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{{About|Western [[art music]] from c. 1000 AD to the present|Western art music from 1750 to 1820|Classical period (music)|other "classical" and art music traditions|List of classical and art music traditions}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2011}}
[[File:Classical music composers montage.JPG|right|thumb|350px|Montage of some great [[:Category:Classical composers|classical music composers]]. From left to right:<br />Top row: [[Antonio Vivaldi]], [[Johann Sebastian Bach]], [[George Frideric Handel]], [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]], [[Ludwig van Beethoven]];<br />second row: [[Gioachino Rossini]], [[Felix Mendelssohn]], [[Frédéric Chopin]], [[Richard Wagner]], [[Giuseppe Verdi]];<br />third row: [[Johann Strauss II]], [[Johannes Brahms]], [[Georges Bizet]], [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]], [[Antonín Dvořák]];<br />bottom row – [[Edvard Grieg]], [[Edward Elgar]], [[Sergei Rachmaninoff]], [[George Gershwin]], [[Aram Khachaturian]]]]

'''Classical music''' is the [[art music]] produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of [[Western culture|Western]] [[Religious music|liturgical]] and [[secular music]], encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times.<ref name="Music 2007">"Classical", ''The Oxford Concise Dictionary of Music'', ed. Michael Kennedy, (Oxford, 2007), ''Oxford Reference Online''. Retrieved July 23, 2007.</ref> The central norms of this tradition became codified between 1550 and 1900, which is known as the [[common practice period]].

European music is largely distinguished from many other non-European and [[popular music]]al forms by its system of [[musical notation|staff notation]], in use since about the 16th century.<ref>{{GroveOnline|Notation, §III, 1(vi): Plainchant: Pitch-specific notations, 13th–16th centuries|Chew, Geffrey & Rastall, Richard|July 23|2007}}</ref> Western staff notation is used by composers to prescribe to the performer the [[Pitch (music)|pitch]], [[tempo|speed]], [[Meter (music)|meter]], individual [[rhythm]]s and exact execution of a piece of music. This leaves less room for practices such as [[improvisation]] and ''ad libitum'' [[Ornament (music)|ornamentation]], which are frequently heard in non-European art music and popular music.<ref>{{GroveOnline|Japan, §III, 1: Notation systems: Introduction|Malm, W.P./Hughes, David W.|July 23|2007}}</ref><ref>{{GroveOnline|Notation, §I: General|IAN D. BENT, DAVID W. HUGHES, ROBERT C. PROVINE, RICHARD RASTALL, ANNE KILMER|July 23|2007}}</ref><ref>{{GroveOnline|Popular music, §I, 4: Europe & North America: Genre, form, style|Middleton, Richard|July 23|2007}}</ref>

The term "classical music" did not appear until the early 19th century, in an attempt to "canonize" the period from [[Johann Sebastian Bach]] to [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]] as a golden age.<ref>Rushton, Julian, ''Classical Music'', (London, 1994), 10</ref> The earliest reference to "classical music" recorded by the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' is from about 1836.<ref name="Music 2007"/><ref name="OED_Online_Classical">{{cite web|author=The Oxford English Dictionary|publisher=The OED Online|url=http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50040930?single=1&query_type=word&queryword=classical&first=1&max_to_show=10|accessdate=May 10, 2007|title=classical, a.|year=2007}}</ref>

==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 other genres. However, there are characteristics that classical music contains that few or no other genres of music contain.<ref>[[Michael Kennedy (music critic)|Kennedy, Michael]] (2006), ''The Oxford Dictionary of Music'', p. 178</ref>

===Literature===
The most outstanding characteristic of classical music is that the repertoire tends to be written down in [[musical notation]], creating a musical part or [[Sheet music|score]]. This score typically determines details of rhythm, pitch, and, where two or more musicians (whether singers or instrumentalists) are involved, how the various parts are coordinated. The written quality of the music has, in addition to preserving the works, enabled a high level of complexity within them: Bach's fugues, for instance, achieve a remarkable marriage of boldly distinctive melodic lines weaving in [[counterpoint]] yet creating a coherent [[Diatonic function|harmonic logic]] that would be impossible in the heat of live improvisation.<ref>Knud Jeppesen: "Bach's music grows out of an ideally harmonic background, against which the voices develop with a bold independence that is often breath-taking." Quoted from Adele Katz (1946; reprinted 2007)</ref>

===Instrumentation===
[[File:Tch In Charlotte.JPG|thumb|right|300px|The Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra performs [[Tchaikovsky]]'s [[Symphony No. 4 (Tchaikovsky)|Fourth Symphony]].]]
The instruments used in most classical music were largely 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 (music)|organ]]). The symphony orchestra is the most widely known medium for classical music.<ref name=Kirgiss/> The orchestra includes members of the [[string instrument|string]], [[woodwind]], [[brass instrument|brass]], and [[percussion]] families.

Electric instruments such as the [[electric guitar]] appear occasionally in the classical music of the 20th and 21st centuries. Both classical and popular musicians have experimented in recent decades with [[electronic instrument]]s such as the [[synthesizer]], electric and digital techniques such as the use of [[sampling (music)|sampled]] or [[computer music|computer-generated sounds]], and the sounds of instruments from other cultures such as the [[gamelan]].

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. The Baroque orchestra consisted of flutes, oboes, horns and violins, occasionally with trumpets and timpani.<ref name=Kirgiss/> Many instruments today associated with popular music filled important roles in early classical music, such as [[bagpipes]], [[vihuela]]s, [[hurdy gurdy|hurdy-gurdies]], and some woodwind instruments. On the other hand, instruments such as the [[acoustic guitar]], once associated mainly with popular music, gained prominence in classical music in the 19th and 20th centuries.

While [[equal temperament]] became gradually accepted as the dominant [[musical temperament]] during the 18th century, different historical temperaments are often used for music from earlier periods. For instance, music of the [[English Renaissance]] is often performed in [[meantone temperament]]. [[Keyboard (music)|Keyboard]]s almost all share a common layout (often called the piano keyboard).

===Form===
Whereas most popular styles lend themselves to the song form, classical music has been noted for its development of highly sophisticated forms of instrumental music:<ref>Julian Johnson (2002) ''Who Needs Classical Music?: Cultural Choice and Musical Value'': p. 63.</ref> these include the [[concerto]], [[symphony]], [[sonata]], [[suite (music)|suite]], [[étude]], [[symphonic poem]], [[opera]], and others.

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 idea or [[motif (music)|motif]] is repeated in different contexts or in altered form. The [[History of sonata form|sonata form]] and [[fugue]] employ rigorous forms of musical development.

===Technical execution===
Along with a 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 [[Music school|conservatories]], dedicated to the study of classical music.

===Complexity===
Professional performance of classical music repertoire demands a significant level of proficiency in [[sight-reading]] and [[Musical ensemble|ensemble]] playing, thorough understanding of [[Tonality|tonal]] and [[Harmony|harmonic]] principles, knowledge of [[performance practice]], and a familiarity with the style/musical idiom inherent to a given period, composer or musical work are among the most essential of skills for the classically trained musician.

Works of classical repertoire often exhibit artistic complexity through the use of [[counterpoint]], [[Theme (music)|thematic]] development, [[Musical phrasing|phrasing]], [[Harmony|harmonization]], [[Modulation (music)|modulation]] (change of key), [[Texture (music)|texture]], and, of course, [[musical form]] itself. Larger-scale compositional forms (such as that of the [[symphony]], concerto, opera or [[oratorio]], for example) usually represent a hierarchy of smaller units consisting of [[Phrase (music)|phrases]], [[Period (music)|periods]], [[Section (music)|sections]], and [[Movement (music)|movements]]. [[Musical analysis]] of a composition aims at achieving greater understanding of it, leading to more meaningful hearing and a greater appreciation of the composer's style.

===Society===
Classical music regularly features as background music for movies, television programmes, advertisements and events. "[[Nessun dorma]]" from [[Giacomo Puccini]]'s opera ''[[Turandot]]'' for example was the theme tune for the [[1990 FIFA World Cup]].

==History==
{{History of Western art music}}
{{Main|History of music}}
The major time divisions of classical music are the [[early music]] period, which includes [[Medieval music|Medieval]] (500–1400) and [[Renaissance music|Renaissance]] (1400–1600), the [[Common practice period]], which includes the [[Baroque music|Baroque]] (1600–1750), [[Classical period (music)|Classical]] (1750–1830) and [[Romantic music|Romantic]] (1804–1949) periods, and the modern and contemporary period, which includes [[20th-century classical music|20th century]] (1900–2000) and [[Contemporary classical music|contemporary]] (1975–current).

The dates are [[Dates of classical music eras|generalizations]], since the periods overlapped and the categories are somewhat arbitrary. For example, the use of [[counterpoint]] and [[fugue]], which is considered characteristic of the Baroque era, was continued by [[Joseph Haydn|Haydn]], who is classified as typical of the Classical period. [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]], who is often described as a founder of the Romantic period, and [[Johannes Brahms|Brahms]], who is classified as Romantic, also used counterpoint and fugue, but other characteristics of their music define their period.

The prefix ''neo'' is used to describe a 20th-century or contemporary composition written in the style of an earlier period, such as Classical or Romantic. [[Igor Stravinsky|Stravinsky's]] ''[[Pulcinella (ballet)|Pulcinella]]'', for example, is a [[Neoclassicism (music)|neoclassical]] composition because it is stylistically similar to works of the Classical period.

===Roots===
{{Main|Ancient music}}

The roots of Western classical music lie in early Christian liturgical music, and its influences date back to the [[Ancient Greece|Ancient Greeks]]. Development of individual tones and scales was done by ancient Greeks such as [[Aristoxenus]] and [[Pythagoras]].<ref name="Grout73p28">[[#Grout73|Grout]], p. 28</ref> Pythagoras created a tuning system and helped to codify [[musical notation]]. 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.<ref>[[#Grout88|Grout (1988)]]</ref> The antecedent to the early period was the era of [[ancient music]] from before the fall of the [[Roman Empire]] (476 AD). Very little music survives from this time, most of it from Ancient Greece.

===Early period===
[[File:Vielle.jpg|thumb||A musician plays the [[vielle]] in a fourteenth-century [[Medieval]] [[manuscript]].]]
[[File:CordierColor.jpg|thumb|left|The chanson ''Belle, bonne, sage'' by [[Baude Cordier]], an ''[[ars subtilior]]'' piece included in the [[Chantilly Codex]].]]
[[File:white mensural notation.gif|thumb|[[Johannes Ockeghem]], Kyrie "Au travail suis," excerpt]]

{{Main|Medieval music|Renaissance music}}
{{See also|List of Medieval composers|List of Renaissance composers}}

The Medieval period includes music from after the fall of Rome to about 1400. [[Monophony|Monophonic]] chant, also called plainsong or [[Gregorian chant]], was the dominant form until about 1100.<ref name="Grout73p75"/> [[Polyphony|Polyphonic]] (multi-voiced) music developed from monophonic chant throughout the late [[Middle Ages]] and into the [[Renaissance]], including the more complex voicings of [[motet]]s. The Renaissance period was from 1400 to 1600. It was characterized by greater use of [[instrumentation (music)|instrumentation]], multiple interweaving melodic lines, and the use of the first [[Bass (sound)|bass instruments]]. Social dancing became more widespread, so musical forms appropriate to accompanying dance began to standardize.

It is in this time that the notation of music on a [[staff (music)|staff]] and other elements of [[musical notation]] began to take shape.<ref name="Grout73p61">[[#Grout73|Grout]], p. 61</ref> This invention made possible the separation of the [[Musical composition|composition]] of a piece of music from its ''transmission''; without written music, transmission was oral, and subject to change every time it was transmitted. With a [[Sheet music|musical score]], a work of music could be performed without the composer's presence.<ref name="Grout73p75">[[#Grout73|Grout]], pp. 75–76</ref> The invention of the movable-type [[printing press]] in the 15th century had far-reaching consequences on the preservation and transmission of music.<ref name="Grout73p175">[[#Grout73|Grout]], pp. 175–176</ref>

Typical stringed instruments of the Early Period include the harp, [[lute]], [[vielle]], and [[psaltery]], while wind instruments included the [[flute]] family (including [[recorder (musical instrument)|recorder]]), [[shawm]] (an early member of the [[oboe]] family), trumpet, and the [[bagpipes]]. Simple [[pipe organ]]s existed, but were largely confined to churches, although there were portable varieties.<ref name="Grout73p72">[[#Grout73|Grout]], pp. 72–74</ref> Later in the period, early versions of [[keyboard (music)|keyboard]] instruments like the [[clavichord]] and [[harpsichord]] began to appear. Stringed instruments such as the [[viol]] had emerged by the 16th century, as had a wider variety of brass and reed instruments. Printing enabled the standardization of descriptions and specifications of instruments, as well as instruction in their use.<ref name="Grout73p222">[[#Grout73|Grout]], pp. 222–225</ref>

===Common practice period===
The [[common practice period]] is when many of the ideas that make up western classical music took shape, standardized, or were codified. It began with the Baroque era, running from roughly 1600 to the middle of the 18th century. The Classical era followed, ending roughly around 1820. The Romantic era ran through the 19th century, ending about 1910.

====Baroque music====
[[File:Baschenis - Musical Instruments.jpg|thumb|Baroque instruments including [[hurdy gurdy]], [[harpsichord]], [[bass viol]], [[lute]], [[baroque violin|violin]], and [[baroque guitar]]]]
{{Main|Baroque music}}
{{See also|List of Baroque composers}}
Baroque music is characterized by the use of complex tonal [[counterpoint]] and the use of a [[basso continuo]], a continuous bass line. Music became more complex in comparison with the songs of earlier periods.<ref name=Kirgiss>{{cite book|last=Kirgiss|first=Crystal|title=Classical Music|year=2004|publisher=Black Rabbit Books|isbn=978-1-58340-674-8}}</ref> The beginnings of the [[sonata form]] took shape in the [[canzona]], as did a more formalized notion of [[theme and variations]]. The tonalities of [[major and minor]] as means for managing dissonance and [[chromaticism]] in music took full shape.<ref name="Grout73p300">[[#Grout73|Grout]], pp. 300–332</ref>

During the Baroque era, keyboard music played on the [[harpsichord]] and [[pipe organ]] became increasingly popular, and the violin family of stringed instruments took the form generally seen today. Opera as a staged musical drama began to differentiate itself from earlier musical and dramatic forms, and vocal forms like the [[cantata]] and [[oratorio]] became more common.<ref name="Grout73p341">[[#Grout73|Grout]], pp. 341–355</ref> Vocalists began adding embellishments to melodies.<ref name=Kirgiss/> Instrumental ensembles began to distinguish and standardize by size, giving rise to the early orchestra for larger ensembles, with [[chamber music]] being written for smaller groups of instruments where parts are played by individual (instead of massed) instruments. The concerto as a vehicle for solo performance accompanied by an orchestra became widespread, although the relationship between soloist and orchestra was relatively simple. The theories surrounding [[equal temperament]] began to be put in wider practice, especially as it enabled a wider range of chromatic possibilities in hard-to-tune keyboard instruments. Although Bach did not use equal temperament, as a modern piano is generally tuned, changes in the temperaments from the meantone system, common at the time, to various temperaments that made modulation between all keys musically acceptable, made possible Bach's [[Well-Tempered Clavier]].<ref name="Grout73p378">[[#Grout73|Grout]], p. 378</ref>

====Classical period music====
[[File:Haydnportrait.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Joseph Haydn]] (1732–1809) c. 1770]]
{{Main|Classical period (music)}}
{{See also|List of Classical era composers}}
The Classical period, from about 1750 to 1820, established many of the norms of composition, presentation, and style, and was also when the piano became the predominant keyboard instrument. The ''basic'' forces required for an orchestra became somewhat standardized (although they would grow as the potential of a wider array of instruments was developed in the following centuries). Chamber music grew to include ensembles with as many as 8 to 10 performers for [[serenade]]s. [[Opera]] continued to develop, with regional styles in [[Italian opera|Italy]], [[French opera|France]], and [[Opera in German|German]]-speaking lands. The ''[[opera buffa]]'', a form of comic opera, rose in popularity. The [[symphony]] came into its own as a musical form, and the concerto was developed as a vehicle for displays of virtuoso playing skill. Orchestras no longer required a [[harpsichord]] (which had been part of the traditional ''continuo'' in the Baroque style), and were often led by the lead violinist (now called the [[concertmaster]]).<ref name="Grout73p463">[[#Grout73|Grout]], p. 463</ref>

Wind instruments became more refined in the Classical period. While [[double reed]]ed instruments like the [[oboe]] and [[bassoon]] became somewhat standardized in the Baroque, the [[clarinet]] family of [[single reed]]s was not widely used until [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]] expanded its role in orchestral, chamber, and concerto settings.

====Romantic era music====
{{Main|Romantic music}}
{{See also|List of Romantic composers}}
The music of the Romantic era, from roughly the first decade of the 19th century to the middle 20th century, was characterized by increased attention to an extended melodic line, as well as expressive and emotional elements, paralleling [[romanticism]] in other art forms. Musical forms began to break from the Classical era forms (even as those were being codified), with free-form pieces like [[nocturne]]s, [[Fantasia (music)|fantasias]], and [[Prelude (music)|preludes]] being written where accepted ideas about the exposition and development of themes were ignored or minimized.<ref name="Swafford200">[[#Swafford|Swafford]], p. 200</ref> The music became more chromatic, dissonant, and tonally colorful, with tensions (with respect to accepted norms of the older forms) about key signatures increasing.<ref name="Swafford201">[[#Swafford|Swafford]], p. 201</ref> The [[art song]] (or ''Lied'') came to maturity in this era, as did the epic scales of [[grand opera]], ultimately transcended by [[Richard Wagner]]'s [[Der Ring des Nibelungen|Ring cycle]].<ref name="Grout73p595">[[#Grout73|Grout]], pp. 595–612</ref>

In the 19th century, musical institutions emerged from the control of wealthy patrons, as composers and musicians could construct lives independent of the nobility. Increasing interest in music by the growing middle classes throughout western Europe spurred the creation of organizations for the teaching, performance, and preservation of music. The piano, which achieved its modern construction in this era (in part due to industrial advances in [[metallurgy]]) became widely popular with the middle class, whose demands for the instrument spurred a large number of piano builders. Many symphony orchestras date their founding to this era.<ref name="Swafford201"/> Some musicians and composers were the stars of the day; some, like [[Franz Liszt]] and [[Niccolò Paganini]], fulfilled both roles.<ref name="Grout73p543">[[#Grout73|Grout]], p. 543</ref>

The family of instruments used, especially in orchestras, grew. A wider array of percussion instruments began to appear. Brass instruments took on larger roles, as the introduction of [[rotary valve]]s made it possible for them to play a wider range of notes. The size of the orchestra (typically around 40 in the Classical era) grew to be over 100.<ref name="Swafford201"/> [[Gustav Mahler]]'s 1906 ''[[Symphony No. 8 (Mahler)|Symphony No. 8]]'', for example, has been performed with over 150 instrumentalists and choirs of over 400.

European cultural ideas and institutions began to follow colonial expansion into other parts of the world. There was also a rise, especially toward the end of the era, of nationalism in music (echoing, in some cases, political sentiments of the time), as composers such as [[Edvard Grieg]], [[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov]], and [[Antonín Dvořák]] echoed traditional music of their homelands in their compositions.<ref name="Grout73p634">[[#Grout73|Grout]], pp. 634,641–2</ref>

===20th-century, modern, and contemporary music===
[[File:Stravinsky picasso.png|thumb|upright|[[Igor Stravinsky]] and [[Pablo Picasso]] collaborated on ''[[Pulcinella (ballet)|Pulcinella]]'' in 1920.]]

{{Main|20th-century classical music|Contemporary classical music|21st-century classical music}}
{{See also|List of 20th-century classical composers by birth date|List of 21st-century classical composers}}
[[Modernism (music)|Modernism]] (1905–1985) marked a period when many composers rejected certain values of the common practice period, such as traditional tonality, melody, instrumentation, and structure. Composers, academics, and musicians developed extensions of [[music theory]] and technique.{{citation needed|date=March 2011}} 20th century classical music, encompassing 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 to the present day.

==Significance of written notation==
===Modernist view of the significance of the score===
The modernist views hold that classical music is considered primarily a ''written'' musical tradition, preserved in [[music notation]], as opposed to being transmitted orally, by rote, or by recordings of particular performances. 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. 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 [[sheet music|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 (music)|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, their personal artistic tastes, and the accumulated body of historic performance practices.

===Criticism of the modernist view===
Some critics express the opinion that it is only from the mid 19th century, and especially in the 20th century, that the score began to hold such a high significance. Previously, [[improvisation]], rhythmic flexibility, improvisatory deviation from the score and oral tradition of playing was integral to style of music. Yet in the 20th century, this oral tradition and passing on of stylistic features within classical music disappeared. Instead, musicians use the score to play music, yet even given the score, there is considerable controversy about how to perform the works. Some of this controversy relates to the fact that this score-centric approach has led to performing styles that emphasize metrically strict block-rhythms (just as the music is notated in the score).

Some quotes that highlight this criticism of modernist overvaluing of the score:
*"... one of the most stubborn modern misconceptions concerning baroque music is that a metronomic regularity was intended" (Baroque Interpretation in [[Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians|''Grove'' 5th edition]] by [[Robert Donington]])
*"The history of this particular idea is littered with dead ends and failed projects. It is high time these misconceptions are addressed with academic rigour." ''History of Metaphysics'' by [[Andrew Pyle (philosopher)|Andrew Pyle]]
*"Too many teachers, conditioned to 20th Century ideas, teach Bach and other Baroque music exactly the wrong way. This leads to what musicologist [[Sol Babitz]] calls 'sewing machine Bach'."<ref name=conservatories_kill_expression />
*"... tendency to look alike, sound alike and think alike. The conservatories are at fault and they have been at fault for many years now. Any sensitive musician going around the World has noted the same thing. The conservatories, from Moscow and Leningrad to Juilliard, Curtis and Indiana, are producing a standardized product.<br />[...] clarity, undeviating rhythm, easy technique, 'musicianship'. I put the word musicianship in quotes, because as often as not, it is a false kind of musicianship – a musicianship that sees the tree and not the forest, that takes care of the detail but ignores the big picture; a musicianship that is tied to the printed note rather than to emotional meaning of a piece.<br />The fact remains that there is a dreadful uniformity today and also an appalling lack of knowledge about the culture and performance traditions of the past." ("Music Schools Turning out Robots?"<ref name=conservatories_kill_expression>[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1873&dat=19691019&id=dpMeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ncsEAAAAIBAJ&pg=874,4160516 "Music Schools Turning out Robots?"] by [[Harold C. Schonberg]]; ''Daytona Beach Morning Journal'' – October 19, 1969</ref> by [[Harold C. Schonberg]])

===Improvisation===
[[musical improvisation|Improvisation]] once played an important role in classical music. 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. Traditionally this was improvised by the performer; however, it is often written for (or occasionally by) the performer beforehand. Improvisation is also an important aspect in authentic performances of operas of Baroque era and of bel canto (especially operas of [[Vincenzo Bellini]]), and is best exemplified by the ''[[da capo aria]]'', a form by which famous singers typically perform variations of the thematic matter of the aria in the recapitulation section ('B section' / the 'da capo' part). An example is [[Beverly Sills]]' complex, albeit pre-written, variation of ''Da tempeste il legno infranto'' from Händel's ''[[Giulio Cesare]]''.

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 original intent than the composer was able to imagine. Thus, classical 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.

The primacy of the composer's written score has also led, today, to a relatively minor role played by improvisation in classical music, in sharp contrast to the practice of musicians who lived during the baroque, classical and romantic era. Improvisation in classical music performance was common during both the Baroque era and in the nineteenth, yet lessened strongly during the second half of the 19th and in the 20th centuries. 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 often improvised the cadenzas to their [[piano concerto]]s (and thereby encouraged others to do so), but they also provided written cadenzas for use by other soloists. In opera, the practice of singing strictly by the score i.e. ''come scritto'', is famously propagated by [[Maria Callas]], who called this practice 'straitjacketing' and implied that it allows the intention of the composer to be understood better, especially during studying the music for the first time.

==Relationship to other music traditions==
===Popular music===
Classical music has often incorporated elements or material from popular music of the composer's time. 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-20th century composers including [[Maurice Ravel]], exemplified by the movement entitled "Blues" in his sonata for violin and piano.<ref>{{GroveOnline|Ravel, Maurice, §3: 1918–37|Kelly, Barbara. L|July 23|2007}}</ref> Certain [[Postmodern music|postmodern]], [[Minimalist music|minimalist]] and [[Postminimalism|postminimalist]] classical composers acknowledge a debt to popular music.<ref>See, for example, {{GroveOnline|Nyman, Michael|Siôn, Pwyll Ap|July 23|2007}}</ref>

Numerous examples show influence in the opposite direction, including popular songs based on classical music, the use to which ''[[Pachelbel's Canon#Pachelbel's canon in popular culture|Pachelbel's Canon]]'' has been put since the 1970s, and the musical [[Crossover (music)|crossover]] phenomenon, where classical musicians have achieved success in the popular music arena.<ref>Notable examples are the ''[[Hooked on Classics]]'' series of recordings made by the [[Royal Philharmonic Orchestra]] in the early 1980s and the classical crossover violinists [[Vanessa Mae]] and [[Catya Maré]].</ref>

===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). Some composers, like [[Antonín Dvořák|Dvořák]] and [[Bedřich Smetana|Smetana]],<ref name="Yeomans2">{{cite book|last=Yeomans|first=David|title=Piano Music of the Czech Romantics: A Performer's Guide|publisher=Indiana University Press|year=2006|isbn=0-253-21845-4|page=2}}</ref> have used folk themes to impart a nationalist flavor to their work, while others (like [[Béla Bartók|Bartók]]) have used specific themes lifted whole from their folk-music origins.<ref name="Stevens129">{{cite book|last=Stevens|first=Haley|coauthors= Gillies, Malcolm|title=The Life and Music of Béla Bartók|year=1993|isbn=0-19-816349-5|page=129|publisher=Clarendon Press|location=Oxford}}</ref>

==Commercialism==
Certain staples of classical music are often used commercially (either in advertising or in movie soundtracks). In television commercials, several passages have become clichéd, particularly the opening of [[Richard Strauss]]' ''[[Also sprach Zarathustra (Strauss)|Also sprach Zarathustra]]'' (made famous in the film ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey (film)|2001: A Space Odyssey]]'') and the opening section "O Fortuna" of [[Carl Orff]]'s ''[[Carmina Burana (Orff)|Carmina Burana]]'', often used in the [[horror fiction|Horror]] genre to denote demonic powers; other examples include the ''[[Dies Irae]]'' from the [[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]] Requiem, [[Edvard Grieg]]'s ''[[In the Hall of the Mountain King]]'' from ''[[Peer Gynt]]'', the opening bars of [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]]'s [[Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)|Symphony No. 5]], [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]]'s "[[Ride of the Valkyries]]" from ''[[Die Walküre]]'', [[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov|Rimsky-Korsakov]]'s "[[Flight of the Bumblebee]]", and excerpts of [[Aaron Copland]]'s ''[[Rodeo (ballet)|Rodeo]]''. Shawn Vancour argues that the commercialization of classical music in the early 20th century served to harm the music industry through inadequate representation.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Vancour|first=Shawn|title=Popularizing the Classics: Radio's Role in the Music Appreciation Movement 1922-34.|journal=Media, Culture and Society|year=2009|month=March|volume=31|issue=2|pages=19|doi=10.1177/0163443708100319|url=http://0-web.ebscohost.com.maurice.bgsu.edu/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=15&sid=44993088-138c-40ef-9fd0-95f42cce6fce%40sessionmgr14&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN=37178702|accessdate=24 April 2012}}</ref>

Similarly, movies and television often revert to standard, [[cliché]]d snatches of classical music to convey refinement or opulence: some of the most-often heard pieces in this category include [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]]'s ''[[Eine kleine Nachtmusik]]'', [[Antonio Vivaldi|Vivaldi]]'s ''[[The Four Seasons (Vivaldi)|Four Seasons]]'', [[Modest Mussorgsky|Mussorgsky]]'s ''[[Night on Bald Mountain]]'' (as orchestrated by Rimsky-Korsakov), and [[Gioachino Rossini|Rossini]]'s ''[[William Tell Overture]]''.

==Education==
{{Main|Music education}}
Throughout history, parents have often made sure that their children receive classical music training from a young age.{{dubious|date=July 2012}} Some parents pursue music lessons for their children for social reasons or in an effort to instill a sense of self-discipline.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}} Some believe that knowledge of important works of classical music is part of a good general education.{{editorializing|date=July 2012}}

During the 1990s, several research papers and popular books wrote on what came to be called the "[[Mozart effect]]": an observed temporary, small elevation of scores on certain tests as a result of listening to Mozart's works. The approach has been popularized in a book by Don Campbell, and is based on an experiment published in ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' suggesting that listening to Mozart temporarily boosted students' [[IQ]] by 8 to 9 points.<ref>[http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v400/n6747/abs/400827a0.html Prelude or requiem for the 'Mozart effect'?] ''Nature'' '''400''' (August 26, 1999): 827.</ref> This popularized version of the theory was expressed succinctly by the ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' music columnist [[Alex Ross (music critic)|Alex Ross]]: "researchers... have determined that listening to Mozart actually makes you smarter."<ref>[[Alex Ross (music critic)|Ross, Alex]]. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05EFDF1239F93BA1575BC0A962958260 "Classical View; Listening To Prozac... Er, Mozart"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', August 28, 1994. Retrieved on May 16, 2008.</ref> 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."<ref>Goode, Erica. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03E0D81131F930A3575BC0A96F958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=3 "Mozart for Baby? Some Say, Maybe Not"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', August 3, 1999. Retrieved on May 16, 2008.</ref>

In 1996–1997, a research study was conducted on a large population of middle age students in the Cherry Creek School District in Denver, Colorado, USA. The study showed that students who actively listen to classical music before studying had higher academic scores. The research further indicated that students who listened to the music prior to an examination also had positively elevated achievement scores. Students who listened to rock-and-roll or country had moderately lower scores. The study further indicated that students who used classical during the course of study had a significant leap in their academic performance; whereas, those who listened to other types of music had significantly lowered academic scores. The research was conducted over several schools within the Cherry Creek School District and was conducted through University of Colorado. This study is reflective of several recent studies (i.e. Mike Manthei and Steve N. Kelly of the University of Nebraska at Omaha; Donald A. Hodges and Debra S. O'Connell of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro; etc.) and others who had significant results through the discourse of their work.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.issaquah.wednet.edu/documents/highschool/Schedule/Arts/Achievement.pdf |title= The Impact of Music Education on Academic Achievement |date=accessed February 2012}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Classical music}}
* [[List of classical music composers by era]]
* [[List of classical and art music traditions]]

'''Nation specific:'''
* [[American classical music]]
* [[Australian classical music]]
* [[Canadian classical music]]
* [[French classical music]]
* [[Indian classical music]]
* [[Iranian classical music]]
* [[Italian classical music]]
* [[Ottoman classical music]]
* [[Russian classical music]]
* [[Classical music of the United Kingdom]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==References==
*{{cite book|title=A History of Western Music|first=Donald Jay|last=Grout|authorlink=Donald Jay Grout|publisher=[[W. W. Norton]]|year=1973|isbn=0-393-09416-2|ref=Grout73}}
*{{cite book|title=A History of Western Music|last=Grout|first=Donald J.|coauthors=Palisca, Claude V.|year=1988|publisher=Norton|isbn=978-0-393-95627-6|ref=Grout88}}
*Johnson, Julian (2002), ''Who Needs Classical Music?: Cultural Choice and Musical Value''. Oxford University Press, 140pp.
*[[Adele T. Katz|Katz, Adele]] (1946; reprinted 2007), ''Challenge to Musical Tradition – A New Concept of Tonality''. Alfred A. Knopf/reprinted by Katz Press, 444pp., ISBN 1-4067-5761-6.
*[[Michael Kennedy (music critic)|Kennedy, Michael]] (2006), ''The Oxford Dictionary of Music'', 985 pages, ISBN 0-19-861459-4
*{{cite book|first=Norman|last=Lebrecht|authorlink=Norman Lebrecht|title=When the Music Stops: Managers, Maestros and the Corporate Murder of Classical Music|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=1996|isbn=978-0-671-01025-6|ref=Lebrecht}}
*{{cite book|title=The Vintage Guide to Classical Music|first=Jan|last=Swafford|authorlink=Jan Swafford|publisher=Vintage Books|location=New York|year=1992|isbn=0-679-72805-8|ref=Swafford}}

==Further reading==
* [[Aaron Copland|Copland, Aaron]] (1957) ''What to Listen for in Music''; rev. ed. McGraw-Hill. (paperback).
* --"-- (1988) --"--; with an introduction by [[William Schuman]]. McGraw-Hill ISBN 0-07-013091-4
* --"-- (2002) --"--; with a foreword and epilogue by [[Alan Rich]]; with an introduction by William Schuman. New American Library ISBN 0-451-52867-0 (reissued 2009 with new appreciation by [[Leonard Slatkin]])
* Grout, Donald Jay; [[Claude V. Palisca|Palisca, Claude V.]] (1996) ''A History of Western Music'', Fifth edition. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-96904-5 (hardcover).
* [[Barbara Russano Hanning|Hanning, Barbara Russano]]; Grout, Donald Jay (1998 rev. 2009) ''Concise History of Western Music''. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-92803-9 (hardcover).
* Johnson, Julian (2002) ''Who Needs Classical Music?: cultural choice and musical value''. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-514681-6.
* [[Roger Kamien|Kamien, Roger]] (2008) ''Music: an appreciation''; 6th brief ed. McGraw-Hill ISBN 978-0-07-340134-8
* Lihoreau, Tim; [[Stephen Fry|Fry, Stephen]] (2004) ''[[Stephen Fry's Incomplete and Utter History of Classical Music]]''. Boxtree. ISBN 978-0-7522-2534-0
* [[Percy Scholes|Scholes, Percy Alfred]]; [[Denis Arnold|Arnold, Denis]] (1988) ''The [[New Oxford Companion to Music]]''. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-311316-3 (paperback).
* Sorce Keller, Marcello (2011) ''What Makes Music European. Looking Beyond Sound''. Latham, NJ: Scarecrow Press (USA).
* [[Richard Taruskin|Taruskin, Richard]] (2005, rev. Paperback version 2009) ''Oxford History of Western Music''. Oxford University Press (USA). ISBN 978-0-19-516979-9 (Hardback), ISBN 978-0-19-538630-1 (Paperback)

==External links==
{{Commons category|Classical music}}
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* [http://sounds.bl.uk/BrowseCategory.aspx?category=Classical-music Historical classical recordings from the British Library Sound Archive] (available only to users in the member countries of the [[European Union]])
* [http://www.discogs.com/lists/Classical-Composers/396 Chronological list of recorded classical composers]

{{Music topics}}
{{Musical instruments in classical music}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Classical Music}}
[[Category:European music]]
[[Category:Classical music| ]]

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