Why do so many pieces of classical music have only a technical name (Sonata #5, Concerto 2 in A minor, symphony #4, etc.) instead of a “name” like Fuhr Elise or Eine Kline Nachtmusik?

Question

I can only speak for myself, but this makes it really hard to keep track of the songs I like. I love listening to classical music but if you asked me my favorite artists I would have difficulty telling you specifics.

In: 8720

Answer 1

Earlier, this was just a tradition, but around 1800 or so an idea was growing that music should speak for itself without the need for words or descriptions. This term was “absolute music” and it was thought that using words — even in a title — was a crutch that would hamper music’s power to speak to ideas and emotions that we cannot express with words. So a lot of music, self-consciously, was just referred to by its genre.