classical music

Cultural  

1. A loose expression for European and American music of the more serious kind, as opposed to popular or folk music.

---

Example Sentences

Even classical music listeners have their version in what may be the most legendary rivalry of all — the one that also-ran Italian composer Antonio Salieri supposedly nursed with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

From Salon • May 16, 2026

The wider public discovered Monroe, sporting long braided hair, in a TV talent show dedicated to young classical music virtuosos.

From Barron's • May 15, 2026

I wanted to be out and about, and he wanted me to play classical music on the piano.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026

“A melody, rhythm, some understanding of another person or another culture. The way those experiences add up, in the soul of a person over the years, is the biggest prize classical music possesses.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026

If anyone tells you classical music is dead in the twenty-first century, all it means is that they don’t go to the cinema.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Related Words

• chamber music