Historical Timeline

Years	Period	Music Centers	Dominant Forms & Genres	Main Composers	Trends & More
Prehistoric	Prehistoric times	None	Spontaneous singing Body sounds	None	"functional" music for various needs
-1000	Ancient Time Early Middle Ages	Italy	Gregorian Chant	Anonymous composers	Music Serves the Roman church
1000-1400	Late Middle Ages	France Italy	Organum Rondeau Madrigal	Leonin Perotin Guillaume de Machaut Landini Hildegard von Bingen	'Ars Antiqua' (Notre Dame School) Ars Nova Troubadours / trouveres Minnesinger / Meistersinger
1400-1600	Renaissance	Italy Netherlands	Mass Motet Madrigal	Luther Lassus Ockeghem Des Prez Palestrina	Burgundian School Flemish School Roman
1600-1750	Baroque	Italy France Germany England	Opera Oratorio Cantata Fugue Concerto Grosso	Monteverdi Bach Handel Vivaldi	Monody replaces Polyphony
1720-1770	Rococo	France Germany	Song One-Part instrumental works	Rameau Gluck	Elaborate ornamentation
1750-1800	Classical	Austria	Sonata String Quartet Symphony	Haydn Mozart Beethoven	Musical form is in the center
1800-1850	Early Romanticism	Germany France Austria	Sonata Symphonic Poem & Program music Lied (Song)	Schubert Brahms Mendelssohn Chopin Liszt	Neoclassicism
1850-1900	Late Romanticism	Germany France Italy Austria	Opera (National) Impressionism	Wagner Verdi Mahler Strauss Debussy Ravel	Freedom for composers Impressionism Nationality
1900-	20th Century	USA Germany France	Atonal Music Twelve-Tone Serial Aleatory Music Electronic Music	Schoenberg Stravinsky Bartok Cage	Breaking the rules Jazz Pop Music Electronic Music