Radical Modernists (Chapter

33)

I. Younger Modernists before and after World

War I
A. Sought to challenge our perceptions and
capacities
1. creating experiences impossible through traditional means 2. work as
continuing what path-breaking classical composers had started II. Arnold
Schoenberg (1874–1951)
A. Best known for atonal and 12-tone
music
1. born in Vienna, son of Jewish
shopkeeper
a. self-taught composer, minimal instruction b. worked as bank
clerk 2. 1901, moved to Berlin; taught composition at Stern
Conservatory 3. 1903, returned to Vienna
a. taught privately, Alban Berg and Anton Webern b. 1908, atonality; works met stormy
reception 4. after World War I, founded and directed Society for Private Musical
Performances in Vienna
a. creative impasse, formulated twelve-tone
method 5. 1933, Nazis came to power
a. moved first to France, then emigrated to United States; professor at UCLA 6. major
works: 4 operas, numerous songs and choral works; 2 chamber symphonies, Five
Orchestral
Pieces, Variations for Orchestra and other orchestral works; 5 string quartets, and other
chamber works; Piano Suite and several sets of piano pieces B. Tonal works
1. began by writing tonal music, late Romantic
style
a. Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night, Op. 4, 1899), Wagner’s chromatic
idiom b. Pelleas und Melisande, Op. 5 (1902–3), draws on Mahler and
Strauss 2. turn toward chamber music
a. applied developing variation of Brahms b.
String Quartet No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 7 (1904–5)
i. one-movement work, enlarged sonata form ii.
influence of Liszt’s Piano Sonata in B Minor 3.
nonrepetition
a. each work should not simply repeat but build on the past b.
required the same idea of nonrepetition within each piece C.
 Atonal music
1. 1908, pieces avoided tonal
center
a. Schoenberg disliked term “atonal” b. late-
nineteenth-century music weakened pull to tonic c.
difficult to arrive at tonic convincingly d. “emancipation
of dissonance,” atonality inevitable 2. coherence in
atonal music
a. three
methods
i. developing variation ii. integration of harmony and
melody iii. chromatic saturation b. gestures from tonal
music 3. Saget mir, auf welchem Pfade (Tell me on which
path, 1908)
a. first entirely atonal piece, fifth from song cycle b.
symbolist poetry by Stefan George (Op. 15, 1908–
9) c. music suited vague eroticism of the poetry d.
familiar from earlier German Lieder
i. shape of vocal melody, division into phrases ii. use of dynamics
shape phrases, descending gestures mark ends of phrases

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iii. notes in voice present in accompaniment e.
developing variation in voice and accompaniment 4.
pitch-class sets
a. “composing with the tones of a motive” b. manipulated
notes, intervals of a motive: new chords, melodies
i. later termed set, or pitch-class set ii. pitch-class: one
of twelve notes of chromatic scale iii. sets labeled in
most compact array c. use of limited number of sets,
consistent sound d. changing order of intervals, variety;
unity and contrast e. Schoenberg used sets with strong
dissonances 5. chromatic saturation
a. appearance of all twelve pitch-classes within segment of music b. completion,
fullness after twelfth note appears; reinforces completion of a phrase 6. atonal
works, as logical as tonal music
a. works completed in
1909
i. The Book of the Hanging Gardens ii. Three Piano
 Pieces, Op. 11 iii. Five Orchestral Pieces, Op. 16 iv.
Erwartung (Expectation), monodrama for soprano b.
orchestral works followed Mahler
i. treated instruments soloistically, swiftly alternating timbres
c. Erwartung: height of expressionism
i. exaggerated gestures, angular melodies, unrelenting dissonance
ii. no themes or motives return; lacks reference to traditional forms
7. Pierrot lunaire, Op. 21 (Moonstruck Pierrot, 1912), song cycle
a. return to form
i. use of motives, themes, long-range repetition ii. evoking of
traditional forms, functions of tonality b. twenty-one songs, Belgian
symbolist poet Albert Giraud c. woman’s voice, chamber
ensemble, five performers, nine instruments d. expressionist
elements
i. nonrepetition, combination of instruments unique in each
movement ii. voice declaims in Sprechstimme (“speaking voice”) iii.
eerie atmosphere, gruesome visions e. traditional elements
i. repeated lines with variant of original music; departure and return ii. varied
repetition at all levels: motives, chords, themes, sections, entire song iii. No. 13,
Enthauptung (Beheading, NAWM 180b), recast of No. 7 iv. traditional forms,
genres: waltz, serenade, barcarolle, aria over walking bass v. No. 8, Nacht (Night,
NAWM 180a), passacaglia D. Twelve-tone method
1. row forms and usage,
1920s
a. twelve tones related only to one another b. row or series, twelve
pitch-classes arranged in chosen order by composer
i. tones used successively and simultaneously
ii. any desired rhythm, any octave c. prime:
original form of row d. other forms of the row
i. inversion ii. retrograde iii.
retrograde inversion iv. twelve
possible transpositions

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2. method similar to atonal
approach
a. integrated harmony, melody with limited number of sets
b. phrases, sub-phrases marked off with chromatic
 saturation c. relied on developing variation d. transposition
of rows, analogue to modulation 3. traditional instrumental
forms, 1921 to 1949
a. motives, themes, presented, developed b.
tonal forms and genres of Classic, Romantic
music c. twelve-tone rows stand for keys d.
pieces include
i. Piano Suite, Op. 25 ii. Variations for Orchestra, Op.
31 iii. Third and Fourth String Quartets, Opp. 30 and
37 iv. Violin Concerto, Op. 36 v. Piano Concerto, Op.
42 4. style example: Piano Suite, Op. 25 a. row
appears in eight forms
i. each begins on E or B-flat, ends on the other ii. all primes, inversions have G and
D-flat as second pair of notes iii. first four notes of R–0: B-A-C-H (H representing B-
natural in German nomenclature) b. Prelude (NAWM 181a)
i. tetrachords, melody and accompaniment divided into four-note
motives ii. each tetrachord is a different type of set iii. intervallic canon
between hands c. Minuet (NAWM 181b)
i. rows divided into tetrachords ii. first tetrachord
accompanies the others iii. sometimes reorders
notes within tetrachords iv. chromatic saturation,
demarcates phrasing v. developing variation, second
phrase varies first vi. many references to tonal music
5. analogue to modulation, Fourth String Quartet
a. second hexachord, inverted form of first six
notes
i. combinatorial: first hexachord, same notes as second hexachord of
P-O b. each transposition of prime form, its related inversion and their
retrogrades
i. tonal region analogous to key ii. region serves as
“tonic,” begins and ends piece iii. second theme in
exposition, region 5th higher iv. transpositions as
contrasting “keys” E. Late tonal works, 1930s and
1940s
1. “recomposed” eighteenth-century music
2. juxtaposed modernism and tonal tradition
F. Schoenberg as modernist
1. shaped course of musical practice in twentieth
century 2. central place in modernist tradition 3.
enduring unpopularity, most listeners, many
 performers
a. disconnection between audiences, connoisseurs reached new
intensity 4. Second Viennese School: Schoenberg, Berg, Webern III. Alban
Berg (1885–1935)
A. Began studies with Schoenberg,
1904
1. adopted atonal, twelve-tone
methods
a. music more approachable b. infused post-
tonal idiom with expressive gestures

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B. Wozzeck
(1925)
1. atonal, expressionist
opera
a. from fragmentary play by Georg Büchner (1813–1837), libretto by
Berg b. includes Sprechstimme c. three acts, continuous music d.
scenes linked by orchestral interludes 2. leitmotives, comment on
characters, situation, traditional forms
a. first act
i. Baroque suite: formal manners of Wozzeck’s captain
ii. rhapsody: Wozzeck’s fantastic visions iii. march and
lullaby: scene with Marie and their child iv.
passacaglia: doctor’s constant prattling v. rondo:
Marie’s seduction by rival suitor b. second act:
symphony in five movements
i. sonata form, fantasia and fugue, ternary slow movement, scherzo,
rondo c. third act: six inventions, each on a single idea i. theme, note,
rhythm, chord, key, duration ii. reflects Wozzeck’s growing obsessions 3.
Act III, Scene 2 (NAWM 182a)
a. vocal lines, accompaniment atonal, angular,
dissonant b. underpinned by invention on a single
note c. B sounds throughout like fixed idea
i. musical parallel to Wozzeck’s fixation on
revenge 4. Act III, Scene 3 (NAWM 182b)
a. onstage, out-of-tune tavern piano; wild polka b. music is
atonal, triadic accompaniment c. rhythm obsessively
 reiterated; augmentation, diminution d. unifies scene through
developing variation e. imitates recognizable tonal styles in
atonal idiom f. almost constant references to tonality, familiar
styles, genres g. atonality heightens dramatic impact 5.
musical effects appropriate to the plot
a. Scene
4
i. invention on a six-note chord, incessantly repeated,
arpeggiated ii. last interlude, invention on a key iii. familiar
gestures, sounds, atonal language b. final scene
i. invention on a duration ii. heart-
rending simplicity C. Twelve-tone
method
1. rows allowing tonal-sounding chords,
progressions 2. chief works
a. Lyric Suite for string quartet (1925–26)
b. Violin Concerto (1935) c. second opera,
Lulu (1928–35) 3. Violin Concerto
a. four interlocking minor, major triads b. evocations of violin tuning, tonal
chord progressions, Viennese waltzes, a folk song c. Bach chorale, Es ist
genug (It is enough)
i. alludes to death of Manon Gropius ii. quotation
stems directly from the row IV. Anton Webern
(1883–1945)
A. Began lessons with Schoenberg,
1904

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1. studied musicology at University of Vienna, Ph.D. in
1906 2. view of music history
a. music involves presentation of ideas expressed in no
other way
i. operates according to rules of order based on natural
law ii. great art does what is necessary, not arbitrary iii.
evolution in art is necessary iv. history, musical idioms,
can only move forward b. The Path to the New Music,
published posthumously
i. twelve-tone music inevitable result of evolution ii. combined advanced approaches to
 pitch, musical space, presentation of musical ideas iii. tonality to atonality to 12-tone:
acts of discovery, not invention c. composer as artist and researcher 3. compositional
stages of late Romantic chromaticism, atonality, twelve-tone organization
a. instrumental, vocal works: mostly small chamber
ensembles 4. extremely concentrated music
a. No. 4 of Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 10: six measures b. Three Little Pieces for
Cello and Piano, Op. 11: 20 notes c. Symphony, Op. 21 (1927–28), String Quartet, Op. 28
(1936–38): eight or nine minutes long d. music sometimes described as pointillistic e.
understated dynamics, seldom above forte f. techniques of Renaissance polyphony:
canons in inversion or retrograde g. avoided tonal implications 5. style example:
Symphony, Op. 21 (NAWM 183), first movement
a. entire movement is double canon in inversion b.
deliberately integrates the two canons c. frequent
changing of timbres d. applies Schoenberg’s
concept of Klangfarbenmelodie e. reinterpretation
of sonata form
i. contrast of character, canon 1 and canon 2 ii. development is a palindrome iii.
recapitulation, same succession of rows as exposition; new rhythms, registers B.
Influence
1. received little acclaim during his lifetime, never gained wide popularity 2.
recognition among scholars, performers after World War II V. Igor
Stravinsky (1882–1971)
A. In the foreground of every major stylistic trend of the century during his
lifetime
1. born near St. Petersburg, to a well-to-do musical
family
a. piano studies, age nine b. studied music theory in
his teens c. never attended the Conservatory d.
Rimsky-Korsakov, most important teacher 2. Sergei
Diaghilev commissioned works for Ballets Russes
a. works made him famous, still most popular b.
collaborated with Vaslav Nijinsky 3. 1911, moved to
Paris; 1914 to Switzerland 4. 1917, stranded in the
West during Russian Revolution
a. performed as pianist, conductor
b. increased recognition 5. 1940,
settled in Hollywood
a. works incorporate American styles b.
1948, Robert Craft became his assistant
6. 1969, moved to New York
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7. major works: The Firebird, The Rite of Spring, L’histoire du soldat, Symphonies
of Wind
Instruments, Les noces, Octet for Wind Instruments, Oedipus rex, Symphony of Psalms,
Symphony in C, Symphony in Three Movements, The Rake’s Progress, Agon, Requiem
Canticles B. Style traits, most derived from Russian traditions
1. undermining meter, unpredictable accents, rests, rapid changes of
meter 2. frequent ostinatos 3. layering and juxtaposition of static blocks
of sound 4. discontinuity and interruption 5. dissonance based on
diatonic, octatonic, other note collections 6. dry, anti-lyrical, colorful use
of instruments C. Russian period
1. most popular works: ballets commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev for Ballets
Russes
a. The Firebird (1910) b. Petrushka (1910–11) c. The
Rite of Spring (Le sacre du printemps, 1911–13) 2.
The Firebird
a. based on Russian folk tales, exoticism of Rimsky-
Korsakov b. humans characterized by diatonic music c.
supernatural creatures, places in octatonic, chromatic realms
3. Petrushka
a. blocks of static harmony, repetitive melodic and rhythmic
patterns b. abrupt shifts from one block to another c. groups of
dancers receive distinctive music d. sharp juxtaposition of
diverse textures, compared to cubism
i. absorbed from Musorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov ii. linked to
visual juxtapositions of ballet e. borrows Russian folk tunes,
popular French song, Viennese waltzes
i. preserved in their contexts, heightening differences
f. octatonicism
i. octatonic music for supernatural elements ii. “Petrushka chord”, F♯-
and C-major triads; from same octatonic scale 4. The Rite of Spring
a. fertility ritual set in prehistoric Russia b. marked by primitivism: deliberate
representation of elemental, crude, uncultured 5. Danse des adolescentes (Dance of the
Adolescent Girls, NAWM 184a), from The Rite of Spring
a. undermining
meter
i. negated hierarchy of beats and offbeats ii. accented
chords, unpredictable pattern iii. eight-measure period,
 dancers count four-measure phrases b. ostinatos
i. pounded, arpeggiated chords ii. melodic ostinato in English horn iii.
juxtaposes static blocks of sound iv. no development of motives,
themes; repetition, unpredictable variation c. builds textures, layering
two or more strands of music
i. distinguished by timbre, figuration ii.
set off by register, pitch collection d.
discontinuity and connection
i. discontinuity: patterns with successive blocks sound quite
different ii. continuity: successive pitch collections differ by one new
note e. dissonance
i. based on scales of Russian classical music: diatonic, octatonic ii. e.g., F-flat-major
triad with E-flat dominant seventh; all notes of A-flat harmonic minor scale

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f. timbre linked with motive and
variation
i. pounding chords always in strings, horn reinforcements ii. first half,
English horn ostinato only in that instrument iii. second half, English
horn ostinato migrates through several instruments g. stark timbres
i. staccato string chords, all down-bows ii. pizzicato cellos iii. staccato
English horn and bassoon 6. Danse sacrale (Sacrificial Dance,
NAWM 184b), from The Rite of Spring
a. reduced meter to
pulse
i. rapidly changing meters ii. unpredictable
alternation of notes with rests 7. World War I,
turned to small ensembles
a. retained distinctive traits b. L’histoire du soldat
(The Soldier’s Tale, 1918) c. Ragtime (1917–18) D.
Neoclassical period
1. 1919 to 1951, turn toward earlier Western art
music
a. source for imitation, quotation, allusion b.
Pulcinella (1919), reworking of pieces by
Pergolesi
i. ballet commissioned by Diaghilev c. Symphonies of
Wind Instruments (1920), entirely abstract 2.
 neoclassicism
a. broad movement late 1910s to 1950s b. composers revived, imitated, evoked
styles, genres, forms of pre-Romantic music c. in part, rejection of German
Romanticism d. younger French composers react against Debussy e. emphasis
on absolute music, melody, counterpoint, incisive timbres, clear forms 3.
Stravinsky’s uses of neoclassicism
a. Russian nationalism fading fashion b. gave him new subject matter c.
established a place in classical repertoire d. used distinctive idiom, fresh
links to western European classical tradition e. emotional detachment,
anti-Romantic tone f. preference for balance, coolness, objectivity,
absolute music 4. range of reference
a. many pieces recall Classic
era
i. Piano Sonata (1924) ii. Symphony in C
(1939–40) iii. Symphony in Three Movements
(1942–45) iv. The Rake’s Progress (1947–
51), opera b. works use other sources
i. Bach’s concertos: Concerto for Piano and Winds (1923–24), Dumbarton Oaks
Concerto
(1937–38) ii. Rossini and Glinka: Mavra (1921–22), opera iii. Tchaikovsky:
The Fairy’s Kiss (1928), ballet iv. Baroque oratorios: Symphony of Psalms
(1930), mixed chorus and orchestra v. Monteverdi, ancient Greek modes:
Orpheus (1947) 5. Octet for Wind Instruments (1922–23, NAWM 185)
a. Classic-era forms, Baroque figuration, Bach-like counterpoint b. mixed
with modern dissonance, octatonic melodies, meter changes, interruptions
c. first movement, sonata form, slow introduction d. theme 1: Classic-era
structure

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i. modernist features: parallel 5ths and 4ths, frequent changes of meter,
dissonance e. theme 2: cantabile-like melody, countrapuntal accompaniment
i. modernist features: syncopated melody, meter changes, dissonance in
accompaniment 6. neotonality
i. tonal centers not established through functional harmonic progressions ii.
theme 1 of Octet: tonal center clear through assertion iii. theme 2 of Octet:
tonal center defined by melody, constantly returning to D iv. contrast between
themes achieved not by key but by pitch collections 7. Schoenberg and
Stravinsky
a. Stravinsky’s neoclassic works easier to play and follow than Schoenberg’s twelve-tone
 works b. both composers attracted supporters c. 1920s–1940s, both sought to revivify
traditional forms in new, personal language E. Serial Period, 1953 on
1. twelve-tone methods extended to parameters other
than pitch 2. best-known works
a. In memoriam Dylan Thomas (1954), song cycle b. Threni (1957–58), voices
and orchestra c. Movements (1958–59), piano and orchestra 3. all show
Stravinsky’s characteristic idiom, pitch content increasingly chromatic F.
Influence
1. among most influential composers of all
time
a. elements he introduced became commonplace b. popularized neoclassicism c. support for
serialism helped it gain strong following 2. important writings: Poetics of Music; conversation books
written with Robert Craft (1959 to 1972) VI. Béla Bartók (1881–1945)
A. Virtuoso pianist, piano teacher,
ethnomusicologist
1. born in Austro-Hungarian
Empire
a. parents were amateur musicians b. studied piano and composition at Hungarian
Royal Academy of Music c. performed as virtuoso pianist all over Europe d. edited
keyboard music of Bach, Scarlatti, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven e. 1934, Academy of
Sciences, ethnomusicologist f. 1938, Nazi takeover of Austria, sent manuscripts to
United States g. 1940, emigrated to New York h. major works: Bluebeard’s Castle,
The Miraculous Mandarin, Dance Suite, Concerto for
Orchestra, Music for String, Percussion and Celesta, 3 piano concertos, 2 violin concertos, 6
string quartets, 2 violin sonatas, 1 piano sonata, Mikrokosmos, numerous other works for
piano, songs, choral works, folk song arrangements 2. individual modernist idiom
a. elements of Hungarian, Romanian, Slovak, Bulgarian peasant music with German,
French
classical tradition b. thorough grounding in both traditions, exposure
to several modern trends 3. Classical and modern influences
a. early compositions modeled on Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms,
Liszt b. influenced by works of Richard Strauss, Debussy, Schoenberg,
Stravinsky 4. peasant music
a. collected and studied peasant music with Zoltán Kodály (1882–
1967) b. published nearly 2,000 song, dance tunes c. used new
technology of audio recording d. used techniques developed in new
discipline of ethnomusicology e. wrote books, articles; established
him as leading scholar 5. stylistic evolution

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a. arranged peasant tunes, original works based on
them
i. imitated peasant melodies ii. rhythmic, melodic vocabulary: peasant music
blended with classical, modern music b. achieved distinctive personal style around
1908
i. First String Quartet ii. Bluebeard’s Castle (1911), one-act opera iii.
Allegro barbaro (1911), piano as percussive instrument c. decade
after World War I, pushed limits of dissonance, tonal ambiguity
i. Violin Sonatas of 1921, 1922 ii. The Miraculous Mandarin,
expressionist pantomime iii. Third and Fourth String Quartets
d. later works most widely known i. Fifth and Sixth Quartets
ii. Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta (1936) iii.
Concerto for Orchestra (1943) iv. Mikrokosmos (1926–39),
153 graded piano pieces B. Bartók’s synthesis
1. musical
style
a. synthesized peasant with classical
music b. both traditions
i. single pitch center ii. diatonic and other scales iii.
melodies built from motives, repeated and varied c.
classical tradition
i. contrapuntal and formal procedures: fugues, sonata
form d. peasant tradition
i. rhythmic complexity, irregular meters ii. modal
scales, mixed modes iii. specific types of melodic
structure, ornamentation e. mixing concepts of
traditions
i. use of dissonance, love of symmetry ii. synthesis
preserves integrity of both traditions 2. Staccato and
Legato (NAWM 186), from Mikrokosmos
a. like a Bach two-part
invention
i. canon between the hands ii. use of
inversion, invertible counterpoint iii. tonal
structure reminiscent of Bach b. folk
elements
i. melody adapts structure of Hungarian song
ii. short phrase, rises and falls within a fourth
c. from both traditions
 i. mixture of diatonic chromatic motion;
ornamentation 3. Music for Strings, Percussion and
Celesta
a. use of
neotonality
i. tonal center in each of four movements ii. methods analogous to modal melodies of folk
song; chordal motion, tonic-dominant polarities iii. avoids common-practice harmony iv.
important secondary centers, tritone v. final cadences, principal themes bring out tritone
relationship vi. cadences evoke tonal music procedures vii. strong similarities to peasant
music b. melodic structure, themes: varying small motives
i. resembles classical music procedure and peasant
music

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ii. short phrases, repeated motives, use of
modes c. form and counterpoint from classical
tradition
i. first movement: elaborate fugue ii. second movement: sonata form iii. third
movement (NAWM 187): modified arch form (ABCB′A′), fugue theme embedded iv.
finale: rondo, reprise of fugue theme v. each movement includes canon and imitation,
inversion d. peasant elements
i. Bulgarian dance meters, long and short beats ii. Western notation, irregular groupings of
twos and threes iii. heavily ornamented, partly chromatic type of Serbo-Croatian song
(parlando-rubato) iv. melodies over drones VII. Charles Ives (1874–1954)
A. Worked in obscurity for most of his career, late
recognition
1. born in Danbury,
Connecticut
a. father was bandmaster, church musician, music teacher
b. studied piano, organ c. age fourteen, youngest
professional church organist in CT d. studied theory and
composition with his father 2. Yale, studied with Horatio
Parker 3. New York 1898, worked in insurance business
a. built one of the most successful agencies in the nation b. composed evenings and
weekends 4. 1918, health crisis; edited, self-published many works 5. premieres and
publications in last three decades of his life 6. regarded as first to create distinctly American
body of art music 7. major works: 4 symphonies, Holidays Symphony, Three Places in New
England, The Unanswered
 Question, 2 string quartets, piano trio, 4 violin sonatas, 2 piano sonatas,
about 200 songs B. Fluent composer in four distinct spheres
1. vernacular
music
a. influences: parlor songs, minstrel show tunes, marches and cornet
solos b. wrote numerous marches and parlor songs in his teens c.
composed march played at McKinley’s inauguration in 1897 d.
composed part-songs and stage music at Yale 2. Protestant church
music
a. professional church organist (1888–1902)
b. improvised organ preludes, postludes c.
composed solo songs, sacred choral works
3. European classical music
a. played major organ works by Bach and others in the classical
tradition b. studied art music with Horatio Parker c. First Symphony,
modeled after Dvořák’s New World Symphony 4. experimental works
a. preserved most of the traditional rules b. first composer to use polytonality
systematically c. Processional (1902), essay in possible chord structures d.
Scherzo: All the Way Around and Back (ca. 1908), almost perfect palindrome,
dissonant
ostinatos e. unprecedented levels of dissonance,
rhythmic complexity f. usually preserved idea of tonal
center g. The Unanswered Question (ca. 1906–8,
NAWM 188)
i. atonality (used independent of Schoenberg) ii.
first to combine tonal and atonal layers in same
piece

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C.
Syntheses
1. from 1902 on, wrote only in classical
genres
a. brought other traditions into the
music
i. suggested extramusical meanings, character pieces, programmatic
works b. Second Symphony
i. themes paraphrased American popular songs, hymns ii.
borrowed passages from Bach, Brahms, Wagner iii.
 symphonic form, idiom of Brahms, Dvořák, Tchaikovsky c.
use of hymns and popular tunes, radical act
i. hymn tunes and popular songs beneath notice of classical
audience 2. cumulative form
a. hymn tunes basis in Third Symphony, four violin sonatas, First Piano
Sonata b. thematic development occurs first, themes appear at end c.
asserts universal value of his country’s music 3. American program music
a. celebrates aspects of American
life b. Three Places in New
England
i. first African American regiment in the Civil War ii.
band playing at Fourth of July picnic iii. walk by a river
with his wife during their honeymoon c. A Symphony:
New England Holidays
i. captures spirit of American holidays d.
Piano Sonata No. 2, Concord, Mass., 1840–
60
i. tribute to writers at that time: Emerson, Hawthorne, Alcott,
Thoreau e. Fourth Symphony
i. philosophical work, “the searching questions of What? and Why?” ii.
references to American tunes, styles; layered into musical collage 4.
stylistic heterogeneity, frequently mixed styles 5. The Alcotts (NAWM
189), third movement from Concord Sonata
a. hymnlike melody and harmonization; polytonal b. layered with diatonic chords, whole-tone
accompaniment c. melody and accompaniment, style of Stephen Foster parlor song d.
pounding chords e. octatonic, modernist counterpoint passages; styles of Scottish songs,
marches, minstrel songs D. Ives’s place
1. pieces performed and published long after they were written
2. direct influence felt after World War II 3. founder of
experimental music tradition in the United States VIII.
Composer and Audience
A. Modernists intensified split between popular and classical
music
1. music more admired by critics, composers, scholars than by general
audiences 2. many works still arouse disdain among performers,
concertgoers B. Many works familiar to general audiences through use in
films
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