Eclecticism

What it means

In music, eclecticism refers to the borrowing of stylistic elements from different composers, eras, or traditions without these borrowed elements fusing into an independent, internally coherent personal voice. The result often seems like an assembly of already familiar material rather than a new, distinctive musical language.

Musical use

The charge of eclecticism has often been levelled in music history at composers whose works show clearly recognisable but disconnected borrowings from various models, for instance when one movement recalls Brahms and another Wagner without an overarching personal voice emerging. Conversely, productive stylistic synthesis, in which different influences fuse into something new, is usually not called eclecticism but successful assimilation or development.

Eclecticism should be distinguished from deliberate stylistic imitation, which openly and purposefully imitates a single historical model, as in neoclassical works, and from quotation, which deliberately deploys a concrete, recognisable excerpt from another work, usually with a clear artistic intent, rather than diffusely mixing several styles.

Performance practice

When studying a work described as eclectic, listen specifically for which different models echo in individual sections, and ask yourself whether these influences come together into a coherent overall effect or rather stand loosely side by side. In your own compositional attempts, avoid an unreflective stringing-together of borrowed stylistic elements by deliberately deciding which inspirations you want to develop into your own musical statement.