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The History of Music,
Second Edition
Into the Classical Period
Teacher’s Guide
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The History of Music, Second Edition
Into the Classical Period
Table of Contents
Tabl
INTRODUCTION.........................................................................3
LEARNING OBJECTIVES..................................................................3
TARGET VOCABULARY...................................................................3
DISCUSSION STARTERS...................................................................3
REVIEW QUESTIONS.....................................................................4
TRANSCRIPT............................................................................7
©2005 Clearvue
6465 N. Avondale Avenue
Chicago, IL 60631
800-253-2788 • 773-775-9433
[email protected]
clearvue.com • PowerMediaPlus.com
The History of Music, Second Edition
Into the Classical Period
Introduction
As the baroque era drew to a close, music started to become simpler and easier to understand.
This new era, known as the classical period, was characterized by such styles of music as sentimental and gallant, as well as by the birth of the symphony.
During the classical period, the harpsichord, the preeminent keyboard instrument of the baroque
period, was challenged by the pianoforte (the name of which was later shortened to piano). The
pianoforte offered a new range of dynamics and allowed musicians to play soft, loud, and everything in between.
Some of the most important composers of all time made music during the classical period. Johann
Christian Bach, Franz Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven all
contributed to the tapestry of music during this time. Thanks to Beethoven, the classical period
led to the development of a new level of individual expression by musicians.
Learning Objectives
After completing the program and participating in discussion and activities, students will be able
to:
• Explain why this era became known as the classical period;
• Understand the ways in which music from the classical period was different from other music;
• Describe the various musical trends that developed during this time;
• Compare and contrast the compositions of such musicians as Johann Christian Bach, Franz
Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven; and
• Discuss the pianoforte's lasting contribution to music.
Target Vocabulary
gallant style
comic opera
sentimental style
crescendo
diminuendo
overtures
symphony
pianoforte
dynamic range
classical
form
themes
tonality
sonata allegro
Esterhazy
classical style
chamber music
virtuoso
Johann Stamitz
Franz Joseph Haydn
Johann Christian Bach
Age of Enlightenment
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Ludwig van Beethoven
Discussion Starters
1. Ask students to discuss the instruments that were popular during the classical period. Why did
the pianoforte (piano) have such an advantage over the harpsichord? Ask the students if any of
them play piano. If any of them do, request that they explain the benefits of the piano in terms
of its capabilities. Do any of these students play the music of Haydn, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, or
other classical composers?
2. Think about the ways in which the Age of Enlightenment affected music composition. What kinds
of social movements/sentiments affect modern music? Have students make a list of social issues
or movements that have affected the music of today
today, as well as the names of musicians or musical
groups that address social issues in their music.
3. Ask students to talk about the practice of having musicians living like servants. Did this practice
make sense? How might it have helped or hurt a musician's ability to compose music? Ask students
to think about whether or not this practice could translate into modern times.
3
Review Questions
Use these discussion topics and questions to review the program material.
1. What was the gallant style? Where was it developed? [As the baroque era ended, composers
in France turned to the galant (or gallant) style, which aimed to charm listeners without making
demands on them. This style soon influenced Italian music as well. The trend toward music and
art that was easy to understand took place as society itself was changing.] How did the influence
of the middle class affect music? [The middle class had grown to rival the aristocracy and began
to impose its tastes on the arts. These new audiences were bored by old-style Italian operas
based on ancient myths. They preferred comic opera, often based on national musical styles
and customs and sung in the local language.] Describe this new kind of opera. [The new-style
operas often featured stories about a commoner outwitting an aristocrat. The style was developed
most fully in Italy, where it was called opera buffa, but popular counterparts were produced in
England, Germany, and elsewhere.]
2. What were Johann Christian Bach's contributions to classical music? [Johann Christian Bach,
son of Johann Sebastian Bach, adopted the gallant style and brought it with him to England,
where patrons of the arts cultivated foreign rather than local talent.] What is sentimental style?
[Two other Bach sons were also celebrated composers in the German emfindsamer Stil, or sentimental style, which tried to reflect people's common, ordinary feelings.] How were gallant and
sentimental style music similar? How were they different from baroque styles? [Although the
gallant style and the sentimental style grew from different roots, they developed along similar
lines. In contrast to the continuous rhythmic flow of baroque music, the new styles used simple
phrases with clear beginnings and endings. Melody was now primary; harmony was simple and predictable; even the bass line receded into the background. Tonality was clearer than ever before.
Phrases alternated like questions and answers, with the answer always the tonic.]
3. What was Johann Stamitz's contribution to classical music? [In the German city of Mannheim,
Johann Stamitz had organized a group of musicians who were creating a great deal of excitement.
Although mixed groups of instruments had been playing together for years, Stamitz's orchestra
captured public attention with such unique and startling effects as crescendo and diminuendo
(gradually becoming louder and softer) and sudden loud outbursts during soft passages.] How
did the symphony develop? [At first, the Mannheim orchestra's concerts featured overtures, or
instrumental introductions, to Italian operas. These overtures, called sinfonias at the time, were
usually in three sections: a fast opening, a slow middle section, and a fast conclusion. The word
sinfonia, or symphony, implies blending separate sounds into one. In Vienna, as well as in various
Italian cities, similar organizations cropped up as the popularity of the Mannheim orchestra grew.
Soon, German and Italian composers began to create symphonies just for these orchestral concerts, featuring the kinds of special effects the Mannheim orchestra had made famous. They usually followed the three section format, although sometimes a fourth section was added.]
4. What kinds of instruments became popular during the classical period? [The orchestras that
played symphonies consisted of a string section reinforced by pairs of flutes, oboes, horns, and
bassoons. The basso continuo—the harpsichord accompaniment—was no longer essential. Around
the same time, a new keyboard instrument began to rival the harpsichord in popularity. It was
called the pianoforte, which means "soft-loud," because it could move instantly back and forth
from soft to loud.] What was the pianoforte's advantage over the harpsichord? [Whereas the
strings of the harpsichord were plucked by quills, the strings of the pianoforte—later shortened to
piano—were struck by felt hammers. The harder a key was struck, the harder the hammer struck
the string, and the louder the note sounded. The piano could sound not only loud or soft, but all
4
gradations in between as well. This flexibility in dynamic range, or degrees of loudness, matched
the effects achieved by symphony orchestras. By the end of the eighteenth century, the piano was
largely replacing the harpsichord as the primary keyboard instrument.]
5. For whom was the music of the classical period written? In terms of classical music, how
was an aristocrat different from a commoner? [The new music of the mid-1700s catered to the
intelligent amateur, who was expected to appreciate the agreeable sounds, combined according
to standards of good taste, without any special effort. Polyphonic complexities were shunned as
pointless and unnatural. Frederick the Great of Prussia, one of the many aristocrats who participated enthusiastically in musical activities, composed and performed himself. But the aristocrats
were becoming less dominant. This was the Age of Enlightenment, when the common man gained
new stature, and practical common sense was valued above social position in some places. Man
and nature were believed to be part of a rational scheme in which God was viewed as a master
clockmaker and the supernatural had little place. Music reflected these views, highlighting patterns assumed to be based on natural principles and avoiding the extravagant or mystical.]
6. What does "classical" mean? Why was this period called the classical period? [The word "classical" is used in various ways: as applied to ancient Greek and Roman art, the word referred to
qualities of simplicity, dignity, and logical order. Later, the term was stretched to mean a thing
of lasting value—a classic—as opposed to something popular for the moment. Art music of the
Western European tradition is often called classical music to distinguish it from popular music,
which is music that reflects the spirit of a society at a particular time and place but may not have
qualities that reach beyond that context. Musicians use the word classical to refer to the years
between 1750 and 1800, when artists strove for the clarity, purity, and logical form they admired
in ancient Greek culture. These same qualities reflect the spirit of the Age of Enlightenment.]
7. In musical terms, what is form? [Form refers to the way a composition is put together—its
shape, or the way one musical event follows another. Every piece of music has a form. Musical
form results from the use of similarity and difference, or repetition and variety. If you start with
one musical idea, follow it by a different musical idea, and then return to the first idea, you are
following a basic musical form—one that describes thousands of compositions.] What are themes?
[Where baroque composers believed that a musical selection could express only one emotion,
composers around the middle of the eighteenth century began to experiment with pieces built
from two distinct ideas, or themes. With the strong sense of tonal center now firmly established,
tonality became the main quality that distinguished the two ideas.] What is sonata allegro form?
[A movement would begin, immediately establishing its tonal center, and at the same time stating a theme—a clearly recognizable arrangement of notes. After this, the music would move into
another tonality, usually introducing another theme. Once this section was brought to an end, one
or both musical ideas would be pursued and elaborated back and forth, conveying a sense of conflict and instability until finally the original idea would reassert itself, in its original tonality, followed by the second idea, now in the same tonality as the first. This form, which became known
as sonata allegro form, gave a sense of direction to a movement of music, like a narrative with a
beginning, middle, and end, with conflict and resolution. While this was not the only new musical
form to develop at this time, it was the most important, and its influence is still strong today.]
8. To what form did Franz Joseph Haydn contribute the most? What was his musical history?
[The Austrian composer Franz Joseph Haydn contributed most to the early development of sonata
form. Poor and mostly self-taught, Haydn was fortunate in his late twenties to be hired to serve
at the estate of Prince Esterhazy
Esterhazy, head of one of Europe's wealthiest families and a devoted
5
patron of music. The magnificent Esterhazy estate had its own opera house and concert halls,
and Haydn was responsible for everything from repairing instruments to composing to recruiting performers. Musical events took place almost every day. Although he had many duties, Haydn
also enjoyed a rare advantage—the opportunity to experiment with every new musical idea that
caught his fancy and, with an orchestra at his disposal, to hear the result immediately.] Describe
Haydn's compositions. [Haydn served the Esterhazy family for thirty-odd years, developing the
simple gallant and sentimental styles into the sophisticated forms that have become known as the
classical style. During his long and productive life, Haydn composed more than a hundred symphonies, which became increasingly sophisticated as he aged. In his hands, the symphony matured
into the main musical form of the classical period. The typical Haydn symphony had four movements: the first, a vigorous sonata allegro, often beginning with a slow introduction; a slow and
lyrical second movement; the third, a minuet or more robust dance; and the fourth, an effervescent finale. This format became a model for generations of composers.] How did Haydn's career
as a composer end? [The Esterhazy estate attracted the most important people in Europe, all of
whom heard Haydn's many symphonies, string quartets, and sonatas (pieces for solo instruments
or duos). By the time he reached his sixties, Haydn was known internationally and was given the
freedom to travel and enjoy the fame he had earned. A diligent, humble, optimistic man, Haydn
possessed a genial good humor that comes through in his music in combination with great technical sophistication, qualities that almost define the classical style.]
9. What is chamber music? [Chamber music is music written to be played in small rooms rather
than concert halls. The string quartet, which follows the same four movement format as Haydn's
symphonies, is a variety of chamber music.]
10. Describe Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's rise to musical fame. [Mozart was a child prodigy
whose father had been an eminent Austrian musician. His father gave up his own career to
guide his young son, whose extraordinary musical gifts were evident at an early age. By age six,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart began touring Europe as a virtuoso. He didn't perform only prepared
pieces; he could sight-read unfamiliar pieces placed before him and even improvise complex compositions on the spot. He had already begun to compose, as well, completing his first symphony
before he was nine, his first oratorio at eleven, and his first opera at twelve. As he traveled from
one country to another, young Mozart demonstrated an uncanny ability to absorb and customize
the qualities of the music he heard, from Italian opera to Mannheim symphonies, often improving on his models instantly. Despite his popularity as a child, as an adult, Mozart could not find a
secure, satisfying position. At age twenty-five, he went to Vienna to seek a career on his own.]
Was Mozart successful in Vienna? [Mozart's years in Vienna were frustrating and disappointing.
He could not earn enough money to support himself and his family, squandering what little he had
in gambling and self-indulgence. He became exhausted, then ill. Mozart did not have wide interests; he knew and cared about little except for music. Most of his compositions were designed to
win instant commercial success. He often failed even at this, but his music remained strangely
untouched by the harsh realities of his life. With their combination of childlike purity and technical sophistication, his works convey a sense of serenity and joy, of divine order. Music came easily to Mozart. He composed with great speed, even in a distracting situation or while holding a
conversation.] What forms did Mozart use in his compositions? [Mozart mastered all the types
of music of his time: sonatas, symphonies, and string quartets like Haydn's; settings of the Mass;
operas in a new German styles; and operas in the Italian styles. Altogether, he composed more
than six hundred works. He also wrote one of the greatest Italian comic operas—The Marriage of
Figaro. Mozart used the stereotyped characters and stock situations typical of such productions,
but his music helped to create real human personalities capable of winning sympathy. Mozart also
wrote a series of concertos for piano and orchestra, pitting the solo instrument against the group.
Instead of simply alternating between them—the baroque concertato style—Mozart's concertos
6
followed the more dramatic new symphonic form, giving the piano an almost human role as it
interacted with the larger group. Mozart's ability to suggest these human qualities epitomized the
sentimental style that had begun some fifty years earlier and led to an emphasis on human emotions that was to become the dominant value in the arts during the nineteenth century.] What
were the circumstances of Mozart's death? [Mozart died in Vienna at age thirty-five. His body
was dumped into an unmarked pauper's grave.]
11. How did Ludwig van Beethoven get his start in music? [Beethoven came from a background
of poverty. His father, a mediocre singer with a drinking problem, had hoped to exploit his son's
musical talent as Mozart's father had done, but his efforts failed. Nevertheless, Beethoven developed as a pianist and composer, and by the time he arrived in Vienna at the age of twenty-two,
he had a thorough grasp of the Haydn-Mozart style. His own personality—uncouth and arrogant—
gave his music a bold, harsh quality that contrasted with the gracious refinement of his predecessors.] How did Beethoven's personality elevate him above the level of some other composers?
[Beethoven learned to use his rough manner to his advantage, proudly refusing to play the customary servile role expected of a musician. Beethoven lived through a time of great social and
political upheaval, marked by the American and French Revolutions. In many ways, Beethoven
personified the spirit of these times. He became the first major composer to reject the role of
servant and to assert himself as an artist. His emancipation paved the way for a new level of individual expression that deeply influenced all music and musicians thereafter.]
Transcript
Introduction
Hello, I’m Megan Keith. Welcome to The History of Music, an introduction to the Western classical
music tradition. In Part Four, Into the Classical Period, we begin with the musical developments
of the early eighteenth century. This was a time when music started to move away from the heroically inspired baroque style toward a style that was simple and easier for the common listener to
understand.
Using the word “simple” to describe this period in music history does not mean to imply that it
was boring or insignificant—as it was quite the contrary. The development of the gallant and the
sentimental styles, which used melody, simple harmonies, and a clearer tonality than previous
styles, led to the birth of the symphony. The Mannheim Orchestra in Germany used mixed groups
of instruments to create unique and sometimes sudden effects in music, including the crescendo
and diminuendo, or the art of becoming louder and softer.
Also during the eighteenth century, a new keyboard instrument was challenging the harpsichord’s
popularity. This instrument, called the pianoforte, used hammers to strike the strings, which
allowed the musician to instantly play both loud and soft sounds. It was this flexibility in dynamic
range that helped define this era of music.
During the program, we will explore why this period is referred to as the “classical” era of art and
music. We will see how the continued development of the tonal system led to the development of
sonata allegro form, which gave a sense of direction to music with a beginning, middle, and end.
Some of the most important composers in history also created their music during this time,
including Haydn, Mozart, and a young Beethoven, whose career marks one of the great turning
points in musical history.
7
Program
Between 1700 and 1750, when the baroque style reached its peak in the hands of Vivaldi, Handel,
and Bach, other composers were developing different styles. Composers in France turned to the
style galant, or gallant style, which aimed to charm listeners without making demands on them.
This style soon influenced Italian music as well.
The trend toward music and art that was easy to understand took place as society itself was changing. The middle class had grown to rival the aristocracy and began to impose its tastes on the arts.
These new audiences were bored by old-style Italian operas based on ancient myths.
They preferred comic opera—often based on national musical styles and customs and sung in the
local language. The new-style operas often featured stories about a commoner outwitting an aristocrat. The style was developed most fully in Italy, where it was called opera buffa, but popular
counterparts were produced in England, Germany, and elsewhere.
While in Italy, Johann Christian Bach—a son of Johann Sebastian—adopted the gallant style and
brought it with him to England, where patrons of the arts cultivated foreign rather than local talent. Two other Bach sons were also celebrated composers in the German emfindsamer Stil—or sentimental style—which tried to reflect people’s common, ordinary feelings.
Although the gallant style and the sentimental style grew from different roots, they developed
along similar lines. In contrast to the continuous rhythmic flow of Baroque music, the new styles
used simple phrases with clear beginnings and endings. Melody was now primary; harmony was
simple and predictable; even the bass line receded into the background. Tonality was clearer than
ever before. Phrases alternated like questions and answers, with the answer always the tonic.
In the German city of Mannheim, Johann Stamitz had organized a group of musicians who were creating a great deal of excitement. Although mixed groups of instruments had been playing together
for years, Stamitz’s orchestra was capturing public attention with some unique and startling effects, such as crescendo and diminuendo—that is, gradually becoming louder and softer—and sudden loud outbursts during soft passages.
At first, the Mannheim orchestra’s concerts featured the overtures, or instrumental introductions,
to Italian operas. These overtures, called sinfonias at the time, were usually in three sections—a
fast opening, a slow middle section, and a fast conclusion. The word sinfonia, or symphony,
implies blending separate sounds into one. In Vienna, as well as in various Italian cities, similar
organizations cropped up as the popularity of the Mannheim orchestra grew.
Soon, German and Italian composers began to create symphonies just for these orchestral concerts,
featuring the kinds of special effects the Mannheim orchestra had made famous. They usually followed the three section format, although sometimes a fourth section was added. These orchestras
consisted of a string section reinforced by pairs of flutes, oboes, horns, and bassoons. The basso
continuo—the harpsichord accompaniment—was no longer essential.
Around the same time, a new keyboard instrument began to rival the harpsichord in popularity. It
was called the pianoforte, which means “soft-loud,” because it could move instantly back and forth
from soft to loud. Whereas the strings of the harpsichord were plucked by quills, the strings of the
pianoforte - later shortened to piano - were struck by felt hammers. The harder a key was struck,
the harder the hammer struck the string, and the louder the note sounded. The piano could sound
not only loud or soft, but all gradations in between as well.
This flexibility in dynamic range—or degrees of loudness—matched the effects achieved by symphony orchestras. By the end of the eighteenth century, the piano was largely replacing the
8
harpsichord as the primary keyboard instrument.
The new music of the mid-1700s catered to the intelligent amateur, who was expected to appreciate the agreeable sounds, combined according to standards of good taste, without any special
effort. Polyphonic complexities were shunned as pointless and unnatural. Frederick the Great of
Prussia—one of many aristocrats who participated enthusiastically in musical activities—composed
and performed himself. But the aristocrats were becoming less dominant.
This was the Age of Enlightenment, when the common man gained new stature, and practical common sense was valued above social position in some places. Man and nature were believed to be
part of a rational scheme in which God was viewed as a master clockmaker, and the supernatural
had little place. Music reflected these views, highlighting patterns assumed to be based on natural
principles and avoiding the extravagant or mystical.
The word classical is used in varied ways. Originally, it was applied to ancient Greek and Roman
art, referring to qualities of simplicity, dignity, and logical order. Later, the term was stretched
to mean a thing of lasting value—a classic—as opposed to something popular for the moment. Art
music of the Western European tradition is often called classical music to distinguish it from popular music, which is music that reflects the spirit of a society at a particular time and place but may
not have qualities that reach beyond that context. But musicians use the word classical to refer to
the years between 1750 and 1800, when artists strove for the clarity, purity, and logical form they
admired in ancient Greek culture. These same qualities reflect the spirit of the Age of Enlightenment.
In music, form refers to the way a composition is put together—its shape, or the way one musical event follows another. Every piece of music has a form. Musical form results from the use of
similarity and difference, or repetition and variety. It you start with one musical idea, follow it by
a different musical idea, and then return to the first idea, you are following a basic musical form—
one that describes thousands of compositions.
As melody, harmony, counterpoint, and rhythm were simplified under the influence of the gallant
and sentimental styles, composers began to use musical form in more sophisticated ways. Where
baroque composers believed that a musical selection could express only one emotion, composers
around the middle of the eighteenth century began to experiment with pieces built from two distinct ideas, or themes.
With the strong sense of tonal center now firmly established, tonality became the main quality
that distinguished the two ideas. A movement would begin, immediately establishing its tonal center, and at the same time stating a theme—a clearly recognizable arrangement of notes. After this,
the music would move into another tonality, usually introducing another theme. Once this section
was brought to an end, one or both musical ideas would be pursued and elaborated back and forth,
conveying a sense of conflict and instability until finally the original idea would reassert itself, in
its original tonality, followed by the second idea, now in the same tonality as the first.
This form—which became known as sonata allegro form, usually shortened today to sonata form—
gave a sense of direction to a movement of music, like a narrative with a beginning, middle, and
end, with conflict and resolution. While this was not the only new musical form to develop at this
time, it was the most important, and its influence is still strong today.
The Austrian composer Franz Joseph Haydn contributed most to the early development of sonata
form. Poor and mostly self-taught, Haydn was fortunate in his late twenties to be hired to serve at
the estate of Prince Esterhazy, head of one of Europe’s wealthiest families and a devoted patron of
music.
9
The magnificent Esterhazy estate had its own opera house and concert halls, and Haydn was responsible for everything from repairing instruments, to composing, to recruiting performers. Musical events took place almost every day. Although he had many duties, Haydn also enjoyed a rare
advantage—the opportunity to experiment with every new musical idea that caught his fancy and,
with an orchestra at his disposal, to hear the result immediately. Haydn served the Esterhazy family for thirty-odd years, developing the simple gallant and sentimental styles into the sophisticated
forms that have become known as the classical style.
During his long and productive life, Haydn composed more than a hundred symphonies, which
became increasingly sophisticated as he aged. In his hands, the symphony matured into the main
musical form of the classical period.
The typical Haydn symphony had four movements: the first, a vigorous sonata allegro, often beginning with a slow introduction; a slow and lyrical second movement; the third, a minuet or more
robust dance; and the fourth, an effervescent finale. This format became a model for generations
of composers. The same essential design was followed in compositions for the string quartet, a
variety of what is called chamber music—written to be played in small rooms rather than concert
halls.
The Esterhazy estate attracted the most important people in Europe, all of whom heard Haydn’s
many symphonies, string quartets, and sonatas—pieces for solo instruments or duos. By the time
he reached his sixties, Haydn was known internationally and was given the freedom to travel and
enjoy the fame he had earned. A diligent, humble, optimistic man, Haydn possessed a genial good
humor that comes through in his music in combination with great technical sophistication—qualities
that almost define the classical style.
Despite his own accomplishments, a 53-year-old Haydn was moved to say this about the composer
with him here, a man still in his twenties: “Before God I say to you that [he] is the greatest composer known to me, either in person or by name.” He was speaking of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
by then a veteran composer and performer, an aging child prodigy no longer in demand.
Mozart’s father had been an eminent Austrian musician who gave up his own career to guide his
young son, whose extraordinary musical gifts were evident at an early age. By age six, Wolfgang
began touring Europe as a keyboard virtuoso. He didn’t only perform prepared pieces. He could
sight-read unfamiliar pieces placed before him and even improvise complex compositions on the
spot. He had already begun to compose as well, completing his first symphony before he was nine,
his first oratorio at eleven, and his first opera at twelve.
As he traveled from one country to another, young Wolfgang demonstrated an uncanny ability to
absorb and customize the qualities of the music he heard—from Italian opera to Mannheim symphonies—often improving on his models instantly.
Despite his popularity as a child, as an adult Mozart could not find a secure, satisfying position. At
age twenty-five, he went to Vienna to seek a career on his own. His years in Vienna were frustrating and disappointing. He could not earn enough money to support himself and his family, squandering what little he had in gambling and self-indulgence. He became exhausted, then ill.
Mozart did not have wide interests; he knew and cared about little except for music. Most of his
compositions were designed to win instant commercial success. He often failed even at this, but
his music remained strangely untouched by the harsh realities of his life. With their combination of
childlike purity and technical sophistication, his works convey a sense of serenity and joy, of divine
order. Music came easily to Mozart. He composed with great speed, even in a distracting situation
or while holding a conversation.
10
The music you are hearing now was composed when Mozart was penniless, frail from exhaustion,
and only a few months from death.
Mozart mastered all the types of music of his time: sonatas, symphonies, and string quartets like
Haydn’s; settings of the Mass; operas in a new German style, as well as operas in the Italian styles.
Altogether, he composed more than six hundred works. He also wrote one of the greatest Italian
comic operas—The Marriage of Figaro. Mozart used the stereotyped characters and stock situations
typical of such productions, but his music helped to create real human personalities capable of
winning sympathy.
Mozart wrote a series of concertos for piano and orchestra, pitting the solo instrument against the
group. But instead of simply alternating between them—the baroque concertato style—Mozart’s
concertos followed the more dramatic new symphonic form, giving the piano an almost human role
as it interacts with the larger group.
Mozart’s ability to suggest these human qualities epitomized the sentimental style that had begun
some fifty years earlier and led to an emphasis on human emotions that was to become the dominant value in the arts during the nineteenth century.
When Mozart died in Vienna at age thirty-five, his body was dumped into an unmarked pauper’s
grave.
Meanwhile, an ambitious 22-year-old composer and pianist from a small German town had arrived
in Vienna, hoping to study with Haydn, who had resettled there. Coarse in appearance, uncouth
in manner, and charmingly arrogant, the newcomer’s name was Ludwig van Beethoven. Beethoven
came from a background of poverty. His father, a mediocre singer with a drinking problem, had
hoped to exploit his son’s musical talent as Mozart’s father had done, but his efforts had failed.
Nevertheless, Beethoven had been developing as both pianist and composer, and by the time he
arrived in Vienna—where he was warmly received—he had a thorough grasp of the Haydn-Mozart
style. But his own personality gave his music a certain bold, harsh quality that contrasted with the
gracious refinement of his predecessors. Beethoven learned to use his rough manner to his advantage, proudly refusing to play the customary servile role expected of a musician.
Beethoven lived through a time of great social and political upheaval, marked by the American and
French Revolutions. In many ways, Beethoven personified the spirit of these times. He became the
first major composer to reject the role of servant and to assert himself as an artist. His emancipation paved the way for a new level of individual expression that deeply influenced all music and
musicians thereafter.
11