Classical

The Classical period is the smallest of the musical eras, starting c.1750 (if you include the rococo or galant composers) and ending in 1825 with the death of Beethoven. Yet it produced three of the greatest composers in music and represented for the many that followed (such as Brahms and later Stravinsky) the 'gold standard' to which their music should aspire. Despite the quality of the choral and operatic work written during these years, the Classical period is noted chiefly for the ascendancy of the orchestral and instrumental genres. It was in the Classical period that many of the musical forms we know today reached their fruition - the Symphony, the String Quartet, the Sonata form. This period also saw the beginning of the domination of Central European (specifically German) composers and the concomitant decline in the influence of Italian music which would which only reemerge later in nineteenth century opera.

Key Works (examples): Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1 - 9, String Quartets Nos. 1 - 16, Cello Sonatas, Violin Sonatas, Diabelli Variations, Piano Sonatas Nos. 1 - 32, Fidelio, Cherubini: Requiem, Clementi: Piano Sonatas, Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 1 - 104, String Quartets, Harmoniemesse, Nelson Mass, Die Jahrezeiten (The Seasons), Die Schöpfung (The Creation), Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 38 - 41, Clarinet Concerto, Piano Concertos, Clarinet Quintet, Haydn Quartets, Piano Sonatas, Cosi fan tutte, Don Giovanni, Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)