In this remarkable study, now an established classic, internationally renowned pianist and author Charles Rosen surveys the language of the music of the classical period through its three major figures - Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven - because 'it is in terms of their achievements that the musical vernacular can best be defined'. He follows the development of each composer's most distinctive genres: for Haydn, the symphony and string quartet; for Mozart, the concerto, string quintet and opera; for Beethoven, the piano sonata; as well as ranging widely through many other aspects of their work.
For this expanded edition, Charles Rosen provides an entirely new chapter on the later years of Beethoven and the musical conventions he inherited from Haydn and Mozart. The author has also written an extensive new preface in which he responds to writers who have commented on his ideas.