Born: February 3, 1748, Lochovice, BohemiaDied: July 31, 1816, Donaueschingen (age 68)
glossary
allegro [I]—fast, lively tempo. From the Italian word for cheerful or gay.
andantino—faster than andante, slower than allegretto. Sometimes andantino is interpreted as the opposite: slower than andante
chamber music, Kammermusik [G], musique de chambre [F], musica da camera [I], musica cameralis [L]—"Classical Music" for a small ensemble, generally 8 or fewer players with a canonical emphasis on 3-6 players. explore
fugue, fuga, fuge [G], fuguette, fugen [G,pl]—a contrapuntal procedure (form) involving a musical subject (theme) that is successively imitated by multiple overlapping voices. There is a vast canon of rules (concepts) for creating elaborate and diverse fugues with an infinite variety of character based on fairly specific parameters. Fugues (or partial fugato) are found throughout classical music from the late Renaissance to the present.
grazioso [I], con grazia, gratioso, graziös [G], Mit Grazie—graceful, gracefully; easy
ma—but, however
minuet, menuet [F], Menuett [G], menuetto [I], minuetto [I]—A graceful, courtly French dance of the Baroque and Classical period with a triple meter and a moderate tempo.It was introduced at the court of Louis XIV. In classical forms such as the symphony or chamber music, the minuet evolved into the more vigorous scherzo.
moderato [I], moderamente, modéré [F], modérément [F]—moderately, at a moderate tempo, applying a touch of restraint to its related word(s), e.g. allegro moderato
molto [It]—very much
quartet, quatuor [F], quartett [G], quartetto [I], cuarteto [S]—ensemble or work for four players the most important examples being the string quartet and the piano quartet
string quartet, Streichquartett [G], quatuor à cordes [F], quartetto d'archi [I], quartetto di cordi [I], cuarteto de cuerda [S]—an ensemble as well as music written for that ensemble comprising 2 violins, viola and cello. This is one of the essential genres / forms / ensembles of chamber music and arguably a critical "core" of "classical" music. Explore the string quartet.