Posted by John Rasmussen on June 28, 19102 at 18:24:29:

In Reply to: Baroque? posted by Heinrich Schutz 1585-1672 on March 30, 19102 at 20:19:59:

It's almost impossible to set strict dates on periods, as many composers who were contemporaries of each other worked in very different styles. Look at the dates for Claudio Monteverdi, definitely baroque in spirit, and you'll see that they're earlier than those for Schutz. Also, consider Beethoven, who is claimed by both clics and romantics with some justification. More recently, what do you do with Howard Hanson? He worked in an unashamed romantic style but was a contemporary of Edgard Varese, perhaps the most radical composer ever.

I suspect that the prime reason for labeling periods in music is for convenience. Unfortunately this can preclude taking each composer as an individual.

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