Pre-Classic Symphonies

Giovanni Battista Sammartini

Jan 1, 1700

Milanese composer (1700-1775) who was the first significant composer of concert symphonies.

Giovanni Battista Pergolesi

Jan 4, 1710

Neapolitan composer (1710-1736) whose sinfonias foreshadow Pre-Classic symphonies.

CPE Bach

Mar 4, 1714

German composer (1714-1788) and older son of JS Bach and proponent of Empfindsamer Stil. He worked at the court of Frederick the Great (Berlin) and then Hamburg.

Georg Christoph Wagenseil

Jan 29, 1715

Austrian composer (1715-1777) who was employed by the court of Maria Theresa in Vienna and whose symphonies were widely published and distributed in Europe.

Johann Stamitz

Jun 18, 1717

Czech composer (1717-1757) who led the groundbreaking orchestra at the court of Mannheim.

Leopold Mozart

Nov 14, 1719

Pre-Classic composer form Salzburg who was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's father (1719-1787).

Rococo

Period: Dec 2, 1725 to Dec 2, 1775

Rococo is an architectural term borrowed to describe the transitional period in music that evolved between JS Bach and CPE Bach, roughly 1725-1775. This style features light ornamentation and experimentation with sonata form.

Florian Leopold Gassmann

May 3, 1729

Florian Leopold Gassmann (1729-1774) was Wagenseil's successor in Vienna.

Christian Cannabich

Dec 28, 1731

Student of Johann Stamitz who became his successor (orchestra director and composer) at Mannheim. (1731-1798)

Johann Christian (JC) Bach

Sep 5, 1735

North German composer (1735-1782) who was a younger son of JS Bach and moved to London.

Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf

Nov 2, 1739

Prolific Austrian symphony composer (1739-1799) who was crucial to the transition into the Classical Era.

Reign of Maria Theresa

Period: Dec 2, 1740 to Dec 2, 1780

Due to economic restraints, Maria Theresa's patronage of the arts diminished during her reign. Support from nobility and upper middle class became more important--this is a microcosm of how arts would be supported everywhere.

Pre-Classical Era in Music

Period: Dec 2, 1740 to Dec 2, 1770

Between the Baroque and Classical eras, composers worked on the new style which was more homophonic, less religious, and featured sonata form.

Empfindsamer Stil

Period: Dec 2, 1750 to Dec 2, 1780

This was an aesthetic movement of the mid 18th century centered in Germany. Literary and musical works from this time emphasized feeling and sentiment rather than form.

Viennese Classical

Period: Dec 2, 1770 to Dec 2, 1830

The Pre-Classic composers built up to this musical era centered in Vienna which featured Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and even Schubert