20 Century "Isms": Impressionism, Expressionism, and Neoclassicism
20 Century "Isms": Impressionism, Expressionism, and Neoclassicism
20 Century "Isms": Impressionism, Expressionism, and Neoclassicism
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• The neoclassical impulse found its expression in such features as the use of
pared-down performing forces, an emphasis on rhythm and on contrapuntal
texture, an updated or expanded tonal harmony, and a concentration on
absolute music as opposed to Romantic program music.
• In form and thematic technique, neoclassical music often
drew inspiration from music of the 18th century, though the
inspiring canon belonged as frequently to the Baroque and
even earlier periods as to the Classical period—for this
reason, music which draws inspiration specifically from the
Baroque is sometimes termed Neo-Baroque music.
• Neoclassicism had two distinct national lines of development,
French (proceeding from the influence of Erik Satie and
represented by Igor Stravinsky), and German (proceeding
from the "New Objectivism" of Ferruccio Busoni and
represented by Paul Hindemith.)
• Neoclassicism was an aesthetic trend rather than an
organized movement; even many composers not usually
thought of as "neoclassicists" absorbed elements of the style.
People and Works
• Sergei Prokofiev's Symphony No. 1 (1917) is sometimes cited as a
precursor of neoclassicism (Whittall, 1980), but Prokofiev himself
thought that his composition was a 'passing phase' whereas
Stravinsky's neoclassicism was by the 1920s 'becoming the basic line
of his music’.
• Igor Stravinsky's first foray into the style began in 1919–20 when he
composed the ballet Pulcinella, using themes which he believed to
be by Giovanni Pergolesi (it later came out that many of them were
not, though they were by contemporaries). Later examples are the
Octet for winds, the Dumbarton Oaks Concerto, Symphony in C, and
Symphony in Three Movements, as well as the ballets Apollo and
Orpheus, in which the neoclassicism took on an explicitly "classical
Grecian" aura. Stravinsky's neoclassicism culminated in his opera
The Rake's Progress.
• A German strain of neoclassicism was developed by Paul
Hindemith, who produced chamber music, orchestral works,
and operas in a heavily contrapuntal, chromatically inflected
style, best exemplified by Mathis der Maler. Roman Vlad has
contrasted the "classicism" of Stravinsky, which consists in
the external forms and patterns of his works, with the
"classicality" of Busoni, which represents an internal
disposition and attitude of the artist towards works
• Neoclassicism found a welcome audience in America, as the
school of Nadia Boulanger promulgated ideas about music
based on her understanding of Stravinsky's music.
Boulanger's American students include Elliott Carter, Aaron
Copland, Roy Harris, Darius Milhaud, Ástor Piazzolla and
Virgil Thomson.