In a major library, (that will remain nameless,) while searching for some classical music scores, I stopped a twenty something librarian to ask their location. She told me that "classical music" is now in the "serious music" section. Hmmm - I can think of some hard driving rock songs that are pretty "serious," too - at least if you are trying to play them.
To be perfectly correct, "classical music" is generally accepted as from the "classical period" of about 1750 to 1820. Of course, that overlaps the baroque, galant, and romantic eras. To confuse matters even more, some references place the classical period at the latter half of the 1800's. That sort of confusion is a reason why I'm glad to be an engineer instead of a musicologist.
With the exception of Toccata and Fugue, all of these have been arranged as piano songs, (yeah - even the 1812 Overture!) Toccata and Fugue is a duet between a baroque pipe organ and grand piano. In the rest of the cases where a piano was the original soloist instrument, I've swapped the accompaniment also to piano in my usual crazed manner. Some of course were written as piano solos.
And in some cases, they were not written for any piano. My version of Meyerbeer'sCoronation March is taken from the arrangement we played back in high school concert band - again converted to piano. I tried to maintain that same "high school band" feel. It's got a terrific truly grand heroic finale.
Reeves
PS The cover photo was taken in Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia.
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