The term “classical music” encompasses music based on the traditions of Western art, religious music and concert music written from around the year 1000 to early 20th century. It started when musicians started writing the music using notation rather than relying on passing the music through their students. Although this tradition originated in the 11th century, it was not until much later, around the mid-16th century that it developed in terms of complexity and range. Classical music is based on classical forms and uses notation to write down the score according to which, performers play a piece of music. Composers were usually attached to a court or to religious institutions and wrote music at the request of Kings, Princes, and the Church.
The term classical music first surfaced around 1836, in an attempt to link the music from the period ranging from Bach to Beethoven, to the classical tradition in art and architecture. Contrary to its present association with high culture and art, this type of music was part of the popular culture when it was first performed. The compositions are instrumental or vocal and range from solo performances on a single instrument or voice to orchestral music, choral pieces and the more popular operas. Unfortunately, the popularity of classical music has declined progressively through the second half of the 20th century and currently, it is hard to find young audiences for concert performances and recorded music.
Classical music can be categorized into several distinct types corresponding to different historical periods. These periods start with the Medieval era and end with 20th century contemporary era passing through the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical and Romantic eras. Ockenghem, Palestrina, and Byrd are representative of composers during the Medieval era. Later, from the mid-16th to mid- 18th centuries composers such as Monteverdi, Purcell, Lully, Corelli, Scarlatti, Albinoni, Vivaldi, Handel, and Bach constituted the Baroque period of classical music. Hayden and Mozart are the most famous composers of the Classical era. The Romantic period started from the late 18th century and continued through the early 20th century. Composers such as Beethoven, Paganini, Rossini, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Wagner, Verdi, Brahms, Berlioz, Bizet, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, Puccini, and finally, Rachmaninov belong to the Romantic era. The Contemporary period starts around the second half of the 20th century and continues until today.
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