<P> The Classical period falls between the Baroque and the Romantic periods . Classical music has a lighter, clearer texture than Baroque music and is less complex . It is mainly homophonic, using a clear melody line over a subordinate chordal accompaniment, but counterpoint was by no means forgotten, especially later in the period . It also makes use of style galant which emphasized light elegance in place of the Baroque's dignified seriousness and impressive grandeur . Variety and contrast within a piece became more pronounced than before and the orchestra increased in size, range, and power . </P> <P> The harpsichord was replaced as the main keyboard instrument by the piano (or fortepiano). Unlike the harpsichord, which plucked strings with quills, pianos strike the strings with leather - covered hammers when the keys are pressed, which enables the performer to play louder or softer and play with more expression; in contrast, the force with which a performer plays the harpsichord keys does not change the sound . Instrumental music was considered important by Classical period composers . The main kinds of instrumental music were the sonata, trio, string quartet, symphony (performed by an orchestra) and the solo concerto, which featured a virtuoso solo performer playing a solo work for violin, piano, flute, or another instrument, accompanied by an orchestra . Vocal music, such as songs for a singer and piano (notably the work of Schubert), choral works, and opera (a staged dramatic work for singers and orchestra) were also important during this period . </P> <P> The best - known composers from this period are Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Franz Schubert; other notable names include Luigi Boccherini, Muzio Clementi, Antonio Salieri, Leopold Mozart, Johann Christian Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and Christoph Willibald Gluck . Ludwig van Beethoven is regarded either as a Romantic composer or a Classical period composer who was part of the transition to the Romantic era . Franz Schubert is also a transitional figure, as were Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Luigi Cherubini, Gaspare Spontini, Gioachino Rossini, and Carl Maria von Weber . The period is sometimes referred to as the era of Viennese Classic or Classicism (German: Wiener Klassik), since Gluck, Mozart, Haydn, Salieri, Schubert, and Beethoven all worked in Vienna . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> Part of a series on </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Classicism </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Classical antiquity </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Greco - Roman world </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Age of Enlightenment </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Neoclassicism </Li> </Ul> <Ul> <Li> Economics </Li> <Li> Music </Li> <Li> Physics </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> 20th - century neoclassicism </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Between World War I and II </Li> </Ul> <Ul> <Li> Ballet </Li> <Li> Economics </Li> <Li> Music </Li> </Ul> <Ul> <Li> Philosophy </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> </Table>

Who was the composer who spanned the transition between classical and romantic eras