Favored form in the first half of the century. A basic scheme that permited enormous variation in detail. Metastasios two stanza aria tets set the standard of the 1720's and 40's. Retornelio - stanza 1 - ret - stanza 1- ret stanza 2.

Derived from the italian opera sinfonia or overture and the orchestral concerto. In works of three movements, typically the first and last were fast and the middle slow, often in a closely related key, later these and quartets often had four moevements, usually adding a minuet movement after the slow movement.

One of the most influential coposers of his generation. Trained in msuci by his father JS Bach he served at the court of Frederick the Great in Berlin from 1740 to 1768. Then becam music director of the five principal churches in Hamburgh. He composed oratorios, songs, symphonies, concertos and chamber music but most numerous and important are his works for keyboard.

Wrote "Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments" and is an important souce of information on the musical thought and practice of the period. His favorite keyboard was the clavichord.

Important during Roccoco reforming music to the Empfindsam syle.

A work in three or four movements, in a primary homophonic style, without the division between orchestra and soloists that distinguishes the concerto. It originated in Italy around 1730  and spread across Europe. Througout the conetury it was often the first item on a concert, followed by works in other genres. By the late 17oo's, it was considered the summit of instrumental music.

Like many musical genres, it had more than one parent. The most obvious ancestor is the Italian sinfonia, or opera overture from which it takes its name. By 1700 many opera overtures used a three movement structure in the order fast slow fast: an Allegro, a short lyrical Andante and a finale in a dance rhythm, such as a minuet or gigue. These overtures, as a rule have no musical connection with the opera they introduce and could be played as independent pieces in concerts. Yet other sources are equally important. The orchestral concertos of Torelli and other compsers also typically followed the fast slow fast format and were played in the same venues as these. Church sonatas in northern Italy often had the same fast slow fast structure and homophonic style and indeed throughout the eighteenth century symphonies were played in Catholic Church services, each movement at a different point in the Mass. Finally, the orchestral suite is one source for the binary forms that are common in the symphony. These similarities across genres suggest the mutiple influences led to the symphony.

The first symphonies were written by composers working in Mialn and the surrounding region of Lombardy in northern Italy. Them most prominent was Sammartini.

From Italy, the symphony spread north to Germany, Austgria, France and England. Especially prominent was mannheim, where the elector Palatine's cort was one th the most active musical centers in Europe. Under the leadership of Bohemian composer Johann Stamitz, the Mannheim orchestra became internationally famous for its impeccable disciplin and technique, leading Charles Burney to call it an army of generals.

Stamitz was the first symphony composer to use consistently what would later become the standard plan: four movements, with a minuet and trio as the third moement, and a very fast finale, often marked Presto. He was also among the first to introduce a strongly contrasting and full blown theme after the moduation to the dominant in the first section of the allegro movement, a practice that liewise became standard.

From Italy, the symphony spread north to Germany, Austgria, France and England. Especially prominent was mannheim, where the elector Palatine's cort was one th the most active musical centers in Europe. Under the leadership of Bohemian composer Johann Stamitz, the Mannheim orchestra became internationally famous for its impeccable disciplin and technique, leading Charles Burney to call it an army of generals.

Stamitz was the first symphony composer to use consistently what would later become the standard plan: four movements, with a minuet and trio as the third moement, and a very fast finale, often marked Presto. He was also among the first to introduce a strongly contrasting and full blown theme after the moduation to the dominant in the first section of the allegro movement, a practice that liewise became standard.

(1717-1757)

From Italy, the symphony spread north to Germany, Austgria, France and England. Especially prominent was mannheim, where the elector Palatine's cort was one th the most active musical centers in Europe. Under the leadership of Bohemian composer Johann Stamitz, the Mannheim orchestra became internationally famous for its impeccable disciplin and technique, leading Charles Burney to call it an army of generals.

Stamitz was the first symphony composer to use consistently what would later become the standard plan: four movements, with a minuet and trio as the third moement, and a very fast finale, often marked Presto. He was also among the first to introduce a strongly contrasting and full blown theme after the moduation to the dominant in the first section of the allegro movement, a practice that liewise became standard.

Even while symphonic form gained increasing attention throughout the 18th Century, the solo concerto remained popular as a vehicle for virtuosos who often wrote concertos to play themselves. Among the first was Johann Christian Bach, J. S. Bach's youngest son.

It was in a Three movement plan with two fast movements around a slow middle movement. The slow moevement and finale often used forms like those of other genres but first movements followed a form unique to concertos.

The first movement of a typical concerto retained elements of the ritornello form of Baroque concertos, which alternates orchestral ritornellos with episodes that feature the soloist, in combination with the contrast of key and thematic material characteristic of sonata form. As Koch discribes the form there are three solo sections, strutured in a way that is equivalent to the three main period of sonata form. These sections are enclosed between four orchestral ritornellos; the first presents all or most of the main ideas while the others are relatively short. In essence the first movement is a sonata form framed by a retornello form.

Most celebrated composer of his day. Prolific in every medium, he is bet remembered for his numerous symphonies and string quartest, which established the standard of quality, syle, content, form and epressivity that other composers emulated.

Spent most of his career serving the Esterhazy family, the most pwoerful nable family in Hungary. hired in 1761 by Prince Paul anton Esterhazy a generous patron devoted to music. Haydn had to compose whatever music the prince demanded, conduct performances, train and supervise aall the musical personnel and keep the instruments in repair. When Paul Anton died in 1762, his brother Nikolaus succeeded to the title even more avid about music, he confirmed Haydn's appointment and raised his salary. Athe court, haydn passed nearly thirty years incurcumstances almost ideal for his developement as a composer. Beginning in 1766, Nikolaus whoe seat was in Eisenstadt just south of Vienna, lived for most of the year at his remote country estate of Estzterhaza.

He was call the father of the symphony not because he invented the genre but because his syymphonies set the pattern for later composers through their high quality, wide disemination, and lasting appeal.

Identified by number, although the numbering (applied to 19th century publisher) does not precisely reflect the order in which they were written nor their total number of approximately 106. Many of his symphonies that have acquired names - few of which were bestowed byt eh composer himself - are among the best known. His symphonies are remarkable diverse, for he seems deliberatlely to have made each one an individual. Yet they have enough in common that we can distill his usual pactices.

Written for a theater in Vienna by Mozart. Is a Singspiel, with spoken dialogue instead of recitative and with some characters and scenes appropriate to popular comedy. Ytet its action is filled with symbolic meaning, and its music is so rich and profound that it ranks as the first great German Opera. The largely solemn mood of the score reflects the relation ship between the opera and the teachings and ceremonies of Freemasonry. Mozart valued his Masonic affiliation, not only from alusions in his letters but especially from the serious quality of the music he wrote for masonci ceremonies in 1785 and for a Masonic cantata in 1791.

This opera interwove threads of many eighteenth-century musical styles and traditions: the vocal opulence of Italian opera seria; the fold humor of the German Singspiel; the solo aria; the buffo ensemble; a new kind of accompanied recitative applicatible to German words; solemn choral scenes; and even a revival of the Baroque choral-prelude technique, with contrapuntal accompaniment.