The Classical Music Period This period of music

The Classical Music Period This period of music refers to music and composers between roughly 1750 and 1827. Classical music followed the Baroque period. Modern 1600 1650 Baroque 1700 1750 Classical 1800 1850 Romantic 1900

Classical Composers Famous composers from this period include: Ludwig van Beethoven Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Ludwig van Beethoven Born: December 1770 Died: March 26 th 1827

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Germany. His father was a singer and Beethoven’s first teacher. As a boy, Ludwig became a travelling performer and was very successful. In his twenties, Beethoven moved to Vienna where he lived for the rest of his life. At first, he was known for being a talented pianist but then he started going deaf and couldn’t hear the piano anymore. Despite this difficulty, Beethoven composed some of his most famous music. Throughout his life, Beethoven wrote different types of music including music for choirs and string quartets, piano music and an opera. Photo courtesy of Princess Ruto (@flickr. com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Born: January 27 th 1756 Died: December 5 th 1791

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria. Mozart became known as a child prodigy as he was a very gifted composer and musician. By the age of 18, he had written 30 symphonies. He composed his first piece of music at five and he wrote his first opera at the age of twelve. By the age of six, he was a fantastic violinist and pianist. Mozart and his sister travelled all over Europe performing for royalty. Mozart had an incredible memory and could listen to a piece of music then write down the very notes that all the instruments had played. Mozart must have also had a sense of humour as he wrote a piece known as ‘Divertimento’ also referred to as ‘A Musical Joke’. Many believe that this was written as an intentionally clumsy and repetitive piece. He also wrote a comical opera known as ‘All Women Are Like That’. In contrast to this, he wrote very solemn music for church.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart When he grew up, Mozart moved to Vienna to work but people weren’t quite as interested in him because he wasn’t a child prodigy anymore. Mozart died in 1791, aged 35. During his very short life, he composed different types of music including symphonies, concertos and operas. Music written by Mozart all those years ago is still being used today in the world of cinema to accompany the drama being acted out on screen. Exactly 250 years after his birth, bells were rung in his birthplace. There is also a monument to Mozart there and an annual music festival held in his honour. His music is still considered to be very powerful with some expectant mothers believing that playing his music to their unborn baby might make their child more intelligent! Mozart is still thought of as a musical genius. Photo courtesy of VSELLIS (@flickr. com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution

Features of Classical music is seen as being more melodic and tuneful – something you could hum along with. Listen to the following famous examples and see if you recognise them: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart Symphony No. 5 in C Minor by Beethoven

The Instruments of Classical Music The piano was used more in classical composition, rather than the harpsichord from the Baroque era. The number of instruments in the orchestra grew. Previously, in the Baroque period, the orchestra was mainly made up of string instruments, however during the Classical period, a larger range of woodwind instruments were included. Examples of these are the clarinet, horn, oboe and bassoon. Listen to the following famous pieces and see if you can pick out the different instruments: • • • Horn Concerto No. 4 in E Flat by Mozart Clarinet Concerto by Mozart Bassoon Concerto in B Flat Major by Mozart Beethoven’s Für Elise Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata Für Elise means ‘For Elise’. Nobody knows exactly who this person was, but she must have been special for Beethoven to compose a whole piece of music in her name.

True or False? Beethoven was born in Austria.

True or False? The orchestra grew larger to incorporate more instruments during the Classical period.

True or False? Beethoven composed his first piece at the age of five.

True or False? Mozart was seen as a child prodigy.

True or False? Beethoven started to go deaf which sadly meant he had to stop playing the piano.

True or False? Mozart lived to a very old age.

True or False? Mozart had written his first opera by the age of twelve.

True or False? Beethoven wrote music for string quartets.