Classical Period

Classicism, as a stylistic period in Western music, roughly encompassed the years ________.

1750-1820

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and ________ were two of the more important preclassical composers.

Johann Christian Bach

True or false? Composers in the classical period continued to use terraced dynamics in their compositions.

False

True or false? Classical music is basically polyphonic.

not typical

True or false? The basso continuo was the nucleus of the instrumental ensemble.

false

What did the typical orchestra of the classical period consist of?

Strings, woodwinds, horns, trumpets, and timpani

Political and economic power shifted to the middle class from the aristocracy and the ________.

church

In the classical period, serious composition was flavored by ________.

folk and popular music

The prospering middle class in the classical period sought aristocratic luxuries such as ________.

theater, music, literature

Joseph Haydn was content to spend most of his life as what?

An employee of a wealthy aristocratic family

Vienna, when Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven were active, ________.

-had population of almost 250,00 -was the fourth-largest city in europe -was the seat of the holy roman empire

Composers in the classical period took middle-class tastes into account by doing what?

-Writing dance music for public balls -Flavoring their serious compositions with folk and popular music -Writing comic operas that sometimes ridiculed the aristocracy

In the classical period, comic operas sometimes ________.

ridiculed the aristocracy

Sonata form is used frequently as the form for the ________ movement of a multimovement work.

first, final fast, slow

Which of the following is not part of a sonata form movement? Development, exposition. rondo, recapitulation

rondo

Sonata form consists of three main sections: exposition, development, and ________.

recapitulation

In the exposition of a sonata-form movement, what happens?

The second theme is in a new key.

At the end of a classical exposition there usually is a ________.

repeat sign

A feeling of harmonic tension and forward motion is created in the exposition of a sonata form movement by ________.

the conflict of tonalities between the first and second themes

How should the sonata form be viewed as?

A set of principles that serve to shape and unify contrasts of theme and key

Each successive variation in a theme with variations ________.

retains some elements of the theme

Theme-and-variations form may be schematically outlined as ________.

AA’A”A”’A””

The ________ movement of Haydn’s Surprise Symphony is in theme-and-variations form.

second

The minuet-and-trio movement of a classical symphony, string quartet, or other work, is in ________ form.

ABA

The movement of a symphony that is often patterned after a dance is the ________.

third

The character of the minuet is best described as ________.

stately and dignified

The minuet is in ________ meter.

triple

The scherzo differs from the minuet in that it ________.

moves more quickly

A ________ is a musical composition that is usually light in mood, and meant for evening entertainment.

serenade

When performers encounter the phrase, da capo, they ________.

return to the beginning of the piece and repeat the music

The rondo may be schematically outlined as ________.

ABACABA

The main theme in a rondo movement is usually ________.

lively, pleasing, and simple to remember

The sonata-rondo ________.

-may be outlined as ABA-development section-ABA -usually has a lively, pleasing, and simple to remember theme -combines rondo form with elements of sonata form

What is a symphony?

-A musical composition for orchestra, usually in four movements -An extended, ambitious composition exploiting the expanded range of tone color and dynamics of the classical orchestra -A work typically lasting between 20 and 45 minutes

The usual order of movements in a classical symphony is ________.

fast, slow, dance-related, fast

The first movement of a classical symphony is almost always fast, and in ________ form.

sonata

The last movement of a classical symphony ________.

-is usually fast, lively, and brilliant, but somewhat lighter in mood than the opening movement -is always in the tonic key of the symphony -is most often in sonata or sonata-rondo form

A classical concerto usually lasts around ________.

20 to 45 minutes

A classical concerto is a three-movement work for ________.

instrumental soloist and orchestra

The favored solo instrument in the classical concerto was the ________.

piano

What is the essence of a classical concerto?

Interplay between a soloist and the orchestra

A classical concerto greatly relies on a soloist’s ________.

virtuosity

A brilliant solo section in a concerto designed to display the performer’s virtuosity is called ________.

a cadenza

Classical chamber music is designed ________.

for the intimate setting of a small room

The most important form of classical chamber music is the ________.

string quartet

The classical string quartet is a musical composition for ________.

two violins, viola, and cello

The piano trio is a musical composition for ________.

violin, cello, and piano

Haydn was fortunate in having a long and fruitful, as well as financially stable, relationship with the noble Hungarian family of ________.

Esterházy

Although Haydn spent most of his time in Hungary, he often traveled to ________, where his music was performed often and greatly admired.

London

Haydn was a prolific composer, as demonstrated in part by his 68 string quartets and 104 ________.

symphonies

Mozart was born in ________.

Salzburg, Austria

By the age of six, Mozart could ________.

-read music perfectly at sight -improvise fugues and write minuets -play the harpsichord and violin

Between the ages of six and fifteen, Mozart ________.

was continually on tour in England and Europe

Mozart composed his Requiem ________.

on commission from a stranger

Mozart’s Requiem was ________.

finished by one of his pupils

Which of the following is not one of Mozart’s three masterpieces of Italian opera?

Orfeo

Don Giovanni, in Mozart’s opera of that name, is ________.

the legendary Spanish lover

Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 ________.

featured an emotional intensity uncommon for the time

The Third Symphony of Beethoven was originally composed to commemorate the deeds of ________ as the embodiment of heroism and democratic ideals.

Napoleon Bonaparte

We have a record of Beethoven’s struggle with his musical material because he did what?

Showed his workflow in musical sketchbooks

Beethoven’s late works, composed after he was totally deaf, include ________.

-String quartets -The Ninth Symphony -Missa solemnis

What following technique did Beethoven use more extensively in his late works?

Fugal counterpoint

Beethoven is often credited as being ________.

the bridge between the classical and romantic periods

Beethoven’s only opera is entitled ________.

Fidelio

Beethoven, in comparison with earlier composers, was far more extensive and explicit in marking ________ in his scores.

-expressive indications -tempos -dynamics

Beethoven greatly expanded the ________ section of the sonata-form movement and made it more dramatic.

development