The Classical Style

The American pianist and music theorist Charles Rosen (b. 1927) achieved recognition with this book written in 1971 and revised and expanded for the second edition in 1997. With remarkable insight, he sheds light on various aspects of the classical style in its highest form. Beside the basic discussion of the legacy of the three masters, the author gives a perhaps even more revealing division according to characteristic genres: string quartet, serious opera, concert, string quintet, comic opera, piano trio, etc. “The relation of the classical style to the anonymous style or musical vernacular of the late eighteenth century is that is represents not only a synthesis of the artistic possibilities of the age, but also a purification of the irrelevant residue of past traditions.”