Classical music period

The dates of the Classical period in Western music are generally accepted as being between about 1750 and 1820. However, the term classical music is used colloquially to describe a variety of Western musical styles from the ninth century to the present, and especially from the sixteenth or seventeenth to the nineteenth. This article is about the specific period from 1750 to 1820.[1] The Classical period falls between the Baroque and the Romantic periods. The best knowncomposers from this period are Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Franz Schubert; other notable names include Luigi Boccherini, Muzio Clementi, Antonio Soler,Antonio Salieri, Franois Joseph Gossec, Johann Stamitz, Carl Friedrich Abel, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and Christoph Willibald Gluck. Ludwig van Beethoven is also sometimes regarded either as a Romantic composer or a composer who was part of the transition to the Romantic. Franz Schubert is also something of a transitional figure, as are Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Mauro Giuliani, Friedrich Kuhlau, Fernando Sor, Luigi Cherubini, Jan Ladislav Dussek, and Carl Maria von Weber. The period is sometimes referred to as the era of Viennese Classic or Classicism (German:Wiener Klassik), since Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Joseph Haydn, Antonio Salieri, and Ludwig van Beethoven all worked at some time in Vienna, and Franz Schubert was born there. The Classical music period is the time from about 1750 to 1820 when Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert were the most famous living composers. We often talk about classical music meaning European music which is not pop music or jazz or folk music. It is music which has been written by composers who have studied the art of composition. The article Classical music talks about classical music in this sense. This article is about Classical music in the late 18th century and the early 19th century. The word classical is often used to refer to the arts of Ancient Greece and Rome. It has also come to mean any art form which has become very famous and is remembered for centuries afterwards. In music the Classical period comes between the Baroque and the period of Romanticism. In some ways Classical music is often simpler than the music of the Baroque composers. There is often a tune with a simpleaccompaniment using broken chords called an Alberti bass. For classical composers the form of the piece was very important. Composers started their work

with a tune (theme) and this tune would be developed in different ways: put in different keys, changed from a fast to a slow tune, changed from major to minor or from minor to major. The opening of this sonata by Mozart shows a typical classical tune over an Alberti bass. Some of the most famous composers of the Classical period in music are:

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788) Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787) Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) Muzio Clementi (1752-1832) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Jan Ladislav Dussek (1760-1812) Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Classicism In the middle of the 18th century, Europe began to move toward a new style in architecture, literature, and the arts, generally known as Classicism, which sought to emulate the ideals of Classical antiquityand especially those of Classical Greece.[2] While still tightly linked to the court culture and absolutism, with its formality and emphasis on order and hierarchy, the new style was also a cleaner styleone that favored clearer divisions between parts, brighter contrasts and colors, and simplicity rather than complexity, and the typical orchestra size increased.[2] The remarkable development of ideas in "natural philosophy" had established itself in the public consciousness with Newton's physics taken as a paradigm: structures should be well-founded inaxioms and be both well-articulated and orderly. This taste for structural clarity worked its way into the world of music, moving away from the layered polyphony of the Baroque period, towards a style where a melody over a subordinate harmonya combination called homophonywas preferred.[2] This meant that the playing of chords, even if they interrupted the melodic smoothness of a single part, became a much more prevalent feature of music. This, in turn, made the tonal structure of works more audible. The new style was also pushed forward by changes in the economic order and in social structure. As the 18th century progressed, the nobility became the primary patrons of

instrumental music, and there was a rise in the public taste for comic opera. This led to changes in the way music was performed, the most crucial of which was the move to standard instrumental groups and the reduction in the importance of the continuothe harmonic fill beneath the music, often played by several instruments. One way to trace this decline of the continuo and its figured chords is to examine the decline of the term obbligato, meaning a mandatory instrumental part in a work of chamber music. In the Baroque world, additional instruments could be optionally added to the continuo; in the Classical world, all parts were noted specifically, though not always notated, as a matter of course, so the word "obbligato" became redundant. By 1800, the term was practically extinct. The changes in economic situation also had the effect of altering the balance of availability and quality of musicians. While in the late Baroque a major composer would have the entire musical resources of a town to draw on, the forces available at a hunting lodge were smaller and more fixed in their level of ability. This was a spur to having primarily simple parts to play, and in the case of a resident virtuoso group, a spur to writing spectacular, idiomatic parts for certain instruments, as in the case of the Mannheim orchestra. In addition, the appetite for a continual supply of new music, carried over from the Baroque, meant that works had to be performable with, at best, one rehearsal. Indeed, even after 1790 Mozart writes about "the rehearsal", with the implication that his concerts would have only one. Since polyphonic texture was no longer the main focus of music (excluding the development section) but rather a single melodic line with accompaniment, there was greater emphasis on notating that line for dynamics and phrasing. The simplification of texture made such instrumental detail more important, and also made the use of characteristic rhythms, such as attention-getting opening fanfares, the funeral march rhythm, or the minuet genre, more important in establishing and unifying the tone of a single movement. Forms such as the concerto and sonata were more heavily defined and given more specific rules, whereas the symphony was created in this period (this is popularly attributed to Joseph Haydn). The concerto grosso (a concerto for more than one musician) began to be replaced by the solo concerto (a concerto featuring only one soloist), and therefore began to place more importance on the particular soloist's ability to show off. There were, of course, some concerto grossi that remained, the most famous of which being Mozart'sSinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola in E flat Major.

Main characteristics Classical music has a lighter, clearer texture than Baroquemusic and is less complex. It is mainly homophonic [3] melody above chordal accompaniment (but counterpoint is by no means forgotten, especially later in the period). Variety and contrast within a piece became more pronounced than before. Variety of keys, melodies, rhythms and dynamics (using crescendo, diminuendo and sforzando), along with frequent changes of mood and timbre were more commonplace in the Classical period than they had been in the Baroque. Melodies tended to be shorter than those of Baroque music, with clear-cut phrases and clearly markedcadences. The Orchestra increased in size and range; theharpsichord continuo fell out of use, and the woodwindbecame a self-contained section. As a solo instrument, theharpsichord was replaced by the piano (or fortepiano). Early piano music was light in texture, often with Alberti bass accompaniment, but it later became richer, more sonorous and more powerful. Importance was given to instrumental musicthe main kinds were sonata, trio, string quartet, symphony, concerto, serenade anddivertimento. Sonata form developed and became the most important form. It was used to build up the first movement of most large-scale works, but also other movements and single pieces (such as overtures). CONTRAST OF MOOD: A Classical composition will fluctuate in mood. Not only there are contrasting themes within a movement, but there also may be striking contrasts even within a single theme. Mood in classical music may change gradually or suddenly, expressing conflicting surges of elation and depression. But such conflict and contrast are under the firm control of the classical composer. Masters like Haydn and Beethoven were able to impart unity and logic to music of wide emotional range. RHYTHM: In Classical music, there is a flexibility of rhythm. A classical composition has a wealth of rhythmic patterns. The classical style also includes unexpected pauses, syncopations, and frequent changes from long notes to shorter ones. And the change from one pattern of note lengths to another may be either sudden or gradual. TEXTURE: Classical music is basically homophonic. However, texture is treated as flexibly as rhythm. Pieces shift smoothly or suddenly from one texture to another. A work may begin homophonically with a melody and simple accompaniment but then change to a more complex polyphonic texture that features two simultaneous melodies or melodic fragments imitated among the various instruments.

MELODY: Classical melodie are among the most tuneful and easy to remember. The themes of even highly sophisticated compositions may have a folk or popular flavour. Occasionally, composer simply borrowed popular tunes, but more often, they wrote original themes with a popular character. Classical melodies often sound balanced and symmetrical because they are frequently made up of two phrases of the same length. The second phrase, in such melodies, may begin like the first, but it will end more conclusively and it will be easier to sing. DYNAMICS AND THE PIANO: The Classical composers' interest in expressing shades of emotion led to the widespread use of gradual dynamic change - crescendo (gradually getting louder) and diminuendo ( gradually getting softer). They did not restrict themselves to the terracd dynamics characteristic of Baroque music. During the period, the desire for gradual dynamic change led to the replacement of the harpsichord by the piano. By varying the finger pressure on the keys, a pianist can play more loudly or softly. Although the piano was invented around 1700, it began to replace the harpsichord only around 1775. THE END OF BASSO CONTINUO: The basso continuo was gradually abandoned during the classical period. One reason why the basso continuo became obsolete was that more and more music was written for amateurs, who could not master the difficult art of improvising from a figured bass. Also, classical composers wanted more control; they preferred to specify an accompaniment rather than trust the judgement of improvisers.

Classical music is broadly divided into 4 main periods:

1. Baroque
2. Classical 3. Romantic 4. Contemporary 1. Baroque (1600 - 1750)

The Baroque period marked the beginning of what is commonly considered classical music. Music during this time developed from Renaissance music into the tonal music with which we are familiar today.

Baroque music is primarily characterized by its polyphonic texture, meaning that the music contains 2 or more independent melodic voices.

In particular, Baroque music is known for its use of the counterpoint. The counterpoint is a pretty complex musical idea, but in simpler terms, counterpoint uses different, independent musical lines that sound harmonious when played together.

1. Classical (1750 - 1830)

Music from the Classical period shifted away from the Baroque period's emphasis on polyphonic texture and more towards a single melody with accompaniment. This created music with less texture but with a more clearly defined melody.

Characteristics of Classical music include:

Single melody with accompaniment: one voice carries the primary melody while another voice plays a simpler line that supports the melody

Larger variety of keys, melodies, rhythms, and dynamics More contrast in a piece Shorter, clearer melodies than in Baroque music More emphasis on instrumental music Primary forms of composition: sonata, trio, string quartet, symphony, concerto

2. Romantic (1830 - 1920)

Music from the Romantic period is characterized by its much greater passion and expression than that of earlier periods. Romantic works display an expansion of form (like the key and instrumentation of a piece).

Characteristics of Romantic music: