Dividing up the History of Western Classical Music

Western pop music would not be what it is today if it were not for some of the heores of classical music, like Bach for instance. Does that seem surprising? By the way, he sits near the top of my special cool list of all-time notable musicians and composers. Another surprising thing you may not be aware of is that Classical music has been around for eighteen centuries or even more if one considers the early Greeks to be part of that heritage. That is an impressive record.

We will discuss Bach and the history of western classical music in a very short period of time. That allows us basically to touch upon the main developments in each stylistic period and sample one or two composers best representative of that period. Some of these developments have more lasting influence than others. So I will highlight and showcase these with a bit more background.

Western classical music begins around 200 A.D., just as the Roman Empire is in decline. From that point on, it is possible to make a case for how the music evolved from the simple to the more complex. For instance, Mozart, Beethoven and Wagner represent pretty good examples of how complex and sophisticated western classical music had eventually gotten. However, their music did not arise out of nothing. Certain musical developments had to occur earlier in history to make possible such complexity. We will also take a look at some of those developments and their ramifications for music and composers as well as musicians.

In general, most historians divide the history of classical music into the following periods and approximate dates:

200-1450 C.E.  Middle Ages
1450-1600  Renaissance Period
1600-1750  Baroque Period
1750-1820  Classical Period
1820-1900  Romantic Period
1900-present  Modern period (includes 20th Century)