Serious music since Mozart is defined by flight from the banal.

Evidence

Just as the history of serious music since Mozart as a flight from the banal reflects in reverse the outlines of light music, so today, in its key representatives, it gives an account of the ominous experiences which appear even in the unsuspecting innocence of light music. — Theodor W. Adorno, The Culture Industry, 73

Categorization

Category: Definitional Content

• DEFINE: Explains the structural pairing of serious and light music as mutual reflections — a framework for analyzing post-Adorno music.