Classical and Romantic Periods

A subsection of an act in a play or opera.

• scene
• act
• show
• motive

The concluding section of a musical work or individual movement, often leading to a final climaxand coupled with an increase in tempo.

• rondo
• coda
• theme
• cadenza

A short melodic or rhythmic theme that reappears frequently throughout a work or section of awork as a unifying device.

• theme
• motive
• phrase
• coda

A generic term for a keyboard instrument.

• organ
• clavier
• première
• harpsichord

Musical units consisting of several measures.

• intonation
• orchestration
• rhythm
• phrasing

The first or most eminent performance of a work.

• clavier
• troisième
• timide
• première

A section of music, usually in a concerto, played in an improvisatory style by a solo performer without orchestral accompaniment.

• scherzo
• coda
• cadenza
• symphony

An extended alternating form often employed in the fourth movement of classical symphonies;generally spirited and playful in character.

• rondo
• sonata form
• orchestration
• coda

A musical idea that serves as a starting point for development of a composition or section of a composition.

• motive
• coda
• tempo
• theme

A chamber ensemble consisting of a first and a second violin, a viola, and a cello; also, the form that is a sonata for these instruments.

• chamber music
• string quartet
• symphony
• sonata form