Program music or programmatic music is a type of instrumental music that attempts to musically render an extramusical narrative or description of some aspect of world.

But the development of music with a pervasive program, like the term program music itself, is a uniquely 19th-century phenomenon, beginning precisely with Beethoven, for he unified the movements of a …

Feb 20, 2024 · In Western classical music, program music refers to a piece (usually instrumental rather than vocal) that is about something or that has some kind of extra-musical meaning. This is in …

Jun 17, 2025 · Program music is a distinct genre within classical music that seeks to portray extra-musical concepts, encompassing narratives, landscapes, emotions, or specific events, through …

Dec 10, 2021 · Much of early classical music is what musicians call ‘abstract.’. All it has to do is create an atmosphere. Conversely, program music elicits specific feelings and responses from its audience.

Apr 6, 2025 · Program music is a type of instrumental music that tells a story or depicts a scene, idea, or literary text. It is a contrasting genre to absolute music, which is purely abstract and does not carry …

Jan 22, 2025 · Program music is a distinct category of instrumental music characterized by its explicit association with extra-musical ideas, narratives, or scenes.

Jul 9, 2023 · In classical music, programme music refers to a piece of music that has an extra musical narrative. In other words, music that tells a story. This is in direct contrast to abstract or absolute …

Program music is instrumental music that tells a story, illustrates a scene, or conveys a specific idea without using words. Unlike absolute music, which exists for its own sake, programmatic works are …

Program music is music that is based on a specific narrative and, as such, is intended to evoke extra-musical ideas or images in the mind of the listener, by musically depicting a scene, theme, events, or …