Classical Era
This city was the central hub of Classical-era music and is where many composers lived and worked.
Vienna, Austria
Haydn worked as a court musician for which noble family (name of the prince)?
Prince Esterhazy (of Hungary)
Beethoven was born in which city and died in which city?
Born in Bonn, Germany; died in Vienna, Austria.
Mozart was a child prodigy who began composing at about what age?
Age 5
Which of the three composers (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven) was noted as having been a student of Haydn?
Beethoven
The Classical arts rejected the highly elaborate textures and ornamentation of which earlier period?
Baroque Era
Haydn wrote a famous “Surprise” symphony. What is the number of that symphony in his catalog?
Symphony No. 94
Beethoven began going deaf in his early 20s and was completely deaf by the time he wrote which major symphony?
Symphony No. 9
Mozart moved to which city to be a freelance composer and wrote many works including a famous unfinished mass he was writing when he died. Name the city and the work
Vienna; the Requiem (a funeral Mass)
Name one of the women that Beethoven would send letters to from the PowerPoint presentation.
Giulietta Countess Guicciardi, Antonie Brentano, or Maria Anna
Name two major historical events or movements listed that influenced society during the Classical period. (Hint: We had three total changes)
Industrial Revolution, French Revolution, American Revolution
Haydn taught or influenced which younger famous composer mentioned in this time period?
Beethoven
Name one personal detail about Beethoven’s early musical life (for example: age he began lessons, who pushed him to perform, or an early job he held)
He began piano lessons at age 4; his father pushed him to perform and toured him as a child; he became assistant organist at 14.
Name one family member who toured with Mozart during his childhood.
His father Leopold (or his sister Nannerl)
What was Beethoven’s handicap?
He was deaf
During the Classical period, the orchestra began to be organized into four main sections. What were they?
Strings, Woodwinds, Brass Percussion
Describe one unusual or dramatic fact about what happened to Haydn’s remains after his death (from the powerpoint)
His head was stolen after burial; it was later returned but apparently was not the correct one; it was finally placed in a mausoleum in the 1950s.
Beethoven is described as the first composer to do what kind of professional work practice (how he made his living differently)?
He was the first freelance composer (made a living independently of a permanent court job).
Mozart wrote music for an unusual instrument invented by Benjamin Franklin. What is the instrument called?
Glass Harmonica
Which composer died while writing a Requiem and was buried in a common grave, later lost due to a storm?
Mozart
Explain briefly why composers in the Classical era began writing music that was clearer and more balanced compared to Baroque music (answer should reference changes in tastes or social structures).
Audiences and patrons preferred clearer textures and balanced forms; growing public concerts and changing social structures reduced ornate court styles, so composers wrote clearer, balanced music.
Explain the job Haydn had while working for Prince Esterhazy and how that influenced the kinds of music he wrote.
He was the court musician who wrote music on demand for family concerts, private performances, and worship services — so he composed frequently to meet the prince’s needs.
Describe how Beethoven’s composing process is characterized (what made it difficult) and one way his manuscripts are described.
Composing was slow and difficult with lots of revisions; his manuscripts were terrible (messy).
Describe Mozart’s employment situation — who did he sometimes work for, and what happened when that patron died?
He and his family worked for the Archbishop of Salzburg; when that Archbishop died, his successor fired Mozart, and Mozart moved to Vienna to be a freelance composer and had financial difficulties.
Consider the three composers covered (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven). For each one, give one way their life or career shows the larger historical shift away from noble patronage toward new professional roles for musicians (three short bullets, one per composer).
Haydn: Served long-term as a court musician for Prince Esterhazy — example of traditional patronage.
Mozart: Fired by the new Archbishop and then tried to be a freelance composer in Vienna — shows move toward freelance/public work.
Beethoven: Became a freelance composer and supported himself independently of a court job — shows new professional independence