contra448 (771 points)
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The easier bit - 'chamber music' in general is music that's written in the 'classical' style for smaller groups (say up to 12 players) - eg string quartets, wind quintets, wind octets, piano trios (Violin, cello & piano) & many other less common combinations.
There are two meanings of 'classical' -
1. The original one meaning music written during the period roughly of Haydn, Mozart & Beethoven. (After the baroque period & before the romantic)
2. The more general one of 'serious' music (Much of which is fun in many different ways!)- chamber, solo, orchestral, choral, vocal or operatic written for church, concert hall etc.
As with most things the edges are blurred. Where do 'West Side Story' & 'Porgy & Bess' fit in? A few years ago they were thought of as musicals - so not 'classical' - now the opera companies are performing them in between Puccini, Verdi & Mozart.
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