Prominent composers from the medieval period to the postmodern era have given us some of the best classical music compositions. Joseph Haydn, Johannes Brahms, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart appear on top when we talk about the best classical music artworks. Let’s discuss some of the greatest artworks of these composers. Time to explore the best of classical music –
1. Joseph Haydn – Emperor Quartet (1797 – 1918)
Also known as the Kaiserquartett is a musical choir with four players composed in C major derived from its name ‘Emperor Quartet’ as it was composed for the Austrian monarchy. Joseph Haydn, an Austrian musician penned the emperor quartet at age 65 in 1797. It became the melody of the national anthem of two countries – Austria (1797) and Germany (1922).
The first movement combines high notes, complicated parallelism, and chromatic explorations. It turns to Hungarian folk dance with bag-pipes or hurdy-gurdies played in E major and continued with a slight variation in E minor. The second movement represents the variation but keeps the melody constant, here the instrument changes as per their turn. The strange juxtaposition of major and minor from the first movement continues in the third movement. The final note is a fierce C minor and then C major comes back in the coda.
2. Johannes Brahms – Symphony No. 3 In F Major (1883)
Shortest among Johannes Brahms’ four symphonies, Symphony No 3 was written in the summer of 1883 and was premiered in the Vienna Orchestra before getting published in 1884. Flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, a contrabassoon, horns in C, horns in F, trumpets in F, trombones, timpani, and strings are the instruments used to create the symphony.
Symphony No. 3 In F Major has four movements – Allegro con brio starts with A flat and the two Fs, here F shifts from F major to F minor. The next following theme, Andante, is performed in C major in three notes. The third movement is Poco allegretto, a gentle melody played in C minor with a central section of A-flat Major. The fourth and final theme is Allegro with recurrent shifts between majors and minors with Brahms style of Sonata.
3. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Clarinet Quintet in A Major (1788)
Also known as the Stadler Quintet, it is played in four movements for clarinet, two violins, viola, and cello was finished by Mozart on September 29, 1789. The composition was composed as a showcase for Mozart’s friend and fellow Freemason virtuoso clarinetist Anton Stadler but it gained huge popularity when it was used in a television series MASH.
The four movements in Clarinet Quintet in A Major are represented by – Molto allegro, Andante, Menuetto – Allegretto, and Allegro assai.
Molto allegro starts with violas playing simply, the second theme is more chromatic and consists of B flat major. The first and second themes are played back to back. A slight development in F sharp starts with the underlying music of theme 1. The first movement is closed with a chord in G minor.
The second movement Andante is represented in E flat major which is accompanied by a lyrical theme and the movement is written in sonata form. There is a rise in volume and tension in the beginning and the coda continues until the music comes to a peaceful conclusion.
In the third movement Menuetto – Allegretto, G minor returns. It’s rough, off-beat music with two irregular three-bar sections at the start. This movement also features a good amount of chromaticism.
The final movement Allegro assai kicks off with the first violins and loud response from the orchestra. It begins with Mannheim rocket in B-flat major and the closing is with the G minor chord.
