Classical Music: The Music Of The Classical Period

The Classical period was a time in which the concept that the universe was rational and explainable became the predominant mode of thinking. Through scientific discovery, people believed that the answers to life’s questions were within reach. The laws of physics were revealing themselves, and concepts such as an elliptical orbit that binds and allows planets to revolve around the sun were formulating and accepted on a large-scale. In the past, people thought Earth was the center of the universe. In the Classical period, these ideas were starting to give way to rationalism. With this new rationalism, the power of God as an idea lost some of its credence among rationalists. Scientists were beginning to explore alternative explanations. Superstition

Music that is written today is still referred to as classical music, but not Classical music.
Vienna, Austria: City of Music

Vienna was the capital of the old Holy Roman Empire. It was the central point for a large portion of Europe, including portions of Germany, Italy, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Slovakia, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Austria. The city of Vienna was an extremely influential and important place to live to gain worldwide influence. This is why so many of the greatest composers eventually found their way there, it was essential that they make their name in Vienna if the rest of the world was to hear their music.

Vienna had a large population of aristocrats near 2,500 with a total population of 215,000. These 2,500 noblemen had over 40,000 footmen, house cleaners, and other servants. The fact that there were so many noblemen may somewhat explain why there was such a high desire to have high music and

Buildings in the 18th century also exhibited these same traits. Music, art, and architecture often influence each other. Because the building architecture drew inspiration from many of the classical Rome structures, this type of architecture garnered the title neoclassical architecture. The White House and some other government buildings in the United States are a good example of neoclassical architecture.
Form in Classical Music

Music in the Classical period built upon particular forms and structure. Forms built upon conventional or pre-existing concepts about music. Some of the forms from the middle ages, such as rondo and theme and variations found their way into the Classical period. Forms that were developed and created in the Baroque period such as ternary and rounded binary forms also had a predominant place. The Sonata form, developed in the Classical period, had its roots in binary and ternary form. The Classical period was a time of great innovation, growth, societal change, and discovery. The most influential composers of the period helped add to this growth through their original music and through the development of the orchestra. Haydn defined the period through his famous string quartets. Mozart served to refine the period through his collection of over 600 works and major Operas. Finally, Beethoven