Early Classical

● Galant style (return of simplicity after complexity of Baroque) - originated in France

● Textures and harmony are simpler and more regular
● Style strongly influenced composers such as Johann Stamitz, Bach and Haydn

Mature Classical
● Used to describe the music typical of Haydn, Mozart and early Beethoven
○ Four movement pattern: Movement in sonata form, slower movement, minuet
and a lively finale
○ Relative predictability of well-established patterns allowed composers to play
humourous/dramatic games with the listener
● Haydn’s earliest symphonies tended to be relatively light-hearted showpieces, but he
started to incorporate more complexity and drama into his works as the symphony genre
began to be taken more seriously
● Influences of the literary Sturm und drang movement can be found in certain works of
Haydn, Mozart and others around 1770
○ Music tends to be in stormy minor keys and use syncopated rhythms

Beethoven
● Works of beethoven straddle the mature Classical and Early Romantic periods.
● Starting in early 1800s, Beethoven began to break new ground in several ways: length of
movements, complexity, size of orchestra, increased energy and drama, and a dramatic
narrative style.
○ Symphonies were extremely influential, with composers taking their lead from
different aspects of his works
● One aspect of beethoven symphonies that had a particular impact was:
○ The way he took the classical style (eg simple diatonic themes, clear structures
and emphatic cadences), and made them monumental and dramatic (increased
volume and scale)
■ Seen clearly in third symphony (the Eroica):
● Begins with a simple theme based on arpeggios and turns into a
powerful drama
■ Fifth symphony is similarly monumental, with the composer making the C
major last movement, the culminating triumph of a work that starts in C
minor (violation of expectation??)
■ “Pastoral” programme of sixth symphony with its bubbling stream, storm
and dancing shepherds - inspired and helped justify those who wanted to
bring more concrete drama and story telling into the symphony
■ Ninth was a monumental work (huge chorus finale) - many composers felt
very intimidated by the task of writing symphonies that could match up to
it
Early Romantic
 Up to around 1830
 Schubert and Mendelssohn are early Romantic composers who continued to develop
the symphony, using similar sized orchestra’s to Beethoven and continuing to compose
within the conventional classical forms and styles
 They however, were more adventurous (particularly in harmony and structure)
 Were both masters of writing attractive, lyrical melodies
 Mendelssohn’s symphonies often have an overall program but it tends to be quite vague
(e.g. “Scottish”, “Italian”, “Reformation”)

Later Romantic
 Berlioz, Liszt and later Strauss all pushed the boundaries of the traditional symphony
with much increased programmatic content and development of the orchestra
o In the case of the second two, they largely abandoned the symphony in favour of
the tone poem which offered a freer form within which to unfold their ideas
 Schumann and Brahms, on the other hand, largely developed their ideas within a more
traditional symphonic framework, as did the later Tchaikovsky
 Some later Romantic composers took inspiration from the folk music of their countries,
using dance rhythms and folk-like melodies
o Dvorak’s symphonies and Smetana’s tone poems are good examples
 Bruckner and, slightly later, Mahler, vastly increased the scale and proportion of their
symphonies, with Mahler’s third, for example, weighing in at nearly 1.5 hours, compared
to a bit more then 20 minutes for a typical Mozart or Haydn symphony