Classical
古典音乐

We often talk about “classical music” meaning European music which is not pop music or jazz or folk music. It is music which has been written by composers who have studied the art of composition. Classical music is art music produced or rooted in the traditions of Western music (both liturgical and secular). It encompasses a broad period from roughly the 11th century to the present day. The major time divisions of classical music are the early music period, which includes Medieval (500–1400) and Renaissance (1400–1600), the Common practice period, which includes the Baroque (1600–1750), Classical (1750–1830) and Romantic (1804–1949) periods, and the modern and contemporary period, which includes 20th century (1900–2000) and contemporary (1975–current).
我们经常谈论的古典音乐，是与流行乐、爵士或民俗音乐有所区别的西方音乐，是学习了作曲艺术的作曲家们创作的音乐。古典音乐是一种根植于西方传统音乐(包括礼拜式音乐和世俗音乐)的艺术形式，从公元11世纪左右发展至今，历史悠久。它的主要发展时期有早期古典音乐时期，涵盖了中世纪音乐(500—1400)和文艺复兴音乐(1400—1600)；惯例时期，包括巴洛克(1600—1750)、古典主义(1750—1830)和浪漫主义(1804—1949)音乐；之后是现当代音乐时期，包括20世纪音乐(1900—2000)和当代古典音乐(1975至今)。

The most outstanding characteristic of classical music is that the repertoire tends to be written down in musical notation, creating a musical part or score. This score typically determines details of rhythm, pitch, and, where two or more musicians (whether singers or instrumentalists) are involved, how the various parts are coordinated. The written quality of the music has, in addition to preserving the works, enabled a high level of complexity within them: Bach's fugues, for instance, achieve a remarkable marriage of boldly distinctive melodic lines weaving in counterpoint yet creating a coherent harmonic logic that would be impossible in the heat of live improvisation.
古典音乐最突出的特点是它倾向于用音乐符号的方式写下来，从而形成一部分音乐或乐谱。这一乐谱通常决定了很多细节信息，包括韵律、音高、哪部分的演奏需要两个或多个音乐家(不管是歌手还是乐器演奏者)的配合以及不同部分之间的协调。这种记录下来的品质，不仅使音乐作品得以保存，同时也赋予了它们高度的复杂性。比如巴赫的赋格曲，成功地将各个明显不同的旋律线以复调的方式完美结合在一起，这是在即兴演奏狂热的状态下不可能实现的。