Guide to the Eras

• Was Beethoven a Classical composer, or was he in the Romantic era?
• What the on earth does Baroque mean?
• Does minimalism mean it has hardly any notes?
• Why is it called the Romantic era? Was everyone carrying around flowers?

Even if you’ve just dipped the tips of your toes into the world of classical music, these are the kinds of questions you’ll have encountered. There is so much fancy terminology in the classical genre that it can be a really confusing process just trying to work out what style a composer composed in, and what that style actually sounds like.

In these articles we’ll take a look at the main eras of classical music, what they sound like, and who the main composers were:

Part 1: The Baroque Era

Part 2: The Classical Era

Part 3: The Early Romantic Era

Part 4: The Late Romantic Era

Part 5: coming soon.