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Curated category

Music history

  • Classical musicThe word classical began as a Roman social marker for the highest class of citizens. Aulus Gellius used classicus to praise writers like Demosthenes and…
  • History of musicScholars have argued for decades about whether music evolved alongside language, as a form of sexual selection, or simply to help communities coordinate…
  • Classical period (music)In 1750, the death of Johann Sebastian Bach marked a turning point in European music. Composers began to move away from the dense polyphony that defined the…
  • Sketch (music)A sketch page of Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano sonata, Opus 101 sits in an archive today. At the upper left corner of that paper lies a theme that opens the…