Classical Music in Vienna

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CHAPTER 44

• Classical Music in Vienna

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• Vienna was the capital of the Holy Roman Empire
  and a melting pot of cultures. There the
  greatest musicians of the time found generous
  patrons among the many Viennese aristocratic
  families.
• Viennese school a group of composers that
  includes Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert,
  all of whom worked in Vienna at the height of
  their careers.

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• Neoclassical architecture an eighteenth-century
  style of architectural design that revived
  classical (especially Roman) architecture.
  Symmetrical units, long lines, and restrained
  ornamentation characterize this style.

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• The Classical style derives many of its
  characteristics from the galant style clarity,
  simplicity, formal balance, and naturalness.
  Between 1770 and 1820 the Classical style
  dominated Western art music, which for this
  reason has come to be known as "Classical" music.

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Classical forms

• Rounded binary ABA', where A ends in a new key
  (usually the dominant or relative major), B
  begins in the new key and gradually gives way to
  an altered reprise, A'. In the Classical period
  scherzos and minuets are almost always in this
  form.
• Ternary ABA, where A begins and ends in the
  tonic and is repeated note for note after B,
  which modulates to complementary keys. Classical
  composers often used strict ternary form in the
  third movements of symphonies and string
  quartets.
• Theme-and-Variations a theme that is
  subsequently varied melodically, harmonically,
  rhythmically, and/or by ornamentation.
  
• Rondo a refrain (A) is set against contrasting
  material (B, C, or D), thus creating the pattern
  ABACA, ABACABA, or even ABACADA. It was usually
  employed in the last movements of sonatas and
  symphonies.

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Sonata form

• Sonata form is the most important formal
  innovation of the Classical period. Composers
  usually employed sonata form in fast (allegro)
  first movements of a sonata, quartet, or symphony.

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Sonata form (cont.)

• Exposition the first section of a movement in
  sonata form in which the primary thematic
  material is presented. It usually consists of a
  first theme in the tonic, a second theme in the
  dominant or relative major, and sometimes a
  closing theme.
• Transition or bridge the passage that modulates
  between the tonic and the new key in the
  exposition.
  
• Development the second section in which the
  themes of the exposition are varied and
  developed.
  
• Retransition the end of the development which
  brings back harmonic stability (often in the form
  of a dominant pedal point).
  
• Recapitulation the return to the thematic
  material of the exposition, varied to ensure that
  the second theme remain in the tonic key.
  
• Coda Italian for "tail," an additional closing
  section sometimes appended to the recapitulation.

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Classical genres

• Symphony during the eighteenth century it
  replaced the solo concerto and concerto grosso as
  the leading genre of large-scale instrumental
  music. From the Classical period onward, the
  symphony formed the heart and soul of almost all
  orchestral concerts.
• Concerto while the concerto grosso mostly
  disappeared, composers wrote solo concertos
  mostly for violin and piano.
  
• Divertimento and serenade a musical diversion
  for various types of chamber ensembles
  characterized by a lighter style and a
  five-movement format fast/minuet and
  trio/slow/minuet and trio/fast. Both terms are
  used interchangeably.

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Classical genres (cont.)

• String quartet conceived by Haydn in the 1750s
  by adding a viola to the old Baroque trio
  texture, the string quartet featured four
  more-or-less evenly matched instrumental parts.
  Unlike the symphony and the concerto, it was
  designed for private ("chamber") performances.
• Sonata a type of domestic instrumental chamber
  music in two, three, or, more rarely, four
  movements for soloist or small ensemble.
  
• Sonatina Italian for "small sonata," it denotes
  a short and easy sonata, mostly intended for
  amateur aristocratic musicians.

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• Harmonie in late eighteenth-century Vienna, an
  independent wind band playing mostly harmony and
  not melody. It usually included pairs of oboes,
  French horns, bassoons, and clarinets.
• Harmoniemusik music for a Harmonie.

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The Classical orchestra

• The orchestra between 1750 and 1820 experienced a
  significant growth as the performance of the
  symphony moved from the private salon to the
  public auditorium. Most of this increase
  occurred in the string section. The standard
  woodwind section now included pairs of oboes,
  clarinets, flutes, and bassoons, while trumpets
  and drums might be occasionally added in festive
  occasions. The typical "mid-size" orchestra
  counted between thirty-five and forty players.

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• Crook a small piece of pipe that altered the
  length of tubing, and consequently the pitch, of
  the natural horn and natural trumpet.