MUSIC

Quarter I: MUSIC OF THE 20TH

CENTURY
The start of the 20th century saw the rise of distinct
musical styles that reflected a move away from the
conventions of earlier classical music. These new
styles were: impressionism, expressionism, neo-
classicism, avant garde music, and modern
nationalism. The distinct musical styles of the 20th
century would not have developed if not for the
musical genius of individual composers such as
Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel,
Arnold Schoenberg, Bela Bartok, Igor
Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofieff, and George
Gershwin stand out as the moving forces
behind the innovative and experimental
styles mentioned above. Coming from
different nationsFrance,Austria,
Hungary, Russia, and the United States
these composers clearly reflected the
growing globalization of musical styles in
the 20th century.
 IMPRESSIONISM

One of the earlier but concrete forms declaring

the entry of 20th century music was known as
impressionism. It is a French movement in the
late 19th and early 20th century. The sentimental
melodies and dramatic emotionalism of the
preceding Romantic Period (their themes and
melody are easy to recognize and enjoy) were
being replaced in favor of moods and
impressions. There is an extensive use of colors
and effects, vague, melodies, and innovative
chords and progressions leading to mild
dissonance.
CLAUDE DEBUSSY (18621918)
 One of the most important and influential of the 20th
century composers was Claude Debussy.
Debussy was born in St. Germain-en-Laye in France on
August22, 1862. His early musical talents were channeled
into pianolessons. He entered the Paris Conservatory in
1873. He gained a reputation as an erratic pianist and a rebel
in theory and harmony. He added other systems of musical
composition because of his musical training. In 1884, he won
the top prize at the Prix de Rome competition with his
composition L Enfant Prodigue (The Prodigal Son). This
enabled him to study for two years in Rome, where he got
exposed to the music of Richard Wagner, specifically his
opera Tristan und Isolde, although he did not share the
latters grandiose style.
 Debussys mature creative period was represented by the
following works:
Ariettes Oubliees
Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
String Quartet
Pelleas et Melisande (1895)his famous operatic work that
drew mixed
extreme reactions for its innovative harmonies and textural
treatments.
La Mer (1905)a highly imaginative and atmospheric symphonic
work
for orchestra about the sea
Images, Suite Bergamasque, and Estampeshis most popular
piano
compositions; a set of lightly textured pieces containing his signature
work
:Claire de Lune (Moonlight)
MAURICE RAVEL (18751937)
 Joseph Maurice Ravel was born in
Ciboure,France to a Basque mother and a
Swiss father.He entered the Paris
Conservatory at the age of 14 where he
studied with the eminent Frenchcomposer
Gabriel Faure. During his stint withthe school
where he stayed until his early 20s,he had
composed a number of masterpieces.
 Ravels works include the following:
Pavane for a Dead Princess (1899), a slow but
lyrical requiem
Jeux dEau or Water Fountains (1901)
String Quartet (1903)
Sonatine for Piano (c.1904)
Miroirs (Mirrors), 1905, a work for piano known
for its harmonic evolution and imagination,
 Gaspard de la Nuit (1908), a set of demonic-inspired
pieces based on the poems of Aloysius Bertrand
which is arguably the most difficult piece in then
pian repertoire.
These were followed by a number of his other
significant works, including
Valses Nobles et Sentimentales (1911)
Le Tombeau de Couperin (c.1917), a
commemoration of the musical advocacies of the
early 18th century French composer Francois
Couperin,
Rhapsodie Espagnole
Bolero
 Daphnis et Chloe (1912), a ballet commissioned by
master choreographer Sergei Diaghilev that contained
rhythmic diversity, evocation of nature, and choral
ensemble
* La Valse (1920), a waltz with a frightening
undertone that had been
composed for ballet and arranged as well as for solo
and duo piano.
The two piano concerti composed in 1929 as well as
the violin virtuosic
piece Tzigane (1922) total the relatively meager
compositional output of Ravel, approximating 60 pieces
for piano, chamber music, song cycles, ballet, and opera.
ARNOLD SCHOENBERG (18741951)
 Arnold Schoenberg was born in a working-
class suburb of Vienna, Austria on September
13, 1874. He taught himself music theory, but
took lessons in counterpoint. German
composer Richard Wagner influenced his
work as evidenced by his symphonic poem
Pelleas et Melisande, Op 5 (1903), a
counterpoint of Debusys opera of the same
titles.
 Schoenberg is credited with the establishment of the
twelve-tone system. His works include the following:
Verklarte Nacht, Three Pieces for Piano, op. 11
Pierrot Lunaire,
Gurreleider
Verklarte Nacht (Transfigured Night, 1899), one of his
earliest successful pieces, blends the lyricism,
instrumentation, and melodic beauty of Brahms with the
chromaticism and construction of Wagner. His musical
compositions total more or less 213 which include
concerti, orchestral music, piano music, operas, choral
music, songs, and other instrumental music. Schoenberg
died on July 13, 1951 in Los Angeles, California, USA
where he had settled since 1934.
IGOR STRAVINSKY (18821971)
 Igor Stravinsky stands alongside fellow-composer
Schoenberg, painter Pablo Picasso, and literary
figure James Joyce as one of the great trendsetters
of the 20th century.
He was born in Oranienbaum (now Lomonosov),
Russia on June 17, 1882. Stravinskys early music
reflected the influence of his teacher, the Russian
composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. But in his first
successful masterpiece, The Firebird Suite (1910),
composed for Diaghilevs Russian Ballet, his skillful
handling of material and rhythmic inventiveness
went beyond anything composed by his Russian
predecessors. He added a new ingredient to his
nationalistic musical style. The Rite of Spring
 Stravinskys musical output
approximates 127 works, including
concerti, orchestral music, instrumental
music, operas, ballets, solo vocal, and
choral music. He died in New York City
on April 6, 1971.
 OTHER
MUSICAL
STYLES
 Primitivism
Primitivistic music is tonal through the asserting of
one note as more important than the others. New
sounds are synthesized from old ones by juxtaposing
two simple events to create a more complex new
event.
Primitivism has links to Exoticism through the use of
materials from other cultures,
Nationalism through the use of materials indigenous
to specific countries, and Ethnicism through the use
of materials from European ethnic groups. Two well-
known proponents of this style were Stravinsky and
Bela Bartok. It eventually evolved into Neo-classicism.
BELA BARTOK (18811945)
 Bela Bartok was born in Nagyszentmiklos,
Hungary (now Romania) on March 25, 1881, to
musical parents. He started piano lessons with
his mother and later entered Budapest
RoyalAcademy of Music in 1899. He was inspired
by the performance of Richard Strausss
* Sprach Zarathustra to write his first nationalistic
poem, Kossuth in 1903. He was a concert pianist as
he travelled exploring the music of Hungarian
peasants.
 In 1906, with his fellow composer Kodaly,
Bartok published his first collection of 20
Hungarian folk songs. For the next decade,
although his music was being badly received
in his country, he continued to explore
Magyar folk songs. Later, he resumed his
career as a concert pianist, while composing
several works for his own use.
 Neo-
classicism
 Neo-classicism was a moderating factor between the
emotional excesses of the Romantic period and the violent
impulses of the soul in expressionism. It was, in essence, a
partial return to an earlier style of writing, particularly the
tightly-knit form of the Classical period, while combining
tonal harmonies with slight dissonances. It also adopted a
modern, freer use of the seven-note diatonic scale. Examples
of neo-classicism are Bela Bartoks Song of the Bagpipe and
Piano Sonata. In this latter piece, the classical three-
movement format is combined with ever-shifting time
signatures, complex but exciting rhythmic patterns, as well
as harmonic dissonances that produce harsh chords. The
neo-classicist style was also used by composers such as
Francis Poulenc, Bela Bartok, Igor Stravinsky, Paul
Hindemith, and Sergei Prokofieff.
SERGEI PROKOFIEFF (18911953)
Sergei Prokofieff is regarded today as a combination of neo-
classicist, nationalist, and avant garde composer. 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. Much
of Prokofieffs opera was left unfinished, due in part to
resistance by the performers themselves to the seemingly
offensive musical content. He became prolific in writing
symphonies, chamber music, concerti, and solo instrumental
music. He also wrote Peter and the Wolf, a lighthearted
orchestral work intended for children, to appease the
continuing government crackdown on avant garde
composers at the time.
FRANCIS POULENC (18991963)
 One of the relatively few composers born into
wealth and a privileged social position, the neo-
classicist Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc was a
member of the group of young French
composers known as Les Six. He rejected the
heavy romanticism of Wagner and the so-called
imprecision of Debussy and Ravel. His
compositions had a coolly elegant modernity,
tempered by a classical sense of proportion.
Poulenc was also fond of the witty approach of
Satie, as well as the early neo-classical works of
Stravinsky.
 Poulenc was a successful composer for piano, voice, and
choral music. His output included the harpsichord
concerto, known as Concert Champetre (1928); the
Concerto for Two Pianos (1932), which combined the
classical touches of Mozart with a refreshing mixture of
wit and exoticism in the style of Ravel; and a Concerto for
Solo Piano (1949) written for the Boston Symphony
Orchestra. Poulencs vocal output, meanwhile, revealed
his strength as a lyrical melodist. His opera works included
Les Mamelles de Tiresias(1944), which revealed his light-
hearted character; Dialogues des Carmelites (1956), which
highlighted his conservative writing style; and La Voix
Humane (1958), which reflected his own turbulent
emotional life.
Avant Garde Music
 Closely associated with electronic music, the avant
garde movement dealt with the parameters or the
dimensions of sound in space. The avant garde style
exhibited a new attitude toward musical mobility,
whereby the order of note groups could be varied so
that musical continuity could be altered.
Improvisation was a necessity in this style, for the
musical scores were not necessarily followed as
written. For example, one could expect a piece to be
read by a performer from left to right or vice versa. Or
the performer might turn the score over, and go on
dabbling indefinitely in whatever order before
returning to the starting point.
 From the United States, there were avant garde
composers such as George Gershwin and John
Cage with their truly unconventional
composition techniques; Leonard Bernstein with
his famed stage musicals and his music lectures
for young people; and Philip Glass with his
minimalist compositions. Through their works,
these composers truly extended the boundaries
of what music was thought to be in earlier
periods.
George Gershwin (1898-1937)
 George Gershwinwas born in New York to Russian Jewish
immigrants. His older brother Ira was his artistic collaborator who
wrote the lyrics of his songs. His first song was written in 1916 and
his first Broadway musical La La Lucille in 1919. From that time on,
Gershwins name became a fixture on Broadway. He also
composed Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and An American in Paris
(1928), which incorporated jazz rhythms with classical forms. His
opera Porgy and Bess (1934) remains to this day the only
American opera to be included in the established repertory of this
genre. In spite of his commercial success, Gershwin was more
fascinated with classical music. He was influenced by Ravel,
Stravinsky, Berg, and Schoenberg, as well as the group of
contemporary French composers known as Les Six that would
shape the character of his major works--- half jazz and half
classical.
LEONARD BERNSTEIN (19181990)
 Born in Massachussetts, USA,Leonard Bernstein endeared himself to his
many followersas a charismatic conductor, pianist, composer, and
lecturer. His big break came when he was asked to substitute for the
ailing Bruno Walter in conducting the New York Philharmonic Orchestra
in a concert on November 14, 1943. The overnight success of this event
started his reputation as a great interpreter of the classics as well as of
the more complex works of Gustav Mahler. Bernsteins philosophy was
that the universal language of music is basically rooted in tonality. This
came under fire from the radical young musicians who espoused the
serialist principles of that time. Although he never relinquished his
musical values as a composer, he later turned to conducting and
lecturing in order to safeguard his principles as to what he believed was
best in music. He achieved pre-eminence in two fields: conducting and
composing for Broadway musicals, dance shows, and concert music.
Bernstein is best known for his compositions for the stage. Foremost
among these is the musical West Side Story (1957), an American version
of Romeo and Juliet, which displays a tuneful, off-beat, and highly atonal
approach to the songs. Other outputs include another Broadway hit
Candide (1956) and the much-celebrated Mass(1971), which he wrote for
the opening of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in
Washington, D.C.
PHILIP GLASS (1937 )
 One of the most commercially successful minimalist
composer is Philip Glass who is also an avant garde
composer. He explored the territories of ballet, opera,
theater, film, even television jingles. 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 a very
repetitious fashion. Aided by soothing vocal effects
and horn sounds, his music is often criticized as
uneventful and shallow, yet startlingly effective for its
hypnotic charm.
 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. However, this
common ground stopped there, for the different breeds of
nationalists formed their own styles of writing. In Eastern Europe,
prominent figures included the Hungarian Bela Bartok and the
Russian Sergei Prokofieff, who were neo-classicists to a certain
extent. Bartok infused Classical techniques into his own brand of
cross rhythms and shifting meters to demonstrate many barbaric
and primitive themes that were Hungarianparticularly gypsyin
origin. Prokofieff used striking dissonances and Russian themes,
and his music was generally witty, bold, and at times colored with
humor. Together with Bartok, Prokofieff made extensive use of
polytonality, a kind of atonality that uses two or more tonal
centers simultaneously. An example of this style is Prokofieffs
Visions Fugitive.
21ST CENTURY MUSIC
TRENDS
 Music scholars predict that the innovative and
experimental development of 20th century classical music
will continue to influence the music of the 21st century.
With so many technical and stylistic choices open to
todays composers, it seems there isno obstacle to their
creativity and to the limits of their imagination. And yet,
this same freedom that has allowed such varied musical
experimentation in recent years has also caused
contemporary classical musicor music utilizing the
classical techniques of compositionto lose touch with its
audience and to lose its clear role in todays society.
Presently, modern technology and gadgets put a great
impact on all types of music. However, what still remains
to be seen is when this trend will shift, and what the
distinct qualities of emerging classical works will be.
 SUMMARY
The early half of the 20th century also gave rise to new musical
styles, which were not quite as extreme as the electronic, chance,
and minimalist styles that arose later. These new styles were
impressionism, expressionism, neo-classicism, avant garde music,
and modern nationalism
Impressionism made use of the whole-tone scale. It also applied
suggested, rather than depicted, reality. It created a mood rather
than a definite picture. It had a translucent and hazy texture; lacking
a dominant-tonic relationship. It made use of overlapping chords,
with 4th, 5th, octaves, and 9th intervals, resulting in a non-traditional
harmonic order and resolution.
Expressionism revealed the composers mind, instead of presenting
an impression of the environment. It used atonality and the twelve-
tone scale, lacking stable and
conventional harmonies. It served as a medium for expressing strong
emotions, such as anxiety, rage, and alienation.
 Neo-classicism was a partial return to a classical form of
writing music with carefully modulated dissonances. It
made use of a freer seven-note diatonic scale.
* The avant garde style was associated with electronic
music and dealt with the parameters or dimensions of sound
in space. It made use of variations of self-contained note
groups to change musical continuity, and improvisation, with
an absence of traditional rules on harmony, melody, and
rhythm.
Modern nationalism is a looser form of 20th century
music development focused on nationalist composers and
musical innovators who sought to combine modern
techniques
20TH CENTURY MUSICAL
STYLES: ELECTRONIC and
CHANCE MUSIC
 The musical styles that evolved in the modern era were
varied. Some of these were short-lived, being
experimental and too radical in nature, while others found
an active blend between the old and the new.
New inventions and discoveries of science and technology
lead to continuing developments in the field of music.
Technology has produced electronic music devices such as
cassette tape recorders, compact discs and their variants,
the video compact disc (VCD) and the digital video disc
(DVD), MP3, MP4, ipod, iphone, karaoke players, mobile
phones and synthesizers. These devices are used for
creating and recording music to add to or to replace
acoustical sounds.
NEW MUSICAL STYLES
 Electronic Music
The capacity of electronic machines such as synthesizers, amplifiers,
tape recorders, and loudspeakers to create different sounds was
given importance by 20th century composers like Edgar Varese,
Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Mario Davidovsky. Music that uses the
tape recorder is called musique concrete, or concrete music. The
composer records different sounds that are heard in the
environment such as the bustle of traffic, the sound of the wind,
the barking of dogs, the strumming of a guitar, or the cry of an
infant. These sounds are arranged by the composer in different
ways like by playing the tape recorder in its fastest mode or in
reverse. In musique concrete, the composer is able to experiment
with different sounds that cannot be produced by regular musical
instruments such as the piano or the violin.
EDGARD VARESE (18831965)
 Edgard (also spelled Edgar) Varse was born on December
22, 1883. He was considered an innovative French-born
composer. However, he spent the greater part of his life
and career in the United States, where he pioneered and
created new sounds that bordered between music and
noise. The musical compositions of Varese are
characterized by an emphasis on timbre and rhythm. He
invented the term organized sound, which means that
certain timbres and rhythms can be grouped together in
order to capture a whole new definition of
sound.Although his complete surviving works are scarce,
he has been recognized to have influenced several major
composers of the late 20th century.
KARLHEINZ STOCKHAUSEN (1928 )
 Karlheinz Stockhausen is a central figure in the realm of
electronic music. Born in Cologne, Germany, he had the
opportunity to meet Messiaen, Schoenberg, and Webern,
the principal innovators at the time. Together with Pierre
Boulez, Stockhausen drew inspiration from these
composers as he developed his style of total serialism.
Stockhausens music was initially met with resistance due
to its heavily atonal content with practically no clear
melodic or rhythmic sense. Still, he continued to
experiment with musique concrete. Some of his works
include Gruppen (1957), a piece for three orchestras that
moved music through time and space; Kontakte (1960), a
work that pushed the tape machine to its limits; and the
epic Hymnen (1965), an ambitious two-hour work of 40
juxtaposed songs and anthems from around the world.
JOHN CAGE (19121992)
 John Cage was known as one of the 20th century
composers with the widest array of sounds in his works.
He was born in Los Angeles, California, USA on September
5, 1912 and became one of the most original composers in
the history of western music. He challenged the very idea
of music by manipulating musical instruments in order to
achieve new sounds. He experimented with what came to
be known as chance music. In one instance, Cage
created a prepared piano, where screws and pieces of
wood or paper were inserted between the piano strings to
produce different percussive possibilities. The prepared
piano style found its way into Cages Sonatas and
Interludes(19461948), a cycle of pieces containing a wide
range of sounds, rhythmic themes, and a hypnotic quality.
His involvement with Zen Buddhism inspired him to
compose Music of Changes(1951), written for
conventional piano, that employed chance compositional
processes.