Music of the 20th century

IMPRESSIONISM

 This was based on an art movement started by 19th century Paris – based visual artist,
specifically Claude Monet through his painting Impression Sunrise.
 The term found its way to music in the late 19th and early 20th century among French
composers
 Impressionism, they were being replaced in favor of moods and impressions
 It was meant to create an emotional mood rather than a specific picture.
 conveying the moods and emotions aroused by the subject rather than a detailed tone‐
picture
CLAUDE DEBUSSY

 He was the primary exponent of the impressionist movement and the focal point for
other impressionist composers.
 His musical compositions total more or less 227 which include orchestral music,
chamber music, piano music, operas, ballets, songs, and other vocal music
 Debussy creative works
a. Ariettes Oubliees
b. Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
c. String Quarter
d. Pelleas et Melisande
MAURICE RAVEL

 The composition style of Ravel is mainly characterized by its uniquely innovative but not
atonal style of harmonic treatment.
 Ravel’s works are not only musically satisfying but also pleasantly dissonant and
elegantly sophisticated
 Many of his works deal with water in its flowing or stormy moods, as well as with
human characterization
 Ravel’s work:
a. Pavane for a Dead Princess – a slow but lyrical requiem
b. String Quartet
c. Sonatine for Piano
d. Miroirs (Mirrors) – a work for piano known for its harmonic evolution and
imagination
ARNOLD SHOENBERG

 His style was constantly undergoing development. His music gradually turned to the
dissonant and atonal, as he explored the use of chromatic harmonies.
 His music is also extremely complex, creating heavy demands on the listener.
 He has 213 musical compositions
 His works:
a. Pierrot Lunaire
b. Gurreleider
c. Verklarte Nacht
IGOR STRAVINSKY
  His music is very structured, precise, controlled, full of artifice and theatrically.
 His musical output approximates 127 works.
 Ex. The Rake’s Progress
PRIMITIVISM

 Combines two familiar or simple ideas together creating new sounds

BELA BARTOK

 He started piano lessons with his mother and later entered Budapest royal academy of
Music in 1899.
 His compositions were successful because of their rich melodies and lively rhythms.
 Bartok is most famous for his Six String Quartets
 Ex. Concerto for Orchestra
NEO – CLASSICIM

 A moderating factor between the emotional excesses of the Romantic period and the
violent impulses of the soul in expressionism.
SERGEI PROKOFIEFF

 His style is uniquely recognizable for its progressive technique, pulsating rhythms,
melodic directness, and a resolving dissonance.
 His contacts with Diaghilev and Stravinsky gave him the chance to write music for the
ballet and opera, notably the ballet Romeo and Juliet and the Opera War and Peace.
FRANCIS POULENC

 His compositions had a coolly elegant modernity, tempered by classical sense of

proportion.
 His instrumental works include the harpsichord concerto, known as Concerto
Champetre;
 He was a member of the group of young French Composers known as “Les Six”
AVANT – GARDE MUSIC

 Closely associated with electronic music

 The Avant- Garde movement dealth with the parameters or the dimensions of sounds in
space.
GEORGE GERSHWIN

 Was born in in New York to Russian Jewish immigrants.

 His first song was written in 1916 and his first Broadway musical, La La Lucille, in 1919.
 He was considered as the “Father of American Jazz” his “mixture of the primitive and
the sophisticated”
 Gershwin’s musical compositions total around 369.
LEONARD BERNSTEIN

 He is best known for his compositions for the stage.

 His philosophy was that the universal language of music is basically rooted in tonality.
 Example: West side story / American adaptation of Romeo and Juliet
PHILIP GLASS

 His distinctive style involves cell – like phrases emanating from bright electronic sounds
from the Keyboard that progressed very slowly from one pattern to the next in very
repetitious fashion.
 He formed the Philip Glass Ensemble and produced works such as Music in similar
Motion and Music in Changing Parts, which combined rock – type grooves with
perpetual patterns played at extreme volumes.
MODERN NATIONALISM

 A Looser form of 20th century music development focused on nationalist composers and
musical innovators who sought to combine modern techniques with folk materials.
Artist: Nikolai Rimsky Korsakov

20TH CENTURY MUSICAL STYLES:

NEW MUSICAL STYLES:
ELECTRONIC MUSIC

 The capacity of electronic machines such as synthesizers, amplifiers, tape recorders, and
loudspeakers to create different sounds.
 Music that uses the tape recorder is called musique concrete, or concrete music.
 Artist:
a. Edgard Varese – He was considered an “innovative French – born composer” and
“Father of Electronic Music”
b. Karlheinz Stockhausen – He is a central figure in the realm of electronic music.
CHANCE MUSIC

 Refers to a style in which the piece sounds different at every performance because of
the random techniques of production, including the use of Ring modulators or natural
elements that become a part of the music.
 Artist:
a. John Cage – known as one of the 20th century composers with the widest array of
sounds in his works.