hold off a instant , The ClassicalEra ? Have n’t we been talk about classicalmusicthis whole time ? How can the wordclassicalapply to an entire genre of music if theclassicalera only spanned about seventy - five years ? My grandfather Mervin spanned about seventy - five years too , but we do n’t callallgrandfathers Mervin , do we ? So what ’s the deal here ? What ’s the departure between Greco-Roman music and this period in account referred to as The Classical epoch ? What exactlyisa classic ? And just how many questions can one prefatory paragraph contain ? Honestly , how many ? Eleven ? Perhaps , twelve ? Or is thirteen the magical number ?
Without getting into the pat , “ Websters define aclassicas … ” I ’ll just enjoin you direct up : a classic is something that lasts a long time , something that stick out alteration . A classic is something that ’s had a lasting influence , something that ’s left its mark .
Take the Ford Mustang convertible , for example . It ’s a classic car . At least those made between 1965 and 1973 .
Why ?
Because it still evokes a certain image . Because the torso style is alone , hard to double — one - of - a - kind . That the Mustang has made more appearance in Hollywood films than any other car in account should n’t come as much of a surprise . Nor should the fact that those in excellent consideration get anywhere from $ 40,000 to $ 60,000 on eBay . Classics are normally in need .
Take classic rock music , for instance . There are over five hundred radio stations in North America alone that only program medicine by endorse “ classical ” stone and roll bands — musicians who made music that has hold up transfer tendency and fashions , euphony that ’s find anew by each generation of malcontent teenagers . Music by Led Zeppelin , The Who , The Rolling Stones , Pink Floyd , The Beatles , The doorway , and , unfortunately , The Eagles .
I say unfortunately because I once had a gig at the Kennedy Center and was forced to endure “ Hotel California ” a stupefying five times on five dissimilar radio stations in the car on the means down to D.C. In such cases we might define a “ classic ” song as one with a really , really recollective guitar solo . Or : a birdcall that ’s overplayed to the point where you want to take the rack of your car and cut directly into oncoming dealings .
When we ’re talk about Hellenic music as a genre , like classic rock , we ’re talking about the classics : symphonic music , concerto , quartets , opera house and songs that have endure decades , 100 , and in some font , as we ’ve seen with Gregorian chant , millennia .
But what about classical music that ’s being written today ? How do we make out it will stand the examination of time ? How can we mark itclassicalwithout the luxury of hindsight ?
Of course by this time the German was tire pathetic , wishing he ’d never ask us , and probably engaged puddle eyes of a coquettish nature with a adult - deboned blond across the room name Elke or Elsa . But our answer was pretty accurate . classic euphony , as we ’ll learn by and by , isstill being written today , despite the fact that we do n’t know whether or not it will place upright the mental test of time . And the reason why we call it classic music , as oppose to pop euphony , or classical rock , is because it take after the linage of that which came before it . Just like we call Jessica Simpson ’s music teenybopper euphony because it follow Britney Spear ’s origin .
But this office is about the Classical era . Which should n’t be flurry with classical euphony , even though the euphony written during the Classical era is some of the best classic euphony you ’ll ever learn .
[ Be sure to tune in next Wednesday for Part 4 of this series and Part 2 of this post ]
