67 recordings from 6 composers are referred to in this bookmark list

With the Classical period came the new notion that emotions were not steady states, but were constantly changing and sometimes contradictory responses to one's experiences and thoughts, made obsolete the Baroque approach of conveying a single feeling in a movement or section.
Instead, composers began to introduce contrasting moods in the various parts of a movement or even within the themes themselves. The possibilities for contrasts were heightened by the nature of the new music, with its many short phrases and its dependence on differences in the material to articulate the form.

Burkholder, Grout, Palisca. 2009. A History of Western Music, Eight Edition. p.482

The term 'classical' commonly used to describe much orchestral music has in European musicology quite specific meaning, referring to the period between about 1750 and1820. By the end of the 18th Century, the instrumental line-up of the orchestra had become standardized as follows: 2 Fls, 2 Obs, 2 Clars, 2 Bsns, 2-4 Horn, 2 Tpts, Timp, Strings.
The continuo favoured by Baroque orchestras was abandoned and keyboard instruments disappeared. String sections would vary in size but the minimum numbers were reckoned to be 6 first violins, 6 seconds, 4 violas, 4 cellos and 3 double basses. Amongst the woodwinds, the comparative weakness of sound meant there was often duplication of parts. Additional 'exotic' instruments (sometimes known as 'Turkish' instruments) were brought into the orchestra for specific pieces, often in opera. These included piccolo, trombones, harp and some percussion (e.g. triangle, tambourine, cymbals).
The classical orchestra became one of the major vehicles for the increased interest in formal clarity and development during this period. The new approach to composition also allowed for the development of some strong orchestral effects. These first appear in the works of Johann Stamitz, and the rest of the Mannheim school of composers, with their 'sky rockets' (an upward leaping arpeggio) and 'sighs' (a falling phrase). The three major figures of the Classical period, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, developed orchestral composition to the point where the orchestra became the grandest and most powerful tool of musical expression. Haydn experimented with several additions to the standard line-up, including trombones and contrabassoon. Mozart tended to work with the standard orchestra, concentrating on refining its musical possibilities. Beethoven was greatly influenced by the technological innovation of the pianoforte and the dramatic qualities of that instrument were often reflected in the way he handled the orchestra.From his Fifth Symphony onwards, trombones were established as regular orchestral members.

Hugill, Andrew. The Orchestra, A User’s Manual

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About Bookmarks and Bookmark Lists

Bookmark Lists are accessed from the Bookmark icon at the top-right corner of the OrchPlay interface. Before loading a bookmark from the list you must have the related OrchPlay files installed in your Music Library. OrchPlay bookmarks contain information that works in parallel with the OrchPlay Music Library:

• Playback cursor position, score page and Locator selection (starting-ending time and measure numbers)
• Activated and deactivated sound of specific instruments as well as Mixer settings (mutes, solos, balance)
• Colored score markings

With custom or OrchPlay-provided Bookmark Lists you may:

• Quickly prepare lectures and presentations and organize your audio-visual material for Online classes
• Instantaneously alternate between multiple selections of instruments; choose an instrument or build any instrumental combinations
• Highlight the role of a specific instrument in a musical context by increasing its presence
• Compare the musical interpretation of the same passage from different recording

Next to the Bookmark icon you will find the Embedded Documents. The OrchPlay Music Library always provides a study score in PDF format. Teachers have access to different score versions with full or selective orchestral family reductions and piano versions. The page layout enables students to write directly onto the score. PDF scores filenames have suffixes combinations that indicate their layout:

• ORCH = Orchestra score with blank staves for orchestral families reduction or piano reduction assignments [Pro and Teacher]
• REDUC = Orchestral families reductions for orchestration or piano reduction assignments [Teacher only]
• Piano = Piano version for orchestration assignments [Teacher only]

Pro/students may listen to the orchestral families reductions and piano versions. Only Teachers have the written solutions as scores.

132 recordings from 33 composers are referred to in this bookmark list

The wide expansion and development of artistic expression that characterizes the Romantic era is reflected in the orchestra. However, it is important to bear in mind that technological advances were crucial to enabling this growth. String instruments were redesigned to a different bow pattern (Tourte) and with greater string tension. Theobald Boehm redesigned the flute, oboe and clarinet to a system that is still in common usage today. Brass instruments acquired valves, giving them chromatic capabilities. All these developments enabled a more powerful sound and more lyrical expression.
It was opera often that drove the development. Wagner included many of the new instruments, including bass tubas, bass clarinets, English horns (which made a comeback in the 19th century) and an expanded percussion section. On occasion he was obliged to invent his own instruments such as the Wagner Tuba. Meanwhile, Verdi also explored new instruments, and included cornets for the first time in the brass section. Harps appeared, often in pairs or even more, in many pieces.
The overall effect of all these developments was to produce a bigger, richer sound, with greater timbral variety. Composers exploited these possibilities and in doing so yet further developed the orchestra. In a period when creating an original sound was an important artistic goal, the orchestra provided perhaps the greatest possibility of so doing.

Hugill, Andrew. The Orchestra, A User’s Manual

About Bookmarks and Bookmark Lists

Bookmark Lists are accessed from the Bookmark icon at the top-right corner of the OrchPlay interface. Before loading a bookmark from the list you must have the related OrchPlay files installed in your Music Library. OrchPlay bookmarks contain information that works in parallel with the OrchPlay Music Library:

• Playback cursor position, score page and Locator selection (starting-ending time and measure numbers)
• Activated and deactivated sound of specific instruments as well as Mixer settings (mutes, solos, balance)
• Colored score markings

With custom or OrchPlay-provided Bookmark Lists you may:

• Quickly prepare lectures and presentations and organize your audio-visual material for Online classes
• Instantaneously alternate between multiple selections of instruments; choose an instrument or build any instrumental combinations
• Highlight the role of a specific instrument in a musical context by increasing its presence
• Compare the musical interpretation of the same passage from different recording

Next to the Bookmark icon you will find the Embedded Documents. The OrchPlay Music Library always provides a study score in PDF format. Teachers have access to different score versions with full or selective orchestral family reductions and piano versions. The page layout enables students to write directly onto the score. PDF scores filenames have suffixes combinations that indicate their layout:

• ORCH = Orchestra score with blank staves for orchestral families reduction or piano reduction assignments [Pro and Teacher]
• REDUC = Orchestral families reductions for orchestration or piano reduction assignments [Teacher only]
• Piano = Piano version for orchestration assignments [Teacher only]

Pro/students may listen to the orchestral families reductions and piano versions. Only Teachers have the written solutions as scores.

111 recordings from 29 composers are referred to in this bookmark list

The 20th century orchestra has been enormously varied in line-up, constitution and purpose. Many large ensembles, representing all kinds of musical styles and aesthetics, have adopted the name 'orchestra' as opposed to 'band' or 'ensemble'. The 'classical' orchestra, with its large body of strings, remains probably the defining configuration, but even this has been altered and expanded in ways unimaginable in the 19th century with considerable autonomy given to Woodwinds and Brasses. Many new instruments entered the stage (among them the saxophone, the heckelphone or the contrabass clarinet). Keyboard instruments such as celesta and piano became regular members of the orchestra, and various electronic instruments (e.g. ondes martenot, synthesizers) were added.
Probably the most dramatic development has been in the percussion section. Thus, Igor Stravinsky's Rite of Spring (1913) included timpani, triangle, tambourine, guiro, 2antique cymbals, cymbals, bass drum, tam-tam (as well as quadruple woodwind, including two bass clarinets, and a large brass section) and by 1926, Edgard Varèse included 39 tuned and untuned percussion instruments in his massive orchestra for Arcana.
However, there was also a reaction against the use of such large forces, which were seen as being associated with 'overblown' Romantic music. Stravinsky himself was one of the leaders of this reaction, often turning to non-standard orchestral line-ups to explore new musical possibilities.
The focus upon timbres and their successful blend is very characteristic of 20th Century orchestration. The orchestra as a body steadily became a 'sounding object' or a large-scale timbral palette, and many composers explored different and individual facets of this in their work.

Hugill, Andrew. The Orchestra, A User’s Manual

About Bookmarks and Bookmark Lists

Bookmark Lists are accessed from the Bookmark icon at the top-right corner of the OrchPlay interface. Before loading a bookmark from the list you must have the related OrchPlay files installed in your Music Library. OrchPlay bookmarks contain information that works in parallel with the OrchPlay Music Library:

• Playback cursor position, score page and Locator selection (starting-ending time and measure numbers)
• Activated and deactivated sound of specific instruments as well as Mixer settings (mutes, solos, balance)
• Colored score markings

With custom or OrchPlay-provided Bookmark Lists you may:

• Quickly prepare lectures and presentations and organize your audio-visual material for Online classes
• Instantaneously alternate between multiple selections of instruments; choose an instrument or build any instrumental combinations
• Highlight the role of a specific instrument in a musical context by increasing its presence
• Compare the musical interpretation of the same passage from different recording

Next to the Bookmark icon you will find the Embedded Documents. The OrchPlay Music Library always provides a study score in PDF format. Teachers have access to different score versions with full or selective orchestral family reductions and piano versions. The page layout enables students to write directly onto the score. PDF scores filenames have suffixes combinations that indicate their layout:

• ORCH = Orchestra score with blank staves for orchestral families reduction or piano reduction assignments [Pro and Teacher]
• REDUC = Orchestral families reductions for orchestration or piano reduction assignments [Teacher only]
• Piano = Piano version for orchestration assignments [Teacher only]

Pro/students may listen to the orchestral families reductions and piano versions. Only Teachers have the written solutions as scores.

53 recordings from 48 composers are referred to in this bookmark list

About Bookmarks and Bookmark Lists

Bookmark Lists are accessed from the Bookmark icon at the top-right corner of the OrchPlay interface. Before loading a bookmark from the list you must have the related OrchPlay files installed in your Music Library. OrchPlay bookmarks contain information that works in parallel with the OrchPlay Music Library:

• Playback cursor position, score page and Locator selection (starting-ending time and measure numbers)
• Activated and deactivated sound of specific instruments as well as Mixer settings (mutes, solos, balance)
• Colored score markings

With custom or OrchPlay-provided Bookmark Lists you may:

• Quickly prepare lectures and presentations and organize your audio-visual material for Online classes
• Instantaneously alternate between multiple selections of instruments; choose an instrument or build any instrumental combinations
• Highlight the role of a specific instrument in a musical context by increasing its presence
• Compare the musical interpretation of the same passage from different recording

Next to the Bookmark icon you will find the Embedded Documents. The OrchPlay Music Library always provides a study score in PDF format. Teachers have access to different score versions with full or selective orchestral family reductions and piano versions. The page layout enables students to write directly onto the score. PDF scores filenames have suffixes combinations that indicate their layout:

• ORCH = Orchestra score with blank staves for orchestral families reduction or piano reduction assignments [Pro and Teacher]
• REDUC = Orchestral families reductions for orchestration or piano reduction assignments [Teacher only]
• Piano = Piano version for orchestration assignments [Teacher only]

Pro/students may listen to the orchestral families reductions and piano versions. Only Teachers have the written solutions as scores.