Modern classical music of the 20th century was diverse, incorporating both traditional and unconventional techniques and instruments. Styles included Impressionism, which was influenced by French painting and favored delicate instruments. Experimental music varied widely between composers using proven techniques versus wholly original ones. Atonal and serial music abandoned traditional tonality and scales. Electronic music emerged with new technologies allowing altered sounds. Chance-based music gave performers more freedom. Composers like Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Varèse, Cage, and Bartók all significantly expanded the range of 20th century classical music.

1. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
The World of Music
7th
Connect edition
Part 4
Listening to Western
Classical Music
Chapter 13: Music of the
Twentieth Century
Chapter 13: Music of the Twentieth Century

2. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Chapter 13: Music of the Twentieth Century
Modern Classical Music
 Diverse
 Conventional Instruments
 Traditional Techniques
 Unconventional Techniques
 Unconventional Instruments
 Often Complex
 Blurred Tonality
 Longer Melodies
 Difficult, Puzzling Forms
 Timbre and Rhythm over Melody and Harmony

3. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Chapter 13: Music of the Twentieth Century
Impressionism
 Style from French Painting Philosophy
 Monet
 Renoir
 Reaction against Intellectual German Music
 Favored Delicate Instruments
 Flute
 Harp
 Strings
 Claude Debussy

4. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Chapter 13: Music of the Twentieth Century
Claude Debussy (1862–1918)
 French
 Rejected Traditional Practices
 Influences
 Painters
 Poets
 Gamelan Music (of Indonesia)
 Excelled at Works for Piano and Orchestra

5. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Chapter 13: Music of the Twentieth Century
Experimental Music
 Avant-Garde Composers in Every
Generation
 Experimental Works
 Varying Degrees of Success
 Two Types of Composer
 One Who Uses Proven Techniques
 One Who Wants to Develop Original Techniques
 Igor Stravinsky

6. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Chapter 13: Music of the Twentieth Century
Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971)
 Russian
 Became American Citizen
 Style Contributions
 Rhythmic complexity
 Innovative Orchestration
 Original Uses of Tonality
 Reinvention of Other
Material
 Baroque and Classical
Forms
 Jazz
 Russian Folk Melodies
 Representative Works
 Ballets
 The Firebird
 Petrushka
 The Rite of Spring
 Opera, The Rake’s
Progress
 Chamber Work, The
Soldier’s Tale
 Opera-Oratorio
 Oedipus Rex
 Symphony of Psalms

7. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Chapter 13: Music of the Twentieth Century
Atonal Music and Serialism
 Atonality
 Literally Means, “No Tonality”
 Alternative to Major and Minor Keys
 Serialism
 Uses the 12 Tones in a Fixed Row
 No Traditional Scales
 No Traditional Chords
 Row May be Altered
 Reversed
 Upside Down
 Transposed
 Combinations of the Above (i.e. Reversed and Transposed)
 Arnold Schoenberg

8. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Chapter 13: Music of the Twentieth Century
Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951)
 Austrian
 Became an American
Citizen
 Early Works Post-romantic
 Style
 Disjunct Melodies
 Small Ensembles
 Irregular Phrases
 Complex and Fragmentary
Sound
 Controversial
 Representative Works
 Verklärte Nacht
 Five Pieces for Orchestra
 Pierrot Lunaire
 Variations for Orchestra
 Opera, Moses and Aaron

9. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Chapter 13: Music of the Twentieth Century
Electronic Music
 Began in 1950s
 Invention of Magnetic Tape Recording
 Musique Concrète
 Altered Speed of Tape
 Reversed Tape
 Splicing of Tape
 Synthesizers
 Computer-Generated Music
 MIDI
 Edgard Varèse

10. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Chapter 13: Music of the Twentieth Century
Edgard Varèse (1883–1965)
 French (Came to America)
 Promoted Experimental
Music
 Conducted
 Wrote Articles
 Participated in Classes
and Seminars
 Lifelong Interest in
Science and Technology
 Representative Pieces
 Hyperprism
 Octandre
 Intégrales
 Ionization
 Déserts
 Poème Électronique
 Ecuatorial

11. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Chapter 13: Music of the Twentieth Century
Chance Music
 Also Called Indeterminate music
 Performer is Allowed to Create
 Randomness
 Chance Elements (Dice, etc.)
 Improvisation
 Large-Scale Structure Provided by Composer
 Pieces Never Performed the Same Way Twice
 John Cage

12. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Chapter 13: Music of the Twentieth Century
John Cage (1912–1992)
 Known for Original Ideas
 Prepared Piano
 Items (Screws, Paper, Erasers, etc) Placed on Strings
Inside a Piano
 Can Sound like a full Percussion Ensemble
 Chance Music
 Less Control for the Composer
 Accept What you Get
 Multiple Radios Simultaneously Playing on Stage
 4’33” of “Silence” from Performer (Audience, Theater, and
Surroundings Create the Music)

13. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Chapter 13: Music of the Twentieth Century
Bela Bartók (1881–1945)
 Hungarian
 Ethnomusicologist
 Preserved Folk Songs of
Hungary
 Field Recordings
 Used These Melodies
in his Compositions
 Extended Interest to
Other Parts of
Europe/Africa
 Representative Works
 Mikrokosmos
 Music for Strings,
Percussion, and Celesta
 Concerto for Orchestra
 6 String Quartets
 3 Piano Concertos

14. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Chapter 13: Music of the Twentieth Century
Nationalism
 Emerged in late nineteenth century
 Charles Ives
 Aaron Copland

15. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Chapter 13: Music of the Twentieth Century
Additional American Composers
 Amy Cheney Beach
 Ruth Crawford Seeger
 Ulysses Kay
 Henry Cowell
 George Gershwin
 William Grant Still

16. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Chapter 13: Music of the Twentieth Century
Neoclassical Music
 Return to Structures/Aesthetics of the Past
 Forms of Previous Periods
 Using Modern Language
 Possible Traits
 Control
 Order
 Emotional Restraint
 Minimal Instrumentation
 Transparent Texture

17. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Chapter 13: Music of the Twentieth Century
Minimalism
 Seeks Great Effect from
Minimal Material
 Began in 1960s
 Philip Glass
 Terry Riley
 Reaction Against
Serialism
 Traits
 Extensive Repetition
 Slow, Subtle Changes
 Rhythm
 Chords
 Other Elements
 Tonal Style
 Other Similar Styles
 Jazz
 Rock
 Indian Music
 African Music

18. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Chapter 13: Music of the Twentieth Century
Traditional Sounds
 Program music
 Symphonies
 Concertos
 Colorful harmonies, but within the accepted
structure of the major-minor tonal system

19. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Chapter 13: Music of the Twentieth Century
Chapter Summary
 Why do you think modern audiences prefer music
from previous periods?
 How “modern” is the music heard in Hollywood
Blockbuster films?
 How has the infusion of technology into the art of
music affected its development?
 Has the turbulent twentieth century created art
forms that have a different function from those of
previous periods of history?

20. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Chapter 13: Music of the Twentieth Century
Image Credits
 Slide 11 C Squared Studios/Getty
Images