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Famous Music from the Classical Period
Part 2 (c.1750–1820)
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
by W.A. Mozart (1756–1791)
Eine kleine Nachtmusik (Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major), K. 525, is a 1787 composition by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and remains one of the most famous pieces of classical music. Its German title means “a little night music,” and the work is scored for a chamber ensemble. The serenade consists of four movements, Allegro, Romance, Menuetto, and Finale, though scholars believe another movement may have been lost.
Mozart completed the piece in Vienna on 10 August 1787, around the time he was working on the second act of Don Giovanni. The reason for its composition is unknown, and it is unclear whether it was performed during his lifetime. The work was not published until about 1827, long after Mozart’s death. Despite these mysteries, Eine kleine Nachtmusik is celebrated for its elegant melodies, lively rhythms, and enduring charm, making it a staple of the classical repertoire.
Ständchen (Serenade), D.957 No. 4
by Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
Ständchen (Serenade), D.957 No. 4 is part of Schwanengesang, a collection of 14 songs composed by Franz Schubert in 1828, the year of his death. The collection was published in 1829 by Tobias Haslinger, who titled it Schwanengesang to present it as Schubert’s last testament.
The sequence of the songs does not necessarily reflect Schubert’s intentions. Schubert initially offered the Heine songs as a separate set, and the order of the songs in the manuscript differs from Heine’s original poems. Despite these uncertainties, Ständchen remains one of Schubert’s most beloved Lieder, celebrated for its lyrical beauty and expressive charm.
The Thieving Magpie
by Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868)
The Thieving Magpie (La gazza ladra) is a melodramma, or opera semiseria, in two acts by Gioachino Rossini, with a libretto by Giovanni Gherardini. It is based on La pie voleuse by Théodore Baudouin d’Aubigny and Louis-Charles Caigniez. The opera’s famous overture features snare drums that evoke the clever, thieving magpie at the heart of the story.
Rossini composed the opera quickly, as he often did. According to a 19th-century biography, the conductor of the premiere at La Scala once locked Rossini in a room the day before the performance, ordering him to finish the overture. Four stagehands tossed each completed page out the window to the copyist below as he wrote. This anecdote highlights Rossini’s speed, creativity, and humor, and the overture remains one of his most celebrated and instantly recognizable works.