The decades in which music moved out of the chapel and the court and into public halls. Textures thin out: one melody over an accompaniment replaces the Baroque's parallel lines, and phrases start arriving in pairs, a question and an answer, so an amateur listener can follow. The symphony, the string quartet and the solo concerto took their lasting shape here, and sonata form became the general-purpose way to tell a musical story. It is still the frame most concert programmes hang on.
What to listen for
Themes stated, driven away from home, then brought back to the key they started in: the frame of sonata form.
Phrases in regular four and eight-bar lengths, which is why the music sounds like it is answering itself.
Contrast between movements is deliberate and wide: the slow movement and the finale barely sound like the same piece.
Ning Feng & Kammerakademie Potsdam: Complete Mozart Violin Concertos
Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, K. 219 · Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K. 216 · Violin Concerto No. 1 in B-flat major, K. 207 · Violin Concerto No. 2 in D major, K. 211 · Overture to La finta semplice, K. 51 · Serenade No. 13 for Strings in G major, K. 525 "Eine kleine Nachtmusik" · Symphony No. 33 in B-flat major, K. 319 · Violin Concerto No. 4 in D major, K. 218
Oriental Concert Hall · 19:30
SymphonicWed14Oct 2026
Currentzis and musicAeterna play Beethoven
Coriolan Overture, Op. 62 · Symphony No. 4 in B-flat major, Op. 60 · Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92
Shanghai Symphony Hall · Concert Hall · 19:30
SymphonicThu15Oct 2026
Currentzis and musicAeterna play Mozart
Le Nozze di Figaro Overture · Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488 · Symphony No. 41 in C major, K. 551 "Jupiter"
Shanghai Symphony Hall · Concert Hall · 19:30
ChamberFri16Oct 2026
Quatuor Van Kuijk: Masterworks
String Quartet No. 19 in C major, K. 465 "Dissonance" · String Quartet in D major, Op. 76 No. 5 · String Quartet No. 8 in E minor, Op. 59 No. 2 "Razumovsky"
Shanghai Concert Hall · Main Hall · 19:30
RecitalSat17Oct 2026
Lilya Zilberstein Piano Recital
Introduction, Variations brillantes et Rondeau de chasse, Op. 202
Oriental Concert Hall · 19:30
SymphonicSat17Oct 2026
Joshua Bell and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields
Egmont Overture, Op. 84 · Symphony No. 41 in C major, K. 551 "Jupiter"
Shanghai Concert Hall · Main Hall · 19:30
LectureSun18Oct 2026
MAP Class 1: Classical Period
"Allegro" from Serenade No. 13 for Strings in G major, KV 525 · "Molto allegro" from Symphony No. 40 in G minor, KV 550 · "Andante" from Symphony No. 94 in G major "The Surprise" · "Allegro vivace e con brio" from Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93
String Quintet No. 4 in G minor, KV 516 · Serenade No. 13 for Strings in G major, K. 525 "Eine kleine Nachtmusik" · String Quartet No. 19 in C major, K. 465 "Dissonance" · Concertone in C major for two violins, K. 190 (186e) · Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622
Shanghai Grand Opera House · Open Stage
VocalWed4Nov 2026
The Joy of Love: Angela Gheorghiu in Recital
Six Variations on "Nel cor più non mi sento", WoO 70 · Caro mio ben · Nel cor più non mi sento
Oriental Concert Hall · 19:30
RecitalThu5Nov 2026
Víkingur Ólafsson Piano Recital
Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109 · Piano Sonata No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90
Oriental Concert Hall · 19:30
ChamberFri6Nov 2026
SSO in Chamber 2: Polaris Quartet Performs Mozart and Dvořák
String Quintet No. 4 in G minor, KV 516
Shanghai Symphony Hall · Chamber Hall · 19:15
Fri6Nov 2026
Michel Dalberto Plays Mozart
Fantasia in C minor, KV 475 · Piano Sonata No. 8 in A minor, KV 310 · Rondo in A minor, KV 511 · Piano Sonata No. 14 in C minor, KV 457 · Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K. 331 "Alla turca" · Nine Variations on a Minuet by Duport, K. 573
Shanghai Symphony Hall · Concert Hall · 19:30
ChamberFri6Nov 2026
Dresden String Quintet
String Trio in C minor, Op. 9, No. 3
Shanghai Concert Hall · Main Hall · 19:30
ConcertoSat7Nov 2026
Rudolf Buchbinder & Staatskapelle Berlin: Beethoven Piano Concertos Cycle
Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58 · Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 19 · Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37 · Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15 · Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73 "Emperor"
The dates are a reading aid, not a boundary. Bach died writing counterpoint that Haydn's generation had already given up, and Rachmaninoff was writing romantic concertos while Webern wrote twelve-tone miniatures. Any two neighbouring periods overlap by decades.
