Esc. Antolina Vélez
Classical Period
1750-1820
Wolgang Amadeus Mozart
Born on January 27, 1756, in Salzburg, Austria, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a musician capable of playing multiple instruments who started playing in public at the age of 6. Over the years, Mozart aligned himself with a variety of European venues and patrons, composing hundreds of works that included sonatas, symphonies, masses, concertos and operas, marked by vivid emotion and sophisticated textures.
Historic Background
The Baroque era witnessed the creation of a number of musical genres which would maintain a hold on composition for years to come, yet it was the Classical period which saw the introduction of a form which has dominated instrumental composition to the present day: sonata form. With it came the development of the modern concerto, symphony, sonata, trio and quartet to a new peak of structural and expressive refinement. If Baroque music is notable for its textural intricacy, then the Classical period is characterised by a near-obsession with structural clarity.
The seeds of the Classical age were sown by a number of composers whose names are now largely forgotten such as Schobert and Honnauer (both Germans largely active in Paris), as well as more historically respected names, including Gluck, Boccherini and at least three of Johann Sebastian Bach's sons: Carl Phillip Emmanuel, Wilhelm Friedmann and Johann Christian (the so-called 'London' Bach). They were representative of a period which is variously described as rococo or galante, the former implying a gradual move away from the artifice of the High Baroque, the latter an entirely novel style based on symmetry and sensibility, which came to dominate the music of the latter half of the 18th century through two composers of extraordinary significance: Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Franz Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn was among the creators of the fundamental genres of classical music, and his influence upon later composers is immense. Haydn’s most celebrated pupil was Ludwig van Beethoven, and his musical form casts a huge shadow over the music of subsequent composers such as Schubert, Mendelssohn and Brahms.
Music Characteristics
Music from the classical period has a particular style. Like other styles, it is not easy to describe. The best way to understand what the style is, is to listen to the great classical composers—especially Mozart and Haydn.
Here are some of the common features you will hear in music of the classical period:
A tune! Most music of the classical period has a clear tune. There is little of the weaving together of different tunes that you get in baroque music. This means that music from the classical period often sounds much simpler than baroque music.
Loud one second, quiet the next (but not as much as romantic music). Music from the classical period keeps changing volume. It keeps changing in many other ways as well. You will notice these as changes of mood.
The name! The same names keep coming up over and over again in music of the classical period. For example, you will see lots of symphonies, sonatas, and concertos. Each of these is a style all of its own!
