Don writes: >Bill Pirkle, in a recent posting on this thread, questions the relevance >of the term "classical music". I just wanted to relate that I consider >it highly relevant. It has been, for me, the entrance "ID" to the music I >want to listen to and own. Also, everybody I know has a generally similar >notion of what classical music sounds like (love it or hate it). And the >typing of the term in a search engine brought me to Dave's website; that >has plenty of significance as well. > >My basic response to Bill is that a descriptive term can be relevant >without being exacting. It's a slippery world when one wants the exact. Indeed, I don't have a problem with the term per se, nor am I looking for an "exact" definition. Any definition will do, and that is looking less and less possible. I do not think I am being unreasonable in expecting that words have a definition, even a broad one. George Orwell (1984) would agree. Could you complete this sentence to the satisfaction of everyone on this list - Classical music is music that .... I don't think that anyone can. What's wrong with this picture? Bill Pirkle