Think twice before you use words “classic” or “classical” around David Stock. “I don’t like the term ‘classical music’ or so-called classical music,” says Stock, a professor of music at Duquesne University and the conductor of the Duquesne Contemporary Ensemble. “To us it means music of the classical period — Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, guys like that. Classical style is characteristic of certain kinds of forms (such as) symphony or string quartets.” Stock accepts that his definition is purist. But the definition of the word “classic” has come to mean many things to different people, and not just in the arena of music. A movie fan might casually toss the term around to describe his favorite film; a collector of art or antiques might use the word sparingly, for only the most significant pieces; a literature professor might reserve it for only a tightly defined group of works. But the definition is sure to vary depending upon whom you ask. “The term has come to mean something else,” Stock says, referring specifically to music. “What people mean is usually (music) from Bach up to the 20th century. A different version of classic is something that has stood the test of time … something that transcends time. (Duke) Ellington, (Dizzy) Gillespie and (Thelonious) Monk are classics by the definition of the term.” Not everyone is so specific when labeling something a classic:

Within days of its opening in October, more than one film critic proclaimed the latest Wallace and Gromit movie an instant classic. WQED-FM radio proclaims its “all classical all the time” mission moments before it plays the soundtrack from “Star Wars.” Respondents include the 1968 musical “Hair,” the ’70s music group Earth, Wind and Fire, the 1959 sci-fi movie “Plan 9 from Outer Space” and pill-box hats when asked to name a classic. “It’s so hard,” says Joshua Reese, 21, a senior at Point Park University. “One person’s classic is another person’s hate.” Identifying everything from Chanel suits to Bob Dylan’s music to the Primanti Bros. sandwich as classics doesn’t bother Mark Possanza, an associate professor of classics at the University of Pittsburgh in Oakland. His department defines classics as writings of the ancient Greeks and Romans. “People who study Greek and Latin are lovers of words at heart. No one appreciates better how flexible words are and how they can change meaning over time,” Possanza says. Both classic and classical have their roots in two Latin words: Classis stood for the five levels into which Roman society was divided. Classicus was the highest of the five classes. “Basically, it meant first place. There’s a flexibility in its combined meaning of old and greatly or highly esteemed,” Possanza says. “If you say something is classic rock ‘n’ roll, that tells you that a song by the Rolling Stones is old but esteemed.” Even a definition that broad doesn’t stop discussion about what is or isn’t a classic. “We have conversations and disagreements all the time about what movies are appropriate or what we should be playing,” says Charlie Tabesh, senior vice president of programming for the cable channel Turner Classic Movies. “There is no final answer.” Age alone isn’t a defining element. Tabesh thinks it’s appropriate to include a relatively contemporary film such as the 1993 “Sleepless in Seattle” alongside a screwball ’30s comedy in a series on the history of romantic comedies, or an Austin Powers film in a festival of spy movies. He has even included a 2002 movie by contemporary Japanese animation director Hayao Miyazaki in a recent series on Turner Classic Movies. Few would argue against applying the classic label to “Casablanca” or “The Maltese Falcon.” But, says Tabash: “Is ‘Hair’ or ‘The Karate Kid’ a classic• Older audiences wouldn’t consider a movie from the ’80s a classic. Younger audiences would. I’m learning to be more liberal, because I want to appeal to different people. I don’t draw the line at any era.” Where to draw that line also is a topic for discussion at WQED-FM. “It’s hard to say; it’s a personal thing,” says Jim Cunningham, senior executive producer at WQED-FM, where he also hosts the “Sleepers Awake” program. “For us, we consider Scott Joplin, John Williams to clearly fit within the classics. Gershwin and Cole Porter are definitely classic. It’s music that has depth and is going to be around for the next four centuries.” Timelessness or timeliness also are criteria many mention. “Certain things never go out of style,” says Richard Parsakian, owner of Eons Fashion Antique. “The leather bomber jacket never goes out of style. I’ve sold them for 25 years. The Levi’s (brand) jacket has been a standard for 100 years.” That’s also true in theater. “It’s something that has gone into the realm of iconic, something that was meaningful enough to enough people over time to become part of the cultural landscape,” says Karla Boos, founder and artistic director of Quantum Theatre, a cutting-edge production company that often includes works by Ibsen or Shakespeare in its seasons. Boos also includes more contemporary plays such as this season’s 1945 drama “Dark of the Moon” in her definition of classic plays. “Classics are rich in terms of points of departure for companies like ours,” Boos says. “They spoke powerfully to begin with, and there are universal ideas about human nature in all classics. That may be the reason they endure, because a contemporary company can do them in ways that those truths speak.” Plays that are either timely or possess a timelessness allow Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre to include the occasional play that appears at first glance to be neither classic nor Irish. “We interpret that broadly. We incorporate not only classic plays from a previous era like (those by) Shakespeare or Wilde, but also those plays that will be classics,” says founder and artistic director Andrew S. Paul, who included Michael Frayn’s “Copenhagen” in the company’s 2003 season. “I don’t know about instant classics, but some new plays like ‘Copenhagen’ or (August Wilson’s) ‘Piano Lesson,’ everybody knew had a universality and scope that would last beyond the author,” Paul says. “The plays of August Wilson will be done 100 years from now.” But don’t confuse timelessness with popularity. Over time, even Shakespeare’s work has gone in and out of fashion. And just because Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code” is a long-running best-seller doesn’t guarantee it will still be on library shelves in 50 years, says Reed Williams, the librarian at Shady Side Academy’s senior school in Fox Chapel. Although it’s popular with students and generally well written, Williams doesn’t expect it to have the staying power of authors such as Shakespeare, Jane Austen and J.D. Salinger, whose books require multiple copies and frequent replacement. “A classic is something that has lasting significance,” Williams says. “It stands the test of time and further reading. I think (the) Harry Potter (series) will have staying power — not like ‘The Hobbit,’ but it might.” There’s often a general familiarity to things defined as classics. “It’s a name or author you would recognize, something almost everyone has read,” says Nikka Rosenstein, 16, a junior at Shady Side Academy. “To me it’s Charles Dickens, Mark Twain or Arthur Miller — at least his ‘The Crucible.'” But there’s an allure to a true classic that raises it above a well-known work such as a play, says Point Park University student Chris Catell. “You know what’s going to happen but still want to watch it. You don’t care if you know the ending already.” That’s partly because classics are as changeable as they are familiar, says the Irish and Classical Theatre’s Paul. “A classic can be reinterpreted. Shakespeare is limitless. He is uniquely mutable,” he says. “Classics are pieces that may have been written at a particular time for a particular time but stands the test of time.” Ronald Allan-Lindblom, producing director of Pittsburgh Playhouse of Point Park University, agrees. “You can mine these things again and discover new stuff,” he says. “They are not going to have the same message in 2005 that they did in 1965.” Ultimately, like beauty, the concept of what’s classic is open to individual interpretation. Nevertheless, Romanian filmmaker Liviu Ciulei might offer a definition universal and elastic enough for a category that includes the Primanti’s sandwich, Mary Jane shoes, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and Homer’s “The Odyssey”: “A classic is a classic because it is modern.” Undeniable classics Asked to name five things that were undeniably classic, here’s what some of our interviewees answered: The martini — only if made with gin Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina” Schubert’s “Death and the Maiden” Shakespeare’s tragedies Ingmar Bergman’s “Fanny and Alexander” — Karla Boos, founder and artistic director of Quantum Theatre Almost everything by Mozart and Haydn Shakespeare’s plays The Beatles’ music Carnegie Hall, both in New York City and Pittsburgh The Primanti Bros. sandwich — Jim Cunningham, senior executive producer, WQED-FM, and host of “Sleepers Awake” “On the Waterfront” “The Wizard of Oz” Phish The Grateful Dead Jimi Hendrix — Chris Catell, 22 and a junior theater major at Point Park University “King Lear” Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture Samuel Beckett’s work “Roman Holiday” Renaissance paintings = Flying buttresses — Andrew S. Paul, founder and artistic director of Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre “Death of a Salesman” Audrey Hepburn George Gershwin “Roman Holiday” Athens — Richard Parsakian, owner of Eons Fashion Antique “2001: A Space Odyssey” “Hamlet” “Oedipus” Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony “Moby Dick” — Ronald Allan-Lindblom, producing director, Pittsburgh Playhouse of Point Park University “Casablanca” The 1812 Overture A man’s tuxedo The Bible Shakespeare — Nikka Rosenstein, 16, and a junior at Shady Side Academy “Bladerunner” “Leaves of Grass” by Walt Whitman The Pittsburgh Steelers The Band 30th Street train station in Philadelphia — Mark Possanza, associate professor of classics at the University of Pittsburgh

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