Give the full name and dates of composers and other historical figures when they first appear in your narrative. Thereafter refer to the person by his or her last name, unless you are discussing multiple people with the same last name.
Frédéric Chopin (1810–49) composed almost exclusively for the piano.
There are two correct ways to specify a century in formal prose. The first instance below is wrong because numbers under 100 must be written out.
INCORRECT: Romanticism is associated with the 19th century.
CORRECT: Romanticism is associated with the nineteenth century.
CORRECT: Romanticism is associated with the 1800s.
Never use an apostrophe when numerically writing a century or decade.
INCORRECT: The Baroque era began in the 1600’s.
INCORRECT: French grand opera flourished in the 1830’s.
CORRECT: Serialist composition emerged in the 1900s.
CORRECT: The 1960s was a time of social and musical upheaval.
Be conscious of the counterintuitive manner in which centuries are numbered:
the ninth century = the 800s
the tenth century = the 900s
As a general rule, use the past tense when writing about the past, especially when describing the thoughts and actions of a deceased person.
In the late 1770s Mozart explored the professional opportunities available to him in Paris. He eventually became frustrated and left.
Use the present tense when describing or analyzing music, even if it was written a long time ago. In the thick of a musical discussion, it can be appropriate to describe a composer’s actions in the present tense.
The primary theme is cheerful, but Mozart veers into the minor mode in the subsequent transition.