The Classical era: clear, balanced and elegant

Two meanings of "classical"

In everyday life, people say "classical music" for all concert music from long ago. But musicians also use the word Classical, with a capital C, for one short period: about 1750 to 1820. This lesson is about that period.

How Classical music sounds

Classical melodies are usually clear and easy to sing. They come in neat, balanced phrases, like a question and an answer. The accompaniment is simpler than in the Baroque, and the music moves smoothly between soft and loud.

In this era, composers also wrote in shapes that stayed popular: the symphony for a full orchestra, the sonata for one or two instruments, and the string quartet for two violins, a viola and a cello. The modern orchestra started to take shape, and the piano slowly took over from the harpsichord.

Vienna, the music capital

Many of the most famous Classical composers lived or worked in the city of Vienna, in Austria. Rich families, the court and the theatres wanted music, so composers found work and audiences there.

Famous Classical composers

Three names stand out.

Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)

An Austrian composer who wrote more than a hundred symphonies. He is often called the father of the symphony.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)

A child prodigy from Salzburg who wrote symphonies, operas, concertos and chamber music before he died at 35.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)

Born in Bonn, Germany, he moved to Vienna and wrote music that bridges the Classical and the Romantic eras.