Classical Era

Classical Era

1750-1820

Classical Ideas

 Proportion and Balance

o Inspired by Classical Antiquity

o Illustrated in the period’s architecture

Enlightenment  Age of Reason

o Pursuit of truth and discovery of natural laws o Scientific advances

o Social justice, equality, tolerance, freedom of speech o Gives way to age of revolution

Musical Manifestations of Social Change

o Opera of the middle class o Librettos poked fun at nobility

 Public Concerts

o Moved to the concert hall o Supported by middle class

 The Piano

o Replaced harpsichord o Invented around 1700

o Could produce dynamic contrasts o Played by amateurs (and women)

Vienna

Importance

 Capital of old roman empire

 Administrative center for Austrian Empire

 Crossroads of Central Europe

 4th largest city in Europe Musical importance

 Aristocracy patronized music by supporting numerous composers

 Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven lived in Vienna

Classical Style

Melody

 Antecendant and consequent phrases

 Short simple melodies

 More influenced by vocal music

 Frequent cadences Harmony

 Irregular rate of harmonic change

 Often changes more rapidly at cadences

 Creates fluid, flexible harmonic rhythm

 Simple chords

 Alberti bass- passage of static harmony and broken chords Rhythm

 Departs from the regular driving patterns of Baroque era

 Greater rhythmic variety within a single movement Texture

 Mostly homophonic

 Light and transparent

 Thin bass and middle range

 Counterpoint used sparingly and mainly for contrast Color

 Orchestra increased in size (50-60 musicians)

 Instrumentation becomes more standardized

 Strings remain the core of orchestral sound

 Metal strings replace gut strings

 Full woodwind ensemble becomes standard

 Woodwinds would often be paired

 Brass would normally consist of pairs of horns and trumpets

 Tympani was used

Classical Forms

Theme and Variations

 A simple theme is continually altered and each variation is different

 Progressively gets more complicated

 Coda to give conclusion

 Standard methods

o Melodic- ornamenting, overlaying with figural patterns, adding contrapuntal melody

o Changing the timbre of melody

o More radical transformations- rhythmic alterations, harmony changes, new melody based on original harmony

Sonata Allegro Form

 The only form to originate during the classical period- 1750

 Made it possible to incorporate drama and conflict within a single movement

 The standard first movement form in the Classical Era’s instrumental compositions

 3 sections- Exposition, Development, Recapitulation (can have introduction and coda)

 Exposition

o Presents or exposes the main thematic material of the movement

 Development

o Thematic material from the exposition is worked out

 Recapitulation

o Exposition them introduced again

Ternary Form (ABA)

 Presentation, contrast, return

 Presentation and return in tonic key

 Contrast would use different melody or key

Minuet and Trio  History

o Genre of dance not form

o Elegant music with stately tempo in triple meter

 Structure

o Most in Baroque Era were binary form but ternary in Classical Era o Trio- second movement that was paired with first

o Created overall ABA form

Rondo Form

 one of the oldest musical forms (dates to middle ages)

 Similar to Baroque ritornello form

 One of the easiest to hear because of the single, unvaried return of theme

Classical Genres

String Quartet

 Chamber music- one person per part, no conductor

 Most historically important genre of chamber music

 4 movements- fast, slow, minuet, fast

 Scherzo replace minuet (high spirited)

Symphony  Origin

o Traces back to the sinfonia o Three sections- fast, slow, fast

o The overture to the late Baroque Italian opera

 From sinfonia to symphony

o Sinfonias began to be performed apart from opera o Sections expanded into movements

o Other composers added a fourth movement (minuet and trio)

 Performance

o Rise in genre’s popularity tied to growth of public concerts

o Larger halls and audience necessitated a larger, more colorful orchestra o Public concerts required ensembles of fifty to sixty

 Structure

o 1st movement- fast, sonata form, serious o 2nd movement- slow, large ternary, lyrical o 3rd movement- lively, minuet trio, elegant o 4th movement- fast, sonata form, bright

Concerto

 Baroque

o Concerto grosso/solo concerto o 3 movements- fast, slow, fast o 1st

and 3rd movements used ritornello form

 Classical

o Solo concerto was the rule o 3 movements- fast, slow, fast o 1st

movement- sonata form

Opera

 Baroque

o Serious opera with heroic characters o Rigid divisions between recitative and aria o Emotions segregated- only one emotion per aria

 Classical

o Comic opera dominated o Powerful for social changes

Sonata

 Baroque

o 4-5 movements o Dance rhythms

o For solo- harpsichord, strings, continuo

 Classical

o 3 movements

o Used sonata form, ternary, rondo, theme and variations o Piano most common sonata

Classical Composers

 Spent entire life in Austria

 Early music training as choirboy

 Trained in baroque style

 Appointed by Prince Esterhazy as composer and leader of personal orchestra

 Required to compose lots of music

o Symphonies and divertimentos for evening entertainment o Operas for courts private theater

o String trios

 Compositions were “owned” by the prince o Pirated editions appeared

o Haydn was later allowed to sell compositions

 Continued their service for nearly 30 years

 Haydn was known as the father of the symphony and string quartet

 Haydn and Mozart played in string quartets in 1784-1785 o Haydn played 1st

violin o Mozart played viola

o Mozart dedicated a string quartet to Haydn

 Haydn wrote 104 symphonies

 London Tours

o Offered a large fee to compose and conduct works for London audience o Visited London twice- 1791-1792, 1794-1795

o Presented to royal family

o Awarded honorary degree of doctor of music from Oxford o Composed the 12 London Symphonies

o “Surprise Symphony No. 94”

 Last years

o Primarily composed masses for chorus and orchestra as well as two oratorios o Last public appearance was 1808

o Died with no burial

o Phrenologists asked for permission to look at Haydn’s skull, they decapitated his head and the skull was passed around

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

 Born in Salzburg, Austria

 Father was a violinist and composer (Leopold)

 Mozart was probably the most famous child prodigy in history of all the arts o Age 4- wrote his first composition

o Age 5- wrote his first symphony

o Age 6- picked up a violin and began playing with father

o Age 12- commissioned by Emperorer (Franz Joseph II) to write an opera

 Father realized that his son was a genius

o Took him on extended concert tours beginning at age 5 o Spent childhood on the road

o Considered a novelty o Played for royalty

o Very hard life- difficult travel, no advanced warning of arrival, often paid in gifts

 Mozart possessed a phenomenal musical memory

o 1770- tested by a leading London scientist who proclaimed he was a genius o 1770- heard the annual Sistine Chapel Performance of “Miserere” by Gigorio

Allegri and wrote it down from memory

 Moved to Vienna in 1781

o Never found an acceptable patronage position o Worked as a free-lance musician

o Reached the peak in 1785-1787

o Music lost popularity during final years o Considered too thick and dissonant

 Lived to be only 35 o Mystery to death

o Listed “severe military fever”

o Buried in communal grave required by law

 Produced 600 works o 41 symphonies o 20 operas

o 26 string quartets o 40 concertos

o Piano sonatas/chamber works

 Musical characteristics o Beautiful melodies o Singing, vocal quality o Simplicity, lightness

 First prominent composer to attempt career outside court system o Some success but not profitable

o Not the inept character portrayed in move Amadeus

 “A Little Night Music”

o Serendade

o Public entertainment outdoors o Summer 1787

 “Symphony No. 40 in G minor K. 550”

o Symphonies 39, 40, 41 were composed in a six week period o Written during the summer of 1788

o Style conveys a mood of tragedy and despair o Falling half step

 Keyboard works

o Was a pianist himself o Virtuoso player

o Expanded the boundaries

o “Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major K. 453”  Composed in 1784

 3rd

movement suggested by the song of Mozart’s pet bird

 “Horn Concerto in Eb Major k. 495”

o Composed in 1786 in Vienna o Written for friend, Leutgeb o For natural horn

 Operas

o He wrote comic operas and serious operas o Entertaining plots

o Music was theatrical and perfect for opera o “Marriage of Figaro”

o “Don Giovanni” o “Cosi fan tutte” o “The Magic Flute”

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

 Prominent artistic figure in 1800’s

 1800-1824- composed nine symphonies

 Early Years (1770-1802)

o Born in Bonn, Germany

o Came from a family of musicians o Alcoholic and abusive father

o Father and grandfather were court musicians o Displayed great musical talent

o Father forced him to practice at all hours o Hoped to exploit him as a child prodigy

 Traveled to Vienna in 1787 to study with Mozart

 Began studying with Haydn in 1793

 Made his living in Vienna as a concert pianist o Playing was extraordinary

o Famous for violence, volume, and force o Noted for improvisations

o Extremely expressive

 Reception by Viennese aristocracy was remarkable o One gave him a string quartet

o Another gave him a small orchestra o All gave him gifts

o Beethoven treated them with audacious independence and rudeness

 Taught affluent pupils

 Sold compositions to various publishers

 Provided with an annuity to compose without financial worries

 Well-known eccentric

 Change addressed 28 times in 33 years

 Bad health from mid-20’s on (jaundice, gout, headaches, fever, inflamed eyes, spitting up blood, and many other afflictions)

 Heiligenstadt Testament

o Written in Vienna suburb of Heiligenstadt in 1802 o Part of last will and testament

 Beethoven’s Deafness

o Early symptoms began in 1796

o Experience humming, ringing, and buzzing in ears o Lost abilities to distinguish high frequencies o Loud noises caused pain

o 1809-1814-gradually quit performing o Never fully deaf

 Heroic Period (1803-1813)

o Works became longer, more assertive, full of grand gestures o Composed symphonies no. 3-8 during this period

o “Symphony No. 3 Erioca”- 1803

 Changed the direction of the symphony as a genre  Doubled the length

 Slow movement is a funeral march

 Finale is a culmination of all four movements  Was the bridge of the romantic era

 Originally dedicated 3rd

symphony to Napoleon but then scratched out his name when he declared himself emperor

o “Symphony No. 5 in C minor”- 1804-1805  Premiered December 22, 1808

 4 movements convey a sense of psychological progression  1st

movement- fateful encounter  2nd

movement- quiet soul-searching  3rd

movement- further wrestling with elements  4th