Howard Goodall's Story of Music
S01E03: The Age of Elegance & Sensibility
The composer examines the age of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann and Chopin. This period from 1750 to 1850 saw composers going from being paid, liveried servants of princes and archbishops to working as freelancers required to appeal to a new, middle-class audience. The era also saw tremendous social upheaval, including the American, French and Industrial revolutions, but until around the turn of the 19th century, the music that was being written bore little relevance to the tumultuous changes in society.
Overview
Shown as six one-hour programmes on BBC2, "Story of Music" presents Howard’s personal view of the musical timeline from the stone age to the digital age, including the influence of classical music on the growth of popular music as well as the evolution of blues, jazz and world music.