The classical period took place during 1750-1820. Classical music is a like a feather floating in the air compared to Baroque music. Classical music is lighter and a lot less complex compared to Baroque. Classical music produced a lot of new composers that went down in history. The composers may have been from the same era, but their music was different in many ways. The composers that stood out to me during this era are Mozart and Beethoven. They both played major parts in this period but were completely different when it came to composing their music.
Mozart wrote many compositions. One that stood out to me is an opera called The Magic Flute. This is the last opera that he got to do. This is a fairy tale. It’s about a girl in distress and a prince saves the day. There is a deeper meaning behind this opera though. This opera is more elaborate than just an eye glance. It shows a journey for enlightenment and for wisdom. This is shown through symbols throughout the play of masonry. Mozart was a freemason. The most obvious one is the number three. There are three girls, three boys, and some other things. He used a variety of music styles in the opera. Some of them are folk melodies, vocal histrionics, and an unusual chromatic vocal line. This opera is a singspiel. The other opera that stuck out to me is The Marriage of Figaro. This is a comic opera with four parts. This composition was only performed nine times after it was created. This opera has trickery, disguise and love all thrown into it.
Beethoven has also written many great compositions. Fur Elise is an A minor for a solo piano. The actual name of this piece is called Bagatelles No. 25. The definition of Bagatelles are short pieces of music that are usually played on a piano. It is one of his most popular pieces. This piece was dedicated to someone named Elise. To this day, no one knows who this woman is. By the age of 44, Beethoven went completely deaf. This might be why this piece was relatively high. This song reaches an E7 and two Es above a top soprano C. Fidelio is also a very good composition that he created. This piece is two acts. This is the only opera that Beethoven has ever created. The focus of this opera is a heroic struggle for liberty. The theme of this was liberty and political struggle. Beethoven let this opera be revised by a man named Stephan Von Breuning who was his friend. After the opera was revised, it was a success. Beethoven was not pleased because it did not meet his own standards. Like some of his other works, some people saw this a personal testament when they saw it. During this time, he also was coming to terms with his deafness still.
Mozart and Beethoven had a few similarities when it came the styles about compositions. These composers use classical harmonies to be the main foundation of their compositions. Also, they both used structure in their works.
Lastly, Mozart and Beethoven had some major differences in their pieces of work. Mozart used more lightness in his music and it was cheery in a way. Beethoven’s works are more intensive dramas with darker feelings in them. It sounds a lot heavier compared to Mozart’s pieces of work.
