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


More Information

To learn more about the Classical Period click on the link below!

A Brief History of Music: The Classical Period