A "Classic" is a work of human creativity that continues to be seen as important long after it was created. These works are in every area of human invention; in music, theatre, and everything we create that is made visible. There are "Classics" of literature, studied century after century: A few examples are The Odyssey, The Decameron, The Canterbury Tales, & Don Quixote.
During the 20th Century a carbonated drink became a "Classic." The backlash that swelled up from the public when Coca-Cola changed the formula forced the company to reissue the old formula in the name of Classic Coke.
To be a "classic" something has to be very highly regarded. During the 1950's and 60's each model of American cars was unique. There are clubs of people who collect, restore and display Classic cars. American manufacturers used to change the body once every four years, gradually taking out the individuality so that most cars now look a lot alike.
When there is a strong tradition in any art form, one that is part of the cultural history of a people, artists could be expected to honor those values in the way they created their art. The traditional method might be called "Classical." The imagination of an artist was not to get in the way of producing traditional art. These canons, or rules for making art help us to identify works from a particular time period.
We call a certain type of music "Classical." the term "Classical Music" is a wide umbrella that covers concert music played on (mostly) acoustic instruments with musicians reading the notes written by a composer from about 1600 forward.
There is a time-style period in the arts that is referred to historically as "The Classical Period," from about 1750-1793. This era has two other aliases: Neo-Classical, and The Enlightenment. The names are used for music (Classical), art/music (Neo-Classical), and philosophy/literature (The Enlightenment). Despite the different names, the values, the canons were similar, and reflected a rediscovery of their roots: The philosophy, humanistic, and artistic values of Classical Greece from about 450 BCE continuingforward from 479 BCE when the Greeks entered the Hellenic Age until the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE.
These values were adopted and adapted by the Roman Empire which continued until the final sack of Rome in 476 AD - nearly a thousand years. These values have always retained some validity, have some application in how we live, how we create art, how we think.
Values of Greek "Classicism:" The search for perfection, for the IDEAL. A Love of ORDER
Simplicity rather than Complexity
Symmetry Asymmetry
Restraint Excess
Harmony Discord
Balance Imbalance
Link to P2: Plato & Aristotle