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    Music of The 20th Century

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    niroshi
    The document discusses different musical styles that emerged in the 20th century including Impressionism, Expressionism, Electronic Music, Serialism, Chance Music, and Jazz. Impressionism focused on suggesting moods and impressions rather than depicting reality directly. Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel were two of the main Impressionist composers. Expressionism used high levels of dissonance, extreme dynamics, and distorted melodies/harmonies. Arnold Schoenberg and Igor Stravinsky were influential Expressionist composers. The development of technology led to new styles like Electronic Music pioneered by Edgard Varese and Karlheinz Stockhausen. John Cage's work incorporated elements of chance.

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    Music of The 20th Century

    Uploaded by

    niroshi
    60 views4 pages
    The document discusses different musical styles that emerged in the 20th century including Impressionism, Expressionism, Electronic Music, Serialism, Chance Music, and Jazz. Impressionism focused on suggesting moods and impressions rather than depicting reality directly. Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel were two of the main Impressionist composers. Expressionism used high levels of dissonance, extreme dynamics, and distorted melodies/harmonies. Arnold Schoenberg and Igor Stravinsky were influential Expressionist composers. The development of technology led to new styles like Electronic Music pioneered by Edgard Varese and Karlheinz Stockhausen. John Cage's work incorporated elements of chance.

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    Music of the 20th Century

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    The document discusses different musical styles that emerged in the 20th century including Impressionism, Expressionism, Electronic Music, Serialism, Chance Music, and Jazz. Impressionism focused on suggesting moods and impressions rather than depicting reality directly. Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel were two of the main Impressionist composers. Expressionism used high levels of dissonance, extreme dynamics, and distorted melodies/harmonies. Arnold Schoenberg and Igor Stravinsky were influential Expressionist composers. The development of technology led to new styles like Electronic Music pioneered by Edgard Varese and Karlheinz Stockhausen. John Cage's work incorporated elements of chance.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    60 views4 pages

    Music of The 20th Century

    Uploaded by

    niroshi
    The document discusses different musical styles that emerged in the 20th century including Impressionism, Expressionism, Electronic Music, Serialism, Chance Music, and Jazz. Impressionism focused on suggesting moods and impressions rather than depicting reality directly. Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel were two of the main Impressionist composers. Expressionism used high levels of dissonance, extreme dynamics, and distorted melodies/harmonies. Arnold Schoenberg and Igor Stravinsky were influential Expressionist composers. The development of technology led to new styles like Electronic Music pioneered by Edgard Varese and Karlheinz Stockhausen. John Cage's work incorporated elements of chance.

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    of 4

    Music of the 20th Century

    Impressionism, Expressionism, Chance, and Jazz Music

    Impressionism

    • based on an art movement started on late 19th century, Paris-based visual artists
    • Claude Monet, Impression Sunrise (art)
    • One of the earliest forms that paved way to this modern era
    • The sentimental melodies and dramatic emotionalism of the preceding Romantic period
    were being replaced in favor of moods and impressions

    Features of Impressionism

    • moved away from the romantic movement


    • the use of "color", or in musical terms "timbre", which can be achieved through
    orchestration, harmonic usage, texture
    • new combinations of extended chords, harmonies, whole tone, chromatic scaled, and
    pentatonic scale emerged
    • an attempt not to depict reality, but merely suggest it from the 20th century. the
    innovative and experimental style of the 20th century music are the influences of the
    genius composers
    • centered on nature and its beauty, lightness, and brilliance
    • prominent mediums: piano & orchestra
    • feel the moods of the music rather than focus on the structure

    Impressionism Composers

    Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

    • principal exponent of the impressionist movement and the inspiration of other


    impressionist composers
    • composed a total of more or less 227 masterpieces, which include orchestral, chamber,
    piano, music, opera, ballets, songs, and other vocal music
    • Father of the Modern School of Composition
    • Claire De Lune

    Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)

    • Mainly characterized by its distinctively innovative but not atonal style of harmonic
    treatment
    • Works defined with intricate and sometimes modal melodies and extended chordal
    components
    • Perfectionist and every bit a musical craftsman. He strongly adhered to the classical form,
    specifically its ternary structure
    • ”Bolero” premiered in 1928
    Expressionism

    • Originally used in visual and literary arts


    • Probably first applied in 1918

    Features of Expressionism

    • High Degree of Dissonance


    - Dissonance: quality of sound that seems unstable
    • Extreme Contrast of Dynamics
    - Pianissimo to Fortissimo
    • Constant changing of texture
    • “Distorted” melodies and harmonies
    • Angular melodies with wide leaps

    Expressionism Composers

    Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)

    • Taught himself music theory but took lessons in counterpoint


    • Started making music when he was 12 years old
    • Tonal preference gradually revolved to something dissonant and atonal
    • Explored the use of chromatic harmonies
    • “TWELVE TONE SYSTEM”

    Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)

    • Nationalistic yet contemporary style


    • First notable composition, “The Firebird Suite” in 1910 which was composed for
    Diaghilev’s Russian Ballet
    • Skillful handling of material and rhythmic inventiveness event went beyond anything
    written by his Russian predecessors
    • In 1939, he went to America to learn
    • He was able to produce a musical output of approximately 127 works

    Concerti or Concerto

    • A musical composition for a solo instruments or instruments, accompanied by an


    orchestra, especially one conceived on a relatively large scale
    20th Century Musical Styles

    Electronic Music

    • New inventions and discoveries of science and technology led to continuing


    developments in the field of music
    • Tape, CD, mp3 player, karaoke, phones, keyboards
    • Developed at the end of the 19th century
    • Whose reproduction involved the use of loudspeakers
    • Composers record different sounds that are heard in the environment and arrange in
    different ways

    Musique concrete or Concrete music

    • Music that uses tape recorder

    Composers of Electronic Music

    Edgard Varese

    • Invented organized sound


    • December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965
    • Paris, France
    • ”Innovative French-born composer”
    • Characterized by an emphasis on timbre and rhythm
    • Invented the term “organized sound”
    • Father of Electronic Music
    • Poeme Electronique

    Karlheinz Stockhausen

    • August 22, 1928 – December 5, 2007


    • Cologne, Germany
    • Had the opportunity to work with Messiaen, Schoenberg, and Webern, the principal
    innovators at the time
    • Developed his style of total Serialism
    • His music was initially met with resistance due to its heavily atonal content with
    practically no clear melodic or rhythmic sense
    • Helicopter String Quartet

    Serialism

    • Method of composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other


    musical elements
    Chance Music

    • Aleatory music
    • Latin word “Alea” – dice
    • A style in which the piece sounds differently at every performance because of the random
    techniques of production
    • Most of the sounds emanate from the surroundings, both natural and manmade

    Chance Music Composer

    John Cage (1912-1992)

    • Los Angeles, California, USA


    • September 5, 1912
    • One of the most original composers in the history of western music
    • He challenged the very idea of music by manipulating musical instruments
    • “Four Minutes and 33 Seconds” Most notable work
    • Water Walk

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