What makes music classical?

[OKCATHY1]

If I would take a piano trio and play the cello on bass guitar, the violin on electric guitar and add drums would it still be classical? and if I omit the drums, would it be classical? and if Shostakovich had written a piece for a rock band, would it be classical?
Where can we draw the line?

[gryphon]

Personally I don't feel there is a line.....................Classical music is a genre which has an odd definition .....in essence it has proved its self worthy of the position not strictly by its composition but by the test of time and public opinion........

For example much of the music that is considered classical started off in the genre we would call popular or something similar................however after the passage of time it was not so much traditional .......more it was work which was proof of the excellence of it's time
and it stood the test of time as it was then was still popular hence it became a classic of its time.

There then becomes a problem with looking at a definition of classical...............much of the music that is classical to most people is of a certain time period and as such music that sounds like that might to the casual listener be defined as classical. However, that could be looked upon as a mistake in thinking. Classic music of different time periods could be regarded as classic and not have he same form. There is also the problem of music written today with the same form as the traditional format of classical music.

Personally I find the genre Classical too restricting...........The form of a piece of music does not need to have the classical tag to be a classic and the idea of writing to a classical format is too restricting in my eyes ....................so I think that expanding the traditional format or label is in the spirit of creative music making and I would not like to feel restricted by a simple genre or work like classical .:eek:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

nice one Gryphon...an interesting answer to an equally interesting question....would be interested in Jerome's answer to this one also.

[Tiggi]

To be pedantic, Classical refers to a period during the development of orchestral music (approx 1750-1825). Before this was the Baroque period, and it was succeeded by the Romantic period, although the Classical tag is now generally applied to orchestral music.

To answer your question, I'd say that the form the music takes would decide what type of music it is. Rock bands have dabbled at producing versions of orchestral music, and when they do it surely has to be Rock music. Likewise, orchestral versions of other forms of music are not unknown, and I'd broadly categorise them as "Classical".

A melody can be played orchestrally, by a small Jazz combo, a Big Band, or any one of the other types of music out there...

[didgeridoo]

In my opinion, "classical music" is more of an umbrella term than definition of the genre. I mean, if you take a composition by Stravinsky and one by second-rate composer of saloon music, there's a huge difference. People should realize that not all pieces are equally great and classical music isn't in any sense better than all the music that was composed other day. Some composers definitely had more talent than others, but even they had great works, good works and mediocre works, and compared to the best pop songs, the latter give ground.

Talking about rock music, there are bands that deserve every ounce of appreciation they got. Say, Pink Floyd or King Crimson. A number of progressive rock bands can be considered classical music in future, but it can't be said about those which were formed with a merely purpose of capturing the chicks' attention. I think we don't need to bother about what music could be considered classical - the time will judge. Many composers were unknown in vivo, but now everyone has heard their names - just because they were dedicated to what they did and believed that no one will do it better than them.

[Tiggi]

^ Liking the Schroeder avatar...

[SteveO]

When I think of classical music I think of composers rather than compositions. Satie, Rachmaninov, Berlioz, Stravinsky, Boulez, Tchaikovsky, on and on,, did I miss any ? lol

[ndrewoods]

On what I've learned from my previous music school, Classical music is produced in and rooted in traditions of secular music and Western liturgical. It encompasses a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times. Composers such as Antonio Vivaldi, Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Mozart, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, Strauss II and lots more are known for this classical music.[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aram_Khachaturian"]
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[qiuyinffy]

When I think of classical composers, I think that instead of compositions. [url=http://www.cheapchbagsforsale.com/C-84-b0-Chanel-Coco-Bags.html][/url]

[CraigCyril]

Classical music is a rather fluid term that identifies what is known as Western Art Music. It includes much of the sacred and secular music from about the 9th century to the present time. Classical music consists of the instruments found in an orchestra, together with a few other solo instruments. Thanks.
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