Classical music

Classical music
Name	Classical music
Caption	Symphony orchestra in performance
Cultural origins	Renaissance music, Baroque music, Classical period, Romantic music
Instruments	violin, piano, organ, cello, double bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet
Notable composers	Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Classical music is an umbrella term for a long tradition of Western art music characterized by written notation, formal structures, and transmission through institutions. It encompasses works from the Medieval music and Renaissance music eras through Baroque music, the Classical period, Romantic music, and into various 20th- and 21st-century movements such as Impressionism, Serialism, and Minimalism. Performers, composers, ensembles, and institutions across Europe, North America, and other regions have shaped a repertoire performed in concert halls, churches, and academies.

Definition and Scope

The scope spans polyphonic practice from Guillaume de Machaut and Leonin to contrapuntal works by Palestrina and Josquin des Prez, extending to instrumental forms codified by Arcangelo Corelli and Antonio Vivaldi. It includes vocal genres exemplified by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina's masses, Claudio Monteverdi's operas, and oratorios like George Frideric Handel's Messiah. Instrumental genres range from solo sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti to symphonies by Franz Joseph Haydn and concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Igor Stravinsky. National schools—such as the Russian school associated with Modest Mussorgsky and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, the Austro-German tradition centered on Vienna with figures like Gustav Mahler, and the French music lineage with Camille Saint-Saëns and Maurice Ravel—are integral to its definition.

Historical Periods and Development

The tradition originates in liturgical repertories from Gregorian chant and the medieval notational advances linked to Notre-Dame school composers. The Renaissance music era saw development under figures such as Thomas Tallis and Orlando di Lasso, while the Baroque music era featured the rise of opera at Venice and composers like Henry Purcell and Georg Philipp Telemann. The Classical period centralized formal clarity in works by Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; the Romantic music era expanded expressive scope with composers such as Frédéric Chopin, Richard Wagner, Hector Berlioz, Franz Liszt, and Robert Schumann. The 20th century introduced innovations by Arnold Schoenberg (twelve-tone technique), Igor Stravinsky (rhythmic innovation), Béla Bartók (ethnomusicological influence), Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitri Shostakovich, Aaron Copland, Gustav Holst, and later contemporary figures like Philip Glass and John Adams.

Form, Style, and Genres

Formal types include the sonata form codified in works by Rodolphe Kreutzer and popularized by Ludwig van Beethoven; the symphony tradition advanced by Franz Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Gustav Mahler; the string quartet as perfected by Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Franz Schubert; and the concerto exemplified by Antonio Vivaldi, Johann Sebastian Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, and piano concertos by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Vocal genres include opera—ranging from early works by Claudio Monteverdi through Gioachino Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti, Vincenzo Bellini, Giuseppe Verdi, Richard Wagner, Giacomo Puccini—and song cycles such as those by Franz Schubert and Hugo Wolf. Chamber music, choral works, ballet scores like Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, and liturgical forms such as masses and requiems (e.g., Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem) populate the repertoire.

Notable Composers and Works

Representative composers and landmark works include Johann Sebastian Bach’s Mass in B minor, Brandenburg Concertos, and Well-Tempered Clavier; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s operas (The Magic Flute, Don Giovanni), symphonies, and piano concertos; Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Moonlight Sonata, and late string quartets; Franz Schubert’s lieder and symphonies; Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ballets (The Nutcracker, Swan Lake); Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring; Gustav Mahler’s symphonies; Claude Debussy’s Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune; Maurice Ravel’s orchestration in Boléro; Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire and twelve-tone works; Béla Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra; and 20th/21st-century figures like Benjamin Britten, Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev, Elliott Carter, Philip Glass, John Adams, Olivier Messiaen, György Ligeti, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Carlos Chávez, William Walton, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Samuel Barber, Jean Sibelius, Edvard Grieg, Antonín Dvořák, Leoš Janáček, Alexander Borodin, Mikhail Glinka, Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Camille Saint-Saëns, Felix Mendelssohn, Anton Bruckner, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Giacomo Puccini, Gustav Holst, Charles Ives, Alban Berg, Anton Webern, Arvo Pärt, Kaija Saariaho, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Sofia Gubaidulina.

Performance Practice and Instruments

Performance practice involves historical approaches such as Historically informed performance using period instruments like the harpsichord, baroque violin, and natural trumpet, championed by ensembles linked to Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Christopher Hogwood, Gustav Leonhardt, and John Eliot Gardiner. Modern performances often employ modern symphony orchestra forces with instruments like the modern violin, piano, double bass, French horn, timpani, and trombone. Soloists and conductors—e.g., Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Martha Argerich, Herbert von Karajan, Leonard Bernstein, Riccardo Muti, Simon Rattle, Gustavo Dudamel—shape interpretation, technique, and repertoire. Editions and scholarly performing editions derive from projects associated with institutions like the IMSLP community, critical editions such as the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe, and editorial scholarship from musicologists at Oxford University, University of Cambridge, Juilliard School, Royal College of Music, Conservatoire de Paris.

Reception, Institutions, and Education

Reception occurs through concert seasons at venues like Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Wiener Musikverein, Teatro alla Scala, Konzerthaus Berlin, and festivals such as the Salzburg Festival, Bayreuth Festival, Tanglewood Music Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, and Aldeburgh Festival. Institutions include orchestras and opera houses: Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Royal Opera House, Chicago Lyric Opera, and conservatories such as the Curtis Institute of Music, Juilliard School, Royal Academy of Music, Conservatoire de Paris, Moscow Conservatory, and Royal College of Music. Awards and recognition involve Grammy Awards, Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards, Pulitzer Prize for Music, and Graham Norton-style public engagement via broadcasting networks like the BBC, Medici.tv, and recording labels including Deutsche Grammophon, EMI Classics, Sony Classical, Warner Classics, Decca Records.

Category:Music genres