"Art! Who comprehends her? With whom can one consult concerning this great goddess?" Ludwig van Beethoven

In the strictest definition (which we always resist), Classical is defined as any music produced between 1750 (the year Bach died) and 1825 (the year a Parisian concertgoer tossed a powdered wig onto the stage during an opera). The oversimplified perception is that most people consider any music played with violins and cellos as “Classical.”

What most people don’t realize is that Classical shares many elements with the counter-culture sound of the 1960s, when over-produced pop gave way to a more free-flowing and politically charged sound. By embracing more streamlined and elegant arrangements, the Classical composers were moving away from the decadent Baroque style, to a new sound that was more natural – but with even greater emotional resonance.

Yes, Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven were hippies in their day, and the music they created lives on as the Rock of the Ages!