Classical Music
Periods, forms, and how an orchestra is put together.
“Classical music” is used two ways: loosely for the whole Western art-music tradition, and precisely for the Classical period of roughly 1750–1820. Both are correct in context, and the ambiguity is worth naming before it causes confusion.
Periods
| Period | Dates | Character | Figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medieval | to 1400 | Plainchant, early polyphony | Hildegard, Machaut |
| Renaissance | 1400–1600 | Rich vocal polyphony | Palestrina, Byrd |
| Baroque | 1600–1750 | Counterpoint, basso continuo, ornament | Bach, Handel, Vivaldi |
| Classical | 1750–1820 | Clear structure, balance, melody over accompaniment | Haydn, Mozart, early Beethoven |
| Romantic | 1820–1900 | Expressive, expanded orchestra, programme music | Chopin, Brahms, Wagner |
| Modern | 1900– | Tonality questioned or abandoned | Stravinsky, Bartók, Glass |
Forms
A symphony is a multi-movement work for orchestra, conventionally four movements. A concerto sets a soloist against the orchestra. A sonata is for one or two instruments. Sonata form is something different again — an internal structure of exposition, development and recapitulation used within a single movement of any of them.
The orchestra
Four families: strings, woodwind, brass, percussion. Strings sit at the front because they are numerous but individually quiet; brass and percussion sit at the back because they are not. The arrangement is an acoustic balance, not a hierarchy.