The Classical Period – Sheet Music & Scores

Few artistic movements have changed people’s perception of the world as much as classicism. Browse our sheet music and scores, and discover for yourself all the wonderful music of the classical period.

Classicism in Music

In music, the Classical Period saw a departure from complex, contrapuntal polyphony, to the beginnings of a simpler homophonic structure, to melody and accompaniment. Polyphony however was not forgotten; all the major composers continued to use polyphony from time to time, and some of the most exciting classical movements use the modern fugue. A good example is Mozart’s Requiem, or Beethoven’s Great Fugue String Quartet Op.133.

Musical Form

The most important music form which came from the classical period is undoubtedly Sonata Form. Sonata Form is an elaborate structure that represents the ultimate pursuit of perfection in music. Sonata Form became the basis of all important musical works of the time: Concertos, Symphonies, Sonatas, and String Quartets. Through the progressive works of Christoph Willibald Gluck, Opera developed out of the The Baroque Period, into the diverse classical form, with Opera Buffa and Opera Seria, serious or comic opera, championed by Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven.

Musical Instruments

Through the Classical Period, the piano overtook the harpsichord, and quickly became one of the most popular solo instruments, and certainly the most important accompaniment instrument. The orchestra grew, and new instruments such as the clarinet and contrabasson were added, and many other instruments developed, like the oboe, flute, horn and trumpet, and became more virtuosic due to the new modern valve systems. Towards the end of the 18th century, however, many baroque instruments, like the harpsichord, which had been firm favourites of the The Baroque Period, were becoming more and more redundant.

A few important composers from the Classical Period

• William Boyce – Sheet Music
• Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach – Sheet Music
• Christoph Willibald Gluck – Sheet Music
• Joseph Haydn – Sheet Music
• Michael Haydn – Sheet Music
• Johann Baptist Vaňhal – Sheet Music
• Luigi Boccherini – Sheet Music
• Johann Wenzel Stamitz – Sheet Music
• Domenico Cimarosa – Sheet Music
• Muzio Clementi – Sheet Music
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Sheet Music
• François Devienne – Sheet Music
• Luigi Cherubini – Sheet Music
• Anton Reicha – Sheet Music
• Thomas Arne – Sheet Music
• Samuel Wesley – Sheet Music
• Ludwig van Beethoven – Sheet Music
• Fernando Sor – Sheet Music
• Antonio Diabelli – Sheet Music
• Carl Czerny – Sheet Music

A few Classical links

• The Classical Period – Piano Sheet Music
• The Classical Period – String Quartet Scores
• Symphonies – from the Classical Period
• Concertos – from the Classical Period
• Opera – from the Classical Period
• The Classical Period – Choral Sheet Music
• The Classical Period – Sheet Music Downloads
• The Baroque Period – Sheet Music
• The Romantic Period – Sheet Music