Editing Classical period (music) (section)

=== Around 1790–1820 ===
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When Haydn and Mozart began composing, symphonies were played as single movements—before, between, or as interludes within other works—and many of them lasted only ten or twelve minutes; instrumental groups had varying standards of playing, and the continuo was a central part of music-making.

In the intervening years, the social world of music had seen dramatic changes. International publication and touring had grown explosively, and concert societies formed. Notation became more specific, more descriptive—and schematics for works had been simplified (yet became more varied in their exact working out). In 1790, just before Mozart's death, with his reputation spreading rapidly, Haydn was poised for a series of successes, notably his late oratorios and [[London symphonies]].<!-- Mozart's reputation or Haydn's?--> Composers in Paris, Rome, and all over Germany turned to Haydn and Mozart for their ideas on form.
[[File:Joseph Karl Stieler's Beethoven mit dem Manuskript der Missa solemnis.jpg|thumb|Portrait of [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]], 1820]]

In the 1790s, a new generation of composers, born around 1770, emerged. While they had grown up with the earlier styles, they heard in the recent works of Haydn and Mozart a vehicle for greater expression. In 1788 [[Luigi Cherubini]] settled in Paris and in 1791 composed ''[[Lodoïska (Cherubini)|Lodoiska]]'', an opera that raised him to fame. Its style is clearly reflective of the mature Haydn and Mozart, and its instrumentation gave it a weight that had not yet been felt in the [[grand opera]]. His contemporary [[Étienne Méhul]] extended instrumental effects with his 1790 opera ''Euphrosine et Coradin'', from which followed a series of successes. The final push towards change came from [[Gaspare Spontini]], who was deeply admired by future romantic composers such as Weber, Berlioz and Wagner. The innovative harmonic language of his operas, their refined instrumentation and their "enchained" closed numbers (a structural pattern which was later adopted by Weber in Euryanthe and from him handed down, through Marschner, to Wagner), formed the basis from which French and German romantic opera had its beginnings.
[[File:Johann-nepomuk-hummel.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Hummel in 1814]]
The most fateful of the new generation was [[Ludwig van Beethoven]], who launched his numbered works in 1794 with a set of three piano trios, which remain in the repertoire. Somewhat younger than the others, though equally accomplished because of his youthful study under Mozart and his native virtuosity, was [[Johann Nepomuk Hummel]]. Hummel studied under Haydn as well; he was a friend to Beethoven and [[Franz Schubert]]. He concentrated more on the piano than any other instrument, and his time in London in 1791 and 1792 generated the composition and publication in 1793 of three piano sonatas, opus 2, which idiomatically used Mozart's techniques of avoiding the expected cadence, and Clementi's sometimes modally uncertain virtuoso figuration. Taken together, these composers can be seen as the vanguard of a broad change in style and the center of music. They studied one another's works, copied one another's gestures in music, and on occasion behaved like quarrelsome rivals.

The crucial differences with the previous wave can be seen in the downward shift in melodies, increasing durations of movements, the acceptance of Mozart and Haydn as paradigmatic, the greater use of keyboard resources, the shift from "vocal" writing to "pianistic" writing, the growing pull of the minor and of modal ambiguity, and the increasing importance of varying accompanying figures to bring "texture" forward as an element in music. In short, the late Classical was seeking music that was internally more complex. The growth of concert societies and amateur orchestras, marking the importance of music as part of middle-class life, contributed to a booming market for pianos, piano music, and virtuosi to serve as exemplars. Hummel, Beethoven, and Clementi were all renowned for their improvising.

<!-- provide reference...One explanation for the shift in style has been advanced by [[Arnold Schoenberg|Schoenberg]] and others:{{Citation needed|date=May 2007}} the increasing centrality of the idea of [[theme and variations]] in compositional thinking. Schoenberg argues that the Classical style was one of "continuing variation", where development was, in effect, a theme and variations with greater continuity. In any event, theme and variations replaced the [[fugue]] as the standard vehicle for improvising and was often included, directly or indirectly, as a movement in longer instrumental works. -->
The direct influence of the Baroque continued to fade: the [[figured bass]] grew less prominent as a means of holding performance together, the performance practices of the mid-18th century continued to die out. However, at the same time, complete editions of Baroque masters began to become available, and the influence of Baroque style continued to grow, particularly in the ever more expansive use of brass. Another feature of the period is the growing number of performances where the composer was not present. This led to increased detail and specificity in notation; for example, there were fewer "optional" parts that stood separately from the main score.

The force of these shifts became apparent with Beethoven's 3rd Symphony, given the name ''Eroica'', which is Italian for "heroic", by the composer. As with Stravinsky's ''[[The Rite of Spring]]'', it may not have been the first in all of its innovations, but its aggressive use of every part of the Classical style set it apart from its contemporary works: in length, ambition, and harmonic resources as well making it the first symphony of the [[Romantic period (music)|Romantic era]].