Classical Music: Define It For Me

Requisite Knowledge Level for Understanding (* being beginner, ***** being expert): *

We'll start off with the basics here:  What is "classical music"?

Well, that can be answered in a number of ways.  We can define "classical" from its root "classic" to being music that has already come into existence, it was written, performed and/or recorded, and for one reason or another, it continues to be performed and/or recorded today.  E.g. a "classic movie" being "The Godfather" which, while it premiered in 1972, is still being sold as a DVD/Blu-Ray/shown on TV/Netflix/etc, and talked about by people, even today.  In this way we arrive at ideas like "Classic Rock" (e.g. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, etc...) whose music permeates today's culture despite these groups being no longer touring, or, in some cases, no longer alive.  This is NOT what most people mean when they say "classical music".

"Classical music", as most people define it, isn't so much a definition, as it is a concept.  They hear that phrase and they picture an orchestra.  Or they think of that little melody someone was told was written by Beethoven.  They know anything Beethoven is "classical music".  Or Mozart.  Or Bach.  Possibly Haydn, Handel or Schubert.  If it's got a lot of violins and no words, that's definitely "classical music".  It sounds kind of like a movie score (e.g. "Star Wars"), only it was written a long time ago, and they don't know it nearly as well.  If they hear an opera singer, they know that that's classical music.

In reality, “classical music” is as varied as the music that you hear on the radio, or have in your complete iTunes music library.  You recognize the difference between “pop”, “rock”, “R & B”, “rap”, maybe you have some “alternative”, and possibly some “folk” or “world” because you like the variety it gives you and you feel like it expands your horizons.  And then you have that one CD of “classical” that’s got stuff on it like a Mozart piece you hear in commercials and movies all the time, or that one Beethoven piano piece that everyone knows because it’s really pretty.  "Classical music" has just as many categories as the music you already have on your computer and that one CD barely scratches the surface.

"Classical music" includes a wide range of music, including many types and sizes of ensembles and types of compositions.  Among the categories of "classical music" you'll hear bandied about, here are the terms that are the most relevant to identifying a particular piece of music or composer.
-Symphonic/Orchestral vs. Chamber
-Baroque, Classical or Romantic

Symphonic or Orchestral (the two are essentially interchangeable) music, just like you think it means, means that this stuff gets played by a symphony or an orchestra, often with the full complement of strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion.  Chamber music usually was intended for a small chamber setting and thus has a smaller number of performers.  A solo piano, or sonata for violin and piano, trios, quartets, and even a "chamber orchestra" (which has a small number of performers) would fall into this category.  Baroque, Classical and Romantic refer to the time period, or style, in which the music was written (others such as Medieval, Renaissance or Modern exist but are less popular and are subjects for later articles).  These are irrespective of the "symphonic" or "chamber" classification.  Thus I could have a piece which is a Baroque Chamber piece, a Romantic Symphonic piece, a Classical Chamber piece or a Romantic Chamber piece.  It's like wearing a top.  You can wear a T-shirt, a dress shirt or a sweater.  Then, you can choose whether it will be blue, green or red, and you have some of each variation (if your closet is big enough).

When a piece was composed can tell you a lot about the style of composition, but for right now, let's just define the approximate time periods of each era.  Because these are periods of time coordinating general style characteristics, the dates should not be seen as exact (as in, it was composed in 1751, it MUST be from the "classical" era!!) but rather as a guide.  Scholars can argue for hours about these dates if you let them.  If you look at the composer's life span and he lived for the most part in one era, that's probably a good guess for his music.
-Baroque:  1600 - 1750
-Classical:  1750 - 1825
-Romantic:  1825 - 1910
If there is "classical" music that you've heard others talking about, it was probably composed (i.e. written) sometime in that time range, or very nearly outside.

So if you hear any of those things listed above, like "chamber music" or "Romantic", you're talking about what is generally referred to as "classical music".  And yes, there is the generally understood popular concept of "classical music" referring to everything above as well as the much more defined "Classical" period of music from about 1750 - 1825.  So if you're still new to this stuff and talking about "classical music" and someone starts getting inquisitive about dates and the name of the composer and asking weird questions, they're probably just trying to determine whether you're talking about it all in general, or that specific time period.  Just explain to this person that you're new to "classical music" and this is what you currently know, and they should be helpful enough to properly answer any question you have.