Are soundtracks classed as CLASSICAL MUSIC?

One day I was listetening to my ST:TMP soundtrack (a supremely gold-like score by the supremely god-like Jerry Goldsmith), and my father came into my room to ask me something.

After a few seconds, he asked what he had to ask, and then the music caught his attention. Now, I listen to soundtracks quite a lot, one as a film student, and two because I buy soundtracks as a hobby of sorts, so my listening to soundtracks is no strange thing to him.

He said to me, "You sure do like your classical music, don't you?", and I said that I didn't think it was "classical" in the strictest sense, but it certainly is orchestral.

That got me thinking, are soundtracks CLASSICAL by definition, or do you think there is there is a difference between CLASSICAL MUSIC and ORCHESTRAL SOUNDTRACKS?

Am I making any sense, whatsoever?

 

Star Wars music is classical music.

 

I suppose "Classical" technically defines something that has lasted over time, like a classic novel or the like. On the other hand, most movie soundtracks tend to have a certain "classical" flavor, that causes them to have a certain affinity with music of old.

 

And at the time of, say, Mozart or our old brother Ludwing Van, our "classical" was......

Pop Music.

 

I would say, No. My favorite quote is from a professor I once had: "Just because it's got strings, doesn't mean it's classical music."

And he's right.

 

Well, if you want to get REALLY nit-picky, anything that wasn't written in the 1700's (the Classical era) isn't "Classical" music. But we'll keep using the term classical regardless.

From the standpoint of an (aspiring) orchestral musician, I would classify soundtracks more in the "Pops" realm of orchestral literature. The Star Wars music is certainly played quite frequently by professional orchestras, but generally only at more casual (Pops) concerts.

However, I might add that I think the SW soundtrack is much better music than much of the so called "classical" music that gets played at "legit" concerts during a regular season. But maybe that's just because I play French Horn and SW has so many GREAT Horn parts!

KM

 

I've just read your views, and some interesting comments have come through. I think Dehrian's quote was the one that was more along the lines of what I was thinking.

Also, I wasn't just talking about SW music (yes, even though this is a SW music forum), but I meant ALL orchestral soundtracks.

John Williams, and Star Wars have sort of made the whole genre popular, and I'm now thinking that Williams, and others like Goldsmith, Horner, Zimmer, and Poledouris may have created a new genre of music.

 

Classical to most people is Orcharstal Music that doesn't have any words except when used for an Opera. Usally doesn't have any guitars either.

 

Orchestral doesn't imply classical. John Williams' works are primarily Neo-Romantic.

Classical refers to a style of composition, not a genre. Most people incorrectly use "classical" to refer to the genre of anything orchestral or symphonic, which is a somewhat ignorant application of the term. The term refers to a style of composition involving abstraction and consonance - yes, it's more complicated than just that, but that's about as short as I can summarize it.

Think about it this way - many people today refer to general terms such as "rock" and "jazz". But over time, those terms have begun to represent genres transcending the styles from which they originated. There's a big difference between rockabilly and grunge, but they are both referred to as "rock". Again, this is just the fault of the ignorant masses again, and the people who aren't original enough to introduce new terms to clarify the difference.

The Star Wars scores are hardly in any way classical, except for certain tracks - the most notable being "Duel Of The Fates". To call Star Wars music "classical" because it is orchestrated symphonically is like calling the Star Wars movies "science fiction" because they have spaceships. It is a common error, and just because a lot of people make that mistake, it doesn't make it right.

 

Personally I don't want to call it classical. I don't like the idea of being a classical music fan.

 

I don't know the dictonary meaning of "classical music" but I think it can be called the kind of music that is played by a symphony orchestra.
Pherhaps...

 

I'll have to ask my bro, the music major and thus penniless for life.

 

Soundtrack film music should NOT be classified as Classical Music. However, a lot of movie music is written based on classical styles. Film music is a lot more liberal, and lacks the conventional form and structures of the classical works. This does not mean that film music does not sound better than classical music. They're both great.

Some soundtracks I would consider Classical music are Amadeus and Immortal Beloved.

Technically, the Classical era was from around 1750 - 1825. The Romantic era followed that and the Baroque period preceded that.

 

There we go, now this what I call intelligent conversation - Keep going!

 

a purist would not consider the broad category of symphonic literature as classical, but most of us arent purists. classical has come to have a broad meaning for many, perhaps as an homage to the viennese masters (hadyn, mozart, beethoven) who were active during the classical era. music is an ever-evolving art. generational turnover in the subsequent century brought about changes to the way composers thought about and approached music. it was also a century of technical innovation, as changes to the way instruments were designed allowed for the creation of music that literally couldnt have been played in the preceding century. the same thing is happening today with all the rock and electronic instruments we have developed in the just concluded century.