Both the aesthetics of classicism and the Enlightenment world view shaped the art of the second half of the 18th and early 19th centuries. As in the Renaissance, architects once again found inspiration in the proportion and grace of Greek and Roman temples. Robert Burns’s poems in Scottish dialect, Jane Austen’s novels about life in a country village, and Schiller’s plays about aspirations for freedom and brotherhood are testaments to enlightenment notions of the dignity and worth of the common man.
In music, composers of the early classical period discarded complex textures, learned compositional techniques such as fugal imitation, and grandeur in favor of transparent textures, a single melody supported by a subordinate accompaniment, and somewhat superficial sentiments. In the mature classical style of Haydn, Mozart, and early Beethoven, counterpoint, processes of rigorous development, and depth of expression reappear, but in the context of classical ideals of clarity, proportion, and refined taste. Important developments during the period include expansion of the orchestra to thirty or forty players, improvements in the mechanisms of instruments, especially the piano, and ever greater public support through concerts and publication of music.
Historic context
- Building of Independence Hall, Philadelphia, 1731-1751.
- First playhouse opens in New York, 1750.
- King’s College (Columbia University) founded 1754.
- Moscow University founded 1755.
- First public restaurant opens in Paris, 1770.
- New York Hospital founded, 1771.
- Boston Tea Party in protest against tea tax, 1773.
- Louis XVI assumes throne of France, 1774.
- Beginning of the American Revolution; Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia; George Washington made commander of American forces, 1775.
- U.S. Declaration of Independence, 1776.
- Adam Smith (1723-1790) publishes The Wealth of Nations, 1776.
- American Academy of Sciences founded in Boston, 1780.
- Bank of North American established in Philadelphia, 1782.
- Great Britain recognizes independence of American colonies, 1783.
- U.S. Constitution signed in Philadelphia, 1878.
- French Revolution, 1789.
- U.S. Bill of Rights ratified, 1791.
- Louis XVI executed, 1793; beginning of Reign of Terror in France.
- Building of U.S. Capitol in Washington begins, 1793.
- Eli Whitney (1765-1825) invents the cotton gin, 1793.
- Slavery abolished in French colonies, 1794.
- Napoleon crowned emperor, 1804; King of Italy, 1805; King of Spain, 1808.
- England prohibits slave trade, 1807.
- War of 1812: Napoleon invades Russia; only 20,000 of his 550,000-member army survive.
- Louisiana becomes a U.S. state, 1812.
- Mexico declares independence from Spain, 1813; becomes a republic, 1823.
- Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba, 1814; returns to France, 1815; defeated in Battle of Waterloo by Wellington, 1815.
- Simon Bolivar establishes Venezuela as independent government, 1817.
- Chile proclaims independence, 1818.
- Working day for juveniles limited to 12 hours in England, 1819.
- Brazil becomes independent of Portugal, 1822.
Milestones in music
- Mozart’s first tour of Europe as six-year-old child prodigy, 1762.
- Handel’s Messiah first performed in New York, 1770.
- Opening of La Scala opera house in Milan, 1778.
- English piano maker John Broadwood patents piano pedals, 1783.
- Charles Burney’s History of Music, 1789.
- Founding of the Paris Conservatoire, 1795.
- Founding of Prague Conservatory, 1811.
