Classical (c.1730 - c.1820)

With regard to Western music, the latter half of the 18th Century is often called the "Classical" period, the music of this period is considered very different from that of the Baroque period.

At this time the Austrian capital of Vienna became the musical center of Europe, and works of the period are often referred to as being in the Viennese style. Composers came from all over Europe to train in and around Vienna, and gradually they developed and formalized the standard musical forms.

During this time, the middle class had more access to music. To reflect this shift, composers wanted to create music that was less complicated and easier to understand. The piano was undoubtedly the primary instrument used by composers during the Classical period.
However, opera did not disappear: during the classical period, several composers began producing operas for the general public in their native languages (previous operas were generally in Italian). Yet the transition from Baroque to Classical was gradual. Three trends of the middle years of the 18th century were behind this transition.

 

 

30 Most Famous Classical Piano Pieces	Important composers from the classical music era
	Johann Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893).