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Definition
| The ideals (including balance, symmetry, clarity, reverence for ancient cultures, etc.) best represented by Classical composers, and those efforts by composers, and those efforts by composers after the Classical period to integrate these ideals into their compositions (as opposed to those of the Romantic Period, for example. |
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Term
| Viennese Classical School |
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Definition
| The three greatest contributors to Classical period music were Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Since all three spent part of their careers in Vienna, this group is commonly known as the Viennese Classical School. |
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| This word is used when classifying music into categories such as opera, lied and symphony. |
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| Music that has no “program” or underlying “story” needed to understand it. The focus is on purely on the relationships between only musical ideas. This type of music was particularly popular during the Classical Era. |
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| Music that has no “program” or underlying “story” needed to understand it. The focus is on purely on the relationships between, and the development of musical ideas. This type of music was particularly popular during the Classical Era. |
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| Musical ideas constructed in regular phrases of four or eight measures. The first phrase usually ends with an open cadence and the second phrase with a closed cadence. This leads to a call and response in the music, and a consistent harmonic structure. |
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| A small ensemble of two to eight players, usually with one player per part. “Chamber” means room and refers to the fact that chamber music is for a more intimate setting than a concert hall. |
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| A group of four string players (two violin players, a viola player, and a cellist) who perform together as a chamber ensemble. This combination of instruments was standardized by Haydn during the early Classical period. |
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| General term describing the multi-movement structure found in many sonatas, string quartets, symphonies, concertos, and large-scale instrumental works of the Classical and Romantic periods. |
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Sonata-allegro form begins with an Exposition that presents two contrasting themes in different keys. These themes are then varied and extended in the Development section. The Recapitulation then restates both themes in the tonic key.
Sonata-allegro form is used in the opening movement of the sonata cycle. |
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Term
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Definition
| A musical form that first presents a basic theme and then develops and alters that theme in a series of variations. Each variation presents the theme in a new way. Theme and Variations form is a popular form for the second movement in the sonata cycle. |
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Definition
| A ternary-form (ABA) movement popular as the 3rd movement of a sonata cycle. The Minuet (A) is a stately dance in triple meter, often beginning with an upbeat. The Trio (B) follows in a similar style, ending with a da capo instruction to repeat the Minuet (A) once again. |
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Definition
| This form replaced the minuet and trio as the 3rd movement of the Classical era sonata cycle. A scherzo is considered to be more playful and less elegant than the Minuet. Beethoven preferred the scherzo to the minuet (see his Fifth Symphony, 3rd movement). |
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| A rocket theme is a rapid, upward arpeggio over a large range, combined with a crescendo. Example: Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. |
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| By the Classical era, the term symphony was used to describe a large composition for orchestra, usually in three or four movements, that uses sonata cycle structure. |
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Term
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Definition
| A coda is the concluding section of a piece, particularly in sonata-allegro form. A coda may be short or long, and will end with a perfect cadence in the tonic key. |
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