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Period: to
Pietro Metastasio
Court poet in Vienna who was the most important author of librettos for the 18th century -
Period: to
Giovanni Battista Sammartini
Galant Italian composer and innovator of the symphony in Milan -
Period: to
Farinelli
One of the most famous castrati in the 18th century -
Period: to
Franz Xaver Richter
German composer, teacher, and singer; the innovator of the string quartet -
Period: to
Frederick the Great
King who sponsored Prussian arts and a gifted musician -
Period: to
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
Eldest son of J.S. Bach; wrote in both Baroque and classic styles -
Period: to
Cristoph Willibald Gluck
German opera-form composer; created a new balance between music and drama -
Period: to
Johan Stamitz
Galant, synphonic innovator in Mannheim -
Period: to
The Galant Style
Beginning of the Classical style, drive in music shifted to the melody and there was a simplification of musical elements -
Period: to
Franz Joseph Haydn
A primary Austrian composer who served as innovator and mover within the new classic style -
Carl Linnaeus publishes ‘Systema Naturae’
Introduced the binomial nomenclature for different species. -
Period: to
Johann Christian Bach
Son of J.S. Bach; friend and influence to Mozart -
The Irish Famine
Also known as the ‘Year of Slaughter’, killed about 2.4 million people in the Kingdom of Ireland -
Period: to
Luigi Buccherini
Prolific Italian composer and cellist -
Period: to
William Billings
Most prominent composer in the New America, not a strong composer -
Period: to
Domenico Cimarosa
Successful Italian composer; a central figure in opera in the late 18th century -
Period: to
Lorenzo Da Ponte
Italian librettist and poet; collaborated with Mozart -
Period: to
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
German poet and writer; composer continue to set his works to music -
Clarinet appears in the Orchestra
In Mannheim in the 1750s -
Period: to
Antonio Salieri
Successful Italian composer and teacher; functioned in transitional periods from Galant to classic to romantic -
Benjamin Franklin performs the kite experiment
Proves that lightning is electrical in nature -
Period: to
Muzio Clementi
English composer of Italian birth' keyboardist and piano manufacturer -
Period: to
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Austrian composer; represents the epitome of the classical style; one of the best composers of all time -
Opera Buffa developed
Comic operas used more realistic characters and serious topics -
Period: to
Sturm und Drang
An opposite to the classical style with more emotional expression and use of more minor keys; leads to Romanticism -
The U.S. Declaration of Independence is signed
The thirteen American colonies unanimously sign this document declaring independence from Britain and justify war -
First patent for a piano is submitted
Stoddard introduced the first “Grand Pianoforte” -
The "Marriage of Figaro" is Premiered
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Mozart composes "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik"
One of Mozart's most famous compositions -
The French Revolution
A major turning point in Europe's socio-political sphere -
Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin
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The first battery is developed
By Count Alessandro Volta -
Steam-powered locomotive is invented
English mining engineer Richard Trevithick develops a steam-powered locomotive but is unable to produce a viable prototype.