In this project I’m going to be writing about different pianists that compose classical music, and the 4 different time periods. I hope that when you read this you can learn a little more about music and classical music. I’ll talk about how to play the different artists, or at least how I believe to play them. There will be different terms used throughout this project and I’ll try to define them so there's no confusion.

 Periods of Classical Music

There are 4 periods of classical music, Baroque (1600-1750) which is the first period and is usually very strict, as in meaning what is on the score (sheet music) is what is to be played most of the time. Some of the famous composers from the Baroque composers are Johann Sebastian Bach famous for over two thousand works, but most known for the creation of his “Toccata and Fugue D minor”. Another composer, Antonio Vivaldi, a wonderful violinist, is famous for his composition of “The Four Seasons”.  

Next, there is the Classical period of classical music (1750-1830), again very strict but at this point music is developing more and different styles are created and composers start to do more of what they want. The format of music is very similar in structure like for example a Sonatina was a famous way of composing music, you have an A theme (which is a melody), then B theme in the dominant (The fifth note of the key) of the key you are in, then into the development which is new melodies in different keys then you come back to the A theme again, then end with the B theme. Some of the famous composers of this period of classical music include Ludwig Van Beethoven, well known for his composition of “Moonlight Sonata”. Also this is the period of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart prominent for many of his works but most known for the “Turkish March” or his “Requiem”.

 Succeeding the classical period is the next period of classical music, the romantic period (1830-1900). This period is not very strict and you can deviate from the score a lot, almost as much as you want. Of course you still play what is written on the score, as well as the surrounding dynamics and notes. A new method is introduced though, which is rubato, rubato is slowing down the melody or hastening it to your liking. In this period you really see the emotions in music, it goes very deep into many topics, love, death, happy, sad, you just have to listen to it. Some of the widely known composers of this period are Frederic Chopin, brobdingnagian for his composition of the “Ballade No.1 in G minor” or his “Nocturne in E♭ Major”. A distinct composer is also Franz Liszt, widely known for his composition of “La Campanella” and known as a romantic for making “Liebestraum No.3”. 

Lastly, we have the Impressionist period of classical music(1900-present). This is the period we are in as of the moment. We have pop, jazz, rap, etc. but there is still classical music in this period. You play impressionist music very different from the other periods, the chord structures are very contrasting, the melodies are very different. It all comes together beautifully though, each piece telling a story of its own. Some important composers in the Impressionist period of classical music are Claude Debussy, known for his arrangement of “Clair de Lune” and “Arabesque in E major”. One more composer in this period is Sergei Rachmaninoff a very dramatic style of music, known for his works of “Prelude in C♯ Minor” and his “Piano Concerto in E minor”. 

Johann Sebastian Bach

The first composer I’m going to talk about is Johann Sebastian Bach, is known or was known in classical music as “The father of Classical Music”. As he lived he wasn’t very famous, but in the mid 19th centuries he gained much fame for his music. Bach was born March 1st, 1685 in Eisenach, Germany. A respected member of the Baroque era of classical music, the main instruments consist of harpsichord, Viol, Sackbut, Baroque flute, and many others. Bach was born and raised into a musical family in Luneburg, Germany. He was orphaned at the age of ten he was looked after by his oldest brother, an organist who gave him his first keyboard lessons. Bach was proficient at school and was selected to join a choir for poor boys named Michaelskirche around 1700. When he was at this school he studied the library of music to a great extent. By the time Bach was 18 in 1703 he was appointed organist of the school and this was a big accomplishment for an 18 year old. In 1703, since Bach had become a proficient organist he was employed as a member of the orchestra at the school. From 1703 to 1707 he spent time just practicing and mastering the organ. By 1708 he had learned most of what his German teachers could teach him. In 1707 he was offered a post at Blasius Kirche in Mühlhausen In Thuringia. He moved to Thuringia to take the job and married his first wife Maria Barbara. They proceeded to have 7 children. His first wife then died in 1720, and he went on to marry Anna Magdalena Bach. They had 13 children. 4 of Bach’s children ended up becoming famous like he did in their lifetime, their names are, Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach, Wilhelm Friedemann, Johann Christoph Friedrich, and Johann Christian. Bach composed many different types of music from sonatas to choral works but his favorite type of piece to make were cantatas, a musical composition that is intended to be sung and throughout his life he makes many of these during his journeys. Though sometimes his abilities were too great for those around him and they couldn’t sing what he composed. Playing Bach’s music is very complicated compared to others. People think that when a pianist sits down they just play the same way on every composer. But the truth is we don’t, a good pianist will do their best to get the style of the composer correct. For instance Bach lived in the 1700s you have to play it how he would have in the 1700s. What that means is you have to play it very strictly, there is a device called a metronome and it sets the tempo, or the beats per minute. In baroque music this device is used a substantial amount of the time when learning a piece, because Baroque music is so strict. What is on the score is to be played, when playing Bach you don’t add your own musicality to it. When I say adding your own musicality I mean, you don’t change the dynamics (how loud or soft the playing is) unless it says, you don’t change the phrasing (making the melody of the piece louder or softer) to your liking. Baroque music is very basic, it deals with the basic knowledge of music theory and you have to play it exactly. Now, let's look at some of Bach’s most famous pieces. Firstly, we will look at his beloved “Air On A G string”. You have probably heard it and just don’t recognize the name.

Johann Sebastian Bach-Air on G String

The piece way ahead of its time, the harmonic structure sounding not much like everything of this time period. The name of the piece comes from the idea that if transposed to C major instead of played in D major, the whole piece could be played on one string of a violin. Bach composed this piece for his patron Prince Leopold of Anhalt. 

Another one of Bach’s most famous compositions is also a piece you’ve probably heard before but don’t know the name and it is Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue D minor”

youtu.be/ho9rZjlsyYY

This piece is known for its melody at the beginning of the piece and wonderful contrasting sections of music, but also for Bach taking the idea of a toccata and Fugue and making it express emotions one can’t even say. A toccata is a type of composition that is made to show off one's touch, meaning how they play the piano, how loud they can get, how fast, slow, and the show what they can express emotionally. It’s a free style of music and the composer is allowed to write whatever they want. While on the contrary a Fugue is a very strict matter of construction of music. You have one melody in a Fugue and it is repeated over and over while adding more variations on it and interweaving melodies through it. It’s a very intense type of music and takes a great amount of skill to perform. Bach died on july 28, in 1750, and left behind about 10 children and his second wife. Bach’s biggest performance in his life was playing for King Frederick the second of Prussia, he was instructed to improvise on a theme that King Frederick made up on the spot! Bach was a master of music and he will always be remembered. 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

The next composer we’ll be discussing is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, famous since he was just a boy playing for kings blindfolded, composing music since the age of 5! Mozart was born in Salzburg Austria, January 27, 1756 in the era of the Classical period of Classical music, in this period the music consisted of strictly a 1, 4, 5, chord progression (The harmonics that progress in a piece). Meaning that in the major or minor scale that the piece is written around, the most used chords are the first chord built on the tonic (First note of the scale), then the 4th chord built on the subdominant (Fourth note of the scale) , then the 5th chord built on the dominant (Fifth note of the scale). This simple chord progression is widely used in the period and it is incredulous how composers take this undemanding chord progression and expound on it with melodies. Let's talk about Mozart's life a little. Mozart’s family was quite musically inclined; his father, Leopold Mozart, is the author of a very famous violin playing manual and he was a very musical person. At the age of 3 Mozart was picking out chords (whenever more than one note is played consecutively together) on the harpsichord, and by 4 he was playing short pieces, and then composing at 5. His father took a leave of absence from his position as deputy Kapellmeister at the prince-archbishop’s court at Salzburg. They spent the first years of Mozart’s life traveling around Europe and getting him the education he needed to become successful. By the time he was 13 in 1769, Mozart had been considered very fluent in the music of his time and could compose wonders in all different types of instruments. He then started his first tour that same year, the tour took Mozart and his father to many places like Verona and Milan in all it lasted about 15 months. By the end of that year he had been commissioned to compose the first Opera (a very dramatic and storyline work) of the carnival season, and it had a total of 22 performances. The time up until 1777, was spent composing some of his greatest works, his first concertos (Orchestral works that have a main instrument throughout the work), another Opera, and many string quartet pieces. In 1777, Mozart and his father believed it was finally time to move on from the small court place Mozart had earned and it was time for bigger things for him. So they went to Paris to find work for Mozart to do, and there they found many musicians and different types of music and people. The people of Paris fell in love with Mozart’s compositions and he quickly grew famous in Paris. Mozart fell in love with Aloysia Weber, and they were married, but then later divorced. He then went back to Salzburg in 1779, and eagerly composed 3 symphonies (a orchestra work usually with 4 movements) dealing with new ideas and expressions of emotions. In 1780, Mozart was delighted to receive a commission to compose a serious Italian opera for Munich, a city in Germany.  In 1783 Mozart had met Maria Constanze and fell in love with her and they had 6 children together. Mozart died in 1791, but leading up he had created some of his most famous works like his “Requiem” he composed for his own death. Now we’ll talk about how to play some of his music. Mozart had a very happy and fast style, his melodies often were simple but complicated at once. When playing Mozart you have to play it very strictly and delicately to the point of the score. To play Mozart you have to understand phrasing very intently, and you need to have a good sense of dynamics (how loud or soft the music is). One of Mozart’s most famous pieces is his “C major sonata K 545” often known as a core piece for professional pianists. Mozart composed this piece and said it was for beginners. Though the piece is actually quite difficult for someone who has just started playing piano, you could think he might have been saying if you can’t complete it you may not be ready for classical music. 

Mozart - Piano Sonata No. 16 in C Major, K.545 (1st Mvt)

The piece is very melodic and straight to the point with what the melody is, it is a perfect representation of how Mozart’s music is as a whole, complete with a major section as well as minor. Mozart changes the way of classical music by adding in little trills (quick repetition of two notes) and a counter melody towards the end in the left hand. You can see in this piece how it is different from the Baroque music previously, it focuses more on melody and expressing feelings. When listening to the piece you can hear how the pianist (If a good enough pianist) focuses solely on dynamics, and phrasing to express themself. They aren’t slowing or speeding up the melody or changing it to their own liking. Next we’ll talk about Mozart’s “Requiem”. A Requiem is a piece or set of pieces composed to be played at a person's funeral, but what makes this quite fantastic is that Mozart composed his own Requiem while usually someone else would. 

Mozart - Requiem

Mozart’s Requiem is most famous for its 3rd movement “Lacrimosa” translating directly to weeping or tearful, it’s prominent for just how beautifully terrifying it is, switching from major to minor, from compassion to depression with just a few chords. What also makes this work so incredible is how far above its time it was, sounding like nothing else of its time. Every other work so focused on the structure of music, and Mozart took the music into his own hands to express what he wanted people to feel, and what he felt for his death. It’s also magnificent because of just how contrasting it is to all of Mozart’s other compositions. Compared to the sonata we previously talked about, it is much more emotional and deep. It was a beautiful end for the amazing life that was Mozart’s.

Ludwig Van Beethoven

The next composer we’ll be talking about is Beethoven, maybe one of the most known composers of the Classical period of classical music, most of his works being truly ahead of his time in the history of music, some people calling him the bridge between Classical music and Romantic classical music. Beethoven was born in Vienna Austria December 17, 1770. The classical music period is a period where the music is very exact, almost like the Baroque but the chord structures and melodies have advanced more. The structure of most classical music is very precise, for example the form of music called a sonata. A sonata usually has 3 movements, a fast movement full of a melody, a development section of the melody then the return of the melody at the end. Then the second movement is usually slower, and consists of a new melody introduced, the melody is very expressional and emotional. Then finally a 3rd movement that is once fast again, it is a new melody but then brings back the first melody of the sonata and builds on it usually making it much more dramatic. Beethoven is most famous for his sonatas that he composed. Beethoven was born into a musical family, his grandfather being a singer in the archbishop-elector of Cologne, and rose to become kapellmeister. At first his family had quite a lot of money but after their grandfather died they steadily  lost money, and his father succumbed to alcoholism.  His father recognized Beethoven’s talent for the piano and tried to make him a prodigy like Mozart but failed and Beethoven only really got his attraction in his adolescence. In 1783 Beethoven would have his first extant composition.  He also got taken on by a teacher named Christian Gottlob Neefe in the city of Bonn. By 1782, Beethoven had become Neefe’s assistant as court organist. In 1787, Beethoven had made so much progress with his music abilities, that Macimillian Francis the archbishop-elector was persuaded to send Beethoven to Vienna to study with Mozart!  They met but their time together was cut short because Beethoven got news that his mother had died back in the city of Bonn. For the next 5 years Beethoven stayed in Bonn playing the viola in the Bonn orchestra.  During those 5 years the emperor of Bonn had died and Beethoven was requested to compose the funeral music for him, but it was later thrown out because some of the passages were too difficult for the orchestra to play. But later that year Joseph Haydn, a very famous composer of classical music, was passing through Bonn and read Beethoven’s music and was so impressed he took Beethoven in as a pupil. In 1794, Haydn left for London and took Beethoven with him and Beethoven was to never see his home city again. In 1802, Beethoven had been writing music and traveling with Haydn, and Beethoven in this period had still been staying inside the perimeters of Classical music. Beethoven changed his life when he realized he was becoming deaf in 1802. He was tempted to take his own life, but luckily he didn’t. It wasn’t until 1819 when the head actually became fully deaf. His playing took a heavy hit and never regenerated to what it was before, but he spent most of his time composing when he was fully deaf. Most of his composition ideas came to him on long country walks and he would sketch them in his notebook. Beethoven never did end up marrying anyone, and he never became a father. Now let's talk about his music. Beethoven is a very strict composer during his classical period, you play his music just as you would Mozart, except later in his composing life he turns romantical, meaning that the melody is more profound and expressive than before. It also means that a new method of playing is introduced which is called rubato. Now up until this point music history pianists expressed their emotions with dynamics and phrasing but as we get into the Romantic period of classical music pianists start to change the tempo of the music to fit their emotions, meaning as slowing down the melody at some points to their liking or speeding it up to their liking. Though this may not seem like much of a difference it changes music drastically, making it not correct to play what is just on the score anymore. Composers like Chopin and Liszt now you could play every note exactly and not get the piece correct. Let’s look at some of Beethoven's classical music first having said that. 

Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata (FULL)

This first piece is one of Beethoven’s most famous, his “Moonlight Sonata” this piece took the world by storm when it was first composed. Beethoven composed this sonata to represent how he was feeling about going deaf. The first movement is very slow, and what makes this interesting is that usually in the structure of a sonata the first movement is supposed to be faster, but with it being slow it represents how lonely, isolated and depressed Beethoven was when first learning that he was going deaf. The second movement is more happy and uplifting and faster than the first movement, and again this was interesting because usually the second movement is slow. The second movement symbolizes how Beethoven has accepted the fact that he is going deaf and he thinks he is going to try and live with it in peace. Lastly, we have the third movement, the most famous of the three movements it is terribly fast and technically difficult, one factor that makes this sonata so famous is that Beethoven quite literally changed the way one was supposed to compose a sonata and switched the slow, fast, slow to a complete differentiated slow, fast, faster. This was the first time anyone has ever done this and it changed music history because of how many people loved it. The last movement of this sonata represents the anger and cheated feeling Beethoven has on the fact that he was going deaf. The next piece we’ll see is something from Beethoven's more Romantic period. 

Freddy kempf - Beethoven - Sonata Pathetique Mov 2

The difference between these two pieces is easily noticeable, the melody is much more independent in the second piece, while in the “Moonlight Sonata” the melody switches from hands and is much more straightforward. If you listen to the recording closely you can also hear a hint of rubato, showing noticeable signs that this piece is close to the romantic period of classical music.  

Frederic Chopin

Last but not least, we will talk about Chopin. Chopin was born in the Romantic period of classical music, a time where it is not about an exact structure anymore, it is less strict. The melody can do as it wants, the harmonies follow the melody now. Rubato is plastered on every piece of music, and everyone is falling in love! Chopin was born in Warsaw in Poland, on March 1st, 1810. Chopin is known for his piano focused music, he picked the piano as his best instrument to express himself with, and he mainly composed for the piano. Chopin’s father was a teacher at the Warsaw Lyceum. By the age of 6 Chopin had already been trying to reproduce melodies he heard on the piano. At 7 he got his first piano teacher, but quickly he surpassed his teacher, and he didn’t have any more education because he wanted to teach himself to play. Chopin made his first public appearance when he was 8, at a charity concert. 3 years later he performed for the Russian tsar Alexander 1, who was in Warsaw to open parliament. At 7 he quickly gained a reputation as a composer by composing his Polonaise in G minor. When Chopin was 16 in 1826, his family enrolled him in the Warsaw Conservatory of Music, to study music theory. The professors at the university quickly realized that Chopin had his own way of composing romantic music and didn’t need to learn the folk music and regular other pieces to be taught the way of composing. In 1829, Chopin made his way to Vienna to perform there. After performing he returned home to composing one of his most famous concertos, his “Concerto in E minor” and this gained him fame. In 1832, Chopin realized that his piano solos were not what people wanted to hear in the recital hall; they would rather listen to an orchestra. So he spent his time teaching piano and composing on the side. In 1836, Chopin met his first wife George Sand which Chopin would fall extremely in love with. In the romantic period music everything is about love, so him finding it had a huge impact on the music he composed. They rented a villa and then spent a summer together, until the summer broke and Chopin became ill. Throughout Chopin’s life he was always ill, it was one of the main things that eventually brought his death. In 1839, Chopin and George moved to a country house, and then spent time giving piano lessons and composing. For the rest of his life he did the same of teaching and composing, Chopin never really gave many performances in his lifetime, only about 22. He is known not for his technical ability but more for his compositions. When playing Chopin’s music the melody is everything, and you almost have to feel the pieces more than play it. In the Romantic period of classical music if you were to play everything written on the score exactly it could still be wrong. Of course you still learn the piece the same and play every note, but this period really shows the difference in pianists.  Let’s discuss some of his pieces now, the first one we will talk about is one of his most famous.

Chopin - Ballade No. 1 in G Minor (1M special)

This first piece is Chopin's “Ballade No. 1 in G minor”. This piece is known as one of Chopin’s masterpieces, with its beautiful free cantabile (Meaning to be played in a singing matter) melody, and its dark devastating contrasting melody in the end. It’s wonderful because he takes a melody in the beginning and beautifully composes it in a major key, then he comes back to the melody towards the end of the piece and switches it to a minor key making it horrifyingly abstract. A ballad is a type of structure where the music is supposed to express a story, it’s not just a melody and harmony it is a picture a composer tries to paint with music. Chopin composed 4 ballads in his lifetime but his first ballad came to be known as the most famous. Since Chopin never actually explained what this piece is supposed to represent, pianists are left making their own stories to convey the emotions trying to be played. 

Chopin - Nocturne in E Flat Major (Op. 9 No. 2)

This next piece composed by Chopin is more of a soft side of him, and this is also maybe one of the most famous classical pieces in the world. The piece represents Romantic classical music all in just about 5 minutes, a cantabile melody singing for all to hear, and harmonics switching between keys with ease. A nocturne is a type of piece that is to be played around night time, so knowing this, it affects how the piece is played, romance and nighttime go hand in hand. It's difficult to really ever know what Chopin meant by his pieces unless he told, because he never gave names to his pieces, almost as if he wanted the listener to make their own stories. I hope by the end of this project you have learned a little more about classical music. We are surrounded by music on a daily basis and it is good to know where it all started. 

Works Cited Page

Where the information was found-

Frederic Chopin | Biography, Music, Death, Famous Works, & Facts | Britannica

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Biography, Music, The Magic Flute, & Facts | Britannica

Johann Sebastian Bach | Biography, Music, Death, & Facts | Britannica

Ludwig van Beethoven | Biography, Music, & Facts | Britannica