Download 20th Century Classical

20th Century Classical
• Music in the 20th Century (1901-Present)
• In the Nineteenth Century, the suffix
“-ism” was increasingly used to identify a
particular belief system or set of
principles
• Classicism, Romanticism, nationalism,
realism, Wagnerism, expressionism,
Impressionism, primitivism
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20th Century World
• Increased use of technology
• Advancements in Sound Recording
• Internet Explosion
• Television
• Synthesizers
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Expressionism
•
Expressionism – late 19th and early
20th century movement in the arts that
sought to express:
1. Deep emotions that lie under the surface
of objective reality
2. Scenes of intense emotion or grotesque
images
3. Distorted & exaggerated images
4. Sharply contrasting Tones & Timbres
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Arnold Schoenberg
• Composer born and raised in Vienna,
Austria (1874-1951)
• Leading expressionist composer
• Interest in the subconscious
• Uses strong timbral contrasts and
unusual effects
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Arnold Schoenberg (Cont.)
• Best known composer of Atonality
(abandoned any sense of key or tonic note)
• Trained in music by like-minded friends
rather than formal study
• Use of Sprechstimme – speech voice
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Arnold Schoenberg (Cont.)
Songs to Know:
• Pierrot lunaire (1912)
– Atonal chamber work for voice and
instruments (piano, violin, flute, & voice)
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOGQPo
wX86s
• Pianoconcerto (1942)
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct47T9_li
OU&feature=related
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Impressionism
IMPRESSIONISM – Late 19th – 20th Century
movement in the arts that favored exploration
of elements such as light, color, and sound
over literal representation
• Musical movement inspired Impressionistic art
movement - create paintings that focused on
representing the perception of light and color.
– Painters include:
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•
•
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Cluade Monet
J.M.W. Turner
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Camille Pissarro
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Claude Debussy
• Claude Debussy French (Paris)
composer (1862-1918)
– Debussy wanted to incorporate visual
elements into sound
– Debussy gave most works descriptive
titles
– Debussy creates musical setting to depict
scene
– Visually oriented composer
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Claude Debussy (Cont.)
• Paris – ideal place to be – artistic activity
and major center for new film industry
• Debussy known throughout Europe as one
of the most innovative composers of the 20th
century
• Debussy labeled an “impressionist”
composer.
• Debussy composed successfully in most
genres
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Claude Debussy (Cont.)
• Songs to know:
• “Voiles”
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccaOmEKKZb0
– weaves together short melodic strands drawn
from the whole tone scale
– “Voiles” inspired by Claude Monet’s “Regatta at
Argenteuil” paintings
– From his book of Preludes (prelude is a short
piece of music or introduction to a larger piece of
music)
– Whole Tone Scale conveys a sense of floating
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by avoiding a tonic and sounds “dreamy”
Claude Debussy (Cont.)
• Songs to know:
• “Prelude to an Afternoon of a Faun”
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_7lozHWUM
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Debussy & Monet
Claude Monet (1840-1926) “Regatta at Argenteuil” (1872) (oil on canvas)
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Primitivism
• Movement in the arts:
– Get ‘back to the basics’ of living
– Primal
– Savage
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Igor Stravinsky
• Russian born composer (1882-1971)
• One of most influential composers of
20th century
• 3 most famous pieces written for Ballets
Russes (Russian dance company).
– “The Firebird”
– “Petrushka”
– “The Rite of Spring”
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Igor Stravinsky
• The Rite of Spring introduce to
audiences:
– Primitive and exotic cultures
– Vibrant new sounds, rhythms, and
harmonies
• The Rite of Spring evoked hisses, boos
and catcalls, and fistfights broke out
between Stravinsky supporters and
those who were disturbing the show 15
Igor Stravinsky: Songs to Know
• Songs to know:
– “The Rite of Spring”
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0xNo2894Fw
– “Firebird”
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tGA6bpscj8
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