Musicologists divide the study of classical music history into separate time periods. The major periods, with approximate dates, include Medieval (1150-1400), Renaissance (1400-1600), Baroque (1600-1750), Classical (1750-1830), Romantic (1830-1900), Modern (1901-1945), and Post-Modern (1946-present). Each period reflects distinctive elements.
Starting in the Renaissance, instrumental music accompanied dance. Composers started what today is known as "stylized dance," artistic music inspired by dance. Starting in the Baroque period, instrumental music became an independent form. Fantasies, ricercars, concertos, suites, fugues, preludes, toccatas, sonatas, chamber music, and symphonies are some of the major musical forms in classical music.
The symphonic orchestra is one of the major iconic elements of classical music. It was organized and established the way we know it today during the second half of the 18th century, featuring stringed instruments, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. The symphony form was one of the biggest challenges for any composer. It was divided into three or four contrasting parts called "movements." This form was entirely instrumental until Beethoven introduced, for the first time, a colossal choral part during the last movement of his Ninth Symphony. Some masters of the symphonic form include Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Bruckner, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, Mahler, Nielsen, Sibelius, Vaughan Williams, and Shostakovich.
The earliest evidence of how ancient music actually sounded is found in the medieval Gregorian chant, which was made of single unaccompanied melodies. Vocal music became more and more complex as years went by. Choral music played a very important role, as it was often used to express different types of religious feelings in the work of Palestrina, Bach, Handel, Mozart, Verdi, and others. Accompanied songs such as the German lied usually reflected secular feelings; this terse form is especially associated with composers such as Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, and Wolf.
Opera essentially synthesizes music and drama (theater). It originated in Italy around the 1600s. One of the first respected opera composers was Claudio Monteverdi, some of whose works are still performed today. The first plot lines during the early years of opera referred to mythological subjects. Later on, around the Classical period, the subjects became more humanly believable. In the opera, action is presented in acts and scenes. Italy (Rossini, Verdi, Puccini), Germany (Mozart, Wagner, Strauss), and France (Gounod, Bizet, Massenet) were among the major contributors to the development of opera.