StudySpace: The Enjoyment of Music: Essential Listening Edition

Key Points

• Form is the most important organizing element in absolute music, which has no specific pictorial or literary program.
• Many instrumental works are in a standard multimovement cycle of three or four movements; these include the Classical-era symphony, sonata, string quartet, and concerto.
• The first movement of the cycle is usually in a fast tempo and in sonata-allegro form, with three main sections: exposition, development, and recapitulation.
• The second movement is usually slow and can be in various forms, including theme and variations or ternary (A-B-A) form.
• The third movement (sometimes omitted) is a triple-meter dance—either a minuet and trio or a scherzo and trio.
• The fourth movement is fast and lively, often in rondo or sonata-allegro form.
• The Classical era is considered the golden age of chamber music, especially of the string quartet.

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