The Eighteenth-Century Piano Sonata In MLA Format Essay

The Eighteenth-Century Piano Sonata In MLA Format - Essay Example Looking at the list of musical directions today one may wonder why the subject of those listening to classical music is not brought up. The reason is that, as sad as it is, less and less people today are familiar with classical music and an even smaller number of people can distinguish between composers of the classical era. The eras I am going to deal with are the Baroque and Classical eras. In history, the period from 1600 to 1750 is known as the Baroque era. Dance, music, architecture, art - everything in the Baroque era was on a grand scale. It was a magnificent era that brought about smart, dignified, talented people and bright creations. What is remarkable is that during the Baroque era people's interest was drawn to instrumental music more than ever (Encyclopedia Britannica). The instruments that were mostly popular in this time period were the keyboard instruments counting the clavichord, harpsichord, piano, and organ (Brainrad). These clavichord instruments sweeped away the renaissance popularity of softer viol string instruments. The soft violin was replaced by the more rough, more aggressive and expressive violin, viola, and cello. These instruments were not only in use of composers. At the beginning of the eighteenth century when music played an everyday part in most people's lives, most of the citizens were capable of playing (Classical Music Pages). We must remember that during the Baroque period the foundations of music for the next centuries were given. Moreover, the idea of the modern orchestra and opera was born. Also, in the Baroque period composers came to be the servants of nobility and clergymen. According to Brairad, as music was very popular at that time it was used "to show off", thus the music grew "showy and complicated". While music during the epoch of Baroque can be described as bright, chaotic, unexpected, and frivolous, the music of the Classical era was very different. In my paper I am touching upon both Classical and Baroque era s because the composers I am going to talk about later composed at the turn of these two centuries, representing both eras equally. The Classical period started late in the eighteenth century and it focused on the opposite types of sounds that Baroque musicians paid strong attention to ((History of Classical Music). Classical music was arranged, organized, well-planned and accurate.