Classical Music: The Classical And The Romantic Period

The Classical Period and The Romantic Era of classical music have many similarities and differences in form, texture, and articulation. Ultimately, the Classical period is known better for being extremely structured, usually having binary or rondo form, whereas the Romantic era is known for the more flowing, unorthodox structures. This is because the Classical period focused more on form, whereas the Romantic period focused on emotion. Also, the Romantic period allowed for the use of rubato, or the forward and backward motion of tempo that strays just a bit from conventional tempo. The Classical period is different in regards to tempo because it does not allow for any rubato or modifications to the tempo in any kind. Two great examples of …show more content…
This slower, serious section is different than most sonatas as it is considered an introduction section not typical for most sonatas. Generally, sonata form contains an exposition, development, and a recapitulation section. This piece’s exposition section doesn’t technically start until about a minute into the piece, and the marking is titled Allegro di molto e con Brio, meaning fast and with brilliance in Italian. Sonata structure is mostly very intelligible to listeners because the exposition section is repeated multiple times in a piece, and it is easy to distinguish what was heard before if it is repeated again in a structured manner. The piece then goes on to follow Sonata structure until the very end, where the Grave section is repeated again as a coda. This sets this piece apart from other Sonatas because most Sonatas do not have this coda section at the end. This piece is called the Pathetique Sonata not because it is “pathetic” per say, but because there is a major contrast in emotions in different parts of the piece. This means that there are some major sections that are contrasted with minor sections. This is especially apparent in the Grave introduction section. Yes, the display of emotions of the Pathetique Sonata is unusual for the Classical period and that is because Beethoven is a composer that wrote at the tail end of the Classical period. I do realize that Beethoven could be considered to be both in the Classical Period and in the Romantic period, but for this excerpt, I will consider him to be a part of the Classical Period, even though he was more progressive and lived later than many of the famous Viennese Classical composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Franz Joseph