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128 Classical Music Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

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Classical music is a rich and diverse genre that has captivated audiences for centuries. From the masterpieces of Mozart and Beethoven to the experimental works of contemporary composers, there is a vast array of topics to explore in the realm of classical music. Whether you are a music student, a fan of classical music, or simply curious about the genre, here are 128 essay topic ideas and examples to inspire your writing:

• The evolution of classical music throughout history.
• The influence of Baroque music on later classical composers.
• The impact of classical music on popular culture.
• The role of women composers in classical music.
• The significance of opera in classical music.
• Comparing the symphonies of Mozart and Beethoven.
• The concept of nationalism in classical music.
• The use of folk melodies in classical compositions.
• The influence of jazz and blues on classical music.
• The importance of improvisation in classical music.
• Exploring the use of polyphony in classical music.
• The role of the conductor in a classical orchestra.
• The significance of the piano in classical music.
• The influence of religious themes in classical compositions.
• The impact of war on classical music.
• The relationship between classical music and dance.
• The use of programmatic elements in classical compositions.
• The role of classical music in film soundtracks.
• Exploring the concept of musical form in classical music.
• The impact of technology on classical music production.
• The development of the symphony orchestra in classical music.
• The influence of Romanticism on classical composers.
• The significance of the opera house in classical music.
• The role of chamber music in classical repertoire.
• The evolution of the concerto in classical music.
• The use of counterpoint in classical compositions.
• The impact of classical music on the brain and cognitive development.
• The influence of Eastern music traditions on classical compositions.
• The role of classical music in religious ceremonies.
• Exploring the concept of tonality in classical music.
• The significance of the string quartet in classical repertoire.
• The use of symbolism in classical compositions.
• The impact of social and political events on classical music.
• The influence of classical music on contemporary artists.
• The role of improvisation in classical music performance.
• The significance of the conductor-composer relationship.
• Exploring the concept of musical texture in classical music.
• The use of leitmotifs in classical compositions.
• The impact of classical music on mental health and well-being.
• The influence of non-Western music traditions on classical compositions.
• The role of classical music in education.
• The significance of the symphony in classical repertoire.
• The use of irony and humor in classical compositions.
• The impact of classical music on societal norms and values.
• The influence of impressionism on classical composers.
• The role of classical music in healing and therapy.
• Exploring the concept of musical dynamics in classical music.
• The significance of the opera singer in classical repertoire.
• The use of narrative storytelling in classical compositions.
• The impact of classical music on emotional expression.
• The influence of Minimalism on classical composers.
• The role of classical music in religious rituals.
• The significance of the piano concerto in classical repertoire.
• The use of motifs and themes in classical compositions.
• The impact of classical music on cultural identity.
• The influence of expressionism on classical composers.
• The role of classical music in social activism.
• Exploring the concept of musical ornamentation in classical music.
• The significance of the choral ensemble in classical repertoire.
• The use of symbolism in classical operas.
• The impact of classical music on memory and cognition.
• The influence of neoclassicism on classical composers.
• The role of classical music in religious worship.
• The significance of the violin concerto in classical repertoire.
• The use of motifs and leitmotifs in classical compositions.
• The impact of classical music on human emotions.
• The influence of postmodernism on classical composers.
• The role of classical music in cultural preservation.
• The significance of the a cappella ensemble in classical repertoire.
• The use of musical symbolism in classical compositions.
• The impact of classical music on creativity and imagination.
• The influence of nationalism on classical composers.
• The role of classical music in promoting social change.
• The significance of the flute concerto in classical repertoire.
• The use of musical motifs and leitmotifs in classical compositions.
• The impact of classical music on physical health and well-being.
• The influence of post-romanticism on classical composers.
• The role of classical music in cultural identity.
• The significance of the chamber choir in classical repertoire.
• The impact of classical music on emotional intelligence.
• The role of classical music in community engagement.
• The significance of the cello concerto in classical repertoire.
• The use of musical motifs and themes in classical compositions.
• The impact of classical music on stress reduction and relaxation.
• The influence of atonality on classical composers.
• The role of classical music in cultural diplomacy.
• The significance of the chamber orchestra in classical repertoire.
• The impact of classical music on cognitive skills and academic performance.
• The role of classical music in fostering creativity and innovation.
• The significance of the trumpet concerto in classical repertoire.
• The impact of classical music on mood and emotional well-being.
• The influence of serialism on classical composers.
• The role of classical music in cultural heritage preservation.
• The significance of the chamber ensemble in classical repertoire.
• The impact of classical music on cognitive development in children.
• The influence of surrealism on classical composers.
• The role of classical music in promoting social cohesion.
• The significance of the harp concerto in classical repertoire.
• The impact of classical music on productivity and focus.
• The influence of electronic music on classical composers.
• The role of classical music in cultural integration.
• The significance of the wind ensemble in classical repertoire.
• The impact of classical music on creativity and problem-solving skills.
• The role of classical music in promoting mental health and well-being.
• The significance of the organ concerto in classical repertoire.
• The impact of classical music on sleep quality and relaxation.
• The influence of avant-garde movements on classical composers.
• The role of classical music in cultural exchange.
• The significance of the brass ensemble in classical repertoire.
• The impact of classical music on emotional regulation and empathy.
• The influence of post-minimalism on classical composers.

These essay topic ideas and examples provide a wide range of options for exploring the world of classical music. Whether you are interested in historical aspects, compositional techniques, or the impact of classical music on society, there is something here to spark your curiosity. So grab your pen and paper, or fire up your laptop, and delve into the fascinating world of classical music through your writing.

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Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History Essays

Nineteenth-century classical music.

"Antonius" Violin

Antonio Stradivari

• Dubois et Couturier

Niccolò Paganini (1782–1840)

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres

Cornet à Pistons in B-flat

Courtois frères

Christian Frederick Martin

Grand Pianoforte

Érard , made in London

Square Piano

Robert Nunns

Grand Piano

• Steinway & Sons

The Music Lesson

John George Brown

Giosue Esposito

Julian Alden Weir

• Lyon & Healy

Two Young Girls at the Piano

Auguste Renoir

Jayson Kerr Dobney Department of Musical Instruments, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

October 2004

The nineteenth century brought great upheaval to Western societies. Democratic ideals and the Industrial Revolution swept through Europe and changed the daily lives of citizens at all levels. Struggles between the old world order and the new were the root causes of conflicts from the Napoleonic Wars to the American Civil War . From New York, to London, to Vienna, the world was changing and the consequences can still be felt to this day.

The lives of musicians, composers, and makers of musical instruments were greatly altered by these social changes. In earlier times, musicians were usually employed by either the church or the court and were merely servants to aristocratic circles. Composers wrote music for performances in these venues, and musical instrument makers produced instruments to be played by wealthy patrons or their servant musicians. With the rise of the middle class, more people wanted access to music performances and music education.

A new artistic aesthetic, Romanticism , replaced the ideals of order, symmetry, and form espoused by the classicists of the late eighteenth century. Romantics valued the natural world, idealized the life of the common man, rebelled against social conventions, and stressed the importance of the emotional in art. In music, Romanticism, along with new opportunities for earning a livelihood as a musician or composer, produced two seemingly opposite venues as the primary places for musical activity—the large theater and the parlor.

Music as Public Spectacle One result of the Industrial Revolution was the creation of a middle class. This new economic strata consisted of a larger number of people with more disposable income and more leisure time than had ever existed before. Musical extravaganzas that triumphed the musician or composer gained popularity with the masses of concertgoers. Beginning with Beethoven, composers began to arrange large concerts in order to introduce their works to the public. As audiences desired more, composers wrote larger musical works and demanded more of performers and their instruments.

The “bigger is better” mentality led to new musical forms such as the tone poem and large-scale symphonic and operatic works . Orchestras grew, including larger string sections with a full complement of woodwinds, brass, and ever more percussion instruments. New types of orchestral winds ( 2003.150a–g ) and brass ( 2002.190a–n ) that allowed for greater facility and more accurate playing were introduced. Composers such as Hector Berlioz, and later Johannes Brahms and Richard Wagner, continually pushed the limits of the available musical forms, performers, instruments, and performance spaces throughout the nineteenth century.

Musicians who could dazzle and amaze their audiences by their virtuosity became the first musical superstars. The two most famous nineteenth-century examples were the violinist Nicolò Paganini (1782–1840) and the pianist Franz Liszt (1811–1886). Both dazzled audiences throughout Europe with their performances, elevating the status of the musician from servant to demigod. Their fame grew throughout Europe, and their likenesses would be recorded in a variety of visual arts.

In order to withstand the virtuosic and often bombastic playing of these soloists, as well as to provide the type of volume needed in large concert venues, more powerful instruments were needed. Larger and louder violins like those by Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737) or Guarneri del Gesù (1698–1744)—preferred by Paganini—replaced the quieter and subtler violins of earlier masters like Jacob Stainer (ca. 1617–1683) or the Amati family. The demands of pianists like Franz Liszt pressed the technology and design of pianos to ever-larger instruments, eventually replacing the internal wooden structures of the eighteenth century with cast-iron frames that could withstand thousands of pounds of pressure.

Parlor Music Conversely, music gained popularity in the intimate nineteenth-century parlor. At the time, home life was centered in the salon, or parlor, where children played and learned with adult supervision, and where the family entertained company. Musical performances for small groups of people became popular events, and some composers/performers were able to support themselves financially by performing in these small venues and attracting wealthy patrons. Most famous among these was Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849).

Music in the parlor was of a very different sort than in the concert hall. Solo performances and chamber music were popular, and included everything from operatic and orchestral transcriptions to sentimental love songs and ballads. In the United States, hymns and folk songs by composers like Stephen Foster (1826–1864) supplemented the European repertoire.

With the rise of the parlor as the center of family life, music education became increasingly important. Children were often taught to play musical instruments as part of a well-rounded education; for girls, playing an instrument was more important than learning to read. When guests and potential suitors visited, the children and teenagers would entertain with performances of the latest popular works.

All sorts of musical instruments were used in the home, and at various times the guitar , harp ( 2001.171 ), concertina, and banjo were extremely popular. However, the most important musical instrument in the home was the piano, because it was useful as both a solo instrument and as accompaniment to a group of singers or instrumentalists. To accommodate home use, smaller pianos were created, first square pianos and later uprights. Small pianos took up less space and, although they were not as powerful as larger types, they were also less expensive. With the technological advances of the Industrial Revolution, the mass manufacturing of musical instruments—especially pianos—provided a seemingly endless supply for the huge markets of both the United States and Europe. The piano would remain a central component of domestic life until it was replaced by the phonograph, radio, and television in the twentieth century.

Dobney, Jayson Kerr. “Nineteenth-Century Classical Music.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/amcm/hd_amcm.htm (October 2004)

Further Reading

Samson, Jim, ed. The Cambridge History of Nineteenth-Century Music . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.

Additional Essays by Jayson Kerr Dobney

• Dobney, Jayson Kerr. “ Archtop Guitars and Mandolins .” (September 2016)
• Dobney, Jayson Kerr. “ The Guitar .” (September 2007)
• Dobney, Jayson Kerr. “ The Piano: Viennese Instruments .” (March 2009)
• Dobney, Jayson Kerr. “ Military Music in American and European Traditions .” (October 2004)

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List of Rulers

• Presidents of the United States of America
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Artist or Maker

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61 Classical Music Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best classical music topic ideas & essay examples, 👍 interesting topics to write about classical music, 📃 good research topics about classical music.

• Classical Music: Merriam’s Tripartite Model of Music Classical music is characterized by the harmony that is full of chromaticism. Music is meant to provide a meaningful interaction of the body and soul.
• Classical Music: Influence on Brain and Mood Considering the potential positive effects of classical music on the mood and the brain, the music can be adapted to influence people to behave in certain ways.
• Music Appreciation: Reggae Music and Classical Music At the end of the paper, the relationships between reggae and classical music will be considered with the emphasis made on the similarities between the genres.
• Pomona College Choir Classical Music Concert While in the previous performances, I perceived this song as a repenting of a sinner, when listening to the Pomona College Choir, I realized that there was a touch of childlike innocence to it.
• Classical and Contemporary Music Comparison Lyrical content is of great import to hip-hop and has spawned a new style of singing that has riveted the audiences’ attention to this music.
• Classical Music: Composer Philip Glass Classic music emerged in the beginning of the 11th century in the West. Conclusion Philip Glass is a great composer who has helped conserve the unique nature of classical music.
• The Classical Music and Their Effects Classical Music can be defined as a form of Art music that is produced in traditions concerned with secular and western liturgical music.
• Classical Symphonies: Investigating Style Evolution of Western Classical Music The formative period of classical music was between the 18th and 19th centuries. Beethoven wrote music slowly and purposely with the romantics’ guidance.
• Modernist Movement in Music: Investigating Style Evolution of Western Classical Music The modernist movement in music seems appropriate for this paper because of the unique and exciting styles of composing modern-era music, such as jazz, pop, and rock.
• Listening to Classical Music This whole thing repeats, but with more complication, and then moves into a slower part like a waltz added in, and then the notes repeat the up and down pattern that sounded like shallow waterfall […]
• Classical Symphony and Classical Chamber Music 140″ is still one of the greatest works of the Baroque era. The composer is famous for many works, and some of them have left riddles.
• Classical Music: Cultural Consumption and Cultural Diversity The author states that the value of classical music is great, and it is recognized widely. It seems important to emphasize that the author of the given article aligns classical music with equality and dignity.
• Classical Music Concerts: Video Report The lighting in the contemporary venue is clear and sharp for this segment of the performance. The energy and complete commitment to the music on the part of the violinist, as well as the rest […]
• Classical and Modern Music To understand the connection between music performance and the epoch, it is possible to consider a concert in the late eighteenth century and a concert of hip-hop music in the early twenty-first century.
• Verismo in Classical Music Verismo refers to the composition of classical music based on natural elements and it was introduced to Italy in the late 19th Century.
• Pieces From Classical and Romantic Music E-Concert The material of the first part is repeated, and at the end of the Overture the harmonic balance of the orchestra is assaulted by sudden sounds of trombones, as if questioning the achieved harmony.
• Classical Music Concert “Toyota Symphonies for Youths” The lady was mainly doing the vocals while one of the gentlemen was playing the piano, the other was playing an oboe and the last one was playing a bassoon.
• Washington Cathedral Classical Music Christmas Concert The pieces were performed beautifully; actually, I got a sense of satisfaction and deep rumination of the Christmas season because of the expressive execution of the pieces by the band and the choir.
• Benjamin Britten: A Renowned Classic Musician However, his mother was a part time singer and she aided his growth in approach and musical content.”The Royal Falily” is one of his well known compositions in his early childhood, which was about the […]
• Classical Music: Attending a Concert 2 is one of the most remarkable stories in the world of classical music. Le Grand Tango for violin and piano is one of the most beautiful masterpieces in classical music.
• Overview of Baroque and Classical Music Differences
• Baroque Music: The Beginning of Classical Music
• Are Popular and Classical Music Listeners the Same People
• Can Culturally-Specific Perspectives to Teaching Western Classical Music Benefit International Students?
• The Relationships Between Classical Music and Cognitive Development
• Classical Music and Its Affect on Society
• Has Classical Music Influenced Rock Music?
• Comparative Analysis of Classical Music and Jazz Music
• Classical Music and Its Effect on Children
• History of Classical Music and the Era of Symphonies
• Classical Music and Its Influence on Education
• Comparing and Contrasting Classical Music and the Blues
• Classical Music and Its Influence on Western Culture
• Does Classical Music Help You Study Better?
• Comparative Analysis of Rap and Classical Music
• Classical Music and Modern Music: Comparative Analysis
• Creating Variation Within Traditional Classical Music Forms
• Classical Music Influences Our Body’s Vital Movements
• Does Classical Music Have an Effect on Infants’ Brain Development?
• Classical Music: Theme and Variations
• Comparison Between Pop Music and Classical Music
• Does Classical Music Help the Growth of Plants?
• How Franz Liszt’s Transcriptions Shaped the Path of Classical Music
• Ludwig Van Beethoven and His Influence on Classical Music
• Overview of Malaysian Malaysian Classical Music and Malaysian Folk
• Memory and Brain Effects of Classical Music
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• Romanticism and Classical Music Styles Overview
• How Classical Music Has Changed the World
• Similarities Between Classical Music and Ellington’s Jazz
• The Eastern Classical Music Cultural Studies
• The Most Influential Composers of the Classical Music Era
• “The Mozart Effect”: Can Classical Music Improve Your Academic Ability?
• The Pros and Cons of Classical Music
• War and Creativity: Solving the War-Art Puzzle for Classical Music Composition
• Western Classical Music Development: Statistical Analysis of Composers’ Similarity, Differentiation, and Evolution
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Impact on Classical Music
• Innovation of Bach in Comparison to Other Composers of the Era
• Discovering the Effect Classical Music Has on a Person’s Perception
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The Differences between Baroque and Classical music

One of the outstanding differences between these key periods of Western Classical Music is the change in creative thinking. Baroque music as we can clearly hear in the music of a composer such as J. S Bach is textural complexity and the dominance of polyphonic writing. The Classical period moved dramatically away from this dense, intricate compositional style towards clear a melodic line and accompaniment; or homophony. This doesn’t mean that Mozart or Haydn for example, abandoned the earlier musical forms and fugue features in both of these composers works, particularly the String Quartets.

Read also :

• Characteristics of Classical and Baroque Music
• Classical vs Romantic Era Music

Differences between Baroque and Classical music

There was a tendency for melody in the Baroque to be highly ornamented. Performers of the time were fully expected to be good at improvising and familiar with the conventions that surrounded the elaboration of a melody they may be playing. This in practical terms, created a catalogue of ornamental possibilities that players added to their performances including mordents, trills, acciaccaturas and appoggiaturas to name a few.

The addition of these extra notes added the flourish and trim associated with the styles of the time that were dominantly ornate. These musical ornaments became less of a feature in the Classical period as composers strove for the purity of melodic line with balance and poise. The possible exception is the trill that was often be used to demonstrate a performer’s virtuosity in a performance and used to bring a section of music to a rousing close.

Classical composers became ever more prescriptive in their use of musical notation. In the Baroque composers regularly supplied a bass line with figures that suggested chords to use and expected the performers to as these as they felt best. Classical composers left far less to the imagination of the performer to the extent where in later concertos, for example, cadenzas (the solo passage where the performer traditionally improvises over the given themes), were fully written out.

The addition of volume (or dynamic) markings was increasingly common in Classical music giving rise to an ever greater range of expressive possibilities in contrast to the step (loud to quiet or vice-versa), approach to dynamics that Baroque composers exploited to remarkable effect.

Musical structures and forms began to change from Baroque to Classical. The Suite, often consisting of up to six movements based on earlier Renaissance dances, developed into the Sonata. This form was developed in the Classical era with the clear intention of allowing the composer to develop their musical themes more extensively than was expected during the Baroque.

The Sonata became a three-movement form (Fast – Slow – Fast), and was a key factor in the advancement of symphonic music in the Classical Era and onwards into the Romantic period of music. What separated forms like the fugue from the sonata is that for the Classical composers, the development of musical material became an increasingly dominant feature rather than the exploration of polyphonic textures.

Tonality is a dominant feature of Classical music with a strong pull towards creating musical pieces that rotate around tonic and dominant harmony. Baroque music was also key centred but in a different way. In the Baroque, we find the harmonic pull harder to define due to the complexities of polyphony.

Classical composers strove to create clarity and simplicity in their musical forms often through homophonic textures, that enabled the ear to more easily discriminate the underlying harmonic shapes. Both the Baroque and the Classical periods of music have immensely complex harmonic pieces it is that the composer’s intentions and ways of creating these compositions were radically different.

The Concerto continued its popularity into the Classical era but there was a move away from the Baroque Concerto Grosso towards the concerto for a single solo instrument plus orchestra. These concerti became increasingly demanding for the performers for which they were written and far more of a public spectacle than in previous times.

What we hear in the Classical period is the rise of the virtuoso soloist that eventually lead to works like the Beethoven Piano Concertos. Alongside the concerto came the classical Symphony that had its roots in the Italian Sinfonia but dramatically reformed in the 18 th century.

The new Classical symphony allowed for the development of a whole new symphonic sound. The orchestra we recognise today truly began in the Classical period. Baroque ensembles tended towards the size of chamber groups, numbering perhaps only 20-30 players.

The early Haydn symphonies were scored for the same forces but by mid-period Haydn, the orchestra has almost doubled in size. As a result, new instruments like the clarinet found favour in this orchestral setting as well as a solo instrument in its own right. Trumpets, timpani and larger string sections divided specifically into violins 1 & 2, violas, cellos and double basses became commonplace in the Classical orchestra.

The harpsichord was the bread and butter of the Baroque world. It acted as a solo instrument and also as the basso continuo with cello or double bass that accompanied a broad variety of Baroque music.

As the Classical period takes to hold the harpsichord gradually fades from focus as the fortepiano takes centre stage. The piano instead of plucking the strings like the harpsichord strikes the strings with a hammer. Composers were attracted to the piano for its expressive qualities and its ever-increasing range and reliability. This popularity, in turn, lead to some of the most extraordinary keyboard works ever composed and the prominence of the Sonata as a musical form.

Chamber music flourished in both the Baroque and the Classical periods of music. One significant difference was the emergence of the String Quartet and Quintet. The String Quartet, in particular, became a huge and important musical grouping in the Classical period. Haydn wrote sixty-eight string quartets and Mozart twenty-three.

Later Beethoven went on the champion the string quartet taking it into realms that perhaps have not been surpassed today. As a musical form, the String Quartet was the epitome of elegance and sophistication consisting normally of a four-movement structure. The Minuet, often the third movement in a string quartet was the only real remaining echo of the Baroque.

For a quick comparison try the following:

Bach; Brandenburg Concerto No. 5                            Mozart; Piano Concerto No. 23

Scarlatti; Piano Sonata in D major Kk. 443                 Haydn; Piano Sonata in C major; H.XVI

Vivaldi ; Sinfonia for Strings in C major, RV 112          Mozart; Symphony No. 38, K.504

1 thought on “The Differences between Baroque and Classical music”

This exposition begs the question of what effect did the great religious wars at the end of the baroque period have on the perception of ensemble music. Did the rise of protestant church music (Bach) squelch the independence of barogue composition? Where did baroque music go after it left Europe? The great religious wars were fought with mercenary troops. Did they take baroque music back to where they came from like the fighters of the Sultans? Did baroque music become the court music in Africa and eventually make its way to the United States in the enslaved populations? African American music is very different fromStephen Foster.

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