absolute music

American  

noun

1. instrumental music, as a concerto or string quartet, that draws no inspiration from or makes no reference to a text, program, visual image, or title and that exists solely in terms of its musical form, structure, and elements.

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absolute music British  

noun

1. music that is not designed to depict or evoke any scene or event Compare programme music

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Etymology

Origin of absolute music

First recorded in 1885–90

Compare meaning

How does absolute-music compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• program music vs. absolute music

Example Sentences

When Korngold returned to absolute music, it was to slay the same old dragons, though atonality had hardly achieved popular acceptance in the interim.

From New York Times • Nov. 10, 2022

Besides his film music, Morricone wrote more than 150 concert works, which he considered absolute music, many avant-garde.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 7, 2020

Balanchine had been audacious when he tackled it; the piece is a summit of absolute music and he made it into a summit of pure ballet.

From New York Times • Feb. 19, 2010

Arcana was completed by 1927, but it still sounds avantgarde, because it makes "absolute music" with a heckelphone, coconuts and more than 120 other instruments.

From Time Magazine Archive

The composer was a stern believer in absolute music.

From Melomaniacs by Huneker, James