Music of the Neo-

Classical Period
1720-1827
The Classical Music
What is Classical music?
The Classical music period occurred between the Baroque and the
Romantic periods and is generally accepted as being between 1750 and
1820.
Unlike Baroque music, Classical music is simpler. This is because
Classical music has lighter, clearer texture. Emotional content was still
present but composers never allowed it to obscure clarity as well as the
formal structure of music. As heard in Beethovens Moonlight Sonata,
the melodic line of Classical music is easier to distinguish. A listener may
also sense changes in emotional presentations as characterized by
variations in speed, volume, and number of notes played in each
measure.


The Characteristics of Classical music
1. Melodies are shorter in Classical era music than Baroque music.
2. The orchestra increased in size and range.
3. The woodwind became a self-contained section in the orchestra.
4. The piano or forte piano replaced the harpsichord as a solo instrument.
Piano music became richer, more sonorous, and more powerful
5. Importance was given to instrumental music.
6. Musical culture was caught at a crossroad: the masters of the Baroque
style had the technique, but the public hungered for a new on.
7. Composers from this period sought dramatic effects, striking melodies,
and clearer textures.

Significant Events that Led to the Advent of the
Classical Era
Domenico Scarlatti, an Italian composer, was an important
figure in the transition from Baroque to Classical. His style of
composing is intensely related to that of early Classical period.

The Spanish Antonio Soler composed keyboard sonatas that
are varied in form with some pieces in three or four movements.

Another important break with Baroque
music was the radical overhaul of the
opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck, who
streamlined a great deal of layering and
improvisational ornament and focused on
the points of modulation and transition.

Variety of keys, melodies, rhythms, and
dynamics along with frequent changes of
mood and timbre are found in the Classical
period music compositions of Christoph
Gluck.
Instrumental Forms
Single Movement Instrumental Forms
Binary form is characterized by the presence of two complementary and
related melodic sections of equal duration. Though still found in Classical
era compositions, the use of the binary form was no longer as recurrent as it
was during the Baroque period.
Ternary form is frequently employed, especially for slow movements where
the form is often called three-part song form.
Compound ternary form is almost invariably used for the dance-like third
movements of Classical symphonies and other instrumental works. It is
referred to either as Minuet and trio form or Scherzo and Trio (trio: played by
only three).
Fugal form is more common for Classical composers to use fugal
techniques in the framework of another form.
Multi-movement Instrumental Forms
Sonata form is the most important instrumental form of the
Classical period which developed out of the sonata da chiesa, sonata
da camera, and the Italian and French overtures of the Baroque
period. It is a composite form with several movements.
Concerto is not an important form in the Classical period, but
the solo concerto for piano, violin, or other instrument, with
orchestral accompaniment, reached a high point of development
in the Classical period. It is regularly in three movements.
Different Vocal Forms
SINGLE MOVEMENT
VOCAL FORMS
Recitative
Aria
Song
Chorus
MULTI-MOVEMENT
VOCAL FORMS
Opera
Religious music
Prominent Composers of
the Classical era
Franz Joseph Haydn

He is remembered as a
great Classical symphonist and composer who invented the string
quartet. Known as the principal engineer of the classical style, Haydn
exerted influence on composers like Mozart, Schubert, Mendelssohn,
Brahms, and a score of others, Haydns most celebrated pupil was the
famous Ludwig van Beethoven.

At age eight, Haydn sang in the choir at St. Stephens Cathedral in
Vienna, Austria where he went on to learn to play the violin and the
keyboard. When Haydn left the choir, he supported himself by teaching
and playing violin, while studying counterpoint and harmony.

In 1967, Haydn was named Kapellmeister or court
musician at the palace of the influential Estarhzy family, a
position that financially supported him for nearly 30 years. It
was Haydns isolation in the palace from other composers and
musical trends that made it possible for Haydn to accordingly,
forced to become original.
Haydn eventually wrote as much music for publication
as for the Estarhzy family. Several important works of this
period were commissions from abroad, such as the Paris
symphonies (1785-1786) and the original orchestral version of
The Seven Last Words of Christ (1786). Haydn later accepted
an invitation to go to England to conduct new symphonies.
Audiences gathered to Haydns concerts. It was during his time
in England where Haydn produced some of his best-known works, including the
Rider quartet and the Surprise, Military, Drumroll, and London symphonies. Looked
upon by people as a public figure, Haydn returned to Vienna in 1795 where he either
composed or made public appearances. Haydn died at age 77.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
He was a prolific and influential
composer of the Classical era. Mozarts
Father, Leopold Mozart, was also a Musician and a minor composer. The
family traveled to different cities in Europe where Mozart met a number of
notable composers of the time. Writing his first composition at age five,
Mozart wrote over 600 compositions which are acknowledged as pinnacles of
symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music.
Like Franz Joseph Haydn, Mozarts music is regarded as an original
example of the Classical style.
Mozarts music style development paralleled the development of the
classical style. He composed for almost every major genre, including
symphony, opera, the solo concerto, chamber music including string quartet
and string quintet, and the piano sonata. While none of these genres were
new, the piano concerto was almost single-handedly developed and
popularized by Mozart.
Many important composers since Mozarts
time have expressed profound appreciation of
Mozart. One of these is Ludwig van Beethoven
who used Mozarts styles as a model in some of
his compositions. An example is Beethovens
Piano Concerto No.4 in G major. Mozart is
believed to have influenced even the
contemporary music. An example is the Queens
Bohemian Rhapsody. His influence can also be
found in the music of famous jazz pianist Chick
Corea who has performed piano concertos of
Mozart, as well as in the music of death metal
guitarist and composer Trey Azagthoth of the
band Morbid Angel.
Mozarts Compositions
PIANO CONCERTO
1. Piano Concerto No.1 in F major, K. 37
2. Piano Concerto No.2 in B-flat major, K.
39
3. Piano Concerto No.3 in D major, K.40
4. Piano Concerto No.4 in G major, K.41
5. Three Piano Concertos in D major, G
major and E-flat major, K. 107
VIOLIN CONCERTO
1. Violin Concerto No.1 in B-flat major, K.
207 (1775)
2. Violin Concerto No.2 in D major, K. 211
(1775)
3. Violin Concerto No.3 in G major, K. 216
(1775)
4. Violin Concerto No.4 in D major, K. 218
(1775)
SYMPHONY CONCERTO
1. Symphony No.14 in A major, K. 114
(1771)
2. Symphony No.15 in G major, K. 124
(1172)
3. Symphony No.16 in C major, K. 128
(1172)
4. Symphony No.17 in G major, K. 129
(1772)
5. Symphony No.18 in F major, K. 130
(1772)
HORN CONCERTO
1. Horn Concerto No.1 in D major, K. 412
(1791)
2. Horn Concerto No.2 in E-flat major, K.
417 (1783)
3. Horn Concerto No. 3 in E-flat major, K.
447 (c. 1784-87)
4. Horn Concerto No. 4 in E-flat major, K.
495 (1786)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
He was a German composer and
pianist. A crucial figure in the transition
between the Classical and Romantic
eras in Western art music, he remains
one of the most famous and influential
of all composers. His best known
compositions include 9 symphonies, 5
concertos for piano,32 piano sonatas,
and 16 string quartets. He also
composed other chamber music, choral
works (including the celebrated Missa
Solemnis), and songs.
Born in Bonn, then the capital of
the Electorate of Cologne and part of the
Holy Roman Empire, Beethoven
displayed his musical talents at an early
age and was taught by his father Johann
van Beethoven and Christian Gottlob
Neefe. During his first 22 years in Bonn,
Beethoven intended to study with
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and
befriended Joseph Haydn. Beethoven
moved to Vienna in 1792 and began
studying with Haydn, quickly gaining a
reputation as a virtuoso pianist. About
1800, his hearing began to deteriorate,
and by the last decade of his life, he was
almost totally deaf. He gave up
conducting and performing in public but
continued to compose. Many of his most
admired works come from this period. He
live in Vienna until his death.
What is the role of Classical
music in contemporary
times?
Contrary to what people think, Classical music is all around us. Classical
music is everywhere around us --- in movies, television shows, television
commercials, the internet, mobile devices (such as cell phones, portable
music players, etc.), schools and minds of people who cherish them.

There are in fact rock bands that incorporated Classical instrumental
elements in their compositions. Theses are the Beatles, Chicago, and
Blood, Sweat and Tears. The compositions made by these groups were
not entirely Classical but the presence of Classical element added
something special in the compositions other than the harmony of bass,
keyboard, drums and lead guitar.