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.
Rondo in D major, K. 485 · Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 "Pathétique" · Piano Sonata No. 31 in A-flat major, Op. 110
BOCOM New Bund 31 · Grand Theatre · 19:45
RecitalFri28Aug 2026
Paul Lewis Piano Recital
Piano Sonata No. 14 in C minor, KV 457 · Piano Sonata No. 10 in C major, K. 330
Shanghai Concert Hall · Main Hall · 19:30
SymphonicSat29Aug 2026
Xu Zhong & Shanghai Opera House Symphony Orchestra Play Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-flat major, K. 271 "Jenamy" · Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467 · Symphony No. 31 in D major, K. 297 "Paris" · Symphony No. 38 in D major, K. 504 "Prague"
Oriental Concert Hall · 19:30
RecitalFri4Sep 2026
Future Masters: Dreams of Life - Wang Yuehan Fortepiano Recital
Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major, Op. 53 "Waldstein" · Piano Sonata No. 60 in C major, Hob. XVI/50
Oriental Recital Hall · 19:45
ChamberSat5Sep 2026
Paganini Champions: Giuseppe Gibboni & Carlotta Dalia, Violin and Guitar
Sonata in E minor, Op. 3, No. 6, MS 27 · Six Caprices for Solo Violin, selected from the 24 Caprices · La Campanella
Oriental Concert Hall · 19:30
ChamberThu10Sep 2026
Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra 2026 Shanghai Concert
Symphony No. 10 in F major, Op. 35, No. 4
Oriental Concert Hall · 19:30
SymphonicSun13Sep 2026
Opening Concert of SSO 2026-27 Season (II) — Shostakovich: The Tenth
Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K. 216
Shanghai Symphony Hall · Concert Hall · 19:30
SymphonicTue22Sep 2026
Antonio Pappano & London Symphony Orchestra Concert
Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat major for violin, viola and orchestra, K. 364
Oriental Concert Hall · 19:30
RecitalTue22Sep 2026
Augustin Hadelich Recital
Caprice No. 19 in E-flat major, Op. 1 · Caprice No. 16 in G minor, Op. 1
Shanghai Symphony Hall · Concert Hall · 19:30
ChamberThu24Sep 2026
Stradivari Quartet Plays Mozart
String Quartet No. 23 in F major, KV 590 · String Quintet No. 4 in G minor, KV 516
Shanghai Symphony Hall · Chamber Hall · 19:15
ConcertTue29Sep 2026
Rush Hour Concert 1: Mozart in His Time
Twelve Variations on "Ah vous dirai-je, Maman" in C major, K. 265 · Serenade in C major for strings, K. 648 · Sinfonia concertante in E-flat major, K. 364 · Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488
Shanghai Symphony Hall · Chamber Hall · 18:30
ChoralTue6Oct 2026
Vienna Boys’ Choir in Shanghai
"Godiam la pace", from Idomeneo · Serenade No. 13 for Strings in G major, K. 525 "Eine kleine Nachtmusik"
Oriental Concert Hall · 19:30
SymphonicWed7Oct 2026
Dutoit, Leonskaja and SSO Perform Mozart and Respighi's Roman Trilogy
Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat major, K. 482
Shanghai Symphony Hall · Concert Hall · 19:30
ConcertoSat10Oct 2026
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
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
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.
