2. Before Music
Move away from Late Romantic Music (1860-1920)
Late romantic music focused on emotion and drama that emphasized natural
inspiration such as feelings.
Movement dispersed into series of different music movements (“isms”)
Impressionism
Captures feelings or experience vaguely and mysteriously without attempt of
achieving an accurate depiction.
Expressionism
Atonal and dissonant in style. Focused on portraying emotions and drama.
Neo-classism
Incorporated the return Classical Era with clear and structured forms and
textures.
Nationalism, Jazz, Electronic, Chance music, etc.
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3. 20th Century Classical Music
The search for new and different modes of expression
Extremely varied in style, technique, genres, and even
movements.
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4. Characteristics
No generalized set of characteristics that can describe 20th
century classical music
Atonal in which notes are not related to each other or the mode
or key
Incorporation of long pauses
Different instrument use
Experimentation with different types of sounds
Incorporated many forms such as jazz, ragtime, neoprimitivism,
etc.
More, more, more!!
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5. Charles Ives (1874-1954)
“My God! What does sound
have to do with music?” –
Charles Ives
“Don’t pay too much
attention to the sounds – for
if you do, you may miss the
music.” – George Ives
(Father)
Founding father of American
Music and a pioneer of
modernism
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6. Charles Ives: Background
Learned from his unorthodox
father, the town’s band
master
Educated at Yale
Childhood influences: chapel
hymns, traditional American
tunes, town band banalities,
etc.
Known as modernist,
nationalist, amateur,
primitive, neurotic, and
paradoxical.
7. The Fourth Symphony
Prelude: Maestoso
Majestic, triumphic
Comedy: Allegretto
Fast
Fugue: Andante moderato con
moto
Slightly fast with motion
Finale: Largo maestoso
Broadly slow and majestic
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBE40FBF1F469EF6B&feature=plc
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8. The Fourth Symphony
“…One of the greatest
symphonies ever penned. It is
the great American symphony
that our critics and conductors
have cried out for, and yet the
symphony has remained
unperformed...” – Composer
Bernard Hermann
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9. The Fourth Symphony - influence
Unprecedented spatial
effects: space has become
part of the music’s
meaning and drama
Surrounding the main
orchestra was distant choirs
of instrumental groups and
voices
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10. Universe Symphony
Part 1, Past: Formation
of the waters and
mountains
Part 2, Present: Earth,
evolution in nature and
humanity
Part 3, Future: Heaven,
the rise of all to the
Spiritual
Was never finished
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GegWx6L0AfI
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11. Universe Symphony
Unique structure of a
rhythmic grid defined
purely by percussion
Different use of
instruments
Layering effects
Polyrythmic
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12. The Unanswered Question
Layering effects
Instrument use (windpipes
and trumpets)
Use of dissonance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbArUJBRRJ0
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13. Claude Debussy: Background
Student at the Paris
Conservatoire
Won the Prix de Rome
Had a complicated love life
Wife attempted suicide
Mistresses involved
Fetes Galantes
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14. Influences
Impressionist
Inspired by the art of painting
but disliked the term
impressionist
His nocturnes were based off
Whistler’s paintings
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyZJ3rNb4xM
Literary Influence
Mallarme, Baudelaire,
Verlaine, and Maeterlinck
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15. Jeux
Written for Diaghilev’s Russian Ballet
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LviYYTK6Apw
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16. His Influence
Unresolved dissonance
Unrelated chords
Old church modes
Unprecedented linguistic plurality of styles and expression
17. Arnold Schoenberg: Background
-Born Austrian, moved to
United States in 1932
-Changed name to
Schoenberg from German
spelling to conform with
“American culture”
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18. Arnold Schoenberg: Background
-Was born and raised
Jewish
-Rise of Nazi's in Austria
(puppet of Germany)
-Described as “degenerate
art”
-Forced Schoenberg to
move to United States
19. Early Works
-Early works were Orchestral/Operettas
-Operettas- “light in both music and material”
-Self taught Composer
20. Verklärte Nacht (1899)
-Translated as “Transfigured Night”
-String Sextet (6)
-1899
-Romantic style, very smooth
-Other composers recognized his early works, for example,
Strauss
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEhzSLTrceI 3:05
21. Strauss and Mahler
-Both influenced
Schoenberg
-”Spoke of Mahler as a
saint”
-Both these artists
dismissed Schoenberg
-Basically unrecognized
Schoenberg :(
22. The Wife
-Married Mathilde Zemlinsky
-Sister of composer Alexander Zemlinsky, who Schoenberg liked
-Summer of 1908, she left Schoenberg for another guy :(
-In this Schoenberg reformed his style
-Arnold Schoenberg, Das Buch der Hängende Gärten, Op. 15 (1908)
-First piece without any “key”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rGUov3Adlk 14:40
-String Quartet No. 2 (1908)- end on tonic chords, but not fully tonal
piece
24. Twelve-Tone
-Rule: Create! (Using all 12 notes)
-Rule 2: A note cannot be repeated in a “set”
-Prime, Inversion, Retrograde, Retrograde Inversion
25. John Cage: Background
-American, Born in Los
Angeles
-Internship, went off to
Europe
-Student of Schoenberg
-Influences show in Cage's
works
26. Early Works
-First pieces are lost, rumored to be very short Piano
pieces
-”Complicated math, no sexual appeal”
-Created a tone row with 25-note rows
-Evidence of Schoenberg's influences
27. 4:33 (1952)
-4:33 of “dead silence”
-Piece shows importance of environment
-”Dead silence” is music because the audience's reaction and
noise was music itself
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C5qfMfhjZk
28. Igor Stravinsky
Born: June 17, 1882
Lomonosov, Russia
Death: April 6, 1971
“… Never influence the course of
music. Stravinsky did. He was
always at the end of the rope,
pulling everybody along with
him” – Harold Schoenberg
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29. “Timeline”
Ballet
Firebird (1910)
Petrushka (1911)
The Rite of Spring (1913)
Opera
The Rake’s Progress (1951)
Vocal
Oedipus Rex (1927)
Oedipus Complex Vs. Electra Complex
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33. Influenced
Composer of Modern Classical Music
Multiple compositional styles
“Revolutionized orchestration”
“Reinvented” ballet form:
Incorporated cultures
Languages
Literatures.
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34. Youtube Time
The Rite Of Spring Firebird
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SA4PpmmnlZQ
http://www.youtube.com/w
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35. Karlheinz Stockhausen
Born: August 22, 1928
Mödrath, Germany
Death: December 5, 2007
“Any sound can become music
if it is related to other
sounds…every sound is
precious and can become
beautiful if I put it at the
right place, at the right
moment”
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36. “Timeline”
Momente (1961)
Gruppen (1955-1957)
Piano Piece XI (1956)
Zodiac (1974-75)
Helicopter Stretch Quartet (1993)
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37. Influenced -
Influential to the Post WWII Period –
works – adv. musical tendencies of his time
Innovator and originator of new music
New ideas & advances w/ electric sounds
Influenced electromusic artists
Eg. Kraftwerk “A Day in the Life”
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39. OVERALL INFLUENCE- 20th century music
is hard to define in terms of musical
style.
Freedom & experimentation w/ styles & forms
The invention of electronic instruments
Accelerated the development of new forms of music.
Positive Influences?
Amplification
Inexpensive reproduction/transmission/broadcast of
music
39
The Rite of Spring is the fourth piece in the film's program, illustrated by "a pageant, as the story of the growth of life on Earth" according to the narration read by Deems Taylor. The sequence depicts the evolution of life on earth, from the beginning of simple life forms up to the dinosaurs and their eventual destruction. The original score of Stravinsky's work was edited for its use in Fantasia. Part I was considerably shortened and the opening bassoon solo was repeated at the end. Moreover, the finale of Act II (La Danse Sacrale) was completely omitted, since after L'Action Rituelle des Ancêtres the music goes back to Act I - which has been split into two parts - and plays the two last movements (L'Adoration de la Terre and La Danse de la Terre).
Musical styles traditional forms and structures were broken up and recreated or composed using non-Western musical techniques and abstract ideas Freedom and experimentation with new musical styles and forms that challenged the accepted rules of music of earlier periods. The invention of electronic instruments revolutionized popular music and accelerated the development of new forms of music. (Electronically created sounds are used in combination with other electronic sounds or played together with traditional music instruments.) Amplification permitted giant concerts to be heard by those with the least expensive tickets Inexpensive reproduction/transmission/broadcast of music gave rich and poor alike nearly equal access to high quality music performances