Download 20th Century Music - Questions

20th Century Music - (1890-1970)
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Post-Romanticism, Impressionism, and Early 20th Century
1890-1940
Instructions:
Use the following website as your starting point from which to complete the following
assignment:
http://library.thinkquest.org/27110/periods/modern.html
You should also look further afield to extent your understanding.
DO NOT copy directly from websites. Paraphrase using your OWN words for two reasons:
- plagiarism is not academically honest;
- writing an answer that makes no sense to you is meaningless and of no value.
For each of the following:
- explain the term thoroughly. This should require several sentences.
- provide at least one example of a significant composer who wrote in that style.
- the name of a piece of music from the composer stated above that represents that
style.
- a “You Tube” link or a CD name and track number from “Naxos”.
You may wish to organize your information into a table or simply as a series of paragraphs.
(Make sure the presentation of information is useful to you and easy to understand.)
Styles and Methods of Composition:
Impressionism: Served as a transitional bridge between the Modern Period and the
Romantic Period
Ernest Fanelli - Tableaux Symphoniques d’apres le Roman de la Momie
Nationalism: The use of musical ideas or motifs that are identified with a specific country,
region or ethnicity. Nationalism also may use folklore as a basis for programmatic works
such as the opera.
Frederic Chopin - Etude Op. 10, No.12 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Frederic_Chopin__Opus_10_-_Twelve_Grand_Etudes_-_c_minor.ogg
Expressionism: A part of the Romanticism era, and it was aimed to express feelings from
the “inner” perspective
Arnole Schoenberg - Quartet No. 2 Fourth Movement http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
File:Schoenberg_Quartet_No._2_4th_movement.OGG
Atonalism: This is where composers in the 20th century began to venture into atonality,
and the lack of a definite key
Alexander Scriabin - Etude Op. 8 No.12 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:
20091104_Awadagin_Pratt_-_Scriabin,_%C3%89tude_Op._8_No._12_edit1.ogg
Neoclassicism: After the 20th century, composers tried to incorporate their discoveries
while keeping the traditional methods. There is a lot of emphasis on rhythm and on
contrapuntal texture. There is also an updated or expanded tonal harmony, and a
concentration on absolute music as opposed to Romantic music.
Sergei Prokofiev - Symphony No. 1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Symphony_No._1_(Prokofiev)
12-tone Series: The 12-tone Series was created by Schoenberg, and it became a popular
way of composing atonal music
Arnold Schoenberg - Opera 23, Movement 5 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1e/
Schoenberg_-_Op._23%2C_mov._5.mid
Serialism: A method or technique of composition that uses a series of values to
manipulate different musical elements. This began primarily with the 12-tone technique.
Olivier Messiaen - Mode de valeurs et d’intensites
Indeterminism: This is also called “aleatory music”, and the composition of this music is
based on chance. The composer’s creative input to the outcome of a piece is either greatly
reduced or even removed completely.
John Cage - 4’33
Minimalism: Minimalists made small changes to music over a long period of time, and
wanted to create a near-hypnotic effect
John Adams - Short Ride In A Fast Machine http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Pi4A9bPDvTc
Other Terminology:
Polyrhythm: The use of two or more conflicting rhythms. This rhythm may be the basis of
an entire piece of music, or a momentary disruption. Polyrhythms require at least two
rhythms to be played concurrently, one of which is usually an irrational rhythm.
Charles Ives - Central Park in the Dark http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qPZbHNuZzI
Polymeter: Two meters have a common initial accent. If not, the notation becomes
impossible to see/perceive.
Changing meters: When the meter changes and moves onto another part of the song.
Irregular meters: Also called asymmetrical meters. They establish a regular metric pattern
from a sequence of two or more time signatures. The beat could be simple (two parts) or
compound (divided into three parts). The second movement of Tchaikovsky’s Six
Symphony is referenced as of the first examples of orchestral music written entirely in an
asymmetrical meter.
Tchaikovsky - Six Symphony http://www.youtube.com/watch?
feature=player_embedded&v=m9N_Atr1tiQ
Polychords: A polychord consists of two or more chords, one on top of the other. In
shorthand they are written with the top chord above a line and the bottom chord below.
The use of these chords suggest bitonality or polytonality.
Igor Stravinsky’s “Petrushka”.
Polytonality: Polytonality is the musical use of more than one key simultaneously.
(Mozart used polytonality in his A Musical Joke for comical effects)
Composers:
Style of music they are noted for
And/Or
Composer
Birth/Death
Special features about their music
- Impressionist Music
Claude Debussy 22 August 1862 - 25 March 1918
- His music is noted for its sensory component and frequent
eschewing of tonality
- Usually reflected the activities or turbulence in his own life
- He makes use of traditional musical forms
Igor Stravinsky 17 June 1882 - 6 April 1971
- Has a lot of rhythmic energy in his pieces
- Added in the construction of extended melodic ideas and
instrumentation
- Coined the term “developing variation”
Arnold
13 September 1874 - 13 July 1951
- First modern composer to embrace ways of developing motifs
Schoenberg
without resorting to the dominance of a centralized melodic
idea
- His music reflects two trends that changed the sound of music
Bela Bartok
25 March 1881 - 26 September 1945 in the 20th century: the breakdown of the diatonic system and
the revival of nationalism as a source for musical inspiration
- Became influential in that stream of modernism which
exploited indigenous music and techniques
- Reflected the prevailing modernist attitude among
Aaron Copland 14 November 1900 - 2 December
intellectuals
1990
- Experimented with new forms, harmonies and rhythms,
including the use of jazz and quarter-tone music
- Main wrote pieces of the piano
Erik Satie
17 May 1866 - 1 July 1925
- Not only was a composer, but also an author/writer
Sergei Prokofiev 23 April 1891 - 5 March 1953
Ralph Vaughan 12 October 1872 - 26 August 1958
Williams
Sergei
Rachmaninoff
1 April 1873 - 28 March 1943
Dmitri
Shostakovich
25 September 1906 - 9 August 1975
Benjamin
Britten
22 November 1913 - 4 December
1976
- There is a lot of dissonance within his work
- Not only did he compose operas and music for ballet, he also
composed family favorites
- Writes music that are very deep and mystical, as well as
lyrical
- Melodic, and nostalgic
- Russian composer, pianist and conductor
- From the Romanticism period
- Expressive melodies, includes a tonal palette of rich,
distinctive orchestral colors
- His works include the neo-classical style and the postromanticism style
- Sharp contrast and elements are used a lot in his compositions
- Has more operas played worldwide than any other composer
born in the 20th century
- Took great interest in writing music for children and amateur
performesr and was a renowned pianist and conductor.
- Composed songs from a wide range of genres