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Classic Style: Musical Traits
Singable melodies.
Symmetrical phrasing.
Easier harmonies, simple relationships of V to I.
Slower harmonic rhythms.
Easy accompanimental figures as opposed to the difficult-figured bass of the Baroque. -
The Rococo Style (1730s-60s)
Rococo style is characterized by elaborate ornamentation, asymmetrical values, pastel color palette, and curved or serpentine lines.“Rococo” derives from the French word, “rocaille” meaning “scroll”. Ornate style: scrolls were often featured. -
Rotherham Swing Plough
In 1730, Joseph Foljambe patented the Rotherham Swing plough. The Rotherham was a local plough to Yorkshire which had been improved upon with Dutch designs. Later on, James Small, a Berwickshire man would improve on this design again. It had an iron blade that was lighter and easier to use than the traditional wooden plough. -
Empfindsamkeit Style
The style of Empfindsamkeit desired to be, above all, simple and expressive of “natural” feeling. The primary composer of this style was the eldest son of J.S. Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-88). This style strove to be “natural”. -
Threshing Machine
In 1732, Michael Menzies creates the Threshing machine. -
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Franz Joseph Haydn was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the piano trio. Haydn was credited as the primary mover within the new classic style concerning instrumental music but he did not invent the style. -
1st Measured Blood Pressure
Flying shuttle (weaving). John Kay. Stephen Hales first measures blood pressure. -
Francois Couperin (1668-1733)
This French composer wrote in the Rococo style. Rococo music was championed by Francois Couperin and Jean-Philippe Rameau, both of whom had been important Baroque composers. -
Johann Schobert (1735–1767)
Johann Schobert was a composer and harpsichordist. Schobert simulated orchestra effects in harpsichord writing. He died after eating poisonous mushrooms that he insisted were edible. -
J. C. Bach (1735–1782)
Johann Christian Bach was a German composer of the Classical era, the eighteenth child of Johann Sebastian Bach, and the youngest of his eleven sons. Bach’s style used beautiful melodies and bits of chromaticism; he wrote Italian operas, church music, and orchestral works. Bach used contrasting themes in concertos and sonata-form movements. -
The San Carlo Theatre in Naples
Founded on November 4, 1737; the San Carlo Theatre is an opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and adjacent to the Piazza del Plebiscito. -
Invention of the Symphony
In the 1740s, Giovanni Battista Sammartini (1700-75) invented the symphony in Milan, Italy. One of the new genres to emerge in the Classic era was in the middle of the 18th century. -
Giovanni Paisiello (1740-1816)
Giovanni Paisiello, was a very good Italian composer. He spent time in Naples, St. Petersburg, and Paris, ending his career back in Naples. He wrote 94 operas, and in 1816 he was offended when Rossini set the story, “The Barber of Seville” (Il barbiere di Siviglia) because Paisiello had set the story back in 1776. -
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession was the last Great Power conflict with the Bourbon-Habsburg dynastic conflict at its heart. It occurred from 1740 to 1748 and marked the rise of Prussia as a major power. -
Maddalena Lombardini (1745-1818)
Maddalena Sirmen was an Italian composer, violinist, and singer. Traveled and performed as a violinist. Student of the great violinist Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770). Composed several violin concertos. -
Antonio Salieri (1750-1825)
One of the successful court composers in Vienna; very popular and talented. He composed many operas in Italian, German, and French.
Was not a fan of Mozart, appeared to be jealous of his talents. -
Maria Anna Mozart (1751-1829)
Mozart’s older sister: often described as equal in talent and skill.
She toured with Mozart during her childhood. When she was twelve, Leopold Mozart said that she was one of the most skillful players in Europe. -
Porcelain Factory
Worcester Porcelain Factory opened.The Worcester Porcelain Factory partnership agreement dates from 4 June 1751. Through various changes of ownership Worcester porcelain was in continuous production for the next 250 years. The original partners were Dr John Wall (who has given his name to the earliest or First period of production), William Davis (q.v.), Richard & Josiah Holdship. -
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period, he was also a child prodigy. Between 1762 and 1773, Mozart and his sister; Maria Anna; went on tours with their father through the Austrian-Hungarian countries, Germany, France, England, Holland, and Italy. His nickname was Amade. -
Maria Theresa von Paradis (1759-1824)
Excellent pianist and organist. Renowned for her remarkable musical memory (60 concertos at a time). She was also blind.
Composed two concertos, a piano trio, songs, cantatas, operas, and other chamber music. -
Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764)
Rameau a French composer and theorist, Tried to establish a rational foundation for harmonic practice. In 1722, he wrote the “Treatise on Harmony”, which consisted of the beginning of theideas of modern music theory. -
Mozart Symphony
On April 6th, 1774; Mozart wrote Symphony No. 29 in A Major, K. 201. It has a memorable melody with a descending octave leap at the beginning. The first movement exhibits a fiery and clever personality. -
1st Efficient Steam Engine
The first efficient steam engine improved the Newcomen engine. James Watt. Boulton and Watt's partnership was established. -
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or the American War of Independence, was initiated by delegates from thirteen American colonies of British America in Congress against Great Britain. The war was fought over the issue of U.S. independence from the British Empire. Engagements took place in North America, the Caribbean Sea, and in the seas surrounding England: the North Sea, the Irish Sea, and the English Channel. -
The Piano
The first patented version of a piano was in London in 1777. Most pianists today point to the invention of the “first” pianoforte by Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655–1732) in Florence in 1700. The difficult portion was creating a hammer return that would allow rapid repeating of notes. -
Mozarts Marriage
In 1782, Mozart married Constanze Weber. He was 26, she was 20. Of the six children born to Mozart and Constanze, only Franz Xaver and his older brother Carl Thomas survived into adulthood. -
Anna Maria della Pieta (1696-1782)
A Violinist at the Pieta where Vivaldi taught, and she became a teacher. -
Mozart and the Piano
In 1783, Mozart bought his first piano in Vienna. The instrument is in his old apartment in Salzburg. Mozart performed as a virtuoso pianist. He also taught piano lessons and composing music for his students. -
Frederick the Great (1712-1786)
Frederick II was King of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the longest-reigning monarch of the House of Hohenzollern. Some of his achievements included: Military victories, reorganization of Prussian armies, patronage of Prussian Arts, a gifted musician: played flute, and he composed at least 100 sonatas and 4 symphonies. -
Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787)
Christoph Willibald Gluck was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. He wrote lyrically dramatic operas, which resulted in operatic reform in Italian opera seria. -
C.P.E. Bach (1714-1788)
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, was a German Classical period musician and composer, the fifth child and second surviving son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Maria Barbara Bach. He worked in Berlin for Frederick the Great (Frederick II) who reigned over the Kingdom of Prussia from 1740 to 1786. -
Military Symphony
The Symphony No. 100 in G major, Hoboken I/100, is the eighth of the twelve London symphonies written by Joseph Haydn and completed in 1793 or 1794. It is popularly known as the Military Symphony. -
The Peasants' War
The Peasants' War was a peasant revolt in 1798 against the French occupiers of the Southern Netherlands, a region that now includes Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Germany. The French had annexed the region in 1795 and control of the region was officially ceded to the French after the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. -
The Irish Rebellion
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organizing force was the Society of United Irishmen, a republican revolutionary group influenced by the ideas of the American and French revolutions: originally formed by Presbyterian radicals angry at being shut out of power by the Anglican establishment, they were joined by many from the majority Catholic population.