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

Age of strong aristocracies– Spacious palaces; formal gardens– Balanced proportions and detail

Louis XV (France) Frederick the Great (Prussia) Maria Theresa (Austria) Catherine the Great (Russia)

Age of the patronage system

So . . .

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 . . .

French Revolution (1789-99) American Revolution (1775-83)

– 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

The Viennese School– Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert– Composed large-scale works:

Symphony Concerto Sonata

Classical Music

Singable melodies Lyrical Diatonic harmony (predictable, pleasant) Regular rhythms (also predictable) Homophonic texture Folk elements

Classical Period– Golden Age of Chamber Music

Music for 2-10 players (with one player per part) who play together to create a piece

Most prominent was the string quartet

– 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

Wrote 68 The Quinten Quartet

– 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

Made significant contributions to nearly all musical genres– 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

First movement – Sonata Allegro Form– EXPOSITION

Theme I (disjunct) Theme II (conjunct, lyrical) Closing theme

– DEVELOPMENT– RECAPITULATION

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