programme music

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programme music (illustrative music) Music that aims to describe a scene or tell a story. It may be contrasted with absolute music, which has no direct references to experiences outside the music itself. Programme music is an essential concept in the music of the Romantic period; perhaps the earliest example from this time is Beethoven's 6th Symphony (“The Pastoral”). Symphonic poems by Bedřich Smetana and Jean Sibelius are later instances. See also Romanticism

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