How Copyright Law May Affect Pop Music Without Our Knowing It

When copyright law is linked to the creation of music-the focus of this Symposium-interesting questions arise. In the context of classical music, for example, why could Johann Sebastian Bach 'recycle' in his Concerto for Four Harpsichords the opening phrase in Antonio Vivaldi's Concerto for Four Violins, Strings and Harpsichord Continuo?' Why could Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky include in his 1812 Overture repetitive fragments of La Marseillaise and the anthem God Save the Tsar! to portray the clash between the French and Russian armies?2 Would copyright protection in musical works help Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart avoid poverty and the fate of dying penniless? Or would such protection instead lead him to behave more like Johannes Brahms and Giuseppe Verdi, whose creativity slowed down significantly following the introduction of copyright protection?