Contemporary+Classical+Music

Contemporary Classical Music

In the broadest sense, contemporary music is any music being written in the present day. In the context of classical music the term is informally applied to music written in the last half century or so, particularly works post-1960, though standard reference works do not consistently follow this definition. Since it is a word that describes a movable time frame, rather than a particular style or unifying idea, there are no universally agreed on criteria for making these distinctions. Many composers working the early 21st century were prominent figures in the 20th century. Some younger composers such as Oliver Knussen, Thomas Adès, and Michael Daugherty did not rise to prominence until late in the 20th century.

Literary Movement Music of the 20th Century (Home)