absolute music

American  

noun

1. instrumental music, as a concerto or string quartet, that draws no inspiration from or makes no reference to a text, program, visual image, or title and that exists solely in terms of its musical form, structure, and elements.

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absolute music British  

noun

1. music that is not designed to depict or evoke any scene or event Compare programme music

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Etymology

Origin of absolute music

First recorded in 1885–90

Compare meaning

How does absolute-music compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• program music vs. absolute music

Example Sentences

Is it a piece of absolute music, a symphony in the tradition of Bruckner and Mahler?

From New York Times • Nov. 10, 2022

Besides his film music, Morricone wrote more than 150 concert works, which he considered absolute music, many avant-garde.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 7, 2020

Balanchine had been audacious when he tackled it; the piece is a summit of absolute music and he made it into a summit of pure ballet.

From New York Times • Feb. 19, 2010

Arcana was completed by 1927, but it still sounds avantgarde, because it makes "absolute music" with a heckelphone, coconuts and more than 120 other instruments.

From Time Magazine Archive

The composer was a stern believer in absolute music.

From Melomaniacs by Huneker, James