Classical Era 1740s-1810s

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    Pietro Metastasio

    Court poet in Vienna; most important author of librettos for the 18th century; his libretti were set over 800 times in the 18th and 19th centuries.
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    Johann Adolf Hasse

    German composer of Italian opera; from the 1730s to the 1760s he was the most admired composer of opera seria in Italy and Germany; he was praised by most.
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    Farinelli

    One of the most famous castrati in the 18th century; trained by Porpora.
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    Baldassare Galuppi

    Galant Italian composer, instrumentalist; key in the development of the 18th-century comic opera; Burney considered him the best composer of comic opera in Italy; worked in Venice, London, Milan and Vienna; collaborated with librettist Carlo Goldoni.
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    Carlo Goldoni

    Italian playwright and librettist; responsible for elevating opera buffa to an art form.
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    Franz Xaver Richter

    German composer, teacher, and singer; the innovator of the string quartet; one of the foremost Mannheim composers.
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    Christoph Willibald Gluck

    German opera-reform composer, often considered Baroque; created a new balance between music and drama; jealous of Mozart.
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    Niccolo Jommelli

    Galant Italian composer; important to opera reforms in the middle of the century; considered one of the greatest composer of his day; respected by Mozart
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    Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach

    Galant; eldest son of J.S. Bach; wrote in both Baroque and classic styles; associated with "sentimental" style; worked for 30 years in Berlin for Frederick the Great.
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    Prince Nikolaus J. Eszterhazy

    Haydn's patron and employer until 1790
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    Johann Stamitz

    Galant, symphonic innovator in Mannheim; conductor, violinst, and teacher; he helped to establish the symphonic genre.
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    Leopold Mozart

    Composer, violinist, teacher, theorist, and father of Wolfgang.
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    Giovanni Marco Rutini

    Italian composer, teacher, and keyboardist; his keyboard works represent a transition from works for harpsichord to works for piano.
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    Dr. Charles Burney

    Music historian, author, and organist who traveled Europe and wrote about his observations.
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    Tommaso Traetta

    Italian composer and teacher; important as an opera reform composer in the middle of the 18th century.
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    Miccolo Piccinni

    Italian composer; he was a central figure in Italian and French opera from1750 to 1800; admired by Burney as one the four greatest composers in Italy with Sacchini, Jommelli, and Galuppi.
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    Antonio Sacchini

    Italian composer; admired by Bernie as one of the four greatest composers in Italy along with Jommelli, Galuppi, and Piccinni; his serious operas were most respected.
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    Franz Joseph Haydn

    A primary Austrian composer who served as an innovator and mover within the new classic style; teacher, keyboardist, and violinist.
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    Francois-Joseph Gossec

    Netherlands composer active in France; he was central to Parisian musical life and contributed to the development of French music.
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    Johann Christian Bach

    Worked in Milan and London; son of J.S. Bach; friend and influence to Mozart; set up concert series in London with Abel.
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    Johann Baptist Vanhal

    Czech composer and teacher; active mostly in Vienna; important to instrumental music.
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    Christian Friedrich Daneil Schubart

    German composer, poet, keyboardist, and writer, Burney praised his keyboard playing for its virtuosity
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    Classical Era Invention

    Piano
    Indoor Plumbing
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    Classical Era Genres

    Sonata, opera, aria, dance, fanfare
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    Classical Era Stylistic Traits

    Emotional expression,
    Polythematic.
    Humor,
    Simple melodies and rhythms,
    Homophony, counterpoint, polyphony,
    Sonata, rondo, ternary forms,
    Written dynamics and expressive markings
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    Giovanni Paisiello

    Italian composer and teacher, one of the most successful and prolific opera composers of the late 18th century.
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    Andre-Ernest-Modeste Gretry

    French composer contributed especially to the development of French opera
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    Luigi Boccherini

    Italian composer and cellist
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    William Billings

    most prominent composer in the new America, singing teacher, not a strong composer
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    Domencio Cimarosa

    Italian composer, a central figure in opera in late 18th century, extraordinarily successful
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    Lorenzo Da Ponte

    Italian librettist and poet, collaborated with Mozart, moved to the US
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    Antonio Salieri

    Italian composer and teacher
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    Johann Friedrich Reichardt

    German composer and writer
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    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Child prodigy, wrote in all genres, best innovations were in opera, the epitome of classic style, one of the best musicians and composers of all time.
  • American Revolution