Are chord progressions used in classical music?

Question

Apart from Pachelbel's Canon which uses (I V vi iii IV I IV V) I didn't see any other classical music that uses chord progressions (?) Think Bach, Beethoven, Mozart kind of classical. Would it be safe to say that those composers didn't think in progressions that repeat? If not, what would you say they mostly did?

Answer 1

The idea of using a progression, or more usually a bass line, that repeats, goes back a long way in classical music, and never really went away. But those pieces are not the majority of classical music. More often the composers you mention would think of harmonic progressions that would modulate in and out of different key areas, to go with the melodic themes that they used. This allowed them to create variety while using the same melodies.