Classical period

Classical period may refer to:

Classical period (music)

The dates of the Classical period in Western music are generally accepted as being between about 1750 and 1820. However, the term classical music is used in a colloquial sense as a synonym for art music which describes a variety of Western musical styles from the ninth century to the present, and especially from the sixteenth or seventeenth to the nineteenth. This article is about the specific period from 1730 to 1820.

The Classical period falls between the Baroque and the Romantic periods. Classical music has a lighter, clearer texture than Baroque music and is less complex. It is mainly homophonic, using a clear melody over a subordinate chordal accompaniment,(but counterpoint was by no means forgotten, especially later in the period). It also makes use of style galant which emphasized light elegance in place of the Baroque's dignified seriousness and impressive grandeur. Variety and contrast within a piece became more pronounced than before and the orchestra increased in size and range. The harpsichord was replaced as the main keyboard solo instrument by the piano (or fortepiano). Importance was given to instrumental music—the main kinds were sonata, trio, string quartet, symphony and concerto.