| Historical Era | Approximate dates | Representative Composers
(Small sample) |
| Medieval |
ca. 500-1450 |
Hildegard von Bingen, Machaut, Landini, Léonin, Pérotin.
See: Wikipedia List |
| Renaissance |
1450-1600 |
Josquin, Dufay, Palestrina.
See: Wikipedia List |
Baroque
Also see: 1725-1770 Roccoco (and/or Galant)
|
1600-1750 |
Bach, Vivaldi, Tartini, Geminiani, Handel.
See: Wikipedia List |
| Classical |
1750-1820 |
Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven.**
See: Wikipedia List |
Romantic
Also see: Nationalism - Grieg, Sibelius
|
1820-1910 |
Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Paganini, Brahms.
See: Wikipedia List |
Contemporary, also referred to as 20th Century or Modern. Includes subcategories such as:
Impressionism: Debussy, Ravel
Expressionism: Schoenberg, Berg, Webern
Americana: Copland
Neo Classicism: Stravinsky, Copland
Neo Romanticism: Piston, Barber, Hanson
Experimentalism: Brown, Cage
Minimalism: Glass, Reich
Also see: Further Discussion: Contemporary Musicology
|
1910-present |
Bartók, Bernstein, Cage, Babbit, Gershwin, Varese, Messiean, Stockhausen, Takemitsu.
See: Wikipedia List |
** From A History of Western Music: "Through external circumstances and the force of his own genius he transformed this heritage and became the source of much that was characteristic of the Romantic period. But he himself is neither Classic nor Romantic; he is Beethoven, and his figure towers like a colossus astride the two centuries." [Donald Jay Grout. (3rd Edition with Claude V. Palisca.) W. W. Norton & Co., Inc. New York. 1973. p. 521.
Newest ed. of the Grout, 8th ed., Burkholder
Also see: Outlines of Grout History of Western Music, David Papandrew
|
