From Baroque to Classical

Features of the Baroque Era

Baroque music refers to Western music composed from around 1600 to 1750.
It saw the advent of major musical forms like the concerto, opera, and sonata, all of which heavily featured ornaments.
Composers such as Vivaldi, Bach, Handel and others used these forms to create elaborate, ornate pieces of music.
Harpsichord was a common keyboard instrument in Baroque period, replaced by the piano in the Classical era.
Terraced dynamics - sudden shifts from loud to soft - were common in Baroque music.

The Classical era in music marks the period from around 1750, the death of Bach, to 1820.
A cleaner, less ornamented style came into vogue, prioritising structure and balance over the complexity of the Baroque era.
Sonata form became the most dominant structure for the first movement of works in the Classical era.
Symphony, an extended work for orchestra and the string quartet are some important classical genres that came into prominence.
The use of dynamic gradation or gradation - gradual shifts from soft to loud - was a key feature.

In the Baroque concerto, the orchestra and the soloist usually played together with the soloist contributing elaborate ornaments. In the Classical Concerto, the soloist and orchestra often performed separately.
Classical concertos were marked by complex interplay between the orchestra and the soloist, with more defined roles for each.
One major difference is the introduction of the double-exposition form in the Classical concerto.
Composers such as Mozart and Haydn are notable classical composers who contributed significantly to the development of the concerto.