Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 9th century to present times. Early music is commonly defined as European classical music from the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Baroque. The term medieval music encompasses European music written during the Middle Ages. Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance, approximately 1400 - 1600 The common practice period, in the history of European Art music (broadly called Classical music) spanning the Baroque, Classical, and Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 and 1750. The dates of the Classical period in Western music are generally accepted as 1750 to 1810 Romantic Music is a Musicological term referring to a particular period theory compositional practice and canon in European music history from about 1815 to 1910 At the turn of the 20th century classical music was characteristically late Romantic in style while at the same time the Impressionist movement spearheaded by Claude Debussy Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to a period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. Also see articles History of painting, Western painting Western Art' redirects here Religious music (also sacred music) is Music performed or composed for religious use or through religious influence Secular music is non- Sacred music that developed in the Middle Ages. The 9th century is the period from 801 to 900 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. ^[1] The central norms of this tradition became codified between 1550 and 1900, which is known as the common practice period. Year 1900 ( MCM) was an exceptional Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar The common practice period, in the history of European Art music (broadly called Classical music) spanning the Baroque, Classical, and

European classical music is largely distinguished from many other non-European and popular musical forms by its system of staff notation, in use since about the 16th century. Popular music is Music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more See also Modern musical symbols Music notation or musical notation is any system which represents aurally perceived Music through the use ^[2] Western staff notation is used by composers to prescribe to the performer the pitch, speed, meter, individual rhythms and exact execution of a piece of music. Pitch represents the perceived Fundamental frequency of a sound 2266-Tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl or TEMPO is the Chemical compound with the formula (CH23(CMe22NO Meter or metre is a concept related to an underlying division of time characteristic of western music Rhythm (from Greek ῥυθμός - rhythmos, "any measured flow or movement symmetry" is the variation of the length and accentuation of This leaves less room for practices, such as improvisation and ad libitum ornamentation, that are frequently heard in non-European art music (compare Indian classical music and Japanese traditional music), and popular music. The origins of Indian classical music can be found from the oldest of Scriptures part of the Hindu tradition the Vedas. The modern Japanese music scene includes a wide array of performers in distinct styles both traditional and modern ranging from rock electro punk folk metal reggae salsa and tango ^[3][4][5]

The public taste for and appreciation of formal music of this type waned in the late 1900s in the United States and United Kingdom in particular. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located ^[6] Certainly this period has seen classical music falling well behind the immense commercial success of popular music, in the opinion of some, although the number of CDs sold is not indicative of the popularity of classical music. ^[7]

The term "classical music" did not appear until the early 19th century, in an attempt to "canonize" the period from Johann Sebastian Bach to Beethoven as a golden age. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section.2 This article is written in British English including maximised use of "-ise" Ludwig van Beethoven ( English ˈlʊdvɪg væn ˈbeɪtoʊvən, 16 December 1770 &ndash 26 March 1827 was a German Composer and Pianist. ^[8] The earliest reference to "classical music" recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is from about 1836. The Oxford English Dictionary ( OED) published by the Oxford University Press (OUP is a comprehensive Dictionary of the English ^[9][10]

Characteristics

Given the extremely broad variety of forms, styles, genres, and historical periods generally perceived as being described by the term "classical music," it is difficult to list characteristics that can be attributed to all works of that type.

Vague descriptions are plentiful, such as describing classical music as anything that "lasts a long time," a statement made rather moot when one considers contemporary composers who are described as "classical;" or music that has certain instruments like violins, which are also found in bluegrass music, Broadway music, and other genres; or "relaxing" or "background" music for affluent people, descriptions which are probably only accurate when describing court music from the Baroque and Classical periods; indeed, many people do not find modern or avant-garde composers and works such as Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima by Krzysztof Penderecki or Black Angels by George Crumb to be very relaxing or "snobby. Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and is a sub-genre of Country music. Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located Baroque art redirects here Please disambiguate such links to Baroque painting, Baroque sculpture, etc Avant-garde (avɑ̃gaʁd in French) means "advance guard" or "vanguard Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima ( Tren ofiarom Hiroszimy in Polish) is a Musical composition for 52 String instruments Krzysztof Penderecki (ˈkʂɨʂtɔf pɛndɛrˈɛ͡tski born November 23 1933 in Dębica) is a Polish Composer and conductor of classical George Crumb (born October 24, 1929) is an American Composer of modern and Avant garde music "

However, there are characteristics that classical music contains that generally few or no other genres of music contain.

Instrumentation

Classical and popular music are often distinguished by their choice of instruments. There are few if any genres in which so many different instruments are used simultaneously by performing groups such as symphony orchestras, which often contain as many as 5 or so different types of string instruments including members of the violin family and harp, 7 or more types of woodwind instruments, 4 or so types of brass instrument, and many diverse percussion instruments, sometimes as many as 10 different types. An orchestra is an instrumental ensemble, usually fairly large with string brass woodwind sections and possibly a percussion section as well A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a Musical instrument that produces Sound by means of Vibrating strings In the Hornbostel-Sachs The violin is a bowed String instrument with four strings usually tuned in Perfect fifths It is the smallest and highest-pitched member The harp is a Stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. Types of woodwind instruments See also List of woodwind instruments Single-reed instruments use a reed, which is a thin cut Brass is any Alloy of Copper and Zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties Also prevalent, especially in opera, is the human voice. Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto Comparatively, most popular music genres involve fewer instruments. For instance a typical rock band will consist of a drummer, a guitarist or two, a singer or two, an electric bassist and, less universally, a keyboardist. A musical ensemble is a group of two or more Musicians who perform instrumental or vocal Music. Of course, crossover influences, such as string sections in pop recordings, are very popular as well, but rarely are backing strings considered to be part of pop or rock bands.

The instruments used in common practice classical music were mostly invented before the mid-19th century (often much earlier), and codified in the 18th and 19th centuries. They consist of the instruments found in an orchestra, together with a few other solo instruments (such as the piano, harpsichord, and organ). An orchestra is an instrumental ensemble, usually fairly large with string brass woodwind sections and possibly a percussion section as well The piano is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with Felt covered hammers A harpsichord is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. The organ (from Greek όργανον – organon "organ instrument tool" is a Keyboard instrument of one or more divisions each

Electric instruments such as the electric guitar appear occasionally in the classical music of the 20th and 21st centuries. An electric guitar is a type of Guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current which is made louder Both classical and popular musicians have experimented in recent decades with electronic instruments such as the synthesizer, electric and digital techniques such as the use of sampled or computer-generated sounds, and the sounds of instruments from other cultures such as the gamelan. A gamelan is a musical ensemble of Indonesia typically featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones xylophones drums and gongs bamboo flutes bowed and

None of the bass instruments existed until the Renaissance. In Medieval music, instruments are divided in two categories: loud instruments for use outdoors or in church, and quieter instruments for indoor use. Many instruments which are associated today with popular music used to have important roles in early classical music, such as bagpipes, vihuelas, hurdy-gurdies and some woodwind instruments. Bagpipes are a class of Musical instrument, Aerophones using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag Vihuela is a name given to two different Guitar -like String instruments one from 15th and 16th century Spain, usually with 12 paired strings and the A hurdy gurdy (also known as a wheel fiddle) is a stringed Musical instrument in which the strings are sounded by means of a Rosined wheel which the strings On the other hand, the acoustic guitar, for example, which used to be associated mainly with popular music, has gained prominence in classical music through the 19th and 20th centuries.

While equal temperament became gradually accepted as the dominant musical temperament during the 19th century, different historical temperaments are often used for music from earlier periods. Equal temperament is a Musical temperament, or a system of tuning in which every pair of adjacent notes has an identical Frequency ratio. In Musical tuning, a temperament is a system of tuning which slightly compromises the pure intervals of Just intonation in order to meet other requirements of the For instance, music of the English Renaissance is often performed in mean tone temperament. The English Renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement in England dating from the early 16th century to the early 17th century Meantone temperament is a Musical temperament, which is a system of Musical tuning.

Form and technical execution

Whereas the majority of popular styles, such as rock music, lend themselves to the song form, classical music can also take on the form of the concerto, symphony, opera, dance music, suite, etude, symphonic poem, and others. Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. A song is a Musical composition. Songs contain vocal parts that are performed 'sung' and generally feature Words ( Lyrics) commonly followed The term Concerto (plural concertos or concerti) usually refers to a three part musical work in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an Orchestra A symphony is a Musical composition, often extended and usually for Orchestra. Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto This article is about music for dancing in general You may also be looking for Electronic dance music. In Music, a suite is an ordered set of Instrumental or Orchestral pieces normally performed in a Concert An étude (a French word meaning study) is an instrumental Musical composition, most commonly of considerable difficulty usually designed to provide practice A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of Orchestral Music in one movement in which some extramusical program provides a narrative or illustrative element

Classical composers often aspire to imbue their music with a very complex relationship between its affective (emotional) content and the intellectual means by which it is achieved. Many of the most esteemed works of classical music make use of musical development, the process by which a musical germ, idea or motif is repeated in different contexts or in altered form. In European classical music, musical development is a process by which a musical Idea is communicated in the course of a composition. The classical genres of sonata form and fugue employ rigorous forms of musical development. This article treats the history of Sonata form in the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern eras

Along with a certain desire for composers to attain high technical achievement in writing their music, performers of classical music are faced with similar goals of technical mastery, as demonstrated by the proportionately high amount of schooling and private study most successful classical musicians have had when compared to "popular" genre musicians, and the large number of secondary schools, including the conservatories, dedicated to the study of classical music. A university school of music or college of music, or academy of music or conservatoire ( French, but used in British English) &mdash The only other genre in the Western world with comparable secondary education opportunities is jazz.

Complexity

Classical music generally requires high musical skills to play such as sight reading, ability to coordinate with other players and experience in playing the composer's music. Classical works often display musical complexity through the composer's use of development, modulation (changing of keys), variation rather than exact repetition, musical phrases that are not of even length, counterpoint, polyphony and sophisticated harmony. In Music, modulation is most commonly the act or process of changing from one key ( tonic, or tonal center) to another In Western music, harmony is the use of different pitches simultaneously and chords actual or implied in Music. Larger-scale classical works (such as symphonies, concertos, operas and oratorios) are built up from a hierarchy of smaller units: namely phrases, periods, sections, and movements. A symphony is a Musical composition, often extended and usually for Orchestra. The term Concerto (plural concertos or concerti) usually refers to a three part musical work in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an Orchestra Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto An oratorio is a large Musical composition including an Orchestra, a Choir, and soloists The oratorio was somewhat modeled after the Opera Musical analysis often seeks to distinguish and explain these structural levels. Musical analysis can be defined as an attempt to answer the Question how does this Music work?.

Society

Often perceived as opulent or signifying some aspect of upper-level society, classical music has generally never been as popular with working class society as genres such as hip-hop and rap are in urban areas, or country and folk music are in rural American areas. Hip hop is a cultural movement which developed in New York City in the 1970s primarily among African Americans and Latinos. Rapping (also known as emceeing, MCing, spitting, or just rhyming) is the Rhythmic spoken delivery of Rhymes wordplay and In Political geography and International politics, a country is a Political division of a geographical entity See also Folk (disambiguation, Volk (disambiguation Folk is one of the Germanic roots that mean "(of the people" or "our However, the traditional perception that only upper-class society has access to and appreciation for classical music, or even that classical music represents the upper-class society, may not be true, given that many if not most working classical musicians fall somewhere in the middle-class income range in the United States, and that classical concertgoers and CD buyers are not necessarily upper class. Even in the Classical era, Mozart's opera buffa such as Cosi fan Tutte were popular with many common people. The term Opera buffa (plural Opere buffe) was at first used as an informal description of Italian Comic operas variously classified by their authors as Così fan tutte ossia La scuola degli amanti ( Thus Do They All or The School For Lovers) K

History

Classical music can be divided into a number of periods spanning from Medieval times to the present. Its roots lie in early Christian music, and its influences date even further back to the Ancient Greeks. The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca Classical music theory is in fact based on the development of individual tones and scales by ancient Greeks such as Aristoxenus and the mathematician Pythagoras. For the 1st century physician of Asia Minor see Aristoxenus (physician. "Pythagoras of Samos" redirects here For the Samian statuary of the same name see Pythagoras (sculptor. Pythagoras created a tuning system and helped to codify music. Ancient Greek instruments such as the aulos (a reed instrument) and the lyre (a stringed instrument similar to a small harp) eventually led to the modern day instruments of a classical orchestra. The aulos ( Greek αυλός, plural αυλοί, auloi or tibia ( Latin) was an ancient Greek musical instrument A reed is a thin strip of material which vibrates to produce a sound on a Musical instrument. The lyre is a stringed musical instrument well known for its use in Classical Antiquity and later ^[11]

The major time divisions of classical music are the early period (which includes Medieval (476 – 1400) and Renaissance (1400 – 1600)); the Common practice period (which includes Baroque (1600 – 1750), Classical (1730 – 1820), and Romantic periods (1815 – 1910)); and the modern and contemporary period which includes 20th century classical (1900 – 2000) and contemporary classical (1975 – current). The term medieval music encompasses European music written during the Middle Ages. Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance, approximately 1400 - 1600 Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 and 1750. The dates of the Classical period in Western music are generally accepted as 1750 to 1810 Romantic Music is a Musicological term referring to a particular period theory compositional practice and canon in European music history from about 1815 to 1910 At the turn of the 20th century classical music was characteristically late Romantic in style while at the same time the Impressionist movement spearheaded by Claude Debussy Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to a period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism.

The antecedent to the early period was the era of ancient music from before the fall of the Roman Empire (476 AD), very little of which survived. Ancient music is Music that developed in literate Cultures replacing Prehistoric music. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial The music that survived from this period is mostly from ancient Greece. The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca The Medieval period includes music from after the fall of Rome to about 1450. Monophonic chant, also called plainsong or Gregorian Chant, was the dominant form until about 1100. In Music, monophony is the simplest of textures, consisting of Melody without accompanying Harmony. History Gregorian chant was organized codified and notated mainly in the Frankish lands of western and central Europe during the 12th and 13th centuries with later additions Polyphonic (multi-voiced) music developed from monophonic chant throughout the late Middle Ages and into the Renaissance. In Music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent Melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice ( Monophony The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere The Renaissance music was from 1450 – 1600. It was characterized by greater use of instrumentation, multiple interweaving melodic lines and by the use of the first bass instruments. In Music, the word instrumentation is used to refer to the particular combination of Musical instruments employed in a composition and to the properties Bass (ˈbɛɪs as in base) when used as an adjective is used to describe tones of low Frequency or range.

The common practice era began with the Baroque period in about 1600 and extended until 1750. Baroque music is characterized by the use of complex tonal counterpoint and the use of a basso continuo, a continuous bass line. In Music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and Rhythm, and interdependent in Harmony Figured bass, or thoroughbass, is a kind of integer Musical notation used to indicate intervals, chords and Nonchord tones in relation During this period keyboard music played on the harpsichord and pipe organ became increasingly popular. A harpsichord is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. The pipe organ is a Musical instrument that produces sound when pressurized air (wind is driven through a series of pipes, controlled by a keyboard The classical period, from about 1750 – 1820, established many of the norms of composition, presentation and style, and the piano became the predominant keyboard instrument. The piano is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with Felt covered hammers

The Romantic era, from 1820 – 1910, codified practice, expanded the role of music in cultural life and created institutions for the teaching, performance and preservation of music. It is characterized by increased attention to melody and rhythm, as well as expressive and emotional elements, paralleling romanticism in other art forms. Romanticism is a complex artistic literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the

The modern era began with Impressionist music from 1910-1920, which was dominated by French composers who went against the traditional German ways of art and music. The impressionist movement in music was a movement in European Classical music, mainly in France that began in the late nineteenth century and continued into the middle Impressionist music by Erik Satie, Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel used the pentatonic scale, long, flowing phrases and free rhythms. Alfred Éric Leslie Satie ( Honfleur, 17 May 1866 – Paris, 1 July 1925) was a French Composer and Achille-Claude Debussy (aʃil klod dəbysi (August 22 1862 &ndash March 25 1918 was a French Composer. A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five pitches per Octave in contrast to an heptatonic (seven note scale such as the Major scale Modernism, 1905-1985, marked a period of many composers' rejection of certain values of the "common practice" period, such as traditional tonality, melody, instrumentation, and structure, and of the extension of theory and technique. Modernism in music is characterized by a desire for or belief in progress and Science, Surrealism, anti-romanticism Political Advocacy, general 20th century classical music, a wide variety of post-Romantic styles composed through the year 1999, includes late Romantic, Modern and Postmodern styles of composition. The term contemporary music is sometimes used to describe music composed in the late 20th century through present day.

The prefix neo is used to describe a 20th century or contemporary composition written in the style of an earlier period, such as classical, romantic, or modern. Stravinsky's Pulcinella, for example, is a neoclassical composition. Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (Игорь Фёдорович Стравинский) ( &ndash 6 April 1971 was a Russian born Composer, considered by many to Pulcinella is a Ballet by Igor Stravinsky based on an 18th-century play — Pulcinella is a character originating from Commedia dell'arte Neoclassicism in music was a 20th century development particularly popular in the period between the two World Wars in which composers drew inspiration from music of the 18th century

The dates are generalizations, since the periods overlapped and the categories are somewhat arbitrary. Music historians divide the European classical music into various eras based on what style was most popular as taste changed The use of counterpoint and fugue, which is considered characteristic of the Baroque era, was continued by Mozart, who is generally classified as typical of the classical period, by Beethoven who is often described as a founder of the romantic period, and Brahms, who is classified as romantic. In Music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and Rhythm, and interdependent in Harmony In Music, a fugue (ˈfjuːg is a type of contrapuntal composition or technique of composition for a fixed number of parts, normally referred Ludwig van Beethoven ( English ˈlʊdvɪg væn ˈbeɪtoʊvən, 16 December 1770 &ndash 26 March 1827 was a German Composer and Pianist. Johannes Brahms ( pronounced ˈbʁaːms (May 7 1833 &ndash April 3 1897 was a German Composer

Timeline of composers

Significance of written notation

Classical music is considered primarily a written musical tradition, preserved in music notation, as opposed to being transmitted orally, by rote, or in recordings of particular performances. See also Modern musical symbols Music notation or musical notation is any system which represents aurally perceived Music through the use While there are differences between particular performances of a classical work, a piece of classical music is generally held to transcend any interpretation of it. Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. The use of musical notation is an effective method for transmitting classical music, since the written music contains the technical instructions for performing the work. The written score, however, does not usually contain explicit instructions as to how to interpret the piece in terms of production or performance, apart from directions for dynamics, tempo and expression (to a certain extent); this is left to the discretion of the performers, who are guided by their personal experience and musical education, their knowledge of the work's idiom, and the accumulated body of historic performance practices.

However, improvisation once played an important role in classical music. Musical Improvisation is the creative activity of immediate Musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental A remnant of this improvisatory tradition in classical music can be heard in the cadenza, a passage found mostly in concertos and solo works, designed to allow skilled performers to exhibit their virtuoso skills on the instrument. In Music, a cadenza (Italian for cadence) is generically an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists usually Traditionally this was improvised by the performer; however more often than not, it is written for (or occasionally by) the performer beforehand.

Its written transmission, along with the veneration bestowed on certain classical works, has led to the expectation that performers will play a work in a way that realizes in detail the original intentions of the composer. During the 19th century the details that composers put in their scores generally increased. Yet the opposite trend — admiration of performers for new "interpretations" of the composer's work — can be seen, and it is not unknown for a composer to praise a performer for achieving a better realization of the composer's original intent than the composer was able to imagine. Thus, classical music performers often achieve very high reputations for their musicianship, even if they do not compose themselves. Generally however, it is the composers who are remembered more than the performers.

Another consequence of the primacy of the composer's written score is that improvisation plays a relatively minor role in classical music, in sharp contrast to traditions like jazz, where improvisation is central. Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States Improvisation in classical music performance was far more common during the Baroque era than in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and recently the performance of such music by modern classical musicians has been enriched by a revival of the old improvisational practices. During the classical period, Mozart and Beethoven sometimes improvised the cadenzas to their piano concertos (and thereby encouraged others to do so), but they also provided written cadenzas for use by other soloists. A piano concerto is a work written for Piano and Orchestra.See also Harpsichord concerto; some of these works are occasionally played on piano

Influence

One criterion used to distinguish works of the classical musical canon is that of cultural durability. However, this is not a distinguishing mark of all classical music: while works by J. S. Bach continue to be widely performed and highly regarded, music by many of Bach's contemporaries is deemed mediocre and is rarely performed, even though it is squarely in the "classical" realm. To some extent, the notion of such durability is a self-fulfilling prophecy (and therefore a fallacy), simply because classical music is studied and preserved at much higher levels than other music. A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true

Popular music

Classical music has often incorporated elements or even taken material from popular music. Examples include occasional music such as Brahms' use of student drinking songs in his Academic Festival Overture, genres exemplified by Kurt Weill's The Threepenny Opera, and the influence of jazz on early- and mid-twentieth century composers including Maurice Ravel, as exemplified by the movement entitled "Blues" in his sonata for violin and piano. Johannes Brahms 's Academic Festival Overture ( Akademische Festouvertüre) Op WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> Kurt Julian Weill ( March 2, 1900 &ndash April 3, The Threepenny Opera ( Die Dreigroschenoper) is a revolutionary work of Musical theatre, by German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and composer ^[12] Certain postmodern, minimalist and postminimalist classical composers acknowledge a debt to popular music. Postmodern music is music which follows the postmodern ideology Minimalist music is an originally American genre of experimental or Downtown music named in the 1960s based mostly in consonant harmony, steady Postminimalism is a term utilized in various artistic fields for work which is influenced by or attempts to develop and go beyond the aesthetic of Minimalism. ^[13]

There are, likewise, numerous examples of influence flowing in the opposite direction, including popular songs based on classical music, the use to which Pachelbel's Canon has been put since the 1970s,^[14] and the musical crossover phenomenon, where classical musicians have achieved success in the popular music arena (one notable example is the "Hooked on Classics" series of recordings made by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in the early 1980s). Pachelbel's Canon, also known as Canon in D major, or more formally Canon and Gigue in D major for three Violins and Basso Continuo Crossover is a term applied to Musical works or performers appearing on two or more of the Record charts which track differing musical tastes or genres Hooked on Classics was a series of record albums first introduced in 1981 toward the end of the Disco era's peak in popularity The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra ( RPO) is a British Orchestra based in London.

Folk music

Further information: European Classical Composers Noted for Use of Folk Music

Composers of classical music have often made use of folk music (music created by musicians who are commonly not classically trained, often from a purely oral tradition). The relationship between folk music and classical music is complex Folk music can have a number of different meanings including Traditional music: The original meaning of the term "folk music" was synonymous Some composers, like Dvořák and Smetana, have used folk themes to impart a nationalist flavor to their work, while others (like Bartók) have used specific themes, lifted whole from their folk-music origins. Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( (often pronounced in English as; DVOR-zhahk; September 8 1841 – May 1 1904 was a Czech composer of Romantic music, who employed "Smetana" redirects here For the soured cream see Smetana (dairy product. Béla Viktor János Bartók (March 25 1881&ndashSeptember 26 1945 was a Hungarian Composer and Pianist, considered to be one of the greatest

Commercialism

Certain staples of classical music are often used commercially (that is, either in advertising or in the soundtracks of movies made for entertainment). In television commercials, several loud, bombastically rhythmic orchestral passages have become clichés, particularly the opening of Richard Strauss' Also sprach Zarathustra (of 2001 fame) and the opening section "O Fortuna" of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana; other examples in the same vein are the Dies Irae from the Verdi Requiem, Edvard Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt, the opening bars of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries from Die Walküre, and excerpts of Aaron Copland's "Rodeo". Richard Georg Strauss (11 June 1864 &ndash 8 September 1949 was a German Composer of the late Romantic era and early modern era particularly noted Also sprach Zarathustra op 30 is a Tone poem by Richard Strauss, composed in 1896 and inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche 's book 2001 A Space Odyssey is a 1968 Science fiction film directed by Stanley Kubrick, written by Kubrick and Arthur C Carl Orff ( &ndash) was a 20th-century German Composer, most famous for Carmina Burana (1937 Carmina Burana is a scenic Cantata composed by Carl Orff between 1935 and 1936 Dies Irae (Day of Wrath is a famous thirteenth century Latin Hymn thought to be written by Thomas of Celano. In the Hall of the Mountain King (I Dovregubbens hall is a piece of orchestral music Opus 23 composed by Edvard Grieg for Henrik Ibsen 's Peer Gynt (per gʏnt is a play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. Ludwig van Beethoven ( English ˈlʊdvɪg væn ˈbeɪtoʊvən, 16 December 1770 &ndash 26 March 1827 was a German Composer and Pianist. Ludwig van Beethoven 's Symphony No 5 in C minor Op 67 was written in 1804–08 Die Walküre ( The Valkyrie) is the second of the four Operas that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen ( The Ring of the Nibelung Aaron Copland (November 14 1900 &ndash December 2 1990 was an American Composer of concert and film music as well as an accomplished Pianist.

Similarly, movies and television often revert to standard, clichéd snatches of classical music to convey refinement or opulence: some of the most-often heard pieces in this category include Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik and Vivaldi's Four Seasons. The Serenade No 13 for strings in G major, K 525 more commonly known as Eine kleine Nachtmusik ("a small serenade" -- rendered more literally The Four Seasons ( Le quattro stagioni in original Italian) is a set of four Violin concertos by Antonio Vivaldi.

Education

Throughout history, parents from middle- and especially upper-class households have often made sure that their children receive classical music training from a young age. Some parents pursue music lessons for their children for social reasons or in an effort to instill a useful sense of self-discipline. Some consider that a degree of knowledge of important works of classical music is part of a good general education.

During the 1990s, several research papers and popular books emergence touting the so-called Mozart effect: a temporary, small elevation of scores on certain tests as a result of listening to Mozart. The Mozart effect can refer to A set of research results that indicate that listening to Mozart's music may induce a short-term improvement on the performance of certain kinds The popularized version of the controversial theory was expressed succinctly by a New York Times music columnist: "researchers. . . have determined that listening to Mozart actually makes you smarter. "^[15] Promoters marketed CDs claimed to induce the effect. Florida passed a law requiring toddlers in state-run schools to listen to classical music every day, and in 1998 the governor of Georgia budgeted $105,000 per year to provide every child born in Georgia with a tape or CD of classical music. One of the co-authors of the original studies of the Mozart effect commented "I don't think it can hurt. I'm all for exposing children to wonderful cultural experiences. But I do think the money could be better spent on music education programs. Music education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music " ^[16]

See also

Notes

References

• Norman Lebrecht, When the Music Stops: Managers, Maestros and the Corporate Murder of Classical Music, Simon & Schuster 1996

External links

• History of Classical Music, The complete history with many MP3 samples of classical works
• Classic Music UK – UK Classical Music website containg articles and features about Classical Music
• Classic Cat – download database for classical music
• Classical.net – review, database and mailing-list resource
• Classical Composers Database – Classical music composers of all periods and countries, with biographies and work lists
• MusicWeb International – CD reviews, composer articles, timelines, concert and book reviews
• Music and Vision magazine – daily magazine about European classical music, illustrated with photos, sound and video
• Classical music in movies, listed by composer
• Naxos Glossary of Music
• ClassicalMusicBroadcast.com - Internet-only 24 hour classical station with live hosts
• European magazine's selection of best classical music recordings from different time periods
• the UK magazine for the music professional
• 104.9 XLNC1 Radio Classical music
• The J.S.Bach homepage
• Schmieder's standard catalogue of J.S.Bachs works
• Beethoven center
• The site of composer John Cage
• Franz Joseph Haydn page
• The dialectical structure of W.A.Mozarts Zauberflöte: a phenomenological analysis