is classical music copyrighted

if you do a version of a classical song. do you have to worry about copyright infringement.

Not that I know of, however you may want to check with a copyright agency instead of relying on a bunch of stringslingers you've never met.

It may be the performance / performance rites that are copyrighted if you are talking about a CD.

I have just had a look at a piece of music by Chopin (dead for ~154 years) and the publishers / printers held the copyright.

once the original owner of the music is dead for over 50 years, then although the copyright is still 'owned' by someone, it will become free to preform, and record these songs.
or so i believe.

i think its 70 years .. not sure though

Like Jolly said, you might want to ask someone who knows what they're talking about. :)

A piece of music is copyrighted 70 years after the owner's death.
Even though a piece is copyrighted, you might perform it or make a CD with it (commercial CD, not burnt one), for that, you only have to pay the rights to the society that takes care of the owner's right (I guess it ASCAP in the US, there's another one too)

I know works by Hank Williams Sr. and Billie Holliday are in the public sector, I assume that means free to broadcast, dunno if it applies to recording.

A piece of music can remain forever copyrighted as long as someone keeps renewing the copyright license.
I think it's the Henry Fox agency you have to contact about paying royalties too record a song. I don't think it's very much, literally pennies.

That's special to the united states... Music here (France)isn't copyrighted. When you write it, anyone can record it as long as he pays you. Then, when, you die, 70 years later, the music isn't copyrighted anymore...

I know people invest their money by buying the copyrights to song titles and collecting on the royalties, just as if they were buying stock. Of course the biggy is Michael Jackson owning the Beatles catalog, all copyright royalties to the Beatles music (prior to the establishment of their own record label, Abbey Road) goes to the self proclaimed king of pop.
So yes, a song can remain in copyrights as long as someone keeps renewing the copyright license. I would assume this holds true in the European countries as well, or all an artist would have to do to avoid paying copyrights is to go to Spain to record their cd.;)

Nope, I'm in the SACEM (the french equivalent to ASCAP) and noone can buy any rights. You own it, and you (or your relatives) get paid 70 years after your death.
It's true thought that in italy and Spain, copyright is a rare word :)