T
he 18th century was the
“Age of Enlightenment”
in Europe, a time when
the old political order was giving
way to a new, more inclusive
society. The aristocratic courts
continued to provide patronage
for the arts, but the rise of an
urban middle class created a
new concert- and operagoing
audience with different tastes.
The music of the period also
reflected Enlightenment values
of rationalism and humanism that
looked to the aesthetic ideals of
Ancient Greece, rejecting the
extravagant counterpoint of the
Baroque era in favor of a more
detached style that emphasized
elegance and proportion.
The Classical period in music
history began around 1750. It lasted
not much more than 50 years yetwas so influential that the term
“classical music” is widely used to
refer to long-established musical
traditions in general. Among the
first to adopt the new style were
two of J.S. Bach’s sons: Carl Philipp
Emmanuel, a court musician who
bridged the gap between Baroque
and Classical styles of music, and
his brother Johann Christian, who
made his name in London, staging
public concerts and popularizing
the newly invented piano. Some
of the most exciting developments,
however, were happening in
Mannheim, Germany, where the
court orchestra enabled composers
such as Johann Stamitz to explore
new musical forms, including the
symphony and concerto.
Opera was undergoing a similar
transformation. Christoph Willibald
Gluck, dissatisfied with the stilted,artificial nature of Baroque opera,
began a series of “reform operas,”
simplifying the music and aiming
for a more realistic drama.The Viennese scene
As the Classical style became
established, composers and
performers tended to gravitate
toward Vienna, which was
becoming the cultural as well as
geographical center of Europe,
with a prosperous population
eager to hear new music. Three
composers stood out from the
others: Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig
van Beethoven.
Haydn, although a central figure
in the formation of this Viennese
musical scene, was not initially a
part of it. He took a conventional
job as Kapellmeister (musicalINTRODUCTION
1753
1755
1786
1787
1758
1762
The opera Doktor
und Apotheker, a
Singspiel (“sing-play”)
by Carl Ditters von
Dittersdorf opens
in Vienna.Johann Stamitz’s
Symphony in E-flat major
transforms the symphony
form with its sudden
changes in dynamics and
new fourth movement.Italian composer
Domenico Scarlatti
publishes 30 Essercizi
(“Exercises”) as part of
more than 500 sonatas
written for keyboard.In Vienna, Christoph
Willibald Gluck’s Orfeo ed
Euridice overturns the
conventions of Italian opera,
creating a more dramatic and
integrated entertainment.The court composer
of Frederick of Prussia,
Carl Philipp Emanuel
Bach composes
his Flute Concerto
in A major.Antonio Salieri
premieres his
Tarare, a tragédie
en musique, set to
a French libretto,
in Paris.114
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