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in every generation, we tend to think that music and other facets of society have declined to new lows

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Johann Joseph Fux (1660–1741)

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an Austrian composer, music theorist and pedagogue of the late Baroque era

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most famous as the author of Gradus ad Parnassum (1725), a treatise on counterpoint

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a common but not very accurate meaning of classical music is used to refer to any music that is serious

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includes anything from an opera to anything written for an orchestra

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meant to include all music from the 17th century through today which is distinct from pop music, rock, country, etc.

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a more specific meaning of classical music

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1750-1815

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from 1750 when Bach died

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to Beethoven's late period

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1827, when Beethoven died, gave way to the next period in music history, the Romantic period

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politically during this time the world was changing

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middle class growing

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aristocracy was declining

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Enlightenment

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French Revolution

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Napoleonic Wars

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new ideas about freedom, equality, morality, human rights

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desire to expand education and help the lower classes

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all of these ideas affected music

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the new classical style

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simpler in many ways than the music of the Baroque

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more enjoyable to listeners upon first hearing

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more easily and readily accessible to wide audiences of diverse backgrounds

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no longer just for the wealthy

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public instrumental concerts

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complex counterpoint of the baroque gave way to simpler, more singable melodies

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shorter phrases

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simple accompaniment

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comparing a piece by Bach to a piece by Mozart

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Bach

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represented the height of the older Baroque style

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busy with lots of counterpoint

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musical imitation (repetition of a melody in a polyphonic texture shortly after its first appearance in a different voice)

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long and winding melodies

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no longer in style at the time of Bach's death in 1750

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this was when the word Baroque came into use, a negative term which described this overwrought and complicated music of the recent past

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Handel's music

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was more focused on melody, fitting more into the new, classical style to come

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classical

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began to blend styles from all countries throughout Europe

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German composers were active in Italy, Paris, London, and even Spain and Russia

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Johann Quantz (1697-1773)

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"the ideal music blended ideas from all nations, one music for all of Europe"

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contrast is what makes music interesting

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contrast

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Baroque

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affect, mode, or tempo changes movement to movement

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e.g. each movement presents a different dance character

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in Bach's fugues, the musical motive would be played at the beginning which presenting the affect for that movement

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the motive was then developed throughout the piece

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cadences were infrequent

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drove their longer phrases forward using harmonies and progressions which built up to a cadence

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Classical

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more sudden changes, sometimes every few bars

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moves from slow to fast, from soft to suddenly loud within a single movement

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cadences were more frequent since there are more phrases

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a phrase was like a sentence and a whole composition like a speech

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simpler harmonies, accompanying singable melodies

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tonic chord (I) moved to dominant chord (V), which led back to the tonic (I)

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this I-V-I pattern became the basis of harmonic motion

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a composer could build up expectation, then surprise the listener (Haydn)

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or built toward a cadence, then avoided it

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a new preference for the major mode instead of the minor

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have of Bach's concertos are minor

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Haydn and Mozart, less than 10% are in the minor mode

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only 2 of Mozart's 41 numbered symphonies are in minor keys

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classical instruments and ensembles

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the piano replaced the harpsichord and clavichord as the main keyboard instrument

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the clarinet joined the orchestra in the 1780s

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Mozart's first symphony was the Paris Symphony #31 in 1778

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Haydn's first use of the clarinet was his Symphony #99 in 1793

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the symphony was the major orchestral genre in the Classical period

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first appeared in 1730s in Italy

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three contrasting movements: fast, slow, fast

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Giovanni Sammartini (1700-1775)

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1730s-1740s: one of the earliest symphony composers in Italy

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Johann Stamitz (1717-1757)

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1750 director of the Mannheim orchestra

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added the minuet movement to the symphony

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developed a second musical theme in a new key within sonata form

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incorporated a number of audience-pleasing techniques, such as dynamic changes

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had an impact on Haydn and Mozart

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string quartet

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popular ensemble in the early classical period

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first violin: main themes

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cello: bassline

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second violin: harmony

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viola: harmony

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provided the chance for friends to play music together

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Haydn popularized the string quartet, writing 68 of them

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Mozart wrote 26 string quartets

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Beethoven wrote 16 string quartets