Quarter I: MUSIC OF

THE 20TH CENTURY

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, and modern nationalism.
The distinct musical styles of the 20th century would
not have developed if not for the musical genius of
individual composers such as Claude Debussy,
Maurice Ravel, Arnold
Schoenberg,
Bela
Bartok, Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofieff, and
George Gershwin stand out as the moving forces
behind the innovative and experimental styles
mentioned above. Coming from different nations
France, Austria, Hungary, Russia, and the United States
these composers clearly reflected the growing
globalization of musical styles in the 20th century.

IMPRESSIONISM

One of the earlier but concrete forms declaring

the entry of 20th century music was known as
impressionism. It is a French movement in
the late 19th and early 20th century. The
sentimental
melodies
and
dramatic
emotionalism of the preceding Romantic Period
(their themes and melody are easy to recognize
and enjoy) were being replaced in favor of
moods and impressions. There is
an
extensive use of colors and effects, vague
melodies, and innovative chords
and
progressions leading to mild dissonances.

Sublime moods and melodic suggestions

replaced highly expressive and program
music, or music that contained visual imagery.
With this trend came new combinations of
extended chords, harmonies, whole tone,
chromatic scales, and pentatonic scales.
Impressionism was an attempt not to
depict reality, but merely to suggest it. It
was meant to create an emotional mood
rather than a specific picture. In terms of
imagery,
impressionistic
forms
were
translucent and hazy, as if trying to see
through a rain- drenched window.

In impressionism, 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.
Most of the impressionist works centered
on nature and its beauty, lightness, and
brilliance.
A
number
of
outstanding
impressionists created works on this subject.
The impressionistic movement in music had its
foremost proponents in the French composers
Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. Both
had developed a particular style of composing
adopted by many 20th century composers.
Among the most famous luminaries in other
countries were Ottorino Respighi (Italy),
Manuel de Falla and Isaac Albeniz (Spain),
and Ralph Vaughan Williams (England).

CLAUDE DEBUSSY (18621918)

He was the primary exponent

of
the
impressionist movement and the focal
point for other impressionist composers.
He changed the course of musical development
by dissolving traditional rules and conventions into
a new language of possibilities in harmony,
rhythm, form, texture, and color.

Debussy was born in St. Germain-en-Laye in

France on August 22, 1862. His early musical
talents were channeled into piano lessons. He
entered the Paris Conservatory in 1873. He
gained a reputation as an erratic pianist and a
rebel in theory andharmony. He added other
systems of musical composition because of his
musical training.

In 1884, he won the top prize at the Prix

de Rome competition with his composition L
Enfant Prodigue (The Prodigal Son). This
enabled him to study for two years in Rome,
where he got exposed to the music of Richard
Wagner, specifically his opera Tristan und
Isolde, although he did not share the latters
grandiose style.

Debussys
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.

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)

His musical compositions total more or less 227

which include orchestral music, chamber music,
piano music, operas, ballets, songs, and other
vocal music.

The creative style of Debussy was characterized

by his unique approach to the various
musical elements. Debussys 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. Debussys western
influences came from composers Franz Liszt
and Giuseppe Verdi. From the East, he was
fascinated by the Javanese gamelan that he
had heard at the 1889 Paris Exposition. The
gamelan is an ensemble with bells, gongs,
xylophone, and occasional vocal parts which he
later used in his works to achieve a new sound.

From the visual arts, Debussy was influenced

by Monet, Pissarro, Manet, Degas, and Renoir;
and from the literary arts, by Mallarme,
Verlaine, and Rimbaud. Most of his close friends
were painters and poets who significantly
influenced his compositions. His role as the
Father
of
the
Modern
School
of
Composition made its mark in the styles of
the later 20th century composers like Igor
Stravinsky, Edgar Varese, and Olivier Messiaen.
Debussy spent the remaining years of his life as
a critic, composer, and performer. He died in
Paris on March 25, 1918 of cancer at the
height of the First World War.

MAURICE RAVEL (18751937)

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. During his stint with the
school where he stayed until his early 20s, he
had composed a number of masterpieces.

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.
It demands considerable
technical virtuosity from the performer which is
the character, ability, or skill of a virtuosoa
person who excels in musical technique or
execution.

The harmonic progressions and modulations are

not only musically satisfying but also pleasantly
dissonant and elegantly sophisticated. His
refined delicacy and color, contrasts and
effects
add to the
difficulty
in
the
proper
execution
of
the musical
passages. These are extensively used in his
works of a programmatic nature, wherein visual
imagery is either suggested or portrayed. Many
of his works deal with water in its flowing or
stormy moods as well as with human
characterizations.

Ravels works include the following:

Pavane for a Dead Princess (1899), a slow

but lyrical requiem
Jeux dEau 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,
Gaspard de la Nuit (1908), a set of demonicinspired 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)
Le Tombeau de Couperin (c.1917), a
commemoration of the musical advocacies
of the early 18th century French composer
Francois Couperin,
Rhapsodie Espagnole
Bolero
Daphnis et Chloe (1912), a ballet
commissioned by master choreographer
Sergei Diaghilev that contained rhythmic
diversity, evocation of nature, and choral
ensemble
La Valse (1920), a waltz with a frightening
undertone that had been composed for
ballet and arranged as well as for solo and
duo piano.
The two piano concerti composed in 1929 as
well as the violin virtuosic piece Tzigane
(1922) total the relatively meager
compositional output of Ravel,
approximating 60 pieces for piano, chamber
music, song cycles, ballet, and opera.

Ravel was a perfectionist and every bit a

musical craftsman. He strongly adhered to
the classical form, specifically its ternary
structure. A strong advocate of Russian music,
he also admired the music of Chopin, Liszt,

Schubert, and Mendelssohn. He died in Paris in

1937.

Comparative Styles of
Debussy and Ravel

As the two major exponents of French

Impressionism in music, Debussy and Ravel
had crossed paths during their lifetime
although Debussy was thirteen years older
than Ravel.
While their musical works sound quite
similar in terms of their harmonic and
textural characteristics, the two differed
greatly in their personalities and approach
to music. Whereas Debussy was more
spontaneous and liberal in form, Ravel
was very attentive to the classical
norms of musical structure and the
compositional craftsmanship. Whereas
Debussy was more casual in his
portrayal of visual imagery, Ravel was
more formal and exacting in the
development of his motive ideas.

Although full of melodic and lyrical interest, his

music is also extremely complex, creating
heavy demands on the listener. His works were
met with extreme reactions, either strong
hostility from the general public or enthusiastic
acclaim from his supporters.

Schoenberg is credited with the establishment

of the twelve-tone system. 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 with the chromaticism
and construction of Wagner.

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 Los Angeles, California,
USA where he had settled since 1934.

ARNOLD SCHOENBERG (18741951)

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.
German
composer
Richard
Wagner influenced his work as evidenced
by his symphonic poem Pelleas et
Melisande, Op 5 (1903), a counterpoint of
Debussys opera of the same title.

Igor Stravinsky stands alongside fellowcomposer Schoenberg, painter Pablo Picasso,

and literary figure James Joyce as one of the
great trendsetters of the 20th century.

He
was
born
in
Oranienbaum
(now
Lomonosov), Russia on June 17, 1882.
Stravinskys early music reflected the influence
of his teacher, the Russian composer Nikolai
Rimsky-Korsakov. But in his first successful
masterpiece, The
Firebird Suite (1910),
composed for Diaghilevs Russian Ballet, his
skillful
handling
of
material
and
rhythmic

Schoenbergs 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.

inventiveness
went
beyond
anything
composed by his Russian predecessors. He
added
a
new
ingredient
to
his
nationalistic musical style. The Rite of
Spring (1913) was
another
outstanding
work. Anew level of dissonance was
reached and the sense of tonality was
practically
abandoned.
Asymmetrical
rhythms
successfully
portrayed
the
character of a solemn pagan rite. When he
left the country for the United States in 1939,
Stravinsky slowly turned his back on
Russian nationalism and cultivated his
neo-classical style.

IGOR STRAVINSKY (18821971)

Stravinsky adapted the forms of the 18th

century with his contemporary style of writing.
Despite its shocking modernity, his music
is
also
very
structured,
precise,
controlled,
full
of
artifice,
and
theatricality. Other outstanding works
include the ballet Petrouchka (1911),
featuring shifting rhythms and polytonality, a
signature device of the composer. The
Rakes Progress (1951), a full-length
opera, alludes heavily to the Baroque and
Classical styles of Bach and Mozart through
the use of the harpsichord, small orchestra,
solo and ensemble numbers with recitatives
stringing together the different songs.
Stravinskys musical output approximates
127
works, including concerti, orchestral music,
instrumental music, operas, and ballets, solo
vocal and choral music. He died in New York
City on April 6, 1971.

Other musical styles;

PRIMITIVISM

Primitivistic
music
is tonal
through
the
asserting of one note as more important
than the others. New sounds are synthesized
from old ones by juxtaposing two simple events to
create a more complex new event.

Primitivism has links to Exoticism through

the use of materials from other cultures,
Nationalism through the use of materials
indigenous to specific countries, and Ethnicism
through the use of materials from European
ethnic groups. Two well- known proponents of
this
style
were
Stravinsky and
Bela
Bartok.
It
eventually evolved into Neoclassicism.

BELA BARTOK (18811945)

Bela Bartok was born in Nagyszentmiklos,

Hungary (now Romania) on March 25, 1881,
to musical parents. He started piano lessons
with his mother and later entered Budapest
Royal Academy of Music in 1899. He was
inspired by the performance of Richard Strausss
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.
In 1906, with his fellow composer Kodaly,
Bartok published his first collection of 20
Hungarian folk songs. For the next decade,
although his music was being badly received in
his country, he continued to explore Magyar folk
songs. Later, he resumed his career as a concert

pianist, while composing several works for his

own use. As a neo-classicist, primitivist, and
nationalist composer,
Bartok
used
Hungarian folk themes and rhythms. He
also
utilized changing meters and strong
syncopations.
His
compositions
were
successful because of their

rich melodies and lively rhythms. He admired the

musical styles of Liszt, Strauss, Debussy, and
Stravinsky.

He eventually shed their influences in favor

of Hungarian folk and peasant themes.
These later became a major source of the
themes of his works. Bartok is most
famous for his Six String Quartets
(19081938). It represents the greatest
achievement of his creative life, spanning a
full 30 years for their completion. The six
works combine difficult and dissonant music
with mysterious sounds.

The Concerto for Orchestra (1943), a fivemovement work composed late in Bartoks
life, features the exceptional talents of its
various soloists in an intricately constructed
piece. The short and popular Allegro
Barbaro (1911) for solo piano is punctuated
with swirling rhythms and percussive chords,
while Mikrokosmos (1926 1939), a set of
six books containing progressive technical
piano pieces, introduced and familiarized the
piano student with contemporary harmony
and rhythm.

His musical compositions total more or less

695 which include concerti, orchestral music,
piano music, instrumental music, dramatic
music, choral music, and songs. In 1940, the
political developments in Hungary led Bartok to
migrate to the United States, where he died on
September 26, 1945 in New York City,
USA.

NEO-CLASSICISM

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 tightlyknit form of the Classical period, while
combining tonal harmonies with slight
dissonances. It also adopted a modern,
freer use of the sevennote diatonic
scale.

Examples of neo-classicism are Bela Bartoks

Song of the Bagpipe and Piano Sonata. In
this latter piece, the classical three-movement
format is combined with ever-shifting time
signatures, complex but exciting rhythmic
patterns, as well as harmonic dissonances that
produce harsh chords. The neo-classicist style
was also used by composers such as Francis
Poulenc, Bela Bartok,Igor Stravinsky, Paul
Hindemith, and Sergei Prokofieff.

SERGEI PROKOFIEFF (18911953)

Sergei Prokofieff is regarded today as a

combination
of
neo-classicist,
nationalist, and avant garde composer.
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. 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.

His contacts with Diaghilev and Stravinsky gave

him the chance to write music for the ballet
and
opera, notably the ballet Romeo and Juliet
and the opera War and Peace. Much of
Prokofieffs opera was left unfinished, due in
part
to
resistance
by
the
performers
themselves to the seemingly offensive musical
content. He became prolific in writing
symphonies, chamber music, concerti, and
solo instrumental music. He also wrote Peter
and the Wolf, a lighthearted orchestral work
intended for children, to appease the continuing
government crackdown
on avant
garde
composers at the time.

He was highly successful in his piano music, as

evidenced by the wide acceptance of his piano
concerti and sonatas, featuring toccata-like
rhythms and biting harmonic dissonance within
a classical form and structure. Other significant
compositions include the Symphony no. 1
(also called Classical Symphony), his most
accessible orchestral work linked to the
combined styles of classicists Haydn and
Mozart and neo-classicist Stravinsky. He also
composed violin sonatas, some of which are
also performed on the flute, two highly
regarded violin concerti, and two string
quartets inspired by Beethoven.

Prokofieffs
musical
compositions
include
concerti, chamber music, film scores, operas,
ballets, and official pieces for state occasions.
He died in Moscow on March 15, 1953.

FRANCIS POULENC (18991963)

One of the relatively few composers born into

wealth and a privileged social position, the neoclassicist Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc was a
member of the group of young French
composers known as Les Six. He rejected
the heavy romanticism of Wagner and the socalled imprecision of Debussy and Ravel. His
compositions
had
a
coolly
elegant
modernity, tempered by a classical sense
of proportion. Poulenc was also fond of the
witty approach of Satie, as well as the early neoclassical works of Stravinsky.

Poulenc was a successful composer for piano,

voice, and choral music. His output included
the harpsichord concerto, known as Concert
Champetre (1928); the
Concerto
for
Two Pianos (1932), which combined the
classical touches of Mozart with a refreshing
mixture of wit and exoticism in the style of
Ravel; and a Concerto for Solo Piano (1949)
written for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Poulencs vocal output, meanwhile, revealed

his strength as a lyrical melodist. His opera
works included Les Mamelles de Tiresias
(1944), which revealed his light-hearted
character; Dialogues des Carmelites
(1956), which highlighted his conservative
writing style; and La Voix Humane (1958),
which reflected his own turbulent emotional
life.

Poulencs choral works tended to be more

somber and solemn, as portrayed by Litanies
a la vierge noire (Litanies of the Black
Madonna, 1936), with its monophony, simple
harmony, and startling dissonance; and Stabat
Mater (1950), which carried a Baroque
solemnity with a prevailing style of unison
singing and repetition. Poulencs musical
compositions total around 185 which include
solo piano works, as well as vocal solos, known
as melodies, which highlighted many aspects of

his temperament in his avant garde style. He

died in Paris on January 30, 1963.

Other members of Les Six

Georges Auric (18991983) wrote music

for the movies and rhythmic music with
lots of energy.
Louis Durey (18881979) used traditional
ways of composing and wrote in his
own, personal way, not wanting to
follow form.
Arthur Honegger (18821955) liked
chamber music and the symphony. His
popular piece Pacific 231 describes a train
journey on the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Darius Milhaud (18921974) was a very
talented composer who wrote in several
different styles. Some of his music uses
bitonality and polytonality (writing in two
or more keys at the same time). His love
of jazz can be heard in popular pieces like
Le Boeuf sur le Toit which he called a
cinema-symphony.
Germaine Tailleferre (18921983) was
the only female in the group. She liked to
use dance rhythms. She loved children and
animals and wrote many works about
them. She also wrote operas, concerti, and
many works for the piano.

AVANT GARDE MUSIC

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. Improvisation was a necessity in
this style, for the musical scores were not
necessarily followed as written. For example,
one could expect a piece to be read by a
performer from left to right or vice versa. Or the
performer might turn the score over, and go on
fascinated with classical music. He was influenced
by Ravel, Stravinsky, Berg, and Schoenberg, as
well as the group of contemporary French
composers known as Les Six that would shape
the character of his major works half jazz and
half classical.

Gershwins melodic gift was considered

phenomenal,
as
evidenced
by
his
numerous songs of wide appeal. He is a true
crossover artist, in the sense that his serious
compositions remain highly popular in the
classical repertoire, as his stage and film songs
continue to be jazz and vocal standards.
Considered the Father of American Jazz, his
mixture of the
primitive
and the
sophisticated gave his music an appeal that
has lasted long after his death. His musical
compositions total around 369 which include
orchestral music, chamber music, musical theatre,
film musicals, operas, and songs. He died in
Hollywood, California,U.S.A. on July 11,
1937.

dabbling indefinitely in whatever order before

returning to the starting point.

From the United States, there were avant garde

composers such as George Gershwin and
John Cage with their truly unconventional
composition techniques; Leonard Bernstein
with his famed stage musicals and his music
lectures for young people; and Philip Glass
with his minimalist compositions. Through their
works, these composers truly extended the
boundaries of what music was thought to be in
earlier periods.

The unconventional methods of sound and form,

as well as the absence of traditional rules
governing harmony, melody, and rhythm, make
the whole concept of avant garde music still so
strange to ears accustomed to traditional
compositions.
Composers who used this style include
Olivier Messiaen, John Cage, Phillip
Glass, Leonard Bernstein, George
Gershwin, and Pierre Boulez.

GEORGE GERSHWIN (18981937)

George Gershwin was born in New York to

Russian Jewish immigrants. His older brother
Ira was his artistic collaborator who wrote the
lyrics of his songs. His first song was written in
1916 and his first Broadway musical La La
Lucille in 1919.

From that time on, Gershwins name became

a fixture on Broadway. He also composed
Rhapsody
in
Blue
(1924) and An
American
in
Paris
(1928),
which
incorporated jazz rhythms with classical
forms. His opera Porgy and Bess (1934)
remains to this day the only American opera
to be included in the established repertory of
this genre. In spite of his
commercial
success, Gershwin was more

Bernsteins
philosophy
was
that
the
universal language of music is basically
rooted in tonality. This came under fire from the
radical young musicians who espoused the
serialist principles of that time. Although he never
relinquished his musical values as a composer, he
later turned to conducting and lecturing in order
to safeguard his principles as to what he believed
was best in music. He achieved pre-eminence in
two fields: conducting and composing for Broadway
musicals, dance shows, and concert music.

Bernstein
is
best
known
for
his
compositions for the stage. Foremost
among these is the musical West Side
Story (1957), an American version of Romeo
and Juliet, which displays a tuneful, off-beat,
and highly atonal approach to the songs. Other
outputs include another Broadway hit Candide
(1956) and the much-celebrated Mass
(1971), which he wrote for the opening of the
John
F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in
Washington, D.C.

He composed the music for the film On the

Waterfront (1954). As a lecturer, Bernstein is
fondly remembered for his television series
Young Peoples Concerts (19581973) that
demonstrated the sounds of the various
orchestral instruments and explained basic
music principles to young audiences, as well as
his Harvardian Lectures, a six-volume set
of his papers on syntax, musical theories, and
philosophical insights delivered to his students
at Harvard University. His musical compositions

LEONARD BERNSTEIN (19181990)

Born in Massachussetts,
USA,
Leonard
Bernstein endeared himself to his
many
followers as a charismatic conductor, pianist,
composer, and lecturer. His big break came when
he was asked to substitute for the ailing Bruno
Walter in conducting the New York Philharmonic
Orchestra in a concert on November 14, 1943.
The overnight success of this event started his
reputation as a great interpreter of the classics
as well as of the more complex works of Gustav
Mahler.

total around 90. He died in New York City,

USA on October 14, 1990.

bright electronic
sounds
from
the
keyboard that progressed very
slowly
from one pattern to the next in a very
repetitious fashion. Aided by soothing vocal
effects and horn sounds, his music is often
criticized as uneventful and shallow, yet
startlingly effective for its hypnotic charm.

PHILIP GLASS (1937 )

One of the most commercially successful

minimalist composer is Philip Glass who is
also an avant garde composer. He explored
the territories of ballet, opera, theater,
film, and even television jingles. His
distinctive style involves
cell-like
phrases emanating
from

Born in New York, USA of Jewish

parentage, Glass became an accomplished
violinist and flutist at the age of 15. In Paris,
he became inspired by the music of the
renowned Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar. He
assisted Shankar in the soundtrack recording
for Conrad Rooks film Chappaqua. He formed
the Philip Glass Ensemble and produced works
such as Musicin Similar Motion (1969) and
Music in Changing Parts (1970), which
combined rock- type grooves with perpetual
patterns played at extreme volumes.

Glass collaborated with theater conceptualist

Robert Wilson to produce the four-hour opera
Einstein on the Beach (1976), an instant
sell-out at the New York Metropolitan Opera
House. It put minimalism in the mainstream of
20th century music. He completed the trilogy
with the operas Satyagraha (1980) and
Akhnaten
(1984), based on the lives of
Mahatma Gandhi, Leo Tolstoy, Martin Luther
King, and an Egyptian pharaoh. Here, he
combined
his
signature
repetitive
and
overlapping style with theatrical grandeur on
stage. His musical compositions total around
170. Today, Glass lives alternately in Nova
Scotia, Canada and New York, USA.

MODERN NATIONALISM

A looser
form
of
20th
century
music
development focused on nationalist composers
and musical innovators who sought to combine
modern techniques with folk materials. However,
this common ground stopped there, for the
different breeds of nationalists formed their own
styles of writing.

In Eastern Europe, prominent figures included

the Hungarian Bela Bartok and the Russian
Sergei Prokofieff, who were neo-classicists to a
certain
extent.
Bartok
infused
Classical
techniques into his own brand of cross rhythms
and shifting meters to demonstrate many
barbaric and primitive themes that were
Hungarianparticularly gypsyin origin.
Prokofieff used striking dissonances and Russian
themes, and his music was generally witty, bold,
and at times colored with humor. Together with
Bartok, Prokofieff made extensive use of
polytonality, a kind of atonality that uses two or
more tonal centers simultaneously. An example
of this style is Prokofieffs Visions Fugitive

In Russia, a highly gifted generation of creative

individuals known as the Russian Five
Modest Mussorgsky, Mili Balakirev, Alexander
Borodin, Cesar Cui, and Nikolai Rimsky Korsakov
infused chromatic harmony and incorporated
Russian folk music and liturgical chant in their
thematic materials.

Music scholars predict that the innovative and

experimental developments of 20th century
classical music will continue to influence the
music of the 21st century. With so many
technical and stylistic choices open to todays
composers, it seems there is no obstacle to their
creativity and to the limits of their imagination.
And yet, this same freedom that has allowed
such varied musical experimentation in recent
years has also caused contemporary classical
musicor
music
utilizing
the
classical

techniques of compositionto lose touch with

its audience and to lose its clear role in
todays society. Presently, modern technology and
gadgets put a great impact on all types of music.
However, what still remains to be seen is when
this trend will shift, and what the distinct
qualities of emerging classical works will be.

SUMMARY

The early half of the 20th century also gave rise

to new musical styles, which were not quite as
extreme as the electronic, chance, and
minimalist styles that arose later. These new
styles were impressionism, expressionism, neoclassicism, avant garde music,and modern
nationalism.

Impressionism made use of the whole-tone scale.

It also applied suggested, rather than depicted,
reality. It created a mood rather than a definite
picture. It had a translucent and hazy texture;
lacking a dominant- tonic relationship. It made use
of overlapping chords, with 4th, 5th, octaves, and
9th intervals, resulting in a non-traditional harmonic
order and resolution.

Expressionism revealed the composers mind,

instead of presenting an impression of the
environment. It used atonality and the twelve-tone
scale, lacking stable and conventional harmonies. It
served as a medium for expressing strong
emotions, such as anxiety, rage, and alienation.

Neo-classicism was a partial return to a classical

form of writing music with carefully modulated
dissonances. It made use of a freer seven-note
diatonic scale.

The avant garde style was associated with

electronic music and dealt with the parameters or
dimensions of sound in space. It made use of
variations of self-contained note groups to change
musical continuity, and improvisation, with an
absence of traditional rules on harmony, melody,
and rhythm.

Modern nationalism is a looser form of 20th

century music development focused on nationalist
composers and musical innovators who sought to
combine modern techniques with folk materials.

20TH CENTURY
MUSICAL STYLES:
ELECTRONIC and
CHANCE MUSIC

The musical styles that evolved in the modern

era were varied. Some of these were short-lived,
being experimental and too radical in nature,
while others found an active blend between the
old and the new.

New inventions and discoveries of science and

technology lead to continuing developments in the
field of music. Technology has produced
electronic music devices such as cassette tape
recorders, compact discs and their variants, the
video compact disc (VCD) and the digital video
disc (DVD), MP3, MP4, ipod, iphone, karaoke
players, mobile phones and synthesizers. These
devices are used for creating and recording
music to add to or to replace acoustical sounds.

NEW MUSICAL STYLES

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.

Music that uses the tape recorder is

called musique concrete, or concrete
music. The composer records different
sounds that are heard in the environment
such as the bustle of traffic, the sound of the
wind, the barking of dogs, the strumming
of a guitar, or the cry of an infant. These
sounds are arranged by the composer in
different ways like by playing the tape
recorder in its fastest mode or in reverse. In
musique concrete, the composer is able to
experiment with different sounds that cannot
be produced by regular musical instruments
such as the piano or the violin.

Music and he was described as the

Stratospheric Colossus of Sound. His
musical compositions total around 50, with his
advances
in
tape-based
sound
proving
revolutionary during his time. He died on
November 6,
1965.

KARLHEINZ STOCKHAUSEN (1928

)

Karlheinz Stockhausen is a central figure in

the realm of electronic music. Born in
Cologne, Germany, he had the opportunity
to meet Messiaen, Schoenberg, and Webern,
the principal innovators at the time. Together
with Pierre Boulez, Stockhausen drew inspiration
from these composers as he developed his style
of total serialism. Stockhausens music was
initially met with resistance due to its heavily
atonal content with practically no clear
melodic or rhythmic sense. Still, he continued
to experiment with musique concrete. Some
of his works include Gruppen (1957), a piece
for three orchestras that moved music through
time and space; Kontakte (1960), a work that
pushed the tape machine to its limits; and the
epic Hymnen (1965), an ambitious two- hour
work of 40 juxtaposed songs and anthems
from around the world.

The climax of his compositional ambition came

in 1977 when he announced the creation of
Licht (Light), a seven-part opera (one for each
day of the week) for a gigantic ensemble of solo
voices, solo instruments, solo dancers, choirs,
orchestras, mimes, and electronics. His recent
Helicopter String Quartet, in which a string
quartet performs whilst airborne in four different
helicopters,
develops
his
long-standing
fascination with music which moves in space. It
has led him to dream of concert halls in which
the sound attacks the listener from every
direction. Stockhausens works

EDGARD VARESE (18831965)

Edgard (also spelled Edgar) Varse was born

on December 22, 1883. He was considered
an innovative French-born composer.
However, he spent the greater part of his life
and career in the United States, where he
pioneered and created new sounds that
bordered between music and noise.

The musical compositions of Varese are

characterized by an emphasis on timbre and
rhythm. He invented the term organized
sound, which means that certain timbres and
rhythms can be grouped together in order to
capture a whole new definition of sound.
Although his complete surviving works are
scarce, he has been recognized to have
influenced several major composers of the late
20th century.

Varses use of new instruments and electronic

resources made him the Father of Electronic
total around 31. He presently resides in
Germany.

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.
An example is John Cages Four Minutes
and Thirty-Three Seconds (433") where
the pianist merely opens the piano lid and
keeps silent for the duration of the piece. The
audience hears a variety of noises inside and
outside the concert hall amidst the seeming
silence.

achieve new sounds. He experimented with

what came to be known as chance music.

In one instance, Cage created a prepared

piano, where screws and pieces of wood or paper
were inserted between the piano strings to produce
different percussive possibilities.

The prepared piano style found its way into

Cages Sonatas and Interludes (19461948),
a cycle of pieces containing a wide range of
sounds, rhythmic themes, and a hypnotic quality.
His involvement with Zen Buddhism inspired him
to compose Music of Changes (1951), written
for conventional piano, that employed chance
compositional processes.

He became famous for his composition Four

Minutes and 33 Seconds (433"), a chance
musical work that instructed the pianist to merely
open the piano lid and remain silent for the length
of time indicated by the title. The work was
intended to convey the impossibility of achieving
total silence, since surrounding sounds can still be
heard
amidst the silence
of the
piano
performance.

Cage also advocated bringing real-life

experiences into the concert
hall. This
reached its extreme when he composed a work
that required him to fry mushrooms on stage in
order to derive the sounds from the cooking
process. As a result of his often irrational ideas
like this, he developed a following in the 1960s.
However, he gradually returned to the more
organized methods of composition in the last 20
years of his life.

JOHN CAGE (19121992)

John Cage was known as one of the 20th

century composers with the widest array of
sounds in his works. He was born in Los
Angeles, California, USA on September 5,
1912 and became one of the most original
composers in the history of western music. He
challenged the very idea of music by
manipulating musical instruments in order to

musical philosopher than a composer. His

conception of what music can and should be has
had a profound impact upon his contemporaries.
He was active as a writer presenting his musical
views with both wit and intelligence. Cage was
an important force in other artistic areas
especially dance and musical theater. His
musical compositions total around 229. Cage
died in New York City on August 12,
1992.

More than any other modern composer, Cage

influenced the development of modern
music since the 1950s. He was considered
more of a

SUMMARY

The new musical styles created by 20th century

classical composers were truly unique and
innovative.
They
experimented
with
the
elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, tempo,
and timbre in daring ways never attempted
before. Some even made use of electronic
devices such as synthesizers, tape recorders,
amplifiers, and the like to introduce and enhance
sounds beyond those available with traditional
instruments. Among the resulting new styles
were electronic music and chance music.
These expanded the concept of music far
beyond the conventions of earlier periods, and
challenged both the new composers and the
listening public.

As the 20th century progressed, so did the

innovations in musical styles as seen in the
works of these composers.
From
France,
Edgard Vareses use of new instruments and
electronic resources led to his being known as
the Father of Electronic Music and a description
of him as The Stratospheric Colossus of Sound.
From
Germany,
there
was
Karlheinz
Stockhausen, who further experimented with
electronic
music
and
musique
concrete.
Stockhausens electronic sounds revealed the
rich musical potential of modern technology. From
the United States, there was John Cage with his
truly unconventional composition techniques.
Cages works feature the widest array of sounds
from the most inventive sources.

COMPOSERS AND THEIR WORKS

Debussy

Claire de Lune, La
Mer, Childrens Corner Suite
Ravel
Miroirs, Sonatine, Daphnis et
Chloe, Jeux dEau, Bolero
Schoenberg Verklarte Nacht, Violin Concerto,
Piano Concerto, Gurrelieder
Bartok
String Quartet no. 4, Allegro,
Mikrokosmos, Barbaro, Music for Strings
Stravinsky
The Rite of Spring, Petrouchka,
The Firebird Suite
Prokofieff
Romeo and Juliet (ballet),
Piano Sonatas
Gershwin
An American in Paris, Porgy and
Bess, Rhapsody in Blue, Someone to Watch Over
Me Bernstein Tonight from West Side Story,
Clarinet Sonata
Glass
Einstein on the Beach,
Satyagraha, Akhnaten
Poulenc
Concerto for Two Pianos, Dialogues
des Carmelites
Cage
433"; Metamorphosis, for piano;
Five Songs, for contralto soloist and piano; Music
for Wind Instruments, for wind quintet
Stockhausen Etude, Electronic STUDIES I and II,
Gesang der Junglinge, Kontakte, Momente,
Hymnen Varese
Hyperprism for wind and
percussion,
Octandre for seven wind instruments and
double bass, Intgrales for wind and

percussion, Ionisation for 13 percussion

players