title: Classical Music: The Era of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven (Norton Introduction to Music History)
author:  Philip G. Downs 
description: The latest volume in the Norton Introduction to Music History series focuses on the rise and decline of the Classical style, which flourished from the middle of the eighteenth century to the second decade of the nineteenth. The author demonstrates the enormous diversity and constant change that characterized music and musical life during this period. Downs eschews the usual stylistic labels, such as Rococo and High Classic, and instead organizes the text into short time spans. Within each, he looks to the social conditions and daily life of the musician, the aesthetics and audience preference in structures, performing combinations, and performing styles. The minor composers, or kleinmeister, are carefully observed, since they most accurately mirror their times. On the other hand, the giants, who left their mark on music for all time, receive full biographical scrutiny at each stage of their development. The book begins with the transition from the Baroque up to 1760 and the burgeoning new style that developed in the next two decades. The author then focuses on the early years of Haydn and Mozart before giving full treatment to the last twenty years of the eighteenth century, which saw the Classical style reach its apogee. Downs returns to the mature Haydn and deals with the last decade of Mozart's life, and finally considers Beethoven's musical origins and accomplishments. He concludes by documenting the eighteenth-century heritage at work in the early nineteenth century. Copiously illustrated, with abundant music examples, this fascinating survey provides invaluable insights into the period that produced some of the most astonishing music ever written.
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  CONTENTS.
  CHAPTER
  PAGE
  PREFACE
  ix
  I.
  PRELIMINARY
  THE OLD
  FLEMISH
  SCHOOL
  ii
  II.
  THE
  OLD
  ITALIAN
  COMPOSERS
  PALESTRINA
  24
  III.
  OPERA
  AND
  ORATORIO
  GLUCK
  BACH
  HANDEL ....
  37
  IV.
  HAYDN AND MOZART
  .
  .
  .66
  V.
  LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN...
  99
  VI.
  FRANZ PETER SCHUBERT
  .
  .
  .128
  VII.
  CHOPIN
  AND
  THE
  MODERN
  PIANO
  COMPOSERS
  154
  VIII.
  MENDELSSOHN AND SCHUMANN
  .
  171
  IX.
  A BATCH OF OPERATIC COMPOSERS.
  197
  X.
  WAGNER: His LIFE AND THEORIES.
  221
  XI.
  JOHANNES BRAHMS ....
  252
  XII.
  GIUSEPPE VERDI
  ,
  262
  XIII.
  OTHER
  INFLUENCES
  IN
  MODERN
  Music
  .
  .
  .
  .
  .
  275
  
  ILLUSTRATIONS.
  PAGE
  BACH
  Frontispiece
  GLUCK
  39
  HANDEL
  .57
  MOZART
  78
  BEETHOVEN
  99
  SCHUBERT
  128
  MENDELSSOHN
  172
  SCHUMANN
  180
  MEYERBEER
  204
  WEBER
  214
  WAGNER
  221
  VERDI
  262
  
  PREFACE.
  THIS work
  does
  not
  pretend
  to
  give
  a
  complete presentation
  of musical biography.
  Many
  of the lesser composers who
  did not
  influence musical
  history
  in any way have
  been
  omitted from
  its
  pages,
  or dismissed
  with
  a
  mere
  mention.
  It
  has
  been
  the
  e