The Classical era in music is often identified as being from the years 1750-1800 (more often classified by historians as spanning between 1800-1827), but its origins can be traced to the early part of the century

Classicism refers to the aesthetic attitudes and principles manifested in the art, architecture, and literature of ancient Greece and Rome and characterized by emphasis on form, simplicity, proportion, and restraint - this influence is clearly seen in the architecture of the time - the American White House is an excellent example

Many social and political changes in the 18th century

• Death of Louis XIV of France in 1715

  • Louis XIV (France's so called "Sun King') had the longest reign in European history (1643-1715)

  • During his reign he:

    • brought absolute monarchy to its zenith

    • established a extravagant court at Versailles

    • engaged most of the other European countries in four wars

• The century ended with modern history's most important revolutions in modern times:

  • American War of Independance (1775-83)

  • French Revolution (1789-94)

The Classical era was under the influence of the Age of Enlightenment (aka the Age of Reason)

• A philosophical movement lead by French philosophers Voltaire and Jean Jacques Rousseau

• A movement set to apply the principles of social objectivity to issues of social justice

• The overall ideals had the tended to favor:

  • the human over the divine

  • reason over religion

  • clarity over complexity

• Rousseau postulated that man is born good, only to be corrupted by society

• The Enlightenment movement attempted to break down the barriers of the rigid class structure that caused:

  • social separation between the classes

  • improve education

  • eliminate superstition and prejudice

• Increasing scientific knowledge of the time gave rise to the development of empiricist (that which derives from experience), naturalist, and materialist doctrines and strong opposition to clericalism (a policy of supporting the power and influence of the clergy in political or secular matters)

• Rulers of this time were influenced by the Enlightenment and its ideals:

  • Emperor Joseph II of Austria

    • amateur musician and strong supporter of the arts

    • his court was in Vienna, the capital of the Holy Roman Empire

    • all of the arts thrived in Vienna

    • after Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven had become well known as Viennese residents, the city had become the center of musical activity by the end of the 18th century

  • Frederick the Great of Prussia

    • amateur musician and strong supporter of the arts

• During the 1780's and 90's, the concepts of Enlightenment were known throughout Europe

  • England's middle class had begun to declare their own rights to free expression and leisure time

  • France's reigning authority of Louis XIV had disintegrated by the end of the century as Louis XV (1715-74) and Louis XVI (1774-89) had taken over after the death of Louis XIV in 1715

    • the heirs to Louis XIV's throne had become increasingly corrupt and out of touch with the people

    • ended with the beheading of Louis XVI and the beginning of the French Revolution

• Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)

  • born in Geneva, Switzerland

  • his first publication, Discourse on the Arts and Sciences (1750) expresses the main theme that is part of his social philosophy: the conflict between present societies and the nature of man

  • relying on the concept of Platonic contrast, which describes the idea of appearance and reality, Rousseau demonstrated how politeness conceals a ruthless and calculating egoism

  • his position was that fundamental human needs are neither expressed by science nor art, instead, both are expressions of pride and vanity. (interestingly enough, Rousseau composed an opera, Le Devin du village, (performed before Louis XV), seemingly in contradiction to his views)

  • Rousseau also came to the conclusion that material progress had actually undermined the possibility of genuine relationships

  • Rousseau shared the Enlightenment view that society perverted the natural man, "the noble savage" who lived harmoniously with nature, free from selfishness, desire, jealousy and possessiveness

    • Although the idea of the noble savage dates back to the Renaissance, when it was discussed by Michel de Montaigne in the essay 'Of Cannibals' (1580), it was widely disseminated during the 18th century through Rousseau's Emile (1762), one of his best-known and most-influential works, which is a treatise on education (The Social Contract, a major work of political philosophy, was published in the same year)

  • Rousseau argued that the restoration of the arts and sciences had not contributed to the purification of humankind, but to its corruption

  • Rousseau believed that social relationships of all kinds were based on an inequality that resulted from an unnatural distribution of power and wealth

  • Rousseau argues that although nature is created innocent, all things degenerate when touched by human civilization - the idea that nature and those who dwell in it are inherently noble became an important doctrine of literary romanticism

• Voltaire b. Francois Marie Aroue (Paris, 1694-1778)

  • French poet and dramatist

  • for writing some satirical verses, he spent a year imprisoned in the Bastille (a fortress and prison in Paris, the Bastille was a symbol of royal absolutism (a political theory holding that all power should be vested in one ruler or other authority) before the French Revolution) (1717-18), after which he adopted the name Voltaire

  • "Crush the infamous" was a slogan that Voltaire raised against:

    • the church

    • Christianity

    • intolerance

    • the horrible systems of:

      • criminal injustice

      • taxation

      • censorship of the press

  • Curiously, some consider Voltaire a source for the beginnings of modern anti-Semitism

    • he constantly slandered the Jews, especially the ancient Hebrews, as superstitious fanatics, guilty of producing the Bible, Jesus Christ, and Christianity

    • However, he always opposed persecution

  • Voltaire long struggled with the idea of God

    • felt that God was necessary to explain:

      • the universe and life

      • to justify morality

      • to act as a policeman for the despised common people

  • Voltaire's increasing preoccupation with evil, with man's alienation with a universe foreign to his needs and aspirations, made his God into a removed, inactive deity, who had set up certain natural laws and the best possible original arrangement on earth, but then left man to fare for himself

  • All of these ideals concerning the Enlightenment led to the slow destruction of the upper class (aristocracy) and rise in middle class in their economic status and amount of leisure time

• "Liberty, Equality, Brotherhood!" was the Enlightenment slogan of the day

Freemasonry founded 1717: organization for the common man (but excluded women):

• Famous members:

  • Joseph II

  • Goethe (German poet)

  • Mozart

  • George Washington

• The masons were essentially an international secret society of social charity and mutual support

Scientific Discoveries in the Classical Era

• the first vaccine

• oxygen

• hydrogen

• electricity

• electromagnetic induction

  • electromagnetic induction is the creation of an electric field by a time-varying magnetic field

• ultraviolet rays

Inventions of the Classical Era that influenced the Industrial Revolution beginning around 1760 in England

• steam engine

• spinning jenny

• electric motors

• generators

Women in the Classical Era

• Queens Reign

  • Maria Theresa of Austria (1740-1780)

  • "Catherine the Great" of Russia (1762-1796)

• Writers

• Jane Austen (1775-1817)

  • works

    • Emma

    • Pride and Prejudice

    • Sense and Sensibility

  • very little recognition during her lifetime - her name was not placed on the title pages of her books

• Composers

  • Anna Amalie

    • German

    • composed opera and chamber music

  • Julie Candeille (1767-1834)

    • French

    • singer, pianist, harpist, and composer

    • works

      • Catherine - comic opera - over 150 performances

      • a piano concerto

      • art songs

• Hostesses

  • Marie Lieszcinska (wife of Louis XV)

    • initiated an important concert series at Versailles (a city in north central France)

    • attracted many important musicians to the series

  • Madame de Pompadour

  • Marie-Antoinette of Austria (wife of Louis XVI) (1770)

    • entertained guests with music within a consistent setting

    • patronized young composers and musicians

    • gave food and encouragement

The Musical Public

• Economic equality amongst the classes begins to emerge

• Prosperous middle class, but poor still stay poor, and rich still stay really rich

• Pre-1700's

  • concerts in the salon and aristocratic court

  • rich learn to play instruments and sing

  • professional composers and musicians are servants to the rich

• Post-1720

  • first public concerts are given with the intention "to educate the middle class" - common in London, Prague Vienna and Paris

    • Handel's Oratorios were the beginning of public concerts in the Baroque era-vocal pieces set with a story that the average person knows and can identify with

• Instrumental instruction is more available to the middle class

  • increasing numbers of teachers, students, production of instruments and music publishing

• Composers and musicians begin to free themselves from the patronage of the rich

  • teach, perform, travel, sell music

  • Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven do this in their individual ways

    • (Haydn was in the service of a wealthy prince for most of his life, but in his later years became independent, living off the sale of his music, traveling, and being in control of his finances)

• Music becomes more accessible to the public, easier to listen to and to play

Four General Features

• Balance

• Proportion

• Clarity

• Accessibility

Melody

• simple

• short

• easy to follow

• singable

Formal Organization

• Distinct 2 and 4 bar phrases (as opposed to phrases that continually grow out of other phrased as featured in the more contrapuntal music of the Baroque era)

• Opening and closing phrases encourage structure and regularity

• Less fugue, imitation

• Harmony

  • simple

  • clear

  • repetitive

  • more homophonic

  • less dissonance and chromaticism

  • simple accompaniment

    • Alberti bass named for the Italian composer Domenico Alberti (c.1710-1740)

      • consists of breaking each of the underlying chords into a simple pattern of short notes continuously repeated

      • gives more focus to the melody

    • "walking" bass

• Rhythm

  • simple

  • lively

  • shorter rhythmic patterns than those found in the Baroque era

Genres of Classic Music

• Move from sacred to secular (less mass and oratorio)

• Opera

• Symphony

• String Quartet

  • (grew out of genre of the divertimento - Italian for amusement - an 18th century suite of movements of light, recreational music, sometimes for the out-of-doors, and for a small number of players - sometimes called a serenade)

  • Sonata

• Genres performed in two different settings

  • Public (a wealthy aristocratic palace or a big city's opera house)

    • Opera

    • Symphony

• Private (aristocratic salon or in middle class living rooms)

  • String Quartet

  • Sonata

Rococo

• from the French word rocaille, meaning "rock-work"

  • originated in France around 1720 and under the reign of Louis XV

  • a new style of architectural ornamentation became popular that was characterized by elegant detail and artificial or elaborately sculptured stone

  • the style was soon imitated in Italy and Germany

  • the rococo style influenced music in the form of:

    • light and delicate textures

    • profusely ornamented melodies

    • elegant sentimentality; it is often referred to as the style galant

Empfindsamer Stil

• "sensitive" or "sentimental style"

• appeared in Germany about 1740 and is exemplified in the keyboard works of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach

• the style was emotional, passionate, and at times, boisterous

Known as the "Hamburg" or "Berlin" Bach

Lived from 1714 to 1788

One of the most influential composers of his generation

One of the leading composers and keyboard players of the mid-18th century

The second surviving son of Johann Sebastian Bach

Received all his training in composition and keyboard from his father

In 1740 he became the official harpsichordist at the court of Frederick II of Prussia in Berlin

Moved to Hamburg in 1768 and became the musical director for the five principal churches of the city, remaining in Hamburg for the remainder of his life

Compositions

• church music

• chamber music

• sinfonia

  • an Italian overture for orchestra

    • an overture is an instrumental composition intended especially as an introduction to an extended work, such as an opera or oratorio; can be written as a concert piece or an introduction to a play

  • the prototype of the Classical symphony (but mush shorter)

  • in the early 18th century the sinfonia was had a fast-slow-fast three movement structure

• keyboard sonatas and fantasies written for the clavichord (some of his most important works)

  • he preferred the clavichord over the harpsichord because the clavichord was capable of more delicate dynamic shadings than the harpsichord

Wrote treatise on playing keyboard instruments (Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments dating from 1753-62)

The expressive style of C.P.E. Bach and his contemporaries often exploited the element of surprise

• Qualities

  • abrupt shifts of harmony

  • strange changes of key

  • suspenseful pauses

  • unusual turns of melody

  • changes of texture

• These qualities parallel with the Strum und Drang movement

  • meaning "storm and stress" which is used to describe the subjective and emotional qualities of the German literary and intellectual movement of the 1760's though the early 80'

  • the term was originates from the title of a play of 1776 by Friedrich Maximilian von Klinger

  • major literary representatives

    • Schiller

    • Goethe

  • Strum und Drang representatives supported freedom and a return to nature, taking Shakespeare and Jean Jacques Rousseau as models

  • glorified of the individual, personal experience, genius, and the creative imagination

  • this literary movement strongly foreshadowed romanticism

    • Romanticism was an artistic and intellectual movement originating in Europe in the late 18th century and characterized by a heightened interest in nature, emphasis on the individual's expression of emotion and imagination, departure from the attitudes and forms of classicism, and rebellion against established social rules and conventions

Was a new development in opera, beginning in the early part of the eighteenth century

Plot and setting changes from Baroque opera because audience has changed from the largely aristocratic upper class to the middle class - or the more "common folk "

Characteristics

• Rejected unrealistic settings of mythology and folklore

• Turned to realistic settings of class conflict, tension between the sexes, everyday characters and situations

• Music changes to reflect this change in plots: spoken dialogue, humorous stories

National Styles

• France: opera comique (spoken dialogue)

• Germany: singspiel (spoken dialogue)

• Italy: opera buffa (sung recitative)

Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-1736)

• The founder of Italian comic opera (opera buffa)

• Had one of the shortest life spans among notable composers

• Was sent to a Naples conservatory as a youth

• Soon after began his career as a composer

  • composed church music and both serious and comic operas for Naples and Rome

• Became deputy music director of the city of Naples and served various noble patrons

• His music enjoyed moderate success during his brief lifetime--his comic operas outshone his serious ones

• Pergolesi's reputation drastically increased after his early death

• his music is attractive for its sweetness and animation, although considered by many critics as lacking in depth

• Was influential in the formation of the rococo style

• Many works lacking authenticity were later attributed to him

  • these include close to 80 percent of his collected edition (Rome, 1938-42) and include almost all of the included instrumental works

A genre that was born in the Classic era (early 1720s-30s)

Evolution

• Began as an instrumental introduction to Italian opera, called an overture

• Unrelated to plot

• Italian name for opera overture: sinfonia

• Instrumental piece

  • the overall form was fast-slow-fast (three movements)

• Are played as separate concert pieces

• All countries adopt this new genre

• Centre of development was the city of Mannheim, Germany, where there was a large wealthy court

  • The Mannheim school

    • consisted of musicians who served Prince Karl Theodor of Mannheim, Germany, from 1742 to 1778

    • was one of the leading groups to take part in the transition from the baroque to classical styles and was preeminent in a new kind of orchestral performance

    • led until 1757 by Johann Wenzel Anton Stamitz (1717-57) and then by Johann Christian Cannabich (1731-98), the orchestra played with a precision formerly unknown

      • bowing and phrasing were uniform in each of the string sections, (innovations for the time)

      • Johann Stamitz

        • conductor and composer

        • revolutionized the symphony and established its boundaries in terms of form and instrumentation

      • the "Mannheim crescendo"

        • a careful, gradual increase in volume, from a whisper to a roar

        • reportedly lifted audiences from their seats with excitement and gave new meaning to this basic device

  • the Mannheim composers were not alone in cultivating the preclassical style of rococo music, but they were the most influential, especially in their symphonic and chamber compositions

Form

• Expands three movement structure to four movements

  • I - fast and serious (intellectual, weighty)

  • II - slow and lyrical (contrasts first movement)

  • III - graceful and moderate (more upbeat than movement II, prepares for finale)

  • IV - fast and lively (rounds off the previous movements)

Instrumentation

• Maintains three groups

  • Strings

    • first and second violins

    • violas

    • celli

    • doublebassi

  • Woodwinds

    • flutes

    • oboes

    • horns

    • bassoons and clarinets were added later

  • Brass/Percussion

    • trumpets

    • timpani

    • drums were added later

• Character of movement dictates instruments used

  • II - flute or oboe for solo line

  • IV - trumpet/timpani for festive feel

• Size of orchestra varies according to size of hall or number of musicians available

Symphony expanded with Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert

• longer

• more instruments

• weightier

Music for small group or soloist

• Types

  • duet

  • trio

  • quartet

  • quintet

  • sextet

  • septet

  • octet

• usually considered a branch of instrumental music (although some compositions include parts for voices)

• generally intended for one performer on each part

• usually does not require a conductor

Developed from the need for music to be played in the home

• When it was first composed in the late 15th or early 16th centuries, it was intended for performance in small chambers or homes, as opposed to music written for the church or the theater

• It has, however, become part of the concert repertoire since the early 19th century

Various common instrumentations

• String Quartet

  • comes to fruition in the middle of the century

  • instrumentation

    • 2 violins

      • 1st violin: main melody

      • 2nd violin: accompanies the 1st violin, accompaniment figures and counterpoint

    • 1 viola

      • harmony

    • 1 cello

      • bass line

  • melody and accompaniment may alternate between the instruments

  • form

    • follows movement structure of the 4 movement symphony

Also comes to fruition in the middle of the century

Instrumentation

Keyboard alone or keyboard plus one instrument (string or woodwind, usually violin or flute)

• Harpsichord - can play harmony and melody at the same time (thus 2-3 instruments in one!)

• Piano-forte - the predecessor to the modern piano

  • eventually surpasses harpsichord because of its ability to play dynamics (the louds and softs of music)

Solo keyboard sonata

• becomes extremely popular with most Classical composers

• able to emulate several instruments at once

• keyboard improvisation becomes a high art even more than ever

Everyone follows set codes, and knows their place in society

Social conventions

• dress

  • brocaded (heavy fabric interwoven with a rich, raised design) coats, and silver shoe buckles

• hair

  • people had to wear powdered wigs

• etiquette

  • bowing was expected

• curtsy

  • writing, conversation

Music conventions

• sets codes or rules that composers follow in their compositions

• while it is interesting to discover how composers have followed convention it even more interesting to realize how composers have broken away from convention

  • convention plus expression of ideas yields originality within the boundaries of convention

• instrumentation

  • certain instruments used for particular genre

• length

  • genre dictates length of work or movement

• movement structure

  • number of movements in a work

  • order

  • length

  • key structure

    • used to depict the mood or character of the piece/movement

  • form

    • the most important convention - how the composers structures the movement or work

    • patterns are given names to describe form

      • Sonata

      • Aria

      • Minuet and Trio

      • Rondo

Each formal structure (sonata, rondo, etc) equals one movement

To understand the form is to understand the movement, and eventually the piece as a whole

Form provides a sense of direction and a underlying stability and cohesiveness to a musical work

Sonata form

• Usually used in the first movement of an instrumental piece

• Please note: a sonata (a multi-movement work) and sonata form (the form of a single movement) are distinct from each other

• Intellectual, weighty, serious, display of ideas, tight organization

• Genres: usually the first (and sometimes the last) movement of a sonata, string quartet or symphony

• Three sections: exposition, development, recapitulation

Aria form

• Usually used as the second movement of an instrumental piece

• Characteristics

  • Slow

  • Lyrical

  • Song-like

  • Tends to be in triple meter

• Form

  • ABA'

  • A and B sections contrast in dynamics, tempo, rhythms, keys

  • A' is an embellished return of the A section

• Usually the second movement of a symphony, string quartet or a sonata and is usually has a slow tempo

  • the second movement is usually in a slow aria form, but some pieces have the second movement in either sonata or theme and variations forms

Minuet and Trio form

• Usually used as the third movement of an instrumental work

• Found in the genres:

  • symphony

  • string quartet

  • sonata

• Is sometimes the omitted movement

• Originates from the Baroque courtly dance in triple meter

• moderate tempo

• Overall large-scale ternary form

• The smaller sections in the final version of the minuet usually do not repeat

  • A (Minuet) B (Trio) A' (Minuet)

• Trio contrasts the minuet in:

  • instrumentation

  • texture

  • dynamics

  • key

  • mood

  • the trio is usually lighter and less harmonically and melodically complicated than the minuet

Rondo form

• Usually used in the fourth (typically final) movement of an instrumental piece

• Found in the genres:

  • symphony

  • string quartet

  • sonata

• Very symmetrical in form

• Rondo means return

• Sections

  • Main theme = A

  • Episodes = B, C, D, etc.

• Usually the first and third episodes are similar, while the second is enlarged in the manner of a development section in sonata form (ABACABA)

• Typical 7-part rondo schemes:

  • ABACADA

  • ABACABA

• Can have a coda

• Can be 5-part, 9-part, 11-part, etc., but the 5-part and the 7-part rondos are most frequent

Structure of the symphony, string quartet and sonata

• Four movement structure:

Some variations of this scheme that are found:

• Sonata, Aria, Minuet and Trio, Sonata

• Sonata, Aria, Rondo = concerto form

• Sonata, Aria, Sonata

Lived from 1732 to 1809

Most renowned for expanding the established forms of the symphony, string quartet and sonata, a process that was a result of a lifetime of experimentation and invention which would prove to be extremely influential to the composers who followed

Born in a small village

His father was a wheelmaker

Was a choirboy at the Saint Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna where he studied the harpsichord and the violin

Haydn studied and worked in Vienna during the 1750's, where he taught the harpsichord and played in local orchestras)

Became the musical director for Count Ferdinand Maximilian von Morzin at his Lukavec estate near Plzen, Bohemia in 1758

While Haydn lived in Vienna, he stayed in a small apartment which was close to bigger and fancier apartments where famous librettist and poet Pietro Metastasio and head of the Esterhazy household (one of the most renown aristocratic families of the period), Maria Esterhazy - these people would be instrumental to advancing his career

• At Eisenstadt, Austria, Haydn entered the service of Prince Paul Anton Esterhazy in 1761

• For the remainder of Haydn's life, the princes Esterhazy were to remain his patrons

• Haydn was responsible for supervising and rehearsing other musicians, composing music on demand and taking care of the court's instruments

• Prince Nicolaus succeeded Prince Anton, who died in 1762

  • Prince Nicolaus created an extremely favorable environment for Haydn's development as a composer

  • a strong supporter of music, Prince Nicolaus invested a lot of money on his court and entertainment, having a palace built that contained two small operatic theatres and two large music rooms

  • in 1766 Prince Nicolaus promoted Haydn to the position of musical director, in charge of an enlarged musical staff

    • Haydn's schedule included performances of chamber music each day, and two formal concerts and two opera performances each week

    • For these occasions he constantly composed new works

      • The majority of his approximately 25 operas, about 85 of his 107 symphonies, and many of his 83 string quartets (as well as numerous other works) were composed between the time when he joined the Esterhazy establishment 1761, and Prince Nicolaus's death in 1790

  • Haydn's so-called Strum und Drang ("storm and stress") period between 1768-74

    • Haydn was particularly inventive in his search for new styles and forms

    • works of this period include Symphony no. 45 (the Farewell Symphony) and the six string quartets of Opus 20 (called the Sun quartets)

    From the 1760s on, Haydn's fame spread, first to Vienna and then throughout Europe

    Haydn composed a set of six symphonies in 1785-86 called the Paris symphonies (nos. 82-87), for performance at a concert series in Paris

    Eisenstadt, where Haydn spent most of his time under the Esterhazy family, is only 30 miles from Vienna, but in the Classical period that was far enough for Haydn to feel, in his words, "cut off from the world."

    • Haydn once stated

      • My Prince was happy with all of my works; I received approval; I could, as head of an orchestra, make experiments in my music. I was cut off from the world: there was no one to confuse or annoy me, and I was forced to become original.

    • In the summer months Prince Nikolaus moved the household even further from the city, to a summer palace in what is now Hungary, and the musicians were separated from their families for weeks or months. HaydnÕs Symphony No. 45 was a hint to the Prince that it was time to return to Eisenstadt; during the last movement the musicians left the room one by one, blowing out their candles as they did so

• Haydn maintained contact with the musical life of nearby Vienna, although most of his time was spent at Esterhaza and Eisenstadt

  • Haydn was friends with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who lived in Vienna from 1781 until he passed away in 1791

    • was a influential and productive relationship for both composers

  • Haydn taught Ludwig van Beethoven for a brief time in Vienna. Their opposing personalities made for a difficult and unrewarding situation, even though Beethoven was a great admirer of Haydn's works (although Beethoven might not freely admit it)

• By 1790, Prince Nicolaus II succeeded Prince Nicolaus

  • Prince Nicolaus II did not care much for music

  • he retained Haydn nominally as his music director but required nothing of him

  • as a result, Haydn was free to compose and travel as he wished

    • in 1790 he accepted an invitation from Johann Peter Salomon (1745-1815), one of London's leading impresarios, to compose and direct a number of works for a public concert series

    • on January 1, 1791, Haydn arrived in London, remaining there for 18 months

      • here he enjoyed great public acclaim

      • the concert season was extremely successful

      • he was honored by royalty

      • Oxford University awarded Haydn an honorary doctorate

  • Haydn returned to Vienna in 1792, only to return to England in 1794 at Salomon's invitation for another concert series, this one even more successful than the first

  • The 12 symphonies that Haydn composed for London (nos. 93-104, usually called the London symphonies) represent some of his best symphonic work

• Haydn returned to Vienna in the summer of 1795, remaining there for the rest of his life

  • important works of this period include

    • the oratorio The Creation (1798)

    • the oratorio The Seasons (1801)

    • six masses (1796-1802)

    • string quartets, Opus 71, 74 (three quartets each), 76 (six quartets), and 77 (two quartets)

Haydn composed over 100 symphonies, almost 70 string quartets, over 50 keyboard sonatas, a large volume of choral works, songs, and other chamber music

Haydn was so famous when he died that scientists wanted to study his brain. He was buried in Eisenstadt without his head, and it was only in the 1950s that his family was able to reunite his remains