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The Classical Symphony Essay

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The Classical Period followed the ostentatious Baroque Period: a time when the music was energizing and had a moving harmony. Enlightenment coincided with the Classical Period making this a time of growth and new ideas because people were able to think freely. Due to the new ideas, the world was introduced to new musical genres, instruments, forms, and styles. Probably one of the most well-known genre to come out of this period was the Classical Symphony Orchestra. Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G Minor is a wonderfully made masterpiece and a near perfect example of what the classical symphony was.
It is important to realize that the Classical Symphony is a specialized version of the symphony and has specific parts and details that make it a …show more content…

The structure of sonata allegro is very general and although not always the same between each symphony, it is somewhat easy to pick out what is happening. It begins with an exposition, or main theme, in the tonic key and continues on to the transition. During the transition stage, the tonic key is carries over to the dominant key and gets the listener ready for the introduction of the second theme. Furthermore, a development stage is necessary to carry the music and during this time, the themes are developed and ‘worked’ upon, so to say. Again, there is a transition, this time referred to as a retransition. Here the dominant key is left and the music returns to the tonic key. Finally, the recapitulation is reached, in which there is a repetition of the exposition. The repetition is not an exact repeat though, however, it does present the same musical ideas presented earlier in the piece (Wright 169-171).
Before considering why Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 is a great example of the classical symphony genre, the other three movements need to be discussed briefly. The second movement of a classical symphony is slower than the first and allows the music to have a change of pace and allows for the listener to start a musical journey. The journey quickly picks up pace and becomes a minuet. Ultimately the journey

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Unlike most of the other first movement sonatas in Classical Era, Mozart begins it in the middle by dropping the listener into the fast motion of the lower strings and a dense melody in violin. The second theme of the first movement is a contrast, a chromatic descent that begins in the strings, changes color quickly into the winds and then returns to the strings. The development section is full of modulations and plays fragments of the first theme in a variety of key areas. When the recapitulation come, the violins turn to lower strings. The balance between emotion and control is at the heart of this

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The length of this movement itself (691 measures) is as long as a whole symphony in the previous generation and it is what made this movement ‘heroic’. Beethoven treated the main melody in this movement like a character in a drama. Beethoven started an unusual trend in the exposition by letting the cello play the pastoral theme which outlines an E-flat major triad. The triple meter is another bizarre trait, yet when it’s combined with the tempo of this movement; it reminds the listener of Deutsche peasant dance. The primary theme (see fig.

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