Chapter 5: The Classical Era
1750 - 1825
BY NIKKEI TUNGOL
Background of the Era
 Historical Context: Era was referred to as “The Age of
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Reason” or the “Enlightenment”
Growing middle class, change in philosophical thinking,
and revolutions in US and France
More emphasis on social change, education of the
masses, reduced power of the church, and the embrace of
humanitarian ideals
Musical performances became major social events and
composers were more famed
The popularity of instrumental music rises, and opera
undergoes a major reformation
Vocal music retains popularity, especially in the masses
of the previous periods
The Birth of Classical Music
 Classical music was seen as a reaction against the
overly complex polyphonic music composed during
the Baroque period
 Classical elements have been incorporated as early as
1730, and thus the start and end dates to the classical
period are subject to interpretation
 The “Big Three” – Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven
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But where’s Mr. Bach?  
Departure from Polyphonic Elements
 Public demand was for a direct, single melody with a
simple accompaniment
 The use of the harmonic rhythm, or the frequency
with which chords change, slowed
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The same basic harmony was held for a measure or two while
the melody unfolded
 The use of basso continuo also slowed, and was only
used in orchestral settings
New Stylistic Elements
 Galant: graceful, gentle, and pleasant style
 Empfindsamkeit (sentimentality/sensibility):
technique using sudden harmonic and/or rhythmic
shifts with highly expressive melodies, and found
most commonly in slower movements
 Sturm und Drang (storm and stress): originally a
literally style; most often used in multi-movement
styles, using two or three of the emotive
compositional styles
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For example, first movement in galant, second in
empfindsamkeit, and final movement in “crash and bash”
sturm und drung
The Birth of the Modern Symphony
 The symphony became a compositional format,
accompanied by the modern full symphony orchestra
 The symphony grew out of the Baroque tradition of
the Italian opera overture, or sinfonia
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The overture typically had three sections, fast-slow-fast, and
eventually became three separate movements
Structural Terms
 Sonata: a multi-movement work for solo piano, or a
work for one solo instrument with piano
accompaniment
 Sonata Cycle: the multi-movement format used in the
sonata works
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The format is made up of three or four contrasting movements; the
tempos are fast-slow-medium-really fast
The first movement, which as mentioned above, is typically fast, it is
often referred to as sonata form or sonata-allegro form (reminding
you that its fast)
The SONATA CYCLE is not just used for SONATA WORKS; it is in
almost every type of Classical instrumental music (symphony, string
quartet, concerto, etc.)
Structural Terms (continued)
 Sonata Form: one-movement structure with an exposition,
a development, and a recapitulation
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Optional sections: Introduction and Coda
Exposition: “Exposes” the listener to the music for the first time. There
are typically two themes within the exposition: the first theme and the
second theme, which distinguish between the different melodies
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The first theme is presented in the tonic key, and transitions to a new key in
the second theme
The first is dramatic and rhythmically active, while the second is lyrical
Development: Incorporates frequent key changes and alters the “shape”
of the theme
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“For example, themes may go up instead of down, use faster or slower note
lengths, use stretto (the stacking of themes in different instrumental voices),
or dismemberment, where the composer chops the theme up into tiny bits and
pieces, passing it around to different instruments”
Structural Terms (continued)
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Recapitulation: a restatement of the exposition, except without
the key change from the first theme to the second theme
Entirely presented in the tonic key
 The coda is the most commonly used in the recapitulation
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Rondo Form
 After the sonata form, the most commonly used
single-movement form is the rondo
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It is typically used in the 2nd and 4th movements of the sonata
cycle
Two basic types: the five-part rondo and the seven-part rondo
Seven-part rondo (with A being the first theme): A-B-A-C-A-B-A
 “The quickest way to memorize it is to say it out loud: ABACABA.”
 A less commonly used version is A-B-A-C-A-D-A... ABACADA!
 Five-part rondo: A-B-A-C-A… ABACA!
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Sonata-Rondo Form ………O_O
 The most famous of all of the “hybrid forms”
 Exposition: A-B-A; Development: C; Recapitulation: A-B-A
 Like the regular rondo, the first theme (letter A) keeps
repeating throughout the movement
 Anything else?
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NO.
Minuet and Trio
 The minuet is a ¾ waltz-styled dance, and in this
case is written for a trio to keep the volume softer
 Ternary form(-ish): Minuet (A), Trio (B), Minuet (A)
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Minuet (A)
A-B-A
or
A-BA
Trio (B)
C-D-C
or
C-DC
Minuet (A)
A-B-A
or
C-DC
Minuet form is called rounded binary: the B theme is “rounded
off” by an incomplete return to the letter A melody
 Trio is called rounded ternary: the D theme makes an incomplete
return to the C melody
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Franz Joseph Haydn
 Born in a small Austrian town, and served as a choirboy until
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his “voice changed.”
Served as an apprentice to composer Nicola Porpora
Joined the court orchestra of Count Morzin, and later
accepted a court orchestra position for Prince Nicholas
Esterhazy
Works often showed vibrancy; he would ask string players to
mistune one of their strings to always play the wrong note
His last 12 symphonies, known collectively as the London
symphonies, are considered perfect expressions of the
Classical style
He died during the French occupation of Vienna in 1809
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Napoleon Bonaparte gave his men strict instructions that Hayden was
not to be disturbed in any way…. aaaawww <3 
Franz Joseph Haydn (continued)
 His compositions include solo keyboard works, duts
and trios, 82 string quartets, concertos for violin and
piano among other instruments and 104
compositions for full symphony orchestra
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Helped establish the sonata cycle format through string
quartet, concerto, and symphony
String Quartet No. 77 in C major, “Emperor,” Op. 76, No. 3 by Haydn
 Created the Austrian national anthem, titled Gott erhalte
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Franz den Kaiser (“God Protect Franz the Kaiser”)
In 1922, its lyrics were changed, and became a Nazi
“party song,” titled Deutschland, Deutschland, uber alles
(“Germany over all”), the anthem of the German Federal
Republic
When the Berlin wall came down in the 1990s, the song
became the anthem of a unified Germany
Instead of beginning and ending in the tonic major key, it
starts in the minor key
Follows the exposition, development, and recapitulation
structure, though with much more shifts in harmonies
Symphony No. 94 in G Major, “Surprise,” by Haydn
 This is one of his final, most successful “London
symphonies”
 Four movement composition, characteristic of his
final symphonic works with the exception of the
second movement
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Constantly juxtaposes theme 1 and theme 2, from happy and
soft, to more somber and dramatic
In the first theme, you are lulled into a “false sense of security.”
Beware. In the second theme, Haydn seems to be saying “No
sleeping, please.”
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
 Christened Johannes Chrysotomus Wolfgangus Theophilus,
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[“which must have been tough to get printed up on a
business card.” HAHAHAHAH. -_-]
Wrote his first compositions by five years old, and with the
help of his composer and father Leopold, he performed in
front of numerous heads of states and aristocrats
He also learned from musical encounters with J.C. Bach
and Haydn
He fell in love with singer Aloysia Weber, though was
rejected. He later married her younger sister, Constanze
Weber.
His last three symphonies, Nos. 39, 40, and 41, are
considered to be perfectly exemplary of the Classical styles
Symphony No. 40, K. 550, by Mozart
Movement 1: Allegro molto
 Structured in sonata form
 Exposition: first theme (A) is in the tonic key; second theme
(B) is in a closely related key
 Development: development of theme one, with a constantly
shifting harmony
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Some of the lower voiced instruments are sitting on a single note
for the second half of the development, a technique known as
pedal point, which is the dominant tone of the tonic key
Recapitulation: the first theme is again repeated as it is
presented in the exposition
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Remember, unlike the exposition, the recapitulation does NOT
change keys in the second theme, so the transition is merely
indicated as a bridge
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night Music),
K. 525, Movement III – Menuetto, by Mozart
 It is a serenade, originally created with five
movements, but the first of two minuet and trio
movements were later removed, and is now left with
a conventional four-movement sonata cycle
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It can be performed by both a full string orchestra or by a
string quartet
 Structured in minuet and trio form; it thus
demonstrates the rounded binary form and rounded
ternary form that accompany the minuet and trio,
respectively
The Solo Concerto
 Usually three movements, in fast-slow-fast
arrangement
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First movement: Uses a double exposition
The first time the exposition is played, all of the themes are
presented by only the orchestra, and the second theme does not
change keys
 The second time the exposition is played, the texture is dominated
by a soloist alone
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• The double exposition technique is only applicable to the Classical
period, and disappears after the period ends
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The remainder of the piece, with the development and
recapitulation, remains the same
• When the recapitulation is over, the orchestra will drop out, and the
soloist will play a cadenza, which are usually improvised; then, the
coda follows
The Solo Concerto (continued)
 The second and third movements usually feature
the soloist throughout
 Second
movement: Slow, lyrical, and sentimental
 Third movement: The fastest of all the movements;
usually in rondo form or sonata-rondo form
Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488
Movement I – Allegro, by Mozart
 Structured in first movement concerto form (sonata
form with double exposition)
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Double Exposition, Development, Recapitulation, Cadenza, Coda
Mozart’s Operas
 His two opera buffa pieces are The marriage of
Figaro and Don Giovanni
 Mozart’s 21 operas are composed in three basic
styles: the Italian opera seria (serious) and opera
buffo (comical), and the German singspiel (song play
with spoken dialogue)
Ludwig van Beethoven
 Born in Bonn, Germany
 Beethoven’s father “encouraged” his son to practice
harder by beating him
 After his mother died, his father began drinking
excessively and was dismissed from the court, and
Beethoven took over as the head of the family
Haydn visited the court when Beethoven was 22, and invited him
to study in Vienna
 Beethoven also hoped to study with Mozart, but he died 
 As his hearing got progressively worse, Beethoven wrote something
of a “suicide note, the Heiligenstadt Testament, which historians
point to as a turning point in Beethoven’s compositional style
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Ludwig van Beethoven; Classical or Romantic?
 “Most of Beethoven’s works are actually supposed to
be in the Romantic Period.”
 -________ They are thus grouped into three large periods; early
(1782-1802), middle (1803-1815), and late (18161827)
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early period features the string quartets, piano sonatas, a
piano quintet, and his first two symphonies
 The middle styles includes more symphonies, piano concertos,
a violin concerto, string quartets, and his only opera
 The late period has more string quartets
Sonata No. 8 in c minor, “Pathetique,”
Op. 13, by Beethoven
 Movement I – Grave, Allegro di molto e con brio,
Movement II – Adagio cantabile
Movement III – Rondo Allegro
 Beethoven added an extended, slow introduction in the
first movement, which is usually reserved for
symphonies
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He often refers back to this slow introduction within the rest of
the piece, for it characterizes his emotional state at that time
Beethoven’s Symphonies
 He composed nine symphonies and started a tenth at
the time of his death, and are most representative of
the Classical period
 The Sinfonia Eroica (Heroic Symphony) marks a
turning point in his composition of symphonies
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It is the first symphony to replace the standard third
movement minuet and trio with the faster and more complex
scherzo
Although it was originally dedicated to Napoleon, his selfproclamation as “Emperor” led Beethoven to destroy his
dedication of the piece, changing it to read “To the Memory of
a Great Man.”
Symphony No. 5 in c minor, Op. 67, by Beethoven
Movement I – Allegro con brio
 Structured in the standard four-movement sonata
cycle format, to which he adds a new cyclic
component
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This means that a melodic and/or rhythmic idea presented
in the first movement returns in the subsequent movements
In this particular symphony, the recurring idea (the first
three short notes and the one long note) functions as both
rhythmic and melodic
The second movement demonstrates two themes, and the
third is a scherzo and trio
In the final movement, he adds a piccolo, a contrabassoon,
and a full trombone section to the symphony orchestra,
forever changing the traditional orchestra
Tenkyoo por leesening to me! Yoo ab been so kind.
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