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Music is the one art form that reaches people at the deepest level, some say more than literature and the visual arts. In music feelings and emotions are communicated and expressed just by the technique of putting together some well chosen sounds. This is especially true with classical piano music, where we can truly say that language is not a barrier.
The tinkling of hidden strings resonating with its dynamics of pianissimos, its andantes, its fortes and fortissimos, then its decrescendos and finally its al nientes never fail to uplift, excite, soothe, and generally induce quite keen emotions in the listener. When thinking of classical piano music a few composers come to mind among them Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, and Mozart.
Piano music history spans a range of styles and periods, and has produced many talented composers and performers through the ages. The styles for piano include the concerto, sonata, trio, quintet, and finally the solo which became the popular style with the rise in interest of the piano as an instrument. The solo style of playing has prevailed to this day with its etudes, its preludes, and its nocturnes.
Periods in piano music before and after the Classical Period are the Baroque and the Romantic. The Baroque, emotional and prone to ornamentation, was characterized by the works of Bach and Handel with their compositions for the early piano. These mostly used the element of counterpoint of which the fugue is a good example.
The later Romantic period was a move away from classical piano music’s structural modulation, its clarity of thought and beauty of form. The Romantic music moved away from the Enlightenment’s idea of music and was freer than that of the Classical period. Its nature was experimental and expressive. Composers of this period were Chopin and Liszt. Other favorites of this period were Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Brahms, Dvorak, and Verdi.