MUSIC OF THE CLASSICAL PERIOD (1750-1820)
violins, a viola and a cello. The works are themselves called string
The Classical period refers to an era that started around 1750 and
includes composers like Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. Also active
in this period were Rossini and Paganini.
Everything we play on Classic FM is 'classical music', music that's
distinct from pop, jazz, or folk music. But the Classical era in the
history of music specifically refers to the period when composers
such as Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven were active, championing
the symphony, composing comic operas, and developing the piano
sonata.
This new musical style coincided with the Age of Enlightenment, a
time of radical change in social values focused on human rights and
freedom of religion. Its architectural style was reminiscent of
ancient Rome and Greece - hence the term 'Classical'.
Orchestras went through great changes: harpsichord or organ were
no longer their musical foundation and wind instruments such as
the horn, trumpet, clarinet, flute and oboe joined the strings to
create a new, distinctive sound.
The orchestral set-up led to the era's most important type of music,
the symphony. It developed rapidly at the beginning of the era,
moving from a standard, strict three-movement format with a quick
opening, a slow middle movement and a quick one to finish, to
become an expansive four-movement vehicle for orchestral
expression.
Along with the orchestra came the string quartet, consisting of two
quartets and follow a standard, four-movement format reminiscent
of the symphony.
The piano was also introduced during this period. The most
important solo pieces of the Classical era were sonatas, written for
any solo instrument but most notably composed for the piano.
The Classical era was dominated by its two greatest composers,
Haydn and Mozart, who worked in Vienna. Haydn composed
fantastic choral, operatic, orchestral and instrumental music - but
the symphonies were his greatest achievement.
In the last years of the 18th century came Beethoven, who started
writing music in the style inherited from Mozart and Haydn. He
eventually outgrew it, and split apart the Classical style at the
seams, marking the dawn of the Romantic era in music.
Franz Joseph Haydn (17321809)
Franz Joseph Haydn (17321809) was an Austrian composer, one of
the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period.
Haydn wrote 107 symphonies in total, as well as 83 string quartets,
45 piano trios, 62 piano sonatas, 14 masses and 26 operas, amongst
countless other scores.
Life and Music
The son of a wheelwright and a local landowner's cook, Haydn had
such a fine voice that at the age of five he entered the Choir School
of St Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna.

His ethereal treble tones lasted until he was 16, a fact noticed by
the Habsburg Empress, Maria Theresa, who uttered her famous
criticism: "That boy doesn't sing, he crows!". Haydn left the choir in
memorable fashion - snipping off the pigtail of one his fellow
choirboys - and was publicly caned.
By the 1770s, Haydn's music had become more distinctive and
boldly individual, inspired by a form of heightened emotionalism
known as 'Sturm and Drang' (storm and stress). The composer's
reputation spread rapidly throughout Austria, and commissions
began arriving from abroad.
1790 saw the death of Prince Nicholas Esterhzy, Haydn's employer
since 1762, and the musically indifferent Anton became the new
Crown Prince. Haydn moved to Vienna and accepted an invitation
from the great German-born violinist and impresario, Johann Peter
Salomon, to visit England (1791-1792), where he found himself
adored.
Prince Anton Esterhzy died in 1795, and his successor, Nicholas II,
requested Haydn's return to Esterhza. A lover of church music,
Nicholas set Haydn the task of composing a new setting of the mass
every year.
In 1804, Haydn retired from Esterhza, and illness effectively
prevented him from any further composition. During May 1809,
Napoleon reached Vienna, but Haydn stayed there, guarded
respectfully by two of the invader's sentries.
On 31 May 1809 Haydn died peacefully in his sleep.
Did you know?
The choirmaster at St Stephen's Cathedral suggested Haydn become
a castrato, but his father objected and the operation never went
ahead, Haydn's voice broke the following year.
Johannes Chrystostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus
Mozart (17561791)
Johannes Chrystostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart
(17561791) was arguably the most gifted musician in the
history of classical music. His inspiration is often described as
'divine', but he worked assiduously, not only to become the
great composer he was, but also a conductor, virtuoso pianist,
organist and violinist. Mozart's music embraces opera,
symphony, concerto, chamber, choral, instrumental and vocal
music, revealing an astonishing number of imperishable
masterpieces.
Mozart was born in Salzburg, in 1756. Mozart's father,
Leopold, was an ambitious composer and violinist.
Though he was and still is considered a genius, he was also
tactless, arrogant and had a scatological sense of humour.
Mozart composed his first opera, Apollo et Hyacinthus when
he was only 11. A year later the Emperor Joseph II
commissioned him to write La finta semplice.
In August 1782 he married Constanze Weber. The Mozarts'
marriage seemed to be a happy one. Constanze was easy-going,
free-spending and usually pregnant. Only two of their six
children survived.

Post-marriage, some of Mozart's best started to appear -the
Haffner and Linz symphonies and five string quartets, for
example.
Between 1784 and 1786, he composed nine piano concertos
and three of these concurrently with The Marriage of Figaro.
The year 1787 saw the premiere of Mozart's second opera, Don
Giovanni.
Mozart had a great run of successes in his final years - Eine
Kleine Nachtmusik and the Clarinet Quintet in A, three of his
41 symphonies; Cos fan Tutte, three piano trios, the
Coronation piano concerto, two piano sonatas and three string
quartets.
His health began to fail and his work rate slowed in 1790. He
got better, though, and in 1791 alone composed the most
famous The Magic Flute, the Requiem (unfinished), and the
Clarinet Concerto.
Mozart did not live long enough to complete his Requiem. He
died in Vienna, in 1791, before his 36th birthday.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was a German composer
and pianist, who is arguably the defining figure in the history
of Western music.
Ludwig Van Beethoven was born in December 1770, but no-
one is completely sure on which date. He was baptized on the
17th.
The earliest recorded piece that Beethoven composed is a set of
nine piano variations, composed in 1782.
Beethoven moved to Vienna in 1792, where he met influential
composers like Haydn and began to compose in earnest.
By 1796, he had begun to suffer from tinnitus and was losing
his hearing.
Beethoven composed his Piano Sonata No. 14 ('Moonlight') in
1802.
The Third Symphony, known as the 'Eroica', was completed in
1804. It went on to redefine the symphony as a genre.
The opening motif to the Fifth Symphony from 1808 is one of
the most famous musical excerpts in history.
The 'middle period' of Beethoven's career also saw him
compose piano works like the Waldstein and Apassionata
sonatas, as well as his only opera, Fidelio, which went through
countless rewrites and revisions.
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the 'Choral' from 1824, is
another work of his that has remained infinitely popular. It was
the first time that a composer had used choral voices in a major
symphony.
Ill health and increasing deafness caused a drop in productivity
at the end of Beethoven's life, but he still managed to produce
important works like his 'Late Quartets' in 1825, which were
wildly inventive for the time.
Beethoven died in Vienna on the 26th March 1827 after a long
illness that has variously been attributed to alcohol, hepatitis,
cirrhosis and pneumonia.

Did you know?

Beethoven composed only one opera, Fidelio, which took years
to get right. He re-wrote one aria no fewer than 18 times and
came up with four different overtures before deciding upon the
one he liked.