Spanning the last half of the 18th century through the early years of the 19th century, the Classical style period in music overlaps with the late Baroque (around 1750) and early Romantic (beginning ca. 1820) periods. 1750-1825 encompass the era, and dates have been further specified. 1730-1770 is often labeled "preClassic," meaning the years before Franz Joseph Haydn’s and W.A. Mozart’s mature compositions. 1770-1800 is typically called "Classic" or "High Classic." After these years, musical style led to early Romantic, associated with greater freedom in expression of feeling. But the two periods are not directly opposed. In fact, there seems to be more historical continuity than contrast (Grout 563). In conjunction with different dates, the term "Classicism" has several definitions. One refers to a work that has survived beyond the music of a certain time period. Ironically, Classical music included only new works at the time. Listeners were exclusively interested in innovative compositions and expected to hear current works at every concert. The term "Classicism" also refers to high achievement and perhaps the idea of elitism, sometimes associated with classical compositions today. To the dominant Viennese composers of the period, Classicism meant music that pertains "to the highest order of excellence" (Machlis & Forney 231).

Looking to ancient Greece and Rome as a stylistic model, the 18th century related to the ancients in balance, proportion, and clarity that were admired in art works of these civilizations (Pauly 3). This style based on the ancient cultures is called "neoclassic." Adopting some of their ideas, those musicians associated with the Classical period moved beyond the Greeks and Romans to create their own style. In addition, 18th-century thought developed from the 17th century’s achievements in philosophy, science, and math (Downs 3). Not only in music, typical Classical style characteristics applied to all the fine arts.

Historically, many transforming events took place during the Classical period. This era saw the influential rules of Louis XV in France, Frederick the Great in Prussia, and Catherine the Great in Russia. The French Revolution began in 1789, and introduced the "Reign of Terror" before Napoleon’s rise to power. Beginning with the American Revolution of 1776-1783, many important inventions supported the rise of the middle, working class into what came to be known as the Industrial Revolution. Benjamin Franklin also made significant contributions to science with his discovery of electricity. Famous literary authors from this period include Jane Austen, Lord Byron, and E.T.A. Hoffmann. In addition, the Classical era made great advancements in philosophy, especially with Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Voltaire. All these men were Enlightenment thinkers in Europe and America, introducing skeptical questions about religion and promoting secular humanism. Music history recognizes that "Eighteenth-century Classicism . . . mirrored the unique moment in history when the old world was dying and the new was in the process of being born" (Machlis & Forney 230).

Paris, Mannheim, and Vienna were the centers of 18th-century music. On another level, courts and palaces focused on music performance. Musicians were funded by the aristocrats and most music was written for upper-class social events. Slowly, music started to move to the concert hall for public performances of current composers and new works. Coinciding with the rise of the middle class, this era saw the beginning of public concerts and music publication. At the core of European focus, Vienna was the capital of the Hapsburg dynasty, ruled by Empress Maria Theresa, Joseph II, and later Napoleon and Prince Metternich. This city was also the music capital of Europe in the late 18th century.

"Viennese school" is the general term used to describe the Classical period musical scene, which centered on the achievements of the Viennese school masters - Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), and their successor Franz Schubert (1797-1828) (Machlis & Forney 231). Musical scholar Joseph Kerman explains that "musicians can point with pride to this galaxy of great composers and compare the accomplishments of Viennese music with those of other such rich cultural flowerings at other times and other places: art in Renaissance Florence and Venice, for example, or literature in Elizabethan England" (145). Haydn and Mozart characterize both the early and mature Viennese styles, while Beethoven determined the late style. Actually, Beethoven’s approach after 1800 was so individual that his later works are placed in their own stylistic category. Musical critic E.T.A. Hoffmann has also written of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven developing a new art, with origins first appearing in the middle of the 18th century (Rosen 19). This new art is called the "Classical style," and musical scholar and theorist Charles Rosen adds that "what unites Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven is not personal contact or even mutual influence and interaction (although there was much of both), but their common understanding of the musical language which they did so much to formulate and change" (23). Schubert was also a part of this late style, helping to bridge the gap with his expressive melodies exploited within classical constraints.
 

Describing the transformation of musical style as gradually evolving from old to new and innovative ways, musicians recognize the coexistence of old and new before the Classical elements became most prominent. In preClassic times, style focused on simplicity, in contrast to more complex Baroque textures. Explained as "simply a presentation of organized sound," (Pauly 4) early 18th-century compositions had a lot of thematic repetition and not many contrasts. Classical composers introduced novel methods and emotional contrasts, but still incorporated tradition as well as order and balance into their pieces. Musical scholar Philip Downs further reveals that the 18th century shows "how much of the vitality of the art of this time . . . is dependent upon the recognition of the constant adjustment that is required to evolve a balance between intellect and emotion, logic and feeling -- between head and heart" (16). Beethoven, however, began to alter this careful balance with unexpected musical climaxes in the last movements of many of his compositions.

Characteristically, Classical style expresses more than one mood and/or theme, achieving this contrast in many different ways. These methods include flexibility of rhythms, or using different rhythms throughout a piece; subtle changes in dynamics; and the development of four-movement forms with contrasting movements of fast-slow-dance-fast. Introducing a dance movement in a multimovement work is called a minuet. Later, Beethoven coined it a scherzo, literally meaning "musical joke." Different movements in a single composition provided musical interest through contrast. Forms within movements were also varied. A composition might begin in a certain key, move to a different key, then return back home to the first. These different sections are known to us as exposition, development, and recapitulation, and the form of this layout is called sonata form. Composers also used popular folk tunes for melodies, often ones which were of a "singing" lyrical quality. Numerous terms associated with the Classical style are used to describe the emotions of the compositions. Most common are the terms galant, which represents everything modern; empfindsamkeit or empfindsamer Stil, a sensitive style meaning "to feel"; and Sturm und Drang, or "storm and stress," the feelings projected by German art and literature.

Many different musical genres, or types of compositions, were prevalent in the Classical period. Instrumental works became most important, and this period has been recognized as the "golden age of chamber music" (Machlis & Forney 235). Chamber music was intended for the small setting of a salon or chamber and consists of a small group of players who perform as a team (such as the string quartet with two violins, viola, and cello).  The piano also began to take its significant place in the chamber music setting with the piano trio (piano, violin, and cello).  Haydn was central to the evolution of the string quartet, and it is understood that Haydn and Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert established the true chamber music style, which is in the "nature of friendly conversation among equals" (Machlis & Forney 235).

A musical genre consisting of soloist (such as violin or piano) and orchestra, the concerto evolved as a balance and interaction between the instrument and ensemble. Characteristically, this type of piece has three contrasting movements of fast-slow-fast with the addition of a cadenza, or an elaborated solo passage. Another significant genre of this time was the sonata, written mostly for piano or piano and violin. A sonata is generally defined as a solo instrumental work of three or four varied movements.
 

Choral music and opera also advanced considerably in the Classical era. Mozart’s Requiem Mass (the "Mass for the Dead"), and Haydn’s Mass in D minor ("Lord Nelson Mass") are most famous. However, secular music grew to be more important than sacred genres. Italian comic operas, called opera buffa, were written for entertainment, depicting common people and typical events. Serious opera then began to fade into the past. Called the lied, the German art song was also important to vocal music. Voice parts dominated the accompaniment in the 18th century, but they became more like equal partners as the genre evolved. German publishers issued more than 750 collections of lieder with piano accompaniment in the second half of the 18th century (Grout 467).

Essential to instrumental music was the symphony. The development of the symphony orchestra was different from chamber musical groups. A Classical period orchestra was based on four different families of instruments: strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion (particularly timpani). Strings dominated the instruments until the woodwinds gained independence in the late works of Haydn and Mozart. Then, the strings served as the bottom foundation, woodwinds played the highest part, and brass were placed in the middle.

Among the prominence of instrumental music was the development of the piano. Evolving in the second half of the 18th century, the piano looked similar to the harpsichord and gradually replaced it as the primary keyboard instrument. Flexibility in dynamics coincided with the rise in popularity of the piano, which had more advanced technical capabilities than the older harpsichord. Called a fortepiano, which translates as "loud/soft," this instrument offered different levels of color through pedaling and quickly-changing dynamics and tone qualities. This was because of an abrupt decay of sound when striking the keys, in contrast to the resonating modern piano. Haydn and Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert played these types of instruments, writing their keyboard music with the now historical fortepianos in mind.

.: Musical Terms

Chamber Music: Instrumental music written for a small ensemble with two or more equal parts, becoming prominent during the time of Viennese Classical master Franz Joseph Haydn.

Concerto: A multimovement work in which an instrument is blended with orchestra or contrasted as a soloist.

Development: The second section of sonata form that treats previously heard thematic material in an altered manner.

Dynamics: The different levels of volume in music, such as piano and forte.

"Empfindsamer Stil": A mid-18th-century North German style of feeling and sentiment, and emotional and sensitive expression.

Exposition: In sonata form, the first section of a work in which the main themes are stated before the development begins. In a fugue, the statement of the subject by several voices in imitation.

Form: The structure and design of a composition with regard to pitches, rhythms, dynamics, and timbres.

Fortepiano (also "pianoforte"): The late 18th- and early 19th-century keyboards known to Haydn, Johann Hummel, Beethoven, and Schubert; any of various early forms of the modern piano instrument.

Galant: 18th-century term to describe an elegant courtly style, which was free and light. Translates as "to amuse oneself, to enjoy."

Lieder: ("Songs"): Sing. Lied. German solo vocal composition with piano accompaniment, using a poem as its text.

Minuet: Elegant dance in triple meter, originating as a French rustic dance and used in the 17th-century court. Also served as the final movement of an opera overture and was one of the original elements of the symphony.

Opera Buffa: Comic opera, opposite opera seria. Developed in the 18th century, this type of opera used comic subjects of everyday life. Many national varieties arose, and opera buffa became an independent genre after serving as intermezzi between acts of serious operas.

Recapitulation: Section in sonata form in which exposition themes are repeated basically in their original form.

Scherzo ("Joke"): A standard movement (generally the third) replacing the minuet in a multimovement work. Scherzos are typically in fast 3/4 time, include a contrasting trio, and range in character from light to dramatic.

Sonata ("to sound"): Instrumental composition in several movements for piano solo or instrumental combinations with piano accompaniment. Originated in the 16th century for any work played and not sung, becoming prevalent in the 17th century.

Sonata Form: The most characteristic musical form for an instrumental composition from the Classical period through the 20th century. Structure of a composition based on key relationships with three sections: exposition, development, and recapitulation, which often includes a short ending section called a Coda.

Sturm und Drang ("storm and stress"): Used to describe German literature and musical style from around 1760-80 to show an intense expression of emotion. Associated with the music of Haydn and C.P.E. Bach.

Symphony ("a sounding together"): Large-scale orchestral composition, usually in four movements. Some examples of the 19th and 20th centuries have explicit programs (programmatic symphony).

Texture: The general sound pattern in a composition or passage, often consisting of a combination of several melodic lines or a succession of chords.

"Viennese School": The primary Classical period composers (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven) who were most active in Vienna.

.: Suggested Listening

C.P.E. Bach: Second movement from the Sonata No. 4 from Sonatas for Connoisseurs and Amateurs

Franz Joseph Haydn: Second movement from the Symphony No. 94, "Surprise"

W.A. Mozart: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
W.A. Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro Overture

Ludwig van Beethoven: First movement from the Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
Ludwig van Beethoven: Bagatelle in A minor, WoO 59, Für Elise
Ludwig van Beethoven: Second movement from the Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13, Pathétique