Classical

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the elements that are heard in this selection from Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.

A bridge following the third movement connects to the fourth movement. Woodwinds and strings play the short-short-short-long rhythmic idea that unifies the symphony. The trumpets proclaim the main theme of the final movement.

Which of the following is heard and developed throughout the entire first movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony?

A four note, (short-short-short-long) theme

Listen to the audio clip. What is heard in this selection from the third movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony?

A hushed, mysterious theme is followed by the famous short-short-short-long rhythm introduced in the first movement.

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the elements heard in this selection from the second movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.

A lyrical theme in the woodwinds becomes a loud theme in the brass instruments. A short-short-short-long motive is played by the clarinets and then echoed in the trumpets.

What does requiem mean?

A mass for the dead

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the musical characteristics of the development theme in the first movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major.

After the strings introduce the theme, the solo piano further develops it. It is a legato melody. A clarinet solo follows the piano solo.

Select all that apply Select all the statements describing Beethoven's piano works.

Beethoven exploited the improved piano of his time and got new effects out of it. He wrote five piano concertos. Beethoven's piano sonatas are more difficult than Mozart and Haydn's.

Select all that apply Select all the statements that apply to the three style periods into which Beethoven's works are usually divided.

Beethoven's first style period (up to 1802) showed Beethoven's unique style emerging from the influence of Haydn and Mozart. During his third style period (1814-1827), Beethoven wrote fugues and surprisingly "modern" music that was difficult to play. His works from the middle period (1803-1814) are more forceful and heroic.

How does Beethoven connect the third and fourth movements of his Fifth Symphony?

By connecting them with a bridge that starts with the timpani under the melody in the violins

Listen to the audio clip. How does Mozart create an airy feel in the development of the second movement of his Symphony No. 40 in G Minor?

By repeating the two-note rhythmic figure within phrases

Select all that apply Select all the statements about Beethoven's childhood and youth.

By the age of eleven he was the assistant to the court organist. He was born in Bonn, Germany, into a musical family. Before he was a teenager, he had several piano pieces published.

Listen to the audio clip. How does Beethoven build tension in the coda of the fourth movement of Symphony No. 5?

By tricking the listener into thinking the music is ending over and over

Select all that apply Select all the instruments that had not previously been used in symphonies that Beethoven used to add power and brilliance in his symphonies.

Contrabassoon Trombone Piccolo

In what way is the third movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 typical of late eighteenth-century music?

It features a happy ending.

Select all that apply Select all the statements that apply to the third movement of Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G Minor.

It is a minuet, a dance in triple meter. Syncopations are used to give the A section a fierce sound. It is in A B A form.

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the elements that are heard in this selection from the first movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.

It is a part of the coda. A descending violin melody introduces a new, rising theme that repeats.

Select all that apply Select all the statements that apply to the second movement of Beethoven's Piano Sonata in C Minor.

It is in the A flat major key. The main theme is a lyrical melody. The mood is slow and intimate.

Listen to the audio clip. What is unexpected about the return of the main theme in the coda of the third movement in Beethoven's Pathetique?

It is played in a major key.

Listen to the audio clip. What about this passage is surprising to audiences?

It repeats the theme of the previous scherzo movement.

What was odd about the commission of Mozart's Requiem in D Minor?

It was commissioned by an anonymous patron.

In the A section of the second movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23, what is the rhythmic pattern of the main theme played by the piano?

Long-short-long

Listen to the audio clip. In the opening passage of the third movement from Beethoven's Piano Sonata in C Minor, in what key is the main theme?

Minor key

Listen to the audio clip. Which description best captures the initial mood of the minuet in Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G Minor?

Serious and intense

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the statements describing the tempo, key, and mood of Leporello's "catalogue" aria in Don Giovanni.

The beginning of the aria is quite fast and simulates a quick conversation. The aria begins in quadruple meter. The mood is mocking. Leporello is supposedly consoling, but he sings in a major key.

Select all that apply Select all the musical elements that are found in the second movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23.

The coda features expressive shifts between low and high notes. The B section lightens the mood with a major theme in the flutes and clarinets. An opening sad theme is introduced by the solo piano.

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the changes that can be heard in dynamics, rhythm, and mood in this passage between the exposition and the development of Beethoven's Piano Sonata in C Minor.

The dynamics change from forte (loud) to piano (soft). The rhythmic movement changes from quick, short notes to sustained, longer notes. The tempo changes from allegro (fast) to quite slow.

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the characteristics of this recording from Beethoven's Piano Sonata in C Minor.

The introduction to the first movement ends, and the main theme begins. When the music begins a new tempo, the left hand plays broken octaves in the low register. The tempo changes suddenly from slow to very fast.

What is an unusual characteristic of the second movement in Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23?

The key is F sharp minor.

Listen to the audio clip. How does Mozart build excitement during the development of the first movement of the Symphony No. 40 in G Minor?

The main theme is played in increasingly small fragments.

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the statements that describe the closing passage of the aria La ci darem la mano from Don Giovanni.

The meter changes to 6/8, conveying more of a waltz dance character. The mood continues to be lyrical and romantic.

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the musical elements heard in the opening passage of the fourth movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5.

The mood is powerful and energetic. The music is suddenly loud and triumphant. The brass instruments, especially trumpets, are heard prominently.

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the changes between the B section and C section in this passage from the second movement of Beethoven's Piano Sonata in C Minor.

The mood shifts from slow and measured to flowing with a rapid feeling. The key changes from major to minor.

How are the third movements of Beethoven's symphonies and string quartets different from traditional third movements?

The often feature a scherzo rather than a traditional minuet.

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the ways in which the second theme differs from the first theme in the first movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major.

The rhythmic motion is faster. There are many dotted rhythms and repeated notes.

Select all that apply Select all the ways in which word painting is used to emphasize the relationship between the Dies irae text and the music in Mozart's Requiem in D Minor.

The rhythmic pattern of the opening passage emphasizes the word irae (wrath). The basses sing a trill-like figure to emphasize the "trembling" meaning of the text. The homophonic texture emphasizes the intensity of the religious text.

Select all that apply Select all the statements that apply to the third movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23.

The third movement returns the music to a major key. The tempo is presto, meaning very fast.

Listen to the audio clip. How does Mozart change the texture of Dies irae to heighten the tension in this passage?

The voices shift to a call-and-response pattern.

In which form is the second movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony?

Theme and variations

Listen to the audio clip. What function do the cellos and double basses play in the background of this passage?

They remind listeners of the basic motive.

Select all that apply Select all the instruments that are featured in Mozart's Requiem in D Minor.

Trumpets Organs Strings

In his early twenties, Beethoven left his native Germany to go to ______, where he spent the rest of his life.

Vienna

Listen to the audio clip. How does Beethoven create anticipation for the return of the main theme at the end of the B section in the third movement of Pathetique?

With a sustained dominant chord

True or false: Beethoven believed he was at the same level as the aristocracy and deserved to be treated equally.

true

What development led to the decline of the basso continuo in the classical period?

There was an increase in the number of pieces written for amateurs.

Select all that apply Select all the statements about Mozart's childhood and youth.

He could improvise fugues at age 6, compose symphonies by age 8, and wrote his first opera at age 12. He learned the operatic style practiced in Italy at that time when he traveled there. He was a child prodigy who toured throughout Europe, performing before the public and before Louis XV of France and other royalty.

Which one of these often ends with a coda?

Sonata form

Which pattern describes the exposition (opening section) of the sonata-rondo form?

A B A

What effect is created when the first movement of a classical symphony begins with a slow introduction leading into the opening fast movement?

A feeling of anticipation

Listen to the audio clip. How does Haydn signal the start of the variation on theme B in the third movement of his Trumpet Concerto in E Flat Major? 00:11 secs

A held trumpet tone

Listen to the audio clip. How does the music emphasize Don Giovanni's fatal sword thrust at the end of his duel with the Commandant?

A long, dissonant chord creates suspense.

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the characteristics of the coda in the third movement of Haydn's Trumpet Concerto in E Flat Major.

A long, suspenseful pause Surprising harmonic twists Sudden changes in dynamics

What usually comes at the end of the exposition section of the sonata form?

A repeat sign

Which of the following best describes the rondo form?

A tuneful main theme returns in alternation with other themes (as in the form ABACABA).

What role did woodwinds primarily play in the classical orchestra?

Adding contrasting tonal colors and playing melodic solos

What is one crucial change to how the first theme, bridge, second theme, and concluding section are presented in the recapitulation?

All principal material is now in the tonic key.

What is the most important aspect of the recapitulation in sonata form?

All the important material such as the second theme are in the tonic key.

What is a cadenza?

An unaccompanied solo that appears in the first movement of a concerto

Select all that apply Select all the statements that explain Vienna's importance in the development of classical-era music.

Aristocrats from all over the Holy Roman Empire spent the winter there, bringing their private orchestras with them. Aristocrats in Vienna were sometimes accomplished musicians, including the Empress Maria Theresa and the Emperor Joseph II. Street musicians could perform profitably in Vienna and be hired to play for outdoor garden parties.

How does Haydn creatively prepare listeners for the second return of the main theme in the fourth movement of the Symphony No. 94 in G Major?

By repeating its beginning notes over and over

What was one of the ways in which composers of the classical era achieved more expression in their music?

By using crescendos and decrescendos, or gradual changes in volume

Listen to the audio clip. How does Mozart use the two-note rhythmic figure from the development section of the second movement of the Symphony No. 40 to create a new tone color?

By using it as a countermelody to an airy string melody

Select all that apply Select all the techniques a composer might use to vary the main theme in a theme-and-variations movement.

Change the texture Change the dynamics Change from major to minor or vice versa Alter the harmony

Select all that apply Select all the ways that middle-class tastes influenced classical music.

Classical composers wrote more comic operas, some with plots that ridiculed the aristocracy. Classical composers used folk songs as themes in instrumental music and composed melodies with a rustic (country) flavor. Early classical composers wrote pieces that were easy for amateurs to play.

What use of rhythm in classical music differs from baroque music?

Classical music features a variety of rhythmic patterns, whereas baroque music is limited to a few patterns.

Select all that apply Select all the statements that describe mood in classical-era music, particularly in contrast to baroque music.

Classical music fluctuated between dramatic and carefree moods. A classical movement can have contrasts within a theme.

Which statement best describes the use of texture in classical compositions?

Classical pieces fluctuate between different textures.

Which of the following best describes the use of mood in classical music?

Controlled fluctuation between contrasting themes

Select all the techniques used by Mozart to express emotion in his operas.

Crescendos and decrescendos Two violins playing octaves Muted violins and a flute playing in unison

Which section of the sonata form is the most dramatic, featuring harmonic tension caused by rapid key modulations?

Development

Select all that apply Select all the common sections of the sonata form.

Development Exposition Recapitulation

Which description applies to the theme-and-variations form of the classical period?

Each variation is usually about the same length as the theme.

True or false: Flexibility of rhythm was NOT a characteristic of the classical style.

False

In a classical-era work for orchestra or string quartet, the tempos of the four movements typically followed which of the following patterns?

Fast/slow/dance related/fast

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the descriptions that apply to this first movement of Haydn's Symphony No. 94 in G Major (Surprise). 00:31 secs

Folk dance tune melody Vivace assai Very lively and quick

How many movements do classical symphonies usually have?

Four

Select all that apply Select all the composers of the classical era.

Haydn Mozart Beethoven

Select all that apply Select all the statements about Haydn's early career.

Haydn composed a vast amount of music in many forms. Haydn was given the rank of skilled servant. Haydn entered the service of the Esterházy family, for whom he worked for almost thirty years.

Select all the characteristics of Haydn's technique of composing.

Haydn's themes are often humorous, achieved by unexpected pauses and sudden shifts in tempo, dynamics, or pitch. Haydn created variety from many changes in texture, key, rhythm, dynamics, and orchestration.

Select all the statements about Mozart's adult career.

He became popular in Prague, especially with the opera The Marriage of Figaro (1786). He became friends with Haydn, who considered Mozart the greatest composer he knew or had ever heard of. He left Salzburg at 25 and had some years of success as a freelance performer and composer in Vienna.

Select all the statements about Haydn in his later career.

His music became popular all over Europe. He composed twelve symphonies for performance in London in the 1790s. He was very well received in London and even presented with an honorary doctorate from Oxford.

Which of the following are considered Haydn's most important works?

His symphonies and string quartets

Select all that apply Select all the descriptions that apply to the orchestra of the classical period.

It consisted of string, wind, brass, and percussion instruments. The clarinet began to be used.

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the descriptions of the main theme heard here. 00.29 secs

It is in a minor key. It is lively in a "Gypsy" style.

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the statements that apply to the second theme in the fourth movement of Mozart's Symphony No. 40.

It is lyrical and smoother, in contrast to the quick and excited first theme. The second theme has longer notes (half, dotted half and whole notes). The second theme is in a major key, B flat major.

Select all that apply Select all the characteristics of the second movement of a classical symphony.

It is often in a key other than the tonic key of the other movements. It has a slow tempo and song-like theme. A number of different forms are used for the second movement.

Select all that apply Select all the statements that describe classical chamber music.

It performed without a conductor. It has one player to a part, with usually two to nine players. It is intended for performance in a room (chamber) in a home or palace.

What is the function of a coda?

It rounds off the movement by repeating themes or developing them further.

Select all the assessments of Haydn's musical style.

It was robust, direct, and with a sense of optimism. It was influenced by folk music and his love of nature. It often had a sense of humor.

Select all that apply Select all the languages in which Mozart wrote his operas.

Italian German

What is unusual about the minuet of Haydn's Symphony No. 94 (Surprise)?

Its fast tempo

Select all that apply Select all the statements about the fourth movement of Hadyn's Symphony No. 94 in G Major.

Its form is A B A'--development--A'--development--A B--coda. It is in sonata-rondo form.

Select all the techniques that are characteristic of Mozart's operas.

Keen sense of theater, with humorous and serious characters in his comic opera plots Ability to bring characters to life through music by drawing on his inexhaustible gift for melody

In which section of the sonata form are the first theme, bridge, second theme, and concluding section all played in the tonic key?

Recapitulation

What form does the finale of a concerto usually take?

Rondo

Select all that apply Select all the roles of the exposition section of the sonata form.

Sets up a strong conflict between tonic key and the new key Shows conflict between groups of themes

What are motives?

Short musical ideas

Chamber music of the classical era has the same pattern of movements as a symphony, but it differs in what way?

Sometimes the minuet and trio is the second movement, and the slow movement is the third.

Select all that apply Select all the forms that are combined in the fourth movement of Haydn's Symphony No. 94 in G Major (Surprise).

Sonata Rondo

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the instrument families that play the slow introduction to the first movement of Haydn's Surprise Symphony. 00:24secs

Strings Woodwinds

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the musical elements that are used to set the scene in the introduction to Mozart's Don Giovanni. 00:29 secs

Sudden, loud accents by the strings emphasize Leporello's pacing. The major key emphasizes the comic, relatively cheerful tone of the character. Short, fast phrases suggest quick thoughts.

Select all that apply Select all the ways the texture of music of the classical period differ from that of the baroque period.

Texture in classical music tends to be homophonic rather than polyphonic. Classical pieces can shift flexibly from one texture to another.

What is considered Mozart's finest opera in German?

The Magic Flute

In a minuet and trio, how is the closing minuet different from the opening minuet?

The closing minuet is played straight through without repetition.

The preclassical style and eventual classical style developed as a reaction to what?

The complexity of baroque works

Select all that apply Select all the statements that illustrate how classical composers created expression of mood in their music.

The composers emphasized balance through unity and logic in music with a wide emotional range. The composers firmly controlled changes of mood in their music, however abrupt or extreme the change might be.

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the accurate statements about meter and dynamics in the clip and the kind of mood they create.

The dynamic level is forte (loud). The mood is stately, like a procession. It is in triple meter.

Which of the following statements about Mozart's final years and premature death is accurate?

The failure of the opera Don Giovanni in Vienna led to a decline in Mozart's popularity.

Which movement of a classical symphony tends to be the most dramatic?

The first movement

Select all that apply Select all the usual functions of instrumental sections in the orchestra of the classical era.

The horns and trumpets strengthened loud passages but could play more quietly to fill out the harmony. The woodwinds provided tone colors that contrasted with that of the violins and even played the melody. The first violins usually played the melody, and the lower strings played the accompaniment.

Listen to the audio clip. What is the primary difference between Variation 1, heard first, and Variation 2, heard second?

The key changes from major to minor.

Select all the techniques Mozart uses to convey mood in this selection from Don Giovanni.

The strings play quick, sweeping runs that mirror the tension in the scene. The strings play tremolo, conveying a suspenseful mood. The key shifts from major to minor.

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the changes that occur in this aria from Don Giovanni.

The tempo slows down from allegro to andante. The phrases are more flowing and legato. The mood emulates a minuet in triple meter.

Listen to the audio clip 00.32 secs. Which of the following best describes what is heard in this excerpt from Haydn's Surprise Symphony?

The theme in the lower melodic line and a countermelody in the higher melodic line

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the ways in which the start of Variation 3 differs from the start of Variation 1 in Haydn's Surprise Symphony.

The theme is played in faster staccato notes. The theme is played by oboe instead of violin.

Listen to the audio clip. Which statement describes this selection from Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G Minor?

The trio section of the third movement comes to an end, and the minuet returns.

Select all the statements that apply to how characters are portrayed in Mozart's operas.

Their emotions evolve and change through shifts in the tenor and tone of the music. Even in ensemble settings, their individual personalities shine through.

What form has one theme that is repeated again and again and changed each time?

Theme and variations

Select all that apply Select all the descriptions that apply to the fourth movement of Mozart's Symphony No. 40.

There are three sections: the exposition, development, and recapitulation. The fourth movement begins in the tonic key of G minor. There are two themes.

Select all that apply Select all the ways the middle-class public of the classical era enjoyed music.

They paid for music lessons for family members. They purchased printed music and instruments for use in the home. They bought tickets to public concerts of symphonies and concertos.

Select all that apply Select all the reasons public concerts were so important for the middle class in the classical period.

They wanted to hear the latest music, just like the nobles. They related to the content of the operas or tunes of the music. Court performances were not accessible to them.

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the descriptions that characterize what is heard here. 00.25 secs

This is a rondo theme in the style of a Gypsy fiddler playing a folk dance. Like many rondo themes, this one by Beethoven is lively and easy to remember.

How are classical melodies typically structured?

Two phrases of equal length

Which best describes the balance and symmetry in a typical melody of the classical era having the form a a'?

Two phrases of the same length, one with an inconclusive ending followed by a similar one with a conclusive ending

What instruments make up a string quartet?

Two violins, one viola, one cello

Select all that apply Select all the typical ensembles other than the string quartet that played chamber music in the classical era.

Two violins, two violas, and cello (a string quintet) Violin, cello, and piano (a piano trio) Violin and piano

Select all that apply Select all the reasons that explain why the piano replaced the harpsichord in the classical period.

Varying the finger pressure on piano keys varied the dynamics. The piano could play gradual changes in dynamics, which composers liked.

Which European city was the musical center during the classical period?

Vienna

Select all that apply Select all the groups of instruments that were standard in the orchestras of Haydn and Mozart.

Woodwinds Strings Brass

To achieve an even more conclusive ending, composers often added a ______ (meaning tail in Italian) at the end of a movement in sonata form.

coda

One reason that basso ______ became obsolete during the classical era was that more and more music was written for amateurs who could not master the difficult art of improvising from a figured bass.

continuo

Which sequence represents the structure of a minuet and trio form?

minuet → trio → minuet

In the sonata form, the key that comes in the bridge or transition to the second theme is typically ______.

new

In a concerto, the ______ opens the first movement with the introductory exposition.

orchestra

Select all the musical elements that are used to set the scene for the aria La ci darem la mano from Don Giovanni.

The phrases are legato and flowing. The female voice repeats the same melody as the male voice. The tempo is andante (moderate speed).

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the ways in which the trio differs from the minuet in the third movement of Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G Minor.

The key shifts from minor to major. The dynamics change from loud to quiet. The mood changes from serious to airy.

Listen to the audio clip. How does Mozart signify that Zerlina has changed her mind and has decided to go with Don Giovanni to his palace?

The meter changes from 2/4 to 3/4.

Listen to the audio clip. What musical technique does Mozart use in the "catalog" aria to differentiate between Leporello's recounting of Don Giovanni's romantic conquests and his explanation of Don Giovanni's seduction techniques?

The meter changes from 4/4 to 3/4.

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the statements about the section and its mood and dynamic level.

The mood is flowing, and the dynamic is piano (soft). It is the B section, the trio.

Select all the ways in which contrasts in rhythm and dynamics are created in the first theme in the exposition of Mozart's Symphony No. 40, fourth movement. 0.13 secs audio

The mood of the opening theme is excited and fast. The first phrase uses slower note values compared to the faster note values of the second phrase. A soft phrase alternates with a louder phrase.

Select all that apply Select all the statements that describe the the third movement of Hadyn's Symphony No. 94 in G Major (Surprise).

The movement is a minuet, a type of lively dance. The form is A B A.

Select all that apply Select all the statements that describe the cadenza in most classical concertos.

The orchestra momentarily stops playing while the soloist plays dazzling scale passages and broken chords. The point in the movement when the cadenza is to be played is indicated by a fermata. Cadenzas were originally improvised but later were written out by the composer.

Listen to the audio clip. Select all the statements about the tempo, meter, and mood in this section from Haydn's Symphony No. 94 in G Major. 00:16 secs

The rhythm is in groups of three, although the meter is 6/8. It is a waltz.