20th Century Music - Experimental / John Cage Notes

Huge changes to how music

• listened to
• distributed
• composed

Strong emphasis on experimentation and exploration

Introduction of new styles, techniques and sounds

Trends of 20th Century reaction to 19th Century Romantic music

Composers found late-Romantic stale, excessive

Most important styles/techniques:

• Impressionism - Ravel, Debussy
• Expressionism - Schoenberg
• Atonality - Scriabin, Bartok
• Musique Concrète - Schaeffer

Experimental music emerged

• Origins in Schaeffer’s musique concrète early 50s.
• Composed using tape loops/editing, found sounds. Synthesiser.
• ‘Experimental music’ to differentiate from electronic music of Post-War Germany.

John Cage
Most important figure in 20th century experimental
Born 1912
Pioneer of post-WW2 avant-garde music
Developed Charles Ives’ indeterminacy (music left to change, not precisely scored)

John Cage - 4’33” best known work. Musicians don’t play. Ambience is music.

Pioneered prepared piano

Sound altered by placing objects on strings: cardboard, rubber, metal etc…

John Cage - Sonatas and Interludes

• 20 pieces for prepared piano
• Inspired by Cage’s intro to Indian Philosophy
• 16 Sonatas - Binary, Ternary form
• 4 Interludes - Freer structure
• Rhythmical complexity, detailed preparations