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Music of the Classical Period

Code: 100641
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Musicology OB 2

Contact lecturer

Name :
Aurelia Pessarrodona Pérez
Email :
aurelia.pessarrodona@uab.cat

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

Students are expected to have a basic knowledge of Music Theory.

Objectives

The course aims to analyse the major transformations of European musical culture in the context of the Enlightenment, from the emergence of the galant style during the first half of the eighteenth century to the consolidation of Viennese Classicism and the figure of Beethoven. This period played a fundamental role in shaping many of the practices, institutions, and values that continue to define our musical culture.

Through the study of the principal composers, genres, forms, musical practices, and aesthetic discourses, students will explore the processes that shaped the musical language of Classicism. Particular attention will be paid to new forms of sociability, musical spaces, practices, and modes of listening, as well as to changing conceptions of emotions, aesthetic experience, and the relationship between the individual and society.

The course promotes a critical approach to the historiographical construction of Classicism and the musical canon, encouraging a broader and more inclusive understanding of the repertoire, its protagonists, and the contexts in which it developed.

Learning outcomes

  1. Produce correct, precise and clear argumental and terminological writing of knowledge acquired, both in the area of musical specialisation and dissemination.
  2. Integrate knowledge acquired in the production of clear and concise appropriate to the academic and specialist communication.
  3. Analysing ideas about an artistic phenomenon in a given cultural context.
  4. Analysing the creators of an artistic phenomenon in a specific cultural context.
  5. Analysing the recipients of an artistic phenomenon in a specific cultural context.
  6. Identify the complexity of music reception processes.
  7. Solve problems of a methodological nature in the area of musicology.
  8. Apply the conceptualisation of philosophy, history, literature and anthropology to musical research.
  9. Interrelate technological and scientific changes in each period with the creation and reception of music.
  10. Identifying the specific methods of history and their relationship with the analysis of particular facts.
  11. Identifying the context of the historical processes.
  12. Use specific vocabulary of history correctly.
  13. Use the vocabulary of musicology related to each period of history.
  14. Identify the stylistic properties of each historical period.
  15. Interpret the most important theoretical texts of each period.
  16. Correctly identify the essential repertoire and the main composers of each historical period.
  17. Present knowledge about the history, art or other cultural movements.
  18. Define the processes of periodisation and stylistic classification and usual typology in the historical conceptualisation of the musical fact.
  19. Contextualise new tendencies in musical creation in general historical evolution and observe its incorporation in the sociopolitical panorama in which they are framed.
  20. Consider the subject as a whole and identify the context in which the processes studied are inscribed and their interrelationship with the elements and factors that are involved in their sociohistorical development.
  21. Link the periods of the history of music to periods of the history of art, in their similarities and differences.
  22. Identify phenomena of the circulation of ideas in music proficiency.
  23. Contextualise musical works in their hsitorical and cultural setting from a critical perspective.
  24. Identify and critically place different musical typologies in their historical periods.
  25. Critically identify the different orientations of musical praxis that musicians apply to the music of each hsitorical period.
  26. Recognise in musical praxis element of different cultures and different historical periods.
  27. Identify situations in which a change or improvement is needed.
  28. Propose new experience-based methods or alternative solutions.
  29. Communicate using language that is not sexist or discriminatory.
  30. Assess the reliability of sources, select relevant data and contrast information.
  31. Identify and critically assemble the basic bibliography that has shaped the field of study.

Contents

  1. Concepts and Contexts: The Enlightenment and Its Shadows
  2. The Galant Style: Music for a New Sociability
  3. The Sonata and Instrumental Language
  4. The Galant Symphony
  5. Music, Sensibility, and Experience in the Mid-Eighteenth Century
  6. Viennese Classicism as a Synthesis
  7. Beethoven and the Limits of Classicism

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Preparation of listening assignments, reading of the bibliography, and study of course contents 20 0.8 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26
Preparation of the comparative analysis project on musical works 20 0.8 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31
Guided listening and analytical discussion of musical works 25 1 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26
Lectures on the theoretical contents 40 1.6 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 31
Participatory classroom activities (discussion, analytical exercises, and interactive tools) 12 0.48 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29
Supervision and guidance of the comparative analysis project 30 1.2 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31

The course combines lectures with active learning methodologies aimed at fostering student participation and the development of critical analytical skills. Sessions integrate guided listening and analytical discussion of musical works, the study and discussion of primary sources and scholarly texts, as well as participatory classroom activities using interactive digital tools (such as Wooclap).

Students will be provided with listening guides to prepare the assigned musical works independently, with the aim of developing contextualised analytical listening skills. Throughout the semester, they will also complete a group project involving the analysis and comparison of musical works, structured in several stages and supported by continuous guidance from the instructor.

Should in-person teaching not be possible, classes will be conducted online.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Musical analysis in group 25% 0 0 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31
Second partial exam 30% 1.5 0.06 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31
First partial exam 30% 1.5 0.06 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31
In-class continuous assessment activities 15% 0 0 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29

Assessment will be based on the following components:

  • First midterm examination (30%).
  • Second midterm examination (30%).
  • Group project consisting of the analysis and comparison of musical works (25%).
  • In-class continuous assessment activities (Wooclap and classroom activities) (15%).

To pass the course, students must pass both examinations and the group project separately. The two examinations may compensate for one another provided that each receives a minimum mark of 4/10 and that the average mark is at least 5/10.

At the time of each assessment activity, the instructor will inform students (via Moodle) of the procedure and the date for the review of grades.

The resit examination period, scheduled by the Faculty, will allow students to retake the failed component(s). In-class continuous assessment activities are not recoverable.

A student will be considered "Not Assessable" if they do not sit either of the two midterm examinations.

Any irregularity committed by a student that may lead to a significant alteration of the assessment of an evaluation activity will result in that activity being graded 0, without prejudice to any disciplinary proceedings that may be initiated. If several irregularities occur in the assessment activities of the same course, the final grade for the course will be 0.

Should the assessment activities be unable to take place in person, their format will be adapted to the virtual tools provided by the UAB while maintaining the same weighting. The instructor will ensure that all students are able to access these activities or, where necessary, will provide suitable alternative arrangements.

Erasmus and exchange students who request to advance an exam must present a document from their home university justifying their request.

Single Assessment

  • Examination covering the content of the first midterm (35%).
  • Examination covering the content of the second midterm (35%).
  • Submission of an individual project consisting of the analysis and comparison of two eighteenth-century musical works (one composed before 1770 and one after), following the methodological criteria developed during the course (30%).

To pass the course, students must pass each of the three assessment components separately.

The date of the single assessment will be announced on the Virtual Campus.

The same resit procedure as for continuous assessment will apply.


Bibliography

  • Bonds, Mark Evan (2014). La música como pensamiento. El público y la música instrumental en la época de Beethoven. Madrid: Acantilado.
  • Bonds, Mark Evan (2020). The Beethoven Syndrome: Hearing Music as Autobiography. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Bonds, Mark Evan (2020). Beethoven: Variations on a Life. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Boyd, Malcolm; Carreras, Juan José (eds.) (2000). La música en España en el siglo XVIII. Madrid: Cambridge University Press.
  • Carse, Adam (1964). The History of Orchestration. New York: Dover.
  • Caplin, William Earl (2000). Classical Form: A Theory of Formal Functions for the Instrumental Music of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Codina, Daniel; Dolcet, Jaume; Rifé, Jordi; Vilar, Josep Maria (1999). Història de la Música Catalana, Valenciana i Balear. Barroc i Classicisme. Vol. II. Barcelona: Edicions 62.
  • DeNora, Tia (1995). Beethoven and the Construction of Genius: Musical Politics in Vienna, 1792–1803. Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press.
  • Downs, Philip G. (1998). La Música clásica. Madrid: Akal.
  • Elias, Norbert (1998). Mozart: sociología de un genio. Barcelona: Península.
  • Feist, Richard (2001). L'école de Mannheim. Genève: Éditions Papillon.
  • Geiringer, Karl (1962). La familia de los Bach. Siete generaciones de genio creador. Madrid: Espasa-Calpe.
  • Geiringer, Karl; Geiringer, Irene (1982). Haydn. Berkeley: University of California Press.
  • Gjerdingen, Robert O. (2007). Music in the Galant Style. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Gjerdingen, Robert O. (2020). Child Composers in the Old Conservatories: How Orphans Became Elite Musicians, Oxford University Press.
  • Heartz, Daniel (2003). Music in European Capitals: The Galant Style, 1720–1780. New York–London: W. W. Norton & Company.
  • Heartz, Daniel (2006). Mozart, Haydn and Early Beethoven, 1781–1802. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
  • Heine, Christian; González, Juan Manuel (coords.) (2016). The String Quartet in Spain. Bern: Peter Lang.
  • Hepokoski, James; Darcy, Warren (2006). Elements of Sonata Theory: Norms, Types, and Deformations in the Late-Eighteenth-Century Sonata. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Hocquard, Jean-Victor (1991). Mozart, una biografía musical (1791–1991). 2 vols. Madrid: Espasa-Calpe.
  • Igoa, Enrique (2014). La cuestión de la forma en las sonatas de Antonio Soler. Madrid: Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
  • Irving, David (2024). The Making of European Music in the Long Eighteenth Century, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Irving, David, Joubert, Estelle (ed.) (2026), A Cultural History of Western Music in the Age of Enlightenment, Bloomsbury Publishing.
  • Johnson, James H.(1995). Listening in Paris. A Cultural History. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
  • Kirkpatrick, Ralph (1985). Domenico Scarlatti. Madrid: Alianza.
  • Keefe, Simon P. (ed.) (2009). The Cambridge History of Eighteenth-Century Music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Leza, José Máximo (coord.) (2014). Historia de la música en España e Hispanoamérica. Vol. 4: La música en el siglo XVIII. Madrid: Fondo de Cultura Económica.
  • Martín Moreno, Antonio (1985). Historia de la música española, 4. Siglo XVIII. Madrid: Alianza.
  • Mangani, Marco; Labrador, Germán; Giuggioli, Marco (2019). Le sinfonie di Luigi Boccherini: contesti, fonti, analisi. Firenze: Olschki.
  • Marín, Miguel Ángel (2014). Joseph Haydn y el cuarteto de cuerda. Madrid: Alianza.
  • Marín, Miguel Ángel; Bernadó, Màrius (coords.) (2014). Instrumental Music in Late Eighteenth-Century Spain. Kassel: Reichenberger.
  • Massin, Jean; Massin, Brigitte (1987a). Ludwig van Beethoven. Madrid: Turner.
  • Massin, Jean; Massin, Brigitte (1987b). Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Madrid: Turner.
  • Mattheson, Johann (2021). El perfecto maestro de capilla (Hamburgo, 1739). Estudio preliminar y traducción crítica, trad. Fernando Pascual León. 2 vols. EdictOràlia Música.
  • Newman, William S. (1983). The Sonata in the Classic Era. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
  • Ratner, Leonard G. (1980). Classic Music: Expression, Form and Style. London: Macmillan.
  • Rice, John A. (2019). La música en el siglo XVIII. Madrid: Akal.
  • Robbins Landon, H. C.; Norwich, John Julius (1992). Cinco siglos de música en Venecia. Barcelona: Destino.
  • Robbins Landon, H. C. (dir.) (1991). Mozart y su realidad. Barcelona: Labor.
  • Rosen, Charles (1986). El estilo clásico: Haydn, Mozart y Beethoven. Madrid: Alianza.
  • Rosen, Charles (1987). Formas de sonata. Barcelona: Labor.
  • Sadie, Stanley (1985). Mozart. Barcelona: Muchnik.
  • Speck, Christian (ed.) (2016). The String Quartet from the Private to the Public Sphere. Turnhout: Brepols.
  • Spitzer, John; Zaslaw, Neal (2004). The Birth of the Orchestra: History of an Institution, 1650–1815. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Sutcliffe, W. Dean (2003). The Keyboard Sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti and Eighteenth-Century Musical Style. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Taruskin, Richard (2010). Music in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. The Oxford History of Western Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Webster, James (1991). Haydn's "Farewell" Symphony and the Idea of Classical Style. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Will, Richard (2002). The Characteristic Symphony in the Age of Haydn and Beethoven. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Zaslaw, Neal (ed.) (1989). The Classical Era: From the 1740s to the End of the Eighteenth Century. London: Macmillan.


Software

No specific software is required for this course. However, students are encouraged to bring a laptop or tablet to facilitate access to the projected materials, score analysis, and participation in interactive classroom activities (such as Wooclap).

The course permits the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools exclusively to support bibliographic and information searches, language revision, text translation, and other auxiliary tasks. Their use is not permitted for generating, in whole or in part, assessment tasks, musical analyses, or critical commentaries, all of which must be the result of the student's own work.

Whenever AI tools are used, students must: (i) identify the sections in which they have been used; (ii) specify the tools employed; and (iii) include a brief critical reflection on how these tools have influenced both the working process and the final outcome.

Failure to disclose the use of AI will be considered a breach of academic integrity and will result in the activity being awarded a mark of 0, with no possibility of resubmission or resit, without prejudice to any additional sanctions provided for under UAB regulations.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan second semester morning-mixed