1. The Classical Period  1750-1820

2. Classical Period: World Changes  The French Revolution  Napoleonic Wars  The American Revolution  Signing of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights  In Europe it was much more possible to enjoy and participate in leisure activities  In the music world, patronage system started to die out  First public concerts where people paid admission to attend

3. Classical Period: Music  Instead of ornate music with trills and sudden changes in style, music was now more simple, balanced, non-emotional  Music is now called “Absolute Music” – music now has straight forward titles such as “Symphony No. 1” – music is not for dancing and special occasions anymore  Music is now performed in recital halls and concert halls

4. Classical Period: The Symphony  Modern symphony was born with full strings, clarinets, bassoons, oboes and flutes  Harpsichord became obsolete  Trumpets and horns were still valveless so they only played the harmony  There were still no tubas, trombones and extensive percussion – weren’t introduced yet  Vienna was the musical center of Europe

5. Classical Period: Composers  Franz Joseph Haydn  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven

6. Classical Period: Opera  Opera started to decline compared to instrumental music  Without a wealthy patron, there was not funding for opera  Opera became something only for the the wealthy to enjoy

7. Classical Period: Instrumental Music  Baroque Concerto evolved into the Classical Concerto: soloist was featured as the rest of the orchestra provided accompaniment – each instrument of the orchestra had a concerto written for it.  Baroque Concerto grosso grew into the Classical symphony  Symphony means “sounding together” and it implies the full orchestra playing at the same time.

8. Classical Period: Instrumental Music  Classical symphonies had 3 movements very much like the Baroque concerto grosso – fast- slow-fast  Composers soon started adding a final movement in ¾ time  Hundreds of symphonies were written during this time  Haydn alone wrote 104 symphonies, the Surprise Symphony being his most famous