This document provides an overview of music in the 20th century, outlining key historical developments and innovations. It discusses how composers broke from traditional structures and incorporated new elements like folk tunes, jazz influences, and tone colors. Several pioneering composers are profiled, including Debussy, Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Bartok, and Filipino composers like Abelardo, Molina, Kasilag, Maceda, and Santos. It explains how 20th century composers experimented with new forms of composition while also drawing from traditional styles.

1. Music of the 20th Century
Lesson 12

2. Objectives:
a. Outline the historical background of the music of the 20th century.
b. List the different innovations made during the 20th century.
c. Know the meaning of “avant garde” music.
d. Understand how the composers used folk tunes for their larger
forms.
e. Appreciate the influence of jazz in the music of the 20th century
composers.
f. Understand the changes in heart of harmonization. The use of more
than one key center, rhythm, tone color and register on instruments
and melodic writing.
g. Be familiar with pioneering Filipino composers and their works

3. Evolution of the 20th Century Music
• The years 1900 to 1913 brought radical developments in science
and art. During this period, discoveries were made that overtuned
long held beliefs. In music, the early 20th century was time for
revolt. Fundamental changes in the language of music came about.
• Some compositions that broke the traditional sounds met violent
hostility. The most famous riot in music history occurred in Paris on
May 29, 1913 at the premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s ballet The Rite of
Spring (Le Sacre du Printemps).

4. • Today, Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring is now recognized as a masterpiece.
Chords, rhythm, and percussive sound that were considered noise in
1913 are now commonly heard in jazz, rock and music for movies and
television.
• From the late 1600 to 1900, musical structure was governed by
certain general principles. That era shared a fundamental technique
in organizing pitches around a central tone or key. After 1900, no
singly system governed the organizations of pitch and in all musical
composition.
• From 1900 to 1950, the range of musical styles was vast. There was a
very diverse style in music of Debussy, Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Alban
Berg, Webern, Bela Bartok, Charles Ives and Aaron Copland.

5. • Folk music was studied more systematically than ever before. Bela
Bartok was leading scholar in the study of folk music in his native
Hungary and other parts in Eastern Europe. Other composers
stimulated by folk music were Stravinsky from folk music of Russia
and Charles Ives who used revival hymns, ragtime and patriotic songs.
• American jazz was another non-European influence on 20th century
composers. They were fascinated by the syncopated rhythms and
improvisational quality as well as by the unique tone color of the jazz
bands. Jazz elements were used by Debussy as early as 1908 in his
Golliwogs Cake Walk from the suite entitled Children’s Corner;
Stravinsky Ragtime, from the Soldier’s tale in 1918; The Creation of
The World by the Frenchman Darius Milhaud in 1923; and Piano
Concerto by Aaron Copland in 1926.

6. • For Americans, jazz idioms represented a kind of musical exoticism.
American composer George Gershwin used jazz and popular elements
within classical forms in his Rhapsody in Blue in 1924; Opera, Porgy
and Bess in 1935. During the 20th century, music from remote times
had been unearthed by scholars-published, performed and recorded.
• Music from the past had been a great source of forms, rhythms and
tone colors, textures and compositional techniques, like baroque
dances such as the gavotte, and forms like passacaglia and concert
grosso.

7. • While modern composers were fascinated by the early composers,
they did not simply imitate past styles. They used traditional form but
he harmonies, rhythms, melodies and tone colors were inconceivable
before the 20th century.
• The avant-garde (from French, "advance guard" or "vanguard",
literally "fore-guard")[1] are people or works that are experimental or
innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics.
• The avant-garde pushes the boundaries of what is accepted as
the norm or the status quo, primarily in the cultural realm. The avant-
garde is considered by some to be a hallmark of modernism, as
distinct from postmodernism.

8. 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: 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.

9. Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
He studied with Guiraud and
others at the ParisConservatoire
and as prizewinner went to Rome,
though more important
Impressions came from his visits
to Bayreuth and from hearing
Javaneese music in Paris.

10. Bela Bartok (1881-1945),
- a Hungarian, is considered a famous
progressive modern musical composer, a
great pianist, teacher and researcher. He
was one of the leaders of Hungarian
nationalism and made use of the
Hungarian folk tunes in his music. Just like
Stravinsky, he was one of the composers
who belonged to the movement of Neo-
Classicism: a return to the simplicity of
Classicism and combining of modern
sound with classic form.

11. Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)
Austrian composer,
Schoenberg’s development of
the twelve-tone method of
composition was a turning point
in the 20thcentury music. He was
a self taught musician.

12. Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
A Russian composer, later of French (1934)
and American nationality. Stravinsky was
regarded as the world’s greatest composer.
His once revolutionary works were modern
classics.
Like Debussy and Schoenberg, Stravinsky a
composer from Russia, was also one of the
20th century composers who established new
trends in music, instead of just using the new
trends in his music, he combined the
traditional and modern trends.

13. Filipino Contemporary Composer
Nicanor Abelardo (1893-1934)
- Our foremost Kundiman composer
also showed the elements of
modernism in his music. This is heard
in his “Cinderella Overture” and
“Sinfonietta for Strings”

14. Dr. Antonio Molina (1894-1980)
-was one of the 20th century composers
who wrote art music. He was considered
the “Claude Debussy of the Philippines”
because he was the first to introduce
several important devices, technically
characteristics of impressionism in
music.
One of Molina’s popularly known,
compositions is “Hatinggabi”. Another
composition of Molina is “Dancing Fool”.
In this composition, he made use of the
whole tone scale and used it as a
descriptive device.

15. Dr. Lucrecia Kasilag (1918-)
- Neo-classicist. The music of
Kasilag is unique in which she was
able to combine the music of the
east and west. This is shown in her
Tocatta (1958) were she made
used of the piano, clarinet, oboe
kulintang and turiray. The
Kuiliontang is very prominent in
her “Concert Divertisement”.

16. Dr. Jose Maceda(1917-)
- is the pioneer and exponent of avant-
garde music in our country. When he
was in France, he joined the Music
Concrete movement. An example of his
work is “Ugnayan”(1974). Most of
Maceda’s composition make use of a
large number of people and the
environment.

17. Dr.Ramon Santos (1941-)
-Another way of combining western
and non-western materials and
structures is shown by Dr. Ramon
Santos. He made use of Asian
material in his new way of
composing. We will hear in his
composition new concept and
system of composing which he
learned from his studies abroad.

18. Thank You 
-Shann 