Classical Era

By zaikeise

  • Pietro Metastasio

    1698-1782
    The primary librettist for opera seria in the late Baroque and Classical periods.

  • Giovanni Battista Sammartini

    1700-1775
    Italian composer and inventor of the Classical Symphony

  • Piano

    The piano was invented in 1700 to replace the harpsichord. The piano became much more prominent during the classical era.

  • Clarinet

    Clarinet was a single-reed wind instrument invented in 1710. By 1780, Clarinet was a standard part of the typical orchestra.

  • Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach

    1714-1788
    German musician and composer in the Classical Era

  • Charles Burney

    1726-1814 Organist, composer, writer, music scholar and historian.
    Traveled around Europe and wrote about composers, famous musicians, and musical style.

  • Niccolo Piccinni 1728-1800

    Inventor of opera buffa

  • Start of Classical Era

  • Classical Style

    Compositions during the classical era were based on symmetry. Primarily homophonic, with a clearer texture than Baroque music.

  • Minuet and Trio form

    Form with ABA structure.

  • Rondo Form

    Form based on a refrain that repeats between sections, such as ABACA

  • Sonata Form

    A binary form with structure ABA'
    This form was typically used in the opening of a composition, hence its nickname, "first movement form"

  • Empfindsamkeit

    Style of music intended to express true and natural feelings. The primary composer of this style was C.P.E. Bach.

  • Scherzo

    Similar to a minuet but typically faster.
    ABA Form. Scherzo means "joke" in Italian.

  • Franz Joseph Haydn

    1732-1809
    Austrian composer of the Classical Era. Instrumental in the development of chamber music. Composed over 100 symphonies.

  • Johann Christian Bach

    1735-1782
    German composer of Classical Era
    Youngest of Johann Sebastian Bach's sons.

  • Symphony

    Invented by Sammartini in Milan, Italy in the 1740s.
    Four movement orchestral composition (originally three movement)

  • William Billlings

    1746-1826
    One of the first American composers

  • Lorenzo da Ponte

    1749-1838
    Popular librettist during the Classical Era. Worked with Mozart on three of his most popular opera buffa.

  • Antonio Salieri

    1750-1825
    One of the most successful court composers in Vienna

  • String Quartet

    Chamber ensemble consisting of two violins, a viola and a cello. Invented by Franz Xavier Richter.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    1756-1791
    One of the most popular composers of the Classical Era.
    Austrian composer and pianist.

  • Symphonic Form

    The typical form for a symphony was the first movement was to be in sonata form, the second movement was slow, the third movement was in minuet and trio form, and the finale was fast and either in sonata or rondo form. This was innovated by Haydn.

  • Opera Buffa

    Comic operas with realistic characters and serious topics.

  • Dramma Giocoso

    The generic name for opera buffa

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    1770-1827
    Transitional composer between the Classical and Romantic eras. Only the early and middle periods of his life are thought to be associated with Classic era music.

  • Cyclical Structure

    A multi-movement work with a repeating theme that unifies all the movements.

  • Bolero

    A Spanish dance in 3/4 invented by Sebastian Corezo

  • Franz Schubert

    1797-1828
    Popular Austrian composer of the late Classical era. Another transitional composer between the Classical and Romantic periods.

  • End of Classical Era