Classical Era (1750-1800)

By

Jessica Skidmore, Elizabeth Snyder, Jammie Creager, Syreeta

Hawks, Mary Koch

Franz Joseph Haydn

• Born 1732 in Austria• 1 of 12 children• Father was a wheelmaker • Haydn showed early talent• Age 8 he was accepted into St.

Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna as a choir boy

• Married Maria Esterhazy (which was a powerful family)

• Death 1809 at the age 77

Musical Background

• 1750-1760 harpsichord and violin

• 1761 assistant music director at Prince Paul Anton Esterhazy

• 1766 promoted to music director

• Dozen operas• 100 symphonies• nearly 70 string quartets• 50 keyboard sonatas • choral music, songs and other

chamber music.• He was international known

London Symphonies

• Traveled twice to London (1791-1792, 1794-1795)

• 12 Symphonies in London

• Brilliant and Fascinating Works

• Click here to Listen Now

The Creation

• “I was never so devout as when I as at work on The Creation.” – Haydn

• Composed in 1798• Describes the creation of the world• Begins with Chaos• Climax in C major when Creation began• Used musical descriptions of nature• Click here to listen now  

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart• Born on January 27, 1756 in

Salzburg, Austria• At the age of 6 his father took

him to play for the imperial court and in noble houses

• Began composing music at the age of 5

• Composed over 600 works in his lifetime

• Died December 5, 1791 in Vienna, Austria

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik

• “A Little Serenade”• Completed in Vienna

August 10, 1787• Mozart was working on

his opera Don Giovanni at the time he wrote this serenade

• Not published until after Mozart’s death

• Click here to listen now

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN• Born in 1770 in Bonn, Germany

• Grew up in poverty

• Father was his first music teacher

• Studied with Neefe, Haydn, Schenk, Salieri and Albrechtsberger

• Accomplished violinist and violist

• Brilliant virtuoso of the piano

• Instrumental in development of Sonata form of music

• Enjoyed nature and music that expressed emotion

• Lost his hearing by age 50

Sonata quasi una fantasia

• Piano Sonata #14, op. 27, No. 2 in c# minor• Titled “Moonlight Sonata” by publisher as music

reminded him of moonlight on a lake.• Melody moves softly and slowly in legato style

above triplets played with right hand.• Melody and accompaniment in treble clef• Melody goes to bass clef in measure 60 with

arpeggios in treble clef• Melody supported by chords and broken chords

Click here to listen now

Muzio Clementi Italian – (English) Pianist ,Composer and Conductor,

1752-1832 Sonata OP 25, No 5

• Born in Rome on January 23rd 1752

• The firstborn of seven children

• By age 7 he began receiving private music lessons

• At the age 13 was the Church Organist at San Lorenzo Damaso.

• Clementi also had composed his first Oratorio by age 13

• Clementi Died in 1832 , at the age of 80

• click here to listen now

Musical Points of Interest • Was the first composer to create

Keyboard works solely for pianoforte

• Established current piano techniques

• Composed about 110 Piano Sonatas• 1766 Studied under Peter Beckford

for 7 years who reportedly leased the young Clementi .

• 1774 Made his debut as a Harpiscordist and moved to London

• Summer of 1780 Clementi toured Europe .

• 1781 Christmas eve. Clementi played for Joseph II brother of Marie Antonette in Vienna. A challenge between Mozart and Clementi took place at this event. That was also Clementi’s first time playing the fortepiano.

Works Cited

• Machlis, Joseph, The Enjoyment of Music, 5th ed., W. W. Norton and Company, 1955, 264-83.

• http://www.biography.com/articles/Wolfgang-Amadeus-Mozart-9417115&part=7#15616

• Whent, Chris. "(Franz) Joseph Haydn." "Here of a Sunday Morning". Producer,WBAI'S "Here Of A Sunday Morning" , n.d. Web. 12 Oct 2010. <http://www.hoasm.org/XIIC/Haydn.html>.

• Yudkin, Jeremy. Understanding Music. 5th. Pearson, 2008. 175-181. Print.