J.S.

Bach (Baroque)

Beethoven (Classical)

Tchaikovsky
(Romantic)

Shostakovich
(Contemporary)

Classical music is broadly divided into 4 main periods:

1. Baroque
2. Classical
3. Romantic
4. Contemporary
Each composer is classified within one of these periods based on the time in which he lived and the
characteristics of the music he composed. Music from each period has defining traits that can be used
to differentiate periods from one another, but different pieces within a single period can vary
immensely. The first 3 periods (Baroque, Classical, and Romantic) are classified under an
overarching time called the Common Practice Period (1600 - 1900). Most of the classical music you
are familiar with falls under this category.
1. Baroque (1600 - 1750)
o The Baroque period marked the beginning of what is commonly considered classical
music. Music during this time developed from Renaissance music into the tonal music
with which we are familiar today.
o Baroque music is primarily characterized by its polyphonic texture, meaning that the
music contains 2 or more independent melodic voices.

In particular, Baroque music is known for its use of the counterpoint. The
counterpoint is a pretty complex musical idea, but in simpler terms,
counterpoint uses different, independent musical lines that sound harmonious
when played together.

o Characteristics of Baroque music include:

Polyphonic texture: multiple melodic lines in different voices

Unity of mood: each piece features a single emotion (i.e. a piece that begins
happy will remain happy)

Continuity of rhythm: rhythmic patterns are often repeated throughout a piece

Repetition of melody: the melody is repeated; though it is distinct, it is not

lyrical

Terraced dynamics: dynamics change suddenly rather than gradually

Ornamentation (music flourishes, often fast notes, to decorate the main note)

Less use of instrumental music; large use of the harpsichord

2. Classical (1750 - 1830)

o Music from the Classical period shifted away from the Baroque period's emphasis on
polyphonic texture and more towards a single melody with accompaniment. This
created music with less texture but with a more clearly defined melody.
o Characteristics of Classical music include:

Single melody with accompaniment: one voice carries the primary melody
while another voice plays a simpler line that supports the melody

Larger variety of keys, melodies, rhythms, and dynamics

More contrast in a piece

Shorter, clearer melodies than in Baroque music

More emphasis on instrumental music

Primary forms of composition: sonata, trio, string quartet, symphony, concerto

3. Romantic (1830 - 1920)

o Music from the Romantic period is characterized by its much greater passion and
expression than that of earlier periods. Romantic works display an expansion of form
(like the key and instrumentation of a piece).
o Characteristics of Romantic music include:

Freer form and more personal expression of emotion

Emphasis on lyrical melodies and themes

More modulation (change in key) to unexpected keys: the overall effect of this
is that it is harder for the listener to predict what will happen next in the piece

More chromaticism and scales other than major/minor

Greater variety in pitch, dynamics, and rhythm

Less traditional chord progressions

Program music: more pieces inspired by literary/artistic sources

Greater emphasis on nationalism: many composers infused cultural songs or

dances into their works

4. Contemporary (1920 - present):

o The most conspicuous differentiation between classical music in the Contemporary
period and in previous periods is the shift in tone. Whereas music from the Common
Practice Period was largely tonal, much Contemporary music is atonal.
o Contemporary classical music can be divided into:

20th-century Contemporary Classical Music:

Varies greatly, no dominant style

Increased use of dissonance

21st-century Contemporary Classical Music:

Huge variety in style, which include minimalism, experimentalism

Contains a variety of influences, from world music to technology

Many classical composers have written for film scores

Beethoven Sonata in C Minor Op. 10, No. 1

1.Allegro molto e con brio
(Sonata)
Exposition

mm. 1-8 1st Theme in Tonic with parallel period.

Antecedent
Consequent
Basic Idea
Contrasting Idea
Basic Idea
Contrasting Idea
________________________________________________________
1
4
8
HC
PAC
mm. 9-21 Development of Contrasting Idea form 1st Theme.
mm. 22-30 Theme 1 in different register with parallel period.
mm. 32-55 Transition. Includes F minor and Db major.
mm. 56-63 Theme 2 in Db major with parallel sentence.
Antecedent
Consequent
Basic Idea
Contrasting Idea
Basic Idea
Contrasting Idea
________________________________________________________
56
59
63
HC
IAC
mm. 64-105 Coda. Materials of coda is Theme 2 bass part and Theme 1 motif.
Development
mm. 106-113 Theme 1 in F minor.
mm. 114-117 Codetta.
mm. 118-133 Development of theme 2.
mm. 134-135 Codetta, closed in Db Major.
mm. 136-167 Development in Db major Bb minor.
Recapitulation
mm. 168-187 Same with Theme 1 in C minor tonic form exposition.
mm. 188-189 Codetta.
mm. 191-214 Transition.
mm. 215-228 Recapitulation of Theme 2 in F minor.
mm. 229-232 Codetta.
mm. 233-284 Coda. Includes Theme 1 and Theme 2 ideas. Ends in Tonic C minor.

Cadential Structure in Beethoven's Op. 10 No. 1 (First Movement)

(see Outline)

The first movement of Beethoven's piano sonata in c-minor, opus 10 no. 1, is an example of tight
construction, similar to opus 2 No. 1, with the initial structural tonic prolonged into the latter part of
the development section.
This movement opens with a far more elaborate statement than the opening of op. 2 no. 1. (Examples
again are from Ludwig van Beethoven Complete Piano Sonatas, v. 1, Heinrich Schenker, ed., Dover
Publications, Inc., New York, 1975; and again, measure numbers appear at the end of every fifth
measure - i.e., measure 5 has a large "5" in a circle over the bar line at the end of the fifth measure.)
The first eight measures (example 241b.1) bear a superficial resemblance to an eight-bar period.
Rhythmically, melodically and harmonically they are incomplete, however, and are the beginning of a
22-measure sentence (mm. 1-22).

Example 241b.1

Rhythmically, these opening eight measures appear to consist of two parallel four-measure
statements. Each four-measure statement consists of two ideas - an explosive idea that rockets
upward in a sharp dotted rhythm, and a sedate idea whose melody settles slightly downward in a much
more relaxed rhythm.
These eight measures are not only incomplete, but intensely unbalanced. A balanced statement would
consist of four two-measure units. These eight measures consist of a three-measure phrase and a twomeasure phrase answered by another three-measure phrase and another two-measure phrase. This
would be ten measures, except for the overlap in measure five. (Harmonically and melodically, it's an
overlap, but dynamically, it's an interruption. See measures 113-114 for a complete statement of this
two-measure motivic idea.) That makes it nine measures, and, in actual fact, this opening idea is both
completed and continued in the rising triad at the beginning of measure nine (example 241b.2).

Example 241b.2
Melodically, this rising triad completes the motion from the opening c-natural to the high e-flat,
continuing to the high f-natural, and concluding on the g-natural in measure nine. The rising triad
recapitulates the "rocket" idea in miniature form. The c-natural in measure nine completes the second
statement of the secondary motivic idea: c-c-b-b in measures 3-5 and d-d-c-c in measures 7-9.
Harmonically, the rising triad completes the statement of an idea punctuated by the full forte chords in
measures one and five and the repeated high notes in measures 2-3 and 6-7: c-natural and e-flat (tonic
harmony, measures 1-3), moving to b-natural and f-natural (dominant harmony, measures 5-7),
resolving to c-natural and e-flat (or c-natural and g-natural, tonic harmony, measure nine).
There is too much to talk about in the simple descending melodic line in measures 9 and 10.

Example 241b.3
Beethoven is being coy (example 241b.3). Having reached the high point g-natural, we descend
immediately to what seems to be the starting point c-natural, but it doesn't satisfy. For one thing, it's
too soon. And the rhythm is tentative, indecisive. Less obvious, but crucial, the c-natural is an octave
too high. In the continuation, we have (1) the bass shifting octaves (it was down, then it's up, then

down again); and (2) the melody (doubled in octaves) glides down to the g-natural an octave lower.
At the time that Beethoven composed this movement, his piano lacked the g-natural above the fnatural in measure 7. Beethoven has turned this lack into a brilliant development. The initial rise
from c-natural toward the g-natural an octave and a fifth above (but not reaching it) has turned around
into a descent from the g-natural an octave lower than the original goal down to the c-natural an
octave and a fifth lower (i.e., middle-c).

Measures 9 through 16 resemble an eight-bar sentence, but the pause at measure 16 leaves us in
limbo. Continuing, the fleeting phrases in measures 17 through 20 "tip-toe" us to the hoped-for cnatural, but completion is not achieved without the leading tone which appears in the grimly
victorious phrase in measures 21 and 22. The entire melodic process of descending from the g-natural
in measure 9 to the c-natural in measure 22 is a seductive expansion of a dual line (mostly parallel
thirds) which is stated with striking simplicity in the left hand part of measures 13 through 18. See
example 241b.4. All of this is an elaboration of the descending melodic line in measures 9 and 10.
This idea has a wonderful delayed consequence half-way through the movement. (In addition, there
are the minor sixths, marked in 241b.4(b), whose thematic significance is discussed later.)
There is too much to talk about in the simple descending melodic line in measures 9 and 10.

Example 241b.3
Beethoven is being coy (example 241b.3). Having reached the high point g-natural, we descend
immediately to what seems to be the starting point c-natural, but it doesn't satisfy. For one thing, it's
too soon. And the rhythm is tentative, indecisive. Less obvious, but crucial, the c-natural is an octave
too high. In the continuation, we have (1) the bass shifting octaves (it was down, then it's up, then
down again); and (2) the melody (doubled in octaves) glides down to the g-natural an octave lower.
At the time that Beethoven composed this movement, his piano lacked the g-natural above the fnatural in measure 7. Beethoven has turned this lack into a brilliant development. The initial rise
from c-natural toward the g-natural an octave and a fifth above (but not reaching it) has turned around
into a descent from the g-natural an octave lower than the original goal down to the c-natural an
octave and a fifth lower (i.e., middle-c).

The immediate consequence of the measure 9-10 idea is the explosive rise from middle-c to
the g-natural an octave and a fifth above in measures 22 through 24. (See example
241b.5) What follows is an explosive rise from the leading tone below middle-c to the same
high g-natural. (Compare this to the first "rocket", from g-natural to the high e-flat, in
measures one to three.) We are hammering at this g-natural, and in octaves. Something to
remember, you think? Following this, we have a striking conclusion in which the familiar
high f-natural (from measure 6-7) is emphasized, and the high d-natural. (Something else
to remember.) This passage explodes in our face with the precision and symmetry of an
eight-bar sentence, but it has ten measures. The logical consequence of an opening eightbar phrase, which (as we saw) actually consists of two five measure statements (scrunched
into nine measures, instead of ten). Dynamic assymmetrical symmetries. In motion.