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The Classical Period
1750-1820
Qualities of Classicism
 Order
 Objectivity
 Proportion
 Emulated the art and architecture of ancient
Greece and Rome
Greek architecture
The Greeks developed three architectural systems, called orders,
each with their own distinctive proportions and detailing.
Unity—proportion--grace
More . . . On the Classical Period
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Age of strong aristocracies
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Spacious palaces; formal gardens
Balanced proportions and detail
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Louis XV (France)
Frederick the Great (Prussia)
Maria Theresa (Austria)
Catherine the Great (Russia)
Age of the patronage system
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Music centered around the courts
Employed musicians to compose, conduct,
entertain
And, because the aristocracies were
powerful and important, this music found its
way to the “unestablished” musical world of
the new America
And more . . .
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French Revolution (1789-99)
American Revolution (1775-83)
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These changed the political systems and social
order
Industrial Revolution (c. 1750)
“Eighteenth-century Classicism,
then, mirrored the unique moment in history when
the old world was dying and the new was in the
process of being born. From the meeting of two
historic forces emerged an art of noble simplicity
that constitutes one of the pinnacles of Western
culture.”
Classicism in Music
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The Viennese School
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Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert
Composed large-scale works:
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Symphony
Concerto
Sonata
Classical Music
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Singable melodies
Lyrical
Diatonic harmony (predictable, pleasant)
Regular rhythms (also predictable)
Homophonic texture
Folk elements
Classical Period–
Golden Age of Chamber Music
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Music for 2-10 players (with one
player per part) who play
together to create a piece
Most prominent was the string
quartet
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Violin I
Violin II
Viola
Cello
The best were written by
Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven
Followed the same format as
the symphony
Haydn’s String Quartets
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Wrote 68
The Quinten Quartet
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Fourth Movement – Sonata-allegro form
“Hungarian” folk tune quality
Listen to interplay of instruments (Violin I
dominates throughout)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(1756-1791)
--Child prodigy—
Mozart
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Made significant contributions to nearly all
musical genres
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Symphony
Sonata (many for piano)
Concerto
Chamber music
Sacred music
Opera
Eine kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night
Music) -- 1787
. . . For string quartet with double bass, or chamber
orchestra
. . . Listen for homophonic texture
. . . First theme is disjunct
. . . Second theme is conjunct (and graceful)
Eine kleine Nachtmusik
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First movement – Sonata Allegro Form
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EXPOSITION
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Theme I (disjunct)
Theme II (conjunct, lyrical)
Closing theme
DEVELOPMENT
RECAPITULATION
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Theme I (returns)
Theme II (same theme, “home key”)
Closing theme (same theme, also in “home key”)
Coda “tail” (the way for the composer to wrap up the piece