Classical Period

1
Classical Period

• 1750-1820

2
Classical Era

• The term classical is confusing because
• of its different meanings
• A) It may refer to the arts of Greek and Roman
  antiquity
• B) supreme accomplishment or lasting appeal
• Anything that is not rock, jazz, rap or folk,
  etc.

3
Age of Enlightenment

• Philosophers and writers believed in progress,
  believing that reason, not custom or tradition
  was the best guide for human conduct.
• Their attacks on the privileges of the
  aristocracy and clergy reflected the outlook of
  the middle class, which were struggling for their
  rights.
• This 70 year period was marked by violent
  political and social upheaval and included the
  Seven Years War, the American and French
  Revolutions, and the Napoleonic Wars.
• Political and economic power shifted from the
  aristocracy and church to the middle class.

4
Transition

• The time period between the baroque and the
  classical was known as the pre-classical period
  (1730-1770).
• Bachs sons were pioneers in this new style
• The master composers of the era were Haydn,
  Mozart, and the young Beethovenand this style is
  referred to as Viennese since all three composers
  lived in, worked in, and drew inspiration from
  the spirit and culture of 18th century Vienna.

5
Inside the Castle

• Aristocracy settled into a predictable life of
  manners, morals, and music
• Outside the wallsthe people began rising in
  revolt because they wanted control of their own
  destinies.
• Concerts Servants delivered ornate invitations.
  Guests arrived in the afternoon for drinks, and
  then retired to guest rooms to nap. After the nap
  they changed clothes and strolled into the music
  room where they talked or dozed.
• After the concert they went to the ball and
  danced for hours.

6
Music Overview

• By the middle of the century, even the
  middle-class families usually had a harpsichord
  and other musical instrument in their homes
• The piano was introduced around 1711 and became
  more and more popular.
• Composers augmented their meager incomes by
  offering music lessons, and important books of
  music instruction were printed.
• Simple music for amateurs to play was composed
  and owners were programmed to include music that
  would please the eager, but inexperienced
  audience.
• Women became more involved in the art of music
  making in the home.
• They took lessons and practiced quite a bit in
  order to entertain their families, suitors, and
  friends.

7
Characteristics

• Contrast of Mood Baroque compositions usually
  conveyed a single emotionclassical pieces
  fluctuated in mood, either gradually or suddenly
  and there was great contrast.
• Rhythm flexibility and lots of rhythmic
  patterns, unexpected pauses, and syncopationand
  not the perpetual motion of the baroque.
• Texture basically homophonicand it became the
  predominant texture. Melodies were generally
  placed in the top line, and the bass which
  supported the harmonies above, had less melodic
  interested than in the music of the baroque.
  There is also a shift in and out of textures.

8
Characteristics

• Melody Easy to remember and are the most
  tuneful. The themes of even the highly
  sophisticated compositions may have a folk or
  popular flavor.
• They usually sound balanced and symmetrical
  because they are frequently made up of two
  phrases of the same length.
• Dynamics The range of dynamic levels increased
  in the latter part of the 18th century.
  Crescendos were longer and more expressive and
  gradualnot terraced like the baroque.

9
Characteristics

• Timbre Instrumental music clearly dominated
  during the Classical period. Orchestral music was
  particularly important. The piano, capable of
  achieving expressive dynamic effects, replaced
  the harpsichord as the primary keyboard
  instrumentbut not until 1775.
• End of the basso continuo amateurs started
  playing music and they werent skilled enough to
  master the art of improvising from a figured
  bass. It was gradually abandoned during this time
  and became obsolete. Classical musicians wanted
  more control and they preferred to specify an
  accompaniment.

10
New Classical Orchestra

• Larger with a standard group of four sections.
• Instruments came into their own, and they were
  featured, and not used for doubling.
• The string section usually had the melody.
• Strings 1st and 2nd violins violas, cellos,
  basses.
• Winds 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons
• Brass 2 French Horns, 2 trumpets
• Percussion 2 timpani

11
Classical Forms

• Classicists found beauty in order and
• symmetry of design, and their music is
• clearly organized according to old and
• new principles of musical form.
• Symphony large scale work for orchestra
• Symphonies and String Quartets (Usually follow
  this 4-movement pattern)
• 1.) Fast movement
• 2.) Slow movement
• 3.) Dance-related movement
• 4.) Fast movement

12
Classical Forms

• String Quartet
• composition written for 2 violins (1st and 2nd),
  1 viola,1 cello
• Classical sonata written for one or two
  instruments. (piano or piano and violin, for
  example)

13
Three of the Worlds Greatest Composers

• Haydn (1732-1809) spent most of his life serving
  a wealthy aristocratic family (Prince Esterhazy).
  He was considered a skilled servantlike a
  gardener or gamekeeper and had to refrain from
  vulgarity in eating, drinking, and conversation.
• Mozart (1756-1791) couldnt bear being treated
  like a servant and broke away from his court
  position and went to Vienna to try his luck as a
  freelance musician. He was very successful for
  several years but his popularity declined and he
  died in debt.
• Beethoven (1770-1827) fared better than both
  Haydn and Mozart. He was able to work as an
  independent musician in Viennaonly a few years
  after Mozarts death. His success was gained
  through a wider middle-class market for music and
  a commanding personality that prompted the
  nobility to give him gifts and treat him as an
  equal. He played for Mozart as a 16 year old, and
  studied with Haydn when he was 22.

14
Sonata Form

• Sonata Form - (refers to the form of a single
  movement)
• Motives are short musical ideas
• Sonata formnot the term sonata, which is used
  for a whole composition made up of several
  movements.
• This form is found in the opening of a first
  movement of a classical symphony, sonata, or
  string quartet. More often than not the opening
  movement is in sonata form.

15
Sonata Form

• Three main parts
• Exposition theme stated (exposition means a
  detailed statement or explanation)
• Development theme treated in new ways
• Recapitulation themes return brings resolution
  (review or summary)
• Coda Concluding Sections (It. for tail, ending
  on tonic) (conclusion)
• 1-Mozart-Symphony No.40 in G Minor, K550 (P.
  166) First Movement

16
Theme and Variations

• Widely used in the classical period, either as an
  independent piece or as one movement of a
  symphony, sonata, or string quartet.
• The basic musical ideathe themeis repeated over
  and over and is changed each time.
• Each variation is usually about the same length
  as the themeand may differ in mood from the
  theme.
• 2-Haydn Symphony No. 94 in G Major, 2nd
  Movement (P. 168)

17
Minuet and Trio

• Often used as the third movement of classical
  symphonies, string quartets and other works.
• Originated as a dance (first appeared at the
  court of Louis XIV of France) around 1650 and was
  danced by aristocrats.
• It was stately and dignified whereby couples
  exchanged bows and curtsies.
• The minuet movement of a symphony is meant for
  listening.
• Triple meter, moderate tempo. ABA form
• (Minuet (A) Trio (B) Minuet (A)

18
Serenade

• Is light in mood and meant for evening
  entertainment.
• Written for small string orchestra or for a
  string quartet plus a double bass that plays the
  cello part an octave lower.
• The third movement is a courtly minuet in ABA
  form
• 3-Mozart Eine Kleine Nachtmusik ( A Little
  Night Music), K525. Third Movement (P. 171)

19
Rondo

• Has a main theme A which alternates with other
  themes.
• In our example the A theme is in the style of a
  gypsy dance (in minor)
• Theme B is lyrical in melody
• Theme C is quick and playful and when theme A
  returns it has a faster tempo and leads to a
  frenzied concluding section.
• Listening Outline ABACABA
• 4 Rondo Beethoven, String Quartet in C Minor,
  Op. 18, No. 4 (Fourth Movement)

20
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)

• Born in Austria.
• He served as a choirboy in Vienna and when his
  voice changed, he was dismissed with no money.
• Eventually aristocrats recognized his talent when
  at age 29 he entered the service of the Esterhazy
  (the richest and most powerful of the Hungarian
  noble families)
• He composed music for them for nearly 30 years in
  the palace which contained an opera house, a
  theater, two concert halls and 126 guest rooms.
• Haydn was a highly skilled servant who was
  required to compose all music desired by his
  patron, in addition to conducting the orchestra,
  coaching singers, and overseeing the instruments
  and music library.

21
Haydn

• He held the post of Kapellmeister (the Kapell
  being the princes chapel), which involved
  managing and writing music not only for the
  princes chapel but also for his private opera
  house, his marionette theater, and for palace
  chamber music and orchestral performances.
• He was a good administrator who hired his own
  musicians in order to experiment with the
  symphony and other genres in order to develop his
  style under ideal conditions.
• His music became immensely popular all over
  Europe. He went to London in 1791-92 and again
  in 1794-95 and reports indicated that his
  appearances were triumphs.

22
Haydn

• He was a pioneer in the development of the
  symphony and the string quartet.
• Both Mozart and Beethoven were influenced by his
  style.
• He was a master at developing themes.
• Some scholars believe that Haydn invented the
  string quartet form.
• He wrote masses, oratorios, string quartets,
  symphonies, piano sonatas, divertimentos,
  concertos, and operas.

23
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

• Born in Austria.(2006 marks the 250th anniversary
  of his birth.)
• Amazing child prodigy.
• Wrote his first symphony at age 8 and his first
  opera at age 12.
• Toured the palaces from the ages of 6-15, shown
  off by his father.
• He played for aristocrats.
• When he returned to Salzburg at age 15 the
  archbishop, a tyrant who ruled Salzburg at the
  time, would not grant him anything above a
  subordinate seat in the court orchestra.
• Mozart spent 10 years with the help of his father
  to find another position anywhere else.

24
Mozart

• At age 25 he couldnt take it anymore, broke free
  from Salzsburg, and became a free-lance musician
  in Vienna.
• He was very successful for the first few years.
  His concerts were attended by royalty, his
  compositions were published, and pupils paid him
  high feeshe also formed a friendship with Haydn.
  
• His popularity declined after Don Giovanni, which
  was not received very well in Viennaand it was
  downhill from this point on.
• After 1787 his life was a struggle but he did
  receive a minor court appointment and the promise
  of a church positionand then finally he scored a
  hit with the Magic Flute and he became successful
  again during the last year of his lifehe
  received a commission for a comic opera The Magic
  Flute.
• Requiem (Mass for the dead)

25
Mozart

• Mozart was a versatile composer and wrote
  masterpieces in all forms of his timesymphonies,
  concertos, chamber music, operas etc.
• Many of his concertos are his greatest works.
• He was a great pianist.
• He was a master of opera because he had a keen
  sense of theater.
• Most of his operas are comedies composed to
  German or Italian librettos
• 5 Mozart -Opera - Don Giovanni Act I (Italian)
  Page 183

26
Classical Symphonies

• Classical Symphony The greatest contribution to
  the classical period.
• Haydn- wrote at least 104, wrote them mostly for
  his employers
• Mozart- wrote over 40
• Beethoven-wrote only nine. Beethoven wrote a
  symphony only when inspired.
• Beethovens symphonies are longer than both
  Mozarts and Haydns and were conceived for
  performance in the large concert hall.

27
Classical Concerto

• This is a three-movement work for an instrumental
  soloist and orchestra.
• It combines the soloists virtuosity and
  interpretive abilities with the orchestras wide
  range of tone color and dynamics.
• Soloist and orchestra are equally important in
  keeping with the classical love of balance.
• Mozart and Beethoven were the greatest masters of
  the classical concertoand often wrote concertos
  for themselves to play as piano soloists and the
  piano is their favored solo instrument.
• There were other solo instruments including the
  violin, cello, horn bassoon trumpet, clarinet,
  and cello.

28
Classical Concerto

• They can last anywhere from 20-45 minuets like a
  symphony.
• There are three movements (1) fast (2) slow (3)
  fast.
• Has no minuet or scherzo.
• In the first movement or the last movement, there
  is a special unaccompanied showpiece for the
  soloists, the cadenza (Italian for cadence).
• The soloist then displays virtuosity by playing
  dazzling scale passages etc. without the
  orchestra.
• In the classical era the soloists was often the
  composer and generally improvised the cadenza.
• 6 Mozart Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K.
  488 First Movement (P. 191)

29
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1820)

• Born in Bonn, Germany
• His father (a minor musician at the court of
  Bonn) tried unsuccessfully to promote him as an
  infant prodigy like Mozart.
• Although considered a slow developer, by the age
  of 22 he was acclaimed as a powerful virtuoso
  pianist, playing his own compositions at the
  palaces for the music-loving aristocracy in
  Viennawhere he remained until his death.
• He became progressively deaf after the age of 30.
  
• He overcame his depression, turned to composition
  and in 1803 wrote the first of his powerful and
  individual symphonies the Eroica (Third).
• He was probably the first musician to make a
  living/career solely from composing, and he was
  regarded as a genius and eccentric during his
  lifetime.

30
Beethoven

• He represents the highest level of musical
  genius.
• He profoundly influenced composers throughout the
  19th C.
• By age 11 he was serving as assistant to the
  court organist, and at age 12 had several
  compositions published.
• Before his 29th birthday, he left Bonn to study
  with Haydn in Vienna, where he spent the rest of
  his life. Vienna was taken with his virtuosity
  and his ability to improvise.

31
Beethoven

• He rebelled against social convention asserting
  that the artist deserved as much respect as the
  nobilityand the same aristocrats who had
  allowed Mozart to die in debt (20 years before)
  showered Beethoven in gifts.
• In 1809, three noblemen committed to him an
  annual income, only if he were to stay in Vienna.
  
• Unlike earlier composers, Beethoven was never
  actually in the service of the Viennese
  aristocracy.
• He earned good fees from piano lessons and
  concerts and publishers were quick to buy his
  compositions.
• He first felt the symptoms of deafness at age 29.
  Even when he went deaf, he insisted on
  conducting although he could no longer perform
  (playing the piano) in public.

32
Beethoven

• He was the musical heir of Haydn and Mozart and
  he.
• Many of his innovations were used by later
  composers.
• He used a great range of pitch and dynamics
  greater than ever before.
• Contrast in mood is more bridged the gap between
  the classical and romantic eras
  pronouncedaccents and climaxes are on a greater
  scale.
• Was a musical architect who greatly expanded
  forms and made them more dramatic.
• His most popular works were his nine symphonies
  and he took the unprecedented step of using a
  chorus and 4 vocal soloists, who sing the text to
  Schillers Ode to Joy in the last movement of
  his ninth symphony.

33
Beethoven

• His 32 piano sonatas are far more difficult than
  those of Haydn or Mozart and he drew many new
  effects from the piano of his time.
• His string quartets are considered to be the
  greatest music ever composed
• His piano concerti are very individual and it is
  said that he premiered each of the five.
• His works is usually divided into three periods
  early (up to 1802), middle (1803-1814) and late
  (1815-1827).
• Earlier works show the influence of Haydn and
  Mozart but the rest show his own personal style.
• 7 Piano Sonatas in C Minor, Op. 13 (Pathetique)
  (page 198)
• 8 Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67 (page 201)