This document provides an overview of music in the 20th century. It discusses several major musical styles that emerged including Impressionism, Expressionism, Neo-Classicism, Avant Garde music, and Modern nationalism. Key composers and their works are examined, including Debussy, Ravel, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Bartok, Bernstein, and Gershwin. The document also covers electronic and chance music styles that utilized new technologies. A variety of learning activities are proposed to help students understand and engage with 20th century musical forms and compositions.

2. MUSIC OF THE 20TH
CENTURY
Quarter I:
Brenda B. Catalya
Asuncion NHS

3. LEARNING COMPETENCIES
The learner...
1. Listens perceptively to selected 20th century
music.
2. Describes distinctive musical elements of
given pieces in 20th century styles.
3. Relates 20th century music to its historical
and cultural background.
4. Explains the performance practice (setting,
composition, role of composers/performers, and
audience) of 20th century music.

4. 5. Sings melodic fragments of given
Impressionism period pieces.
6. Explores other arts and media that
portray 20th century elements through
video films or live performances.
7. Creates short electronic and chance
music pieces using knowledge of 20th
century styles.

5. 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
• Modern nationalism.

6. IMPRESSIONISM
• One of the earlier but concrete
forms declaring the entry of 20th
century music.
• It is a French movement in the
late 19th and early 20th
century.

7. • The sentimental melodies and
dramatic emotionalism of the
preceding Romantic Period.
• There is an extensive use of
colors and effects, vague
melodies, and innovative chords
and progressions leading to mild
dissonances.

8. • the sounds of different chords overlapped
lightly with each other to
produce new subtle musical colors.
• Chords did not have a definite order and a
sense of clear resolution.
• Other features include the lack of a tonic-
dominant relationship which
normally gives the feeling of finality to a piece,
moods and textures, harmonic vagueness
about the structure of certain chords, and use of
the whole-tone scale.

9. CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862-1918)

10. •One of the most important and
influential of the 20th century
composers
• He was the primary exponent
of the impressionist
movement and the focal point
for other impressionist
composers.

11. Debussy’s 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.

12. La Mer (1905)—a highly imaginative
and atmospheric symphonic work
for orchestra about the sea
Images, Suite Bergamasque, and
Estampes—his most popular piano
compositions; a set of lightly textured
pieces containing his signature work
Claire de Lune (Moonlight)

13. • His musical compositions total
more or less 227 which include
orchestral music, chamber
music, piano music, operas,
ballets, songs, and other vocal
music.

14. • The creative style of Debussy was
characterized by his unique approach
to the various musical elements.
• Debussy’s compositions deviated
from the Romantic Period and is
clearly seen by the way he avoided
metric pulses and preferred free
form and developed his themes.

15. • From the visual arts, Debussy was
influenced by Monet, Pissarro,
Manet, Degas, and Renoir;
• His role as the “Father of the
Modern School of Composition”
made its mark in the styles of the
later 20th century

16. CLAIRE DE LUNE
( Moon light)

17. MAURICE RAVEL (1875-1937)

18. 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 French composer
Gabriel Faure.

19. • The compositional style of Ravel is
mainly characterized by its uniquely
innovative but not atonal style of
harmonic treatment.
• It is defined with intricate and
sometimes modal melodies
and extended chordal components.

20. Ravel’s works include the following:
Pavane for a Dead Princess (1899), a
slow but lyrical requiem
Jeux d’Eau 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,

21. 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 the
piano repertoire.
These were followed by a number of
his other significant works, including
Valses Nobles et Sentimentales (1911)

22. Le Tombeau de Couperin (c.1917), a
commemoration of the musical
advocacies of the early 18th century
French composer Francois Couperin,
Rhapsodie Espagnole
Bolero

23. BOLERO
Transcriptions for Two Pianos (Excerpt)
Maurice Ravel

24. ARNOLD SCHOENBERG
(1874-1951)

25. 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.

26. • Schoenberg’s style was constantly
undergoing development.
• From the early influences of Wagner,
his tonal preference gradually turned to
the dissonant and atonal, as he
explored the use of chromatic
harmonies.
• Although full of melodic and lyrical
interest

27. 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

28. • 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
LosAngeles, California, USAwhere
he had settled since 1934.

29. THREE PIANO PIECES, OP. 11, NO. 1
(Excerpt)
Arnold Schoenberg

30. IGOR STRAVINSKY
(1882-1971)

31. • He was born in Oranienbaum(now
Lomonosov), Russia on June
17, 1882.
• Stravinsky’s early music reflected the
influence of his teacher, the Russian
composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.
• But in his first successful
masterpiece, The Firebird Suite
(1910),

32. • Stravinsky’s 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.

33. BELA BARTOK (1881-1951)

34. Bela Bartok
• was born in Nagyszentmiklos,
Hungary (nowRomania) onMarch 25,
1881,to musical parents.
• He started piano lessons with his
mother and later entered Budapest
Royal Academy of Music in 1899.

35. • He was inspired by the
performance of Richard Strauss’s
Also 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.

36. • As a neo-classicist, primitivist, and
nationalist composer, Bartok used
Hungarian folk themes and
rhythms.
• He also utilized changing meters
and strong syncopations.

37. • His musical compositions total
more or less 695 which include
concerti, orchestral music,
piano music, instrumental music,
dramatic music, choral music,
and songs.
• He died on September 26, 1945 in
New York City, USA.

38. DUET FOR PIPES
(Excerpt)
Bela Bartok

39. Neo-Classicism

40. 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,

41. • while combining tonal harmonies
with slight dissonances.
• It also adopted a modern, freer
use of the seven-note diatonic
scale.

42. SERGEI PROKOFIEFF (1891-1953)

43. • His style is uniquely recognizable for
its progressive technique, pulsating
rhythms, melodic directness, and a
resolving dissonance.
• Born in the Ukraine in 1891,
Prokofieff set out for the St.
Petersburg Conservatory equipped
with his great talent as a
composer and pianist.

44. • His early compositions were
branded as avant garde and were
not approved of by his elders,
• he continued to follow his stylistic
path as he fled to other places
for hopefully better acceptance of
his creativity.

45. Avant Garde Music

46. • 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.

47. LEONARD BERNSTIEN(1918-1990)

48. • Bernstein is best known for his
compositions for the stage.
• Foremost among these is the
musicalWest Side Story (1957), an
American version of Romeo and Juliet,
which displays a tuneful, off-beat, and
highly atonal approach to the songs.

49. • Other outputs include another
Broadway hit Candide (1956) and the
much-celebratedMass (1971), which he
wrote for the opening of the John F.
Kennedy Center for the PerformingArts
inWashington, D.C.

50. TONIGHT
From “West Side Story”
(Excerpt)
Leonard Bernstein, with lyrics by Stephen
Sondheim

51. GEORGE GERSHWIN (1898-1937)

52. 20TH CENTURY MUSICAL STYLES:
ELECTRONIC and CHANCE MUSIC

53. 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.

54. Chance Music
• Chance music refers to a style wherein the piece always
sounds different at every performance because of the random
techniques of production, including the use of ring modulators
or natural elements that become a part of the music.
• Most of the sounds emanate from the surroundings, both
natural and man-made, such as honking cars, rustling leaves,
blowing wind, dripping water, or a ringing phone. As such, the
combination of external sounds cannot be duplicated as each
happens by chance.

55. JOHN CAGE (1912-1992)

56. ACTIVITY:
Let the participants identify image of
the 20th century composers
Listen to the most popular composition
of Debussy , Schoenberg, Bartok &
Stravinsky, Ravel, Prokofieff, Gershwin,
Bernstein , Karlheinz , Stockhausen,
Edgar Varese .

57. ACTIVITY:
Observe the melodic progression,
rhythm, texture, mood and style of the
music they have listened to.
Identify the title and the composer of
the songs presented.

58. ANALYSIS:
How do you find the activity? Did you enjoy
listening to the music of the different
composers? Was it challenging?
What can you say about the melody, rhythm,
texture, mood and style of the music that
you have listened to ?
Which among the music did you enjoy
listening most and what distinct musical style
have you observed from their music?
Choose 1 music.

59. ABSTRACTION:
Music of the 20th century
Introduction
In this history of music and arts, every period
has its own characteristic style which is
associated with the society from which it
originated. The period of the 19th and 20th
century perceived the two world wars, and had
been a period of many changes:

60. ABSTRACTION:
Music of the 20th century
Introduction
advancement in technology, a period of many
inventions such as the telephone, television,
electronic light, computers, cassette tapes,
synthesizers, CD players, and many others.
Because of this inventions, experimentations
were made in the field of music and arts.

61. CONTENT STANDARDS:
THE LEARNER DEMONSTRATED UNDERSTANDING
OF THE 20TH CENTURY MUSIC STYLES AND
CHARACTERISTICS AND FEATURES.
PERFORMANCE STANDARD:
THE LEARNER CREATES MUSICAL PIECES USING A
PARTICULAR STYLE OF THE 20TH CENTURY

62. SUGGESTED PERFORMANCE ACTIVITIES:
VIDEO FILMS OR LIVE PERFORMANCES
1. CREATE AND EXPLORE OTHER ARTS MEDIA
THAT PORTRAY 20TH CENTURY ELEMENTS
THROUGH , VIDEO FILMS, VIDEO CLIPS, MTV
USING YOUR CAMERA OR MOBILE PHONES.

63. DISCUSS AND SHOW YOUR VIDEO WORK IN CLASS.
WATCH LIVE PERFORMANCES OF MUSICAL CONCERTS.
RE- ENACT IN CLASS WHAT YOU HAVE WATCHED.
MAKE AN AUDIO VIDEO PRESENTATION OF THE 20TH
CENTURY MUSIC AND THEIR SELECTED
COMPOSITIONS.

64. SINGING ACTIVITY:
INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP
* IF GROUP, YOU MAY CHOOSE YOUR PARTNERS. YOU
CAN DO A DUET, TRIO OR QUARTET.
*LISTEN TO THE SONG “TONIGHT”, “ I WANT TO BE IN
AMERICA” AND “MARIA” FROM THE WEST SIDE STORY.

65. *EACH INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP WILL CHOOSE ANY
OF THE SONGS MENTIONED.
*YOU MAY BRING YOUR
ACCOMPANIMENT ( GUITAR,, FLUTE, RECORDER,
BEAT BOX, DRUMS, VIOLIN, MARACAS, TAMBOURINE
ETC.)
*PERFORM IT IN CLASS.

66. *THE REST OF THE GROUPS WILL ACT AS JUDGES
FOR THE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION.
* EACH GROUP WILL HAVE FIVE PLACARDS OR
SCORE CARDS OR PAPER MARKED:
BEST, BETTER, GOOD, FAIR, NEEDS FOLLOW UP

67. * EACH JUDGING GROUP WILL DISPLAY A SCORE
CARD AFTER EVALUATING EACH INDIVIDUAL OR
GROUP.
* ONE STUDENT MAYBE ASSIGNED TO BE THE
SCORES AFTER THE PERFORMANCE AND WILL
ANNOUNCE THE “BEST SINGER” AWARD.

68. INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP ACTIVITY:
CLASS CONCERT- LIVE PERFORMANCE
CHOOSE FROM THE FOLLOWING SELECTIONS :
WEST SIDE STORY BY BERNSTEIN, PORGY AND
BESS BY GERSHWIN

69. YOU WILL BE GROUPED INTO FOUR. YOU CHOOSE
YOUR GROUP IF YOU WILL BE DOING THE
FOLLOWING: SINGING, DANCING, ACTING,
DIRECTING, SCRIPT WRITING OR ACCOMPANIST.
* PERFORM IN CLASS

70. PERFORMANCE PRACTICE:
*RESEARCH ON THE 20TH CENTURY MUSICAL PLAY
“WEST SIDE STORY” COMPOSED BY LEONARD
BERNSTEIN.
*WATCH THE FILM WEST SIDE STORY.

71. PERFORMANCE PRACTICE:
WRITE A REACTION PAPER EXPLAINING THE
PERFORMANCE THROUGH THE FF:
SETTING
COMPOSITION
ROLE COMPOSER, PERFORMERS, AUDIENCE
WHY OR WHY NOT? EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWERS

72. WITH YOUR GROUP, CONCEPTUALIZE A
PRESENTATION ON HOW CAN YOU
LOCALIZE WEST SIDE STORY, PORGY AND
BESS.
YOU WILL BE GIVEN 30 MIN. TO PRACTICE
AND YOU WILL BE GRADED THROUGH THE
CRITERIA ON THE RUBRICS RATING
SCALE OF MEASUREMENT

73. RUBRICS: THE IDENTIFIERS FOR THE
FOLLOWING INDICATORS WILL DEPEND
ON THE GIVEN ACTIVITY.BEST
BETTER
GOOD
FAIR

74. APPLICATION:
GROUP THE PARTICIPANTS BY
REGION.
ASIDE FROM THE ACTIVITIES
PRESENTED, WHAT MORE ACTIVITIES
CAN YOU CONCEPTUALIZE THAT FITS
THE LESSONS ON THE 20TH CENTURY
MUSIC?

75. MAKE A BUDGETED OUTLAY OF THE
1ST QUARTER LESSONS BASED ON
THE ITEMS ON THE SESSION GUIDE (
TOPIC, MUSICAL OR ARTISTIC
CHARACTERISTICS, FAMOUS
COMPOSERS/ARTISTS AND THEIR
CONTRIBUTIONS (WITH HISTORICAL
BACKGROUND)L0CALIZATION/

76. CONTEXTUALIZATION,DIFFERENTIATED
INSTRUCTION (ACTIVITIES), TO SEE TO IT
THAT ALL THE SIGNIFICANT
INFORMATIONS IN THE DIFFERENT
GENRE WILL BE DISCUSSED.