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This article is from the Classical music FAQ, by Gabe M. Wiener gabe@panix.com with numerous contributions by others.

1. What are the major periods of "classical" music?

What the public generally calls "classical" music is actually many
different styles of music that come from many historical periods. The
usual classifications are: Medieval music, Renaissance, Baroque,
Classical, Romantic, and Modern. The precise dates of the beginning
and end of each period are a source of major academic debate, and many
argue (and perhaps correctly) that there is no precise date but rather
a long overlap. It is also quite accurate to say that styles changed
in different places at different rates, so one date isn't necessarily
valid for every region of Europe.

With that disclaimer, here are *approximate* dates that distinguish
each period. Some of them overlap, as you can see, since certain
composers adopted the new styles before others.

Early: 1100-1300
Medieval: 1300-1430
Renaissance: 1430-1600
Baroque: 1600-1750
Classical: 1750-1827
Romantic: 1810-1900
Modern: 1890+

This breakdown attempts to categorize fundamental shifts in the
attitudes and styles of characteristic composers. Chances are that if
you like the music of a composer of one period, you will like music by
other composers of the same period, though we *do* encourage you to
experiment and to sample music of all periods.

 

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