This volume focuses on the core composers of the 18th-century repertoire. It begins with an overview of the keyboard instruments that were in use during the 18th century and a chapter on performance practice. The book proceeds through each major composer, beginning with Bach, and then progressing through the French masters, Scarlatti, C.P.E. and J.C. Bach, Haydn, Mozart and early Beethoven. Each chapter is written by a well-known scholar in the field and includes history, musical examples and analysis.

The concert overtures A Midsummer Night's Dream, Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, and The Hebrides (Fingal's Cave), conceived by Mendelssohn before the age of twenty, have ranked among the most enduring of the nineteenth-century orchestral repertoire. R. Larry Todd offers a historical, stylistic, and analytical guide to these three remarkable works. His clearly structured and accessible text is supported by a wealth of primary documents, including Mendelssohn's correspondence, memoirs of his friends, and nineteenth-century critical reviews.

First published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.