Terminology question

[chickenfeet]

What adjective should one use to describe serious western music written to be performed primarily by trained musicians? I hate 'classical' because that can also be applied to the period between baroque and romantic and it seems singularly inapposite when applied to, say, Boulez. 'Serious' or 'art' music seems condescending to several other genres. So what is the answer?

Comments

[moosehorn.livejournal.com]

Orchestral, instrumental, vocal, choral, opera or chamber if you can get away with being that specific.

Interesting question that I'm still thinking about...

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

Doesn't really do it though. For example, 'vocal' encompasses agreat deal of popular and folk music. I bet there is a German word that works!

[popsock.livejournal.com]

I bet there is a German word that works!

I do hope you're not expecting me to provide you with it though. ;-)

[atpotch.livejournal.com]

I think you may have to give in to classical being a dual-purpose word here. I tend to use capitalisation for Mozart and Haydn, and lower case for Boulez and Mahler etc etc.

TCH

[lisekit.livejournal.com]

Seconded; there's a period called "Classical", and there's a form called "classical" (to which can be appended other adjectives, like "modern", just in case you want to refer to Philip Glass.)

[anneth.livejournal.com]

Meh. I hate the word "classical" being applied to "serious" or "insturmental" modern music. I once had a boyfriend who said he liked classical music - by which he meant, and I'm not making this up, the soundtrack to Braveheart. (The relationship didn't last too long...)

Other than that, though, I can't offer you any suggestions. I'm sorry!

[purplesofa.livejournal.com]

I tend to say "classical music, broadly defined" because everyone knows what 'classical' means, and for those who don't like it, I want to show I have a clue of the word's inadequacy.

I've also tried orchestral, art music, etc. But I wouldn't dare use 'serious' because people are also serious about heavy metal, filk, etc.

This calls for a neologism! But it would be easier to get traction for a term from another language (German, Russian, Swedish, French, Hungarian, ... the serious, complex, precise languages of classical composers from non-classical eras)

[bonsai-human.livejournal.com]

It has to be classical. It's what people understand. But it is annoying, as I generally hate classical music (in the specific sense of music from the classical period), but I quite like Baroque music. As for Romantic... utter shit. Renaissance = hysterically funny.

Art music? No. No no no no no.

[cibetky.livejournal.com]

According to what I remember from my music classes back in secondary school, the term might be (believe it or not) artificial music as opposed to "spontaneous" or "unpolished" popular and folk/world music. But I'm not sure if it is used in English like that.