Where did the term "Classical" come from?

for being timeless? just guessing now

I'm guessing it originally referred to the music of the ancient Greeks, or rather it attempted to recapture the values of the old Greek civilization. During the Renaissance a new-found interest for "classical" culture emerged and most art of that time and the following couple of centuries were trying to reflect the "grandeur" and "sophistication" of the ancient times (of course most everything they attributed to the Greeks was plain fabrication and second-guessing, but the never stopped anyone).

Classical music can be divided into a number of periods spanning from Medieval times to the present. Its roots lie in early Christian music, and its influences date even further back to the Ancient Greeks. Classical music theory is in fact based on the development of individual tones and scales by ancient Greeks such as Aristoxenus and the mathematician Pythagoras. Pythagoras created a tuning system and helped to codify music. Ancient Greek instruments such as the aulos (a reed instrument) and the lyre (a stringed instrument similar to a small harp) eventually led to the modern day instruments of a classical orchestra.[11]

The major time divisions of classical music are the early period (which includes Medieval (476 – 1400) and Renaissance (1400 – 1600)); the Common practice period (which includes Baroque (1600 – 1750), Classical (1730 – 1820), and Romantic periods (1815 – 1910)); and the modern and contemporary period which includes 20th century classical (1900 – 2000) and contemporary classical (1975 – current).

The antecedent to the early period was the era of ancient music from before the fall of the Roman Empire (476 AD), very little of which survived. The music that survived from this period is mostly from ancient Greece. The Medieval period includes music from after the fall of Rome to about 1450. Monophonic chant, also called plainsong or Gregorian Chant, was the dominant form until about 1100. Polyphonic (multi-voiced) music developed from monophonic chant throughout the late Middle Ages and into the Renaissance. The Renaissance music was from 1450 – 1600. It was characterized by greater use of instrumentation, multiple interweaving melodic lines and by the use of the first bass instruments.

The common practice era began with the Baroque period in about 1600 and extended until 1750. Baroque music is characterized by the use of complex tonal counterpoint and the use of a basso continuo, a continuous bass line. During this period keyboard music played on the harpsichord and pipe organ became increasingly popular. The classical period, from about 1750 – 1820, established many of the norms of composition, presentation and style, and the piano became the predominant keyboard instrument.

The Romantic era, from 1820 – 1910, codified practice, expanded the role of music in cultural life and created institutions for the teaching, performance and preservation of music. It is characterized by increased attention to melody and rhythm, as well as expressive and emotional elements, paralleling romanticism in other art forms.

The modern era began with Impressionist music from 1910-1920, which was dominated by French composers who went against the traditional German ways of art and music. Impressionist music by Erik Satie, Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel used the pentatonic scale, long, flowing phrases and free rhythms. Modernism, 1905-1985, marked a period of many composers' rejection of certain values of the "common practice" period, such as traditional tonality, melody, instrumentation, and structure, and of the extension of theory and technique. 20th century classical music, a wide variety of post-Romantic styles composed through the year 1999, includes late Romantic, Modern and Postmodern styles of composition. The term contemporary music is sometimes used to describe music composed in the late 20th century through present day.

The prefix neo is used to describe a 20th century or contemporary composition written in the style of an earlier period, such as classical, romantic, or modern. Stravinsky's Pulcinella, for example, is a neoclassical composition.

The dates are generalizations, since the periods overlapped and the categories are somewhat arbitrary. The use of counterpoint and fugue, which is considered characteristic of the Baroque era, was continued by Mozart, who is generally classified as typical of the classical period, by Beethoven who is often described as a founder of the romantic period, and Brahms, who is classified as romantic.

History of European art music
Early Medieval (500 – 1400)
Renaissance (1400 – 1600)

Common practice
Baroque (1600 – 1760)
Classical (1730 – 1820)
Romantic (1815 – 1910)

Modern and contemporary
20th century classical (1900 – 2000)
Contemporary classical (1975 – present)

The term "classical music" did not appear until the early 19th century, in an attempt to "canonize" the period from Johann Sebastian Bach to Beethoven as a golden age. The earliest reference to "classical music" recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is from about 1836.

Classical works often display musical complexity through the composer's use of development, modulation (changing of keys), variation rather than exact repetition, musical phrases that are not of even length, counterpoint, polyphony and sophisticated harmony. Larger-scale classical works (such as symphonies, concertos, operas and oratorios) are built up from a hierarchy of smaller units: namely phrases, periods, sections, and movements. Musical analysis often seeks to distinguish and explain these structural levels.

Shit's old, right? lol

Bela Bartok is the shit.

Franz Listz is one of my favourites.