Absolute music
Instrumental music with no extramusical content; the counterpart to program music.
What it means
Absolute music denotes instrumental music that does not aim to depict or narrate any extramusical content. It relies solely on music's own means, that is, melody, harmony, rhythm, and form, without reference to a picture, a story, or a program.
Its counterpart is program music, which deliberately conveys extramusical ideas such as landscapes, narratives, or characters, usually through a title, a preface, or interspersed text indications.
Musical use
The concept emerged in the 19th century amid aesthetic debates, in which music writers such as Eduard Hanslick argued that music should be understood purely on its own terms, as “tonally moving forms,” independent of extramusical meaning. Advocates of program music, for example around the New German School surrounding Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner, took the opposite position.
Classical genres such as the symphony, string quartet, sonata, or concerto are usually considered typical vehicles of absolute music, since in their traditional form they need no extramusical program. This does not preclude individual works in these genres from carrying extramusical associations, for instance through a nickname or dedication, without thereby becoming actual program music.
Other names
The counterpart, program music, is sometimes further specified as a character piece or a tone poem when an extramusical program is especially closely tied to the musical design.