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

See Examples For:

absolute music

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

In his first two symphonies his speech was chiefly of Finland but thereafter he seemed more determined to make absolute music which would speak for itself.

From Time Magazine Archive

Therefore, discarding critical crutches, it is best to hear the composition primarily as absolute music.

From Franz Liszt by Huneker, James