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Pietro Metastasio
Metastasio was the most important author for the 18th century of librettos. He was also a court poet in Vienna. He wrote oratorios, serenatas, three-act heroic operas, several other dramatic works, and poems. -
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Giovanni Battista Sammatrini
Sammatrini was an Italian composer and also innovator of the symphony in Milan. He wrote concertos, sonatas, symphonies, overtures, stage works, quartets, and sacred and secular works. He was both born and died in Milan, Italy. -
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Farinelli (Carlo Broschi)
Carlo Broschi, called Farinelli, was one of the most famous castrati during the 18th century. He was said to have been able to sing the highest note customary at the time. Also a trainee of Porpora. -
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Franz Xaver Richter
Richter was a German composer, singer, and teacher. He was Innovator of the string quartet and one of the foremost Mannheim composers. He wrote concertos, string quartets, symphonies, sonatas, oratorios, cantatas, masses, and motets. -
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Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
Not to be confused with J. S. Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach was the son of J. S. Bach. He wrote both in classical and Baroque styles. He wrote keyboard works, symphonies, sonatas, concertos, choral music, arias, theoretical works, and songs. Another notable fact is that he worked for Frederick the Great for 30 years in Berlin. -
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Christoph Willibald Gluck
Gluck was a German opera-reform composer. He wrote operas, vocal works, ballets, and sonatas. He also "created a new balance between music and drama." -
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Prince Nikolaus J. Eszterhazy
This man employed Franz Joseph Haydn until 1790. He was one of the aristocratic families in Austria during his time. -
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Johann Stamitz
Stamitz was violinist, conductor, teacher, and symphonic innovator in Mannheim. He wrote concertos, symphonies, chamber music, sacred vocal works, and orchestral trios. Also helped establish the symphonic genre. -
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Carl Friedrich Abel
Abel was a German composer and friend of J. C. Bach. He wrote overtures, symphonies, and concertos. Also set up famous chamber music with Bach. -
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Dr. Charles Burney
Dr. Burney was an author, music historian, and traveling organist around Europe. He wrote memoirs and histories. Also attended University of Oxford, the King's School, and Shrewsbury School. -
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Classical Era
During the classical era melodies were singable, rhythms were not complex, and our commonly used form was homophony. Most instrumental music was written in sonata form and, by this point, dynamics were apart of every composition. The clarinet became a new instrument to the chamber ensemble. -
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Franz Joseph Haydn
Haydn was a teacher, keyboardist, violinist, and composer of the new classic style. He served aristocratic families like the Eszterhazys. Also wrote symphonies, operas, string quartets, choral music, piano works, and chamber music. -
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Johann Christian Bach
Son of J. S. Bach, Johann Christian Bach worked in London and Milan, even setting up concert series in London with Abel. He wrote operas, keyboard works, symphonies, church music, and concertos. Younger Bach was also a friend of Mozart. -
Symphony genre was invented
(1740s) -
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Luigi Boccherini
Boccherini was a prolific Italian cellist and composer. He wrote string quartets, string quintets, sextets, octets, sonatas, symphonies, arias, and choral music. -
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William Billings
Billings was the most prominent composer in the New Americas, even though he was not a strong composer. He was also a singing teacher though! He wrote hymns, Psalms, and writings. He was born and died in Boston. -
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Lorenzo Da Ponte
Professor, poet, and Italian librettist, Da Ponte was considered a "controversial character." He collaborated with Mozart as well as taught at Columbia College in New York. -
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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Von Goethe was a German writer and poet whose writings are often set to music by composers. He is considered "a literary force behind Romanticism." -
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Domenico Cimarosa
Cimarosa, considered "extraordinarily successful in his day," was an Italian composer and central figure in opera in the late 18th century. He wrote oratorios, operas, masses, keyboard works, and quartets. -
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Antonio Salieri
Extremely successful Italian teacher and composer. Wrote oratorios, operas, masses, cantatas, liturgical music, canons, arias, chamber music, pedagogical works, and orchestral works. Died in Vienna, Austria. -
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Muzio Clementi
Keyboardist, music publisher, teacher, and piano manufacturer, Clementi was born an Italian but considered an English composer. He wrote chamber music, sonatas, pedagogical works, and symphonies. -
Start of the French and Indian War
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Start of the Seven Years' War
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Mozart, a child prodigy and Austrian composer who wrote in all genres, was one of the best composers and musicians of all time. He wrote piano concertos, other concertos, operas, sonatas, symphonies, chamber music songs, vocal works, and choral music. -
Start of the American Revolutionary War
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Patented version of the piano emerged in England
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Storming of the Bastille