Music of the 20th Century Lecture Notes

Introduction

• Teacher: Lester (Zurnles)
• Topic: Music of the 20th Century
• Competencies:
  • Describe distinct musical elements of 20th-century styles
  • Explain performance practices of 20th-century music
  • Perform music samples from the 20th century
  • Evaluate music and performances using guided rubrics

Overview of 20th Century Music

• Rise of distinct musical styles
• Move away from conventions of earlier Western classical music
• Key styles:
  • Impressionism
  • Expressionism
  • Neoclassicism
  • Avant-Garde
  • Modern Nationalism

Key Styles of 20th Century Music

Impressionism

• Originated from 19th-century art movement (Claude Monet, "Impression Sunrise")
• Characteristics:
  • Extensive use of timbre and effects
  • Vague melodies
  • Untraditional harmonic order
• Prominent Composers:
  • Claude Debussy
    • Born: 1862, Died: 1918
    • Influenced by: Liszt, Chopin, Bach, Verdi
    • Notable Works: "Clair de Lune," "L'Amour"
  • Maurice Ravel
    • Born: 1875, Died: 1937
    • Known for: "Bolero"
    • Style: Innovative harmonic treatment

Expressionism

• Emerged around 1918
• Characteristics:
  • Extreme emotions (anxiety, rage)
  • Lack of stable harmonies
• Prominent Composers:
  • Arnold Schoenberg
    • Born: 1874, Died: 1951
    • Works: "Pellias and Melisande," "Verklärte Nacht"
  • Igor Stravinsky
    • Born: 1882, Died: 1971
    • Notable Works: "Firebird," "Petrushka"
  • Béla Bartók
    • Born: 1881, Died: 1945
    • Known for: Folk influences, particularly in string quartets

Neoclassicism

• A return to classical forms with modern elements
• Prominent Composers:
  • Sergei Prokofiev
    • Born: 1891, Died: 1953
    • Notable Works: "Romeo and Juliet," "Peter and the Wolf"
  • Francis Poulenc
    • Born: 1899, Died: 1963
    • Notable Works: "Concerto for Two Pianos"

Avant-Garde

• Associated with electronic music
• Characteristics:
  • Variations of self-contained note groups
  • Absence of traditional rules
• Prominent Composers:
  • George Gershwin
    • Born: 1898, Died: 1937
    • Notable Works: "Rhapsody in Blue," "Porgy and Bess"
  • Leonard Bernstein
    • Born: 1918, Died: 1990
    • Known for: "West Side Story"
  • Philip Glass
    • Born: 1937, still alive
    • Known for: "Einstein on the Beach"

Modern Nationalism

• Focused on combining modern techniques with folk materials
• Key Composers:
  • Béla Bartók
  • Sergey Prokofiev

New Musical Styles of the 20th Century

Electronic Music

• Produced by electronic machines (synthesizers, amplifiers)
• Notable Composers:
  • Edgar Varèse, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Mario Davidovsky
• Concept: Musique concrète - arrangement of environmental sounds

Chance Music

• Each performance sounds different
• Example: John Cage's "4'33" - silence as a composition, audience hears surrounding sounds

Conclusion

• Performance Task: Create 20 eccentricities in music system
• Choose between chance music or electronic music
• Reminder to submit through Google Classroom

Final Notes

• Thank you for listening!
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