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The Magic Flute
Requiem
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commissioned by Count Walsegg
“strange” messenger
thought he was writing his own Requiem
dies of rheumatic fever - December 5, 1791
Mozart’s Music
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More than 600 compositions
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“K.” = Köchel number
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Mozart’s output catalogued by Ludwig von
Köchel
Most notable ~
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concertos
operas (mostly comic)
piano sonatas
Requiem
Mozart’s Music
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Don Giovanni
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unique blend of comic and serious opera
characters / plot
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Symphony No. 40, K.550
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Act I: Introduction
Act I: Leporello’s catalogue aria
Act I: Duet (Don and Zerlina)
key, form, tempo, notable features of each
movement
Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major – 1st mvt
Requiem – Dies irae
Ludwig van Beethoven (17701827)
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Background
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born in Bonn, Germany into a family of
musicians
Johann (father) comes home from tavern late
and makes Ludwig practice at the keyboard until
morning
age 16 – improvises for Mozart in Vienna
mother dies, father becomes an alcoholic
age 18 – becomes legal guardian of two
younger brothers
Beethoven
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1792 (almost age 22) – studies with
Haydn in Vienna
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Haydn neglects Beethoven / secretly goes to
another teacher
1st 7 years in Vienna very productive
 rebels against social convention
 age 29 – 1st signs of deafness appear
 1803-04 – 3rd Symphony dedication
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Bonaparte ---- becomes ---- Eroica
Beethoven
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self-educated
drifter in romantic relations
earns money through publishing
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age 44 – stops playing piano in public, but
continues to conduct
1815 – Casper dies
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never in the service of aristocracy
1809 – paid by three Austrian nobles to stay in Vienna
becomes coguardian of nephew, Karl
5-year custody battle
Karl attempts suicide / Beethoven shattered
Beethoven’s Music
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expands range of pitch and dynamics
works and reworks music during composition
expands forms (i.e. 50-minute 3rd Symphony)
continuity between contrasting movements
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expands sonata form
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resemblance of themes in separate movements
movements linked w/o pause
development section
develops themes in coda
scherzo preferred over minuet
larger instrumentation for orchestra
uses choir in 9th Symphony
Beethoven’s Music
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Piano Sonata in C minor, Op. 13
(“Pathétique”)
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key, form, tempo, notable features of each
movement
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
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key, form, tempo, notable features of each
movement