Transcript for:
Exploring 20th Century Music Styles

[Music] thank you good day everyone and Welcome to our first quarter lesson for grade 10 music entitled music of the 20th century in this particular lesson you will understand the 20th century music Styles and characteristic features are you ready to listen then let's go ahead and start with our lesson 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 neoclassicism avant-garde music and modern nationalism the distinct musical styles of the 20th century would not have been developed if not for the musical Genius of individual composers such as Claude Debussy Maurice Ravel Arnold Schoenberg Bella Bartok Igor Stravinsky Sergey prokofiev 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 this composers clearly reflected the growing globalization of musical styles in the 20th century [Music] let's first understand what impressionism is impressionism is one of the earlier but concrete forms declaring the entry of 20th century music it is a French movement in the late 19th and early 20th century there is an extensive use of colors and effects vague Melodies and Innovative chords and progressions leading to mild dissonances [Music] 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 an impressionism the sounds of different chords overlapped lightly with each other to produce a new subtle musical colors we have here two proponents that made impressionistic movement possible the first one is Claude Debussy and the second one is Maurice Ravel let's learn what their life and musical works are Claude Debussy 1862 until 1918 is one of the most important and influential of the 20th century composers 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 and Harmony Rhythm form texture and color Debussy was born in San German and lay 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 and harmony he added other systems of musical composition because of his musical training in 1884 he won the top prize at the Pricks the Rome competition with his composition then found prodig or in English 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 and Isolde although he did not share the letters grandiose Style Claude Debussy was named the father of the modern School of composition one of his famous compositions are Claire de Lune and La Mer he spent the remaining years of his life as a Critic composer and performer he died of cancer in Paris on March 25 1918. his musical compositions total more or less 227 which include orchestral music chamber music piano music operas ballets songs and other vocal music Debussy highly admired the music of France list Frederick Chopin Johann Sebastian Bach Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner he was fascinated by the Japanese gamelan that he heard at the 1889 Paris Exposition which later used in his Works to achieve a new sound debussy's mature creative period was represented by the following artworks ariettes obelis Prelude to the afternoon of a phone string quartet melisande this is his famous operatic work that Drew mixed extreme reactions for its innovative harmonies and textural treatments a highly imaginative in atmospheric symphonic work for orchestra about the sea images sweet Burger mask and estampes his most popular piano compositions a set of lightly textured pieces containing his work Claire de Lune or in translation in English moonlight foreign for impressionistic music is Maurice Ravel he lived on 1875 until 1937. he was born in Cebu France to a basque mother and a Swiss father he entered the Paris conservatory at the age of 14 where he studied the eminent French composer Gabrielle Forge during his tint with a school where he stayed until his early twenties he had composed a number of masterpieces the compositional style of Ravel is mainly characterized by its uniquely Innovative but not a tonal style of harmonic treatment it is defined with intricate and sometimes modal Melodies and extended chordal components and it demands considerable technical virtuosity from the performer which is the character ability or skill of a virtuoso a person who excels in musical technique or execution many of his Works deal with water in its flowing or stormy moods as well as with human characterizations [Music] ravel's Works include the following Avon for a dead princess in 1899 a slow but lyrical Requiem Judo or water fountains in 1901 string quartet in 1903 sonatin for piano in 1904 mirwa or mirrors in English 1905 a work for piano known for its harmonic Evolution and Imagination Gaspar de la nuit in 1908 a set of demonic inspired 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 versus Nobles at sentimentales in 1911. the other one is Le tombow de copran in 1917 a commemoration of the musical advocacies of the early 18th century French composer Francois cooperan another one is Rhapsody espanol and the last one is bolero other words of Ravel are davnis at Chloe in 1912 a badly commissioned by Master choreographer Sergey diadlev that contained rhythmic diversity evocation of Nature and choral ensemble another one is levelse in 1920 Awards 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 vertastic piece segan in 1922 totaled 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 beat 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 list Schubert and Mendelssohn he died in Paris in 1937. this is the comparative styles of Debussy and Ravel as the two major exponents of French impressionism in music Debussy and revel had crossed paths during their lifetime although Debussy was 13 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 approached the 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 Revel was more formal and exacting in the development of his motive ideas another musical movement is expressionism the term expressionism was probably first applied to music in 1918 especially to Arnold Schoenberg the emotions of the music are taken to the extreme leading to disturbing unsettling and sometimes violent lacking stable and conventional hormones it served as a medium for expressing strong emotions such as anxiety and rage foreign Berg 1874 until 1951 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 valias at melisande up five in 1903 a Counterpoint of debussy's Opera of the same title [Music] schoenberg's style was constantly undergoing development from the early influences of Wagner his total preference gradually turned to the dissonant and ethanol as he explored the use of chromatic harmonies although full of melodic and lyrical interests 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 [Music] Schoenberg is credited with the establishment of the following 12-tone system his Works include the following three pieces for piano of 11. Piero luner Gore leader not or in English transfigured Knight in 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. another musical movement is called primitivism primitivistic music is tonal through the asserting of one note as more important than the others new sounds are synthesized from old ones but 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 Bella Bartok it eventually evolved into neoclassicism [Music] one of the proponents of this musical movement is Igor Stravinsky he is one of the greatest trendsetter of the 20th century [Music] he was born in oranian bomb lomonos of Russia he was influenced by his teacher composer Nikolai rimsky corsakov his first successful Masterpiece is the Firebird Suite in 1910 The Rite of Spring in 1913 was another outstanding work other outstanding Works include the ballet's pratrushka featuring shifting rhythms and polytonality a signature device of the composer the rake's progress in 1951 a full-length Opera alludes heavily to the Baroque and classical styles of back and Mozart through the use of the harpsichord a small Orchestra solo and an ensemble numbers where the recitatives stringing together the different songs Stravinsky's musical output approximates 127 Works including concerti orchestral music instrumental music operas ballets solo vocal and choral music he died in New York City in April 6 1971. another proponent of this musical movement is Bella Bartok he lived from 1881 up to 1945. he was born in Hungary or now Romania on March 25 1881 to musical parents he started music lessons with his mother and later entered Budapest Royal Academy of Music in 1899. his first nationalistic poem was castled in 1903 in 1906 he published his first collection of 20 Hungarian folk songs and his compositions were successful because of the rich Melodies and Lively rhythms he admired the musical styles of lists Strauss Debussy and Stravinsky he is famous for his sixth string quartets and this represents the greatest achievement of his creative life spanning a full 30 years of their completion the concerto for orchestra in 1943 a five movement were composed late in bartok's life features the exceptional talents of its various soloists in an intricately constructed piece the short and popular Allegro Barbaro in 1911 for solo piano is punctuated with swirling rhythms and percussive chords while mikro Cosmos in 1926-1939 a set of six books containing Progressive technical piano pieces introduced and familiarized the piano student with contemporary Harmony and rhythm bartok's approximately 700 musical composition include concerti orchestral music piano music and songs he died on September 26 1945 in New York City USA [Music] another musical movement is a neoclassicism neoclassicism 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 tightly neat form of The Classical period while combining tonal harmonies with slight dissonances it also adopted a modern Freer use of the seven note diatonic scale examples of neoclassicism are Bella bartok's song of the bad pipe 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 neoclasses style was also used by composers such as Francis Poland Bella Bartok Igor Stravinsky Paul hindemith and Sergey prokofiev Sergey prokowiev born in 1891 and died in 1953 is regarded today as a combination of a neoclassicist nationalist and avant-garde composer his style is uniquely recognizable for its Progressive technique he was born in Ukraine in 1891 and he set out for the Saint Petersburg Conservatory equipped with his great talent as a composer and pianist his contact with diagleb 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 [Music] he also wrote Peter and the Wolf a lighthearted orchestral work intended for children was highly successful in his piano music other significant compositions include the Symphony Number One also called classical Symphony his most accessible orchestral work linked to the combined styles of classicist Haydn and Mozart and neoclassicist Stravinsky his musical composition include concerti chamber music film scores operas and valleys he died in Moscow in March 15 1953. [Music] another proponent for this musical movement is Francis Jean Marcel polink born in 1899 until 1963. he is one of few composers born into wealth and privileged social position member of the group of young French composers known as lasiks he rejected the heavy Romanticism of Wagner and the so-called impression of Debussy and bravel his composition had a elegant modernity sense of proportion [Music] positions include concert champetre and Concerto for Two pianos which combines the classical touches of Mozart and Ravel concerto versus Olu piano written for the Boston Symphony Orchestra his Opera Works included Le manil de teresias 1944 which revealed his light-hearted character another one is dialogue de carmeli in 1956 which highlighted his conservative writing style last one is you mean in 1958 which reflected his own turbulent emotional life polink's Coral Works tended to be more summer and solemn as portrayed by litanese alavier Noir or in English litanese of the black Madonna in 1936 with its Monopoly sinful Harmony and startling dissonance [Music] in 1950 which carried a baroque solemnity which a prevailing style of Unison singing and repetition his musical composition totaled around 185 which includes solo piano works as well as vocal solo he died in Paris on January 13 1963. [Music] another musical movement is avant-garde music this is closely associated with electronic music the avant-garde movement dealt with the parameters of the dimensions of sound in space the avant-garde style exhibited a new attitude towards musical nobility 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 for the performer might turn the score over and go on a dabbling indefinitely in whatever order before returning to the starting point [Music] one proponent of this musical movement is George Gershwin born in 1898 and died in 1937. George Gershwin was born in New York the 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 Lala Lucille in 1919. from that time on gershwin's name became a fixture on Broadway he also composed Rhapsody In Blue in 1924 and An American in Paris in 1928 which Incorporated Jazz rhythms with classical horns [Music] his Opera orgy and this remains to this day the only American Opera to be included in the established Repertory of his genre Gershwin was more fascinated with classical music he was influenced by Ravel Stravinsky Berg and Schoenberg as well as the group of contemporary French composers known as lisix that would shape the character of his major words half-jazz and half classical he is considered as the father of American Jazz his musical compositions total around 369 which include orchestral music chamber music musical theater film musicals operas and songs he died in Hollywood California USA on July 11 1937. aside from Gershwin another proponent for avant garde music is Leonard Bernstein born in 1918 and died in 1990. he was born in Massachusetts USA and he is known as charismatic conductor pianist and composer 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 in 1943. he received preeminence in two Fields conducting and composing for Broadway musicals then shows and concert music Bernstein is burst known for his compositions for the Stitch foremost among these is the musical West Side Story in 1957 an American version of Romeo and Juliet which displays a tuneful of being in highly autonal approach to the songs other outputs include another Broadway hit candid in 1956 and the much celebrated mass in 1971 which he wrote for the opening of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC he composed the music for the film on the waterfront in 1954. as a lecturer Bernstein is fondly remembered for his television series young people's concerts in 1958 up to 1973 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 total around 90. he died in New York City USA on October 14 1990. [Music] another proponent of this musical movement is Philip Glass he was 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 citrist Ravi Shankar he formed the Philippe glass Ensemble and produced works such as music in similar Motion in 1969 in music in changing parts in 1970 which combined rock type groups with Perpetual patterns played at extreme volumes foreign he is one of the most commercially successful minimalist composer 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 races emanating from 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 an eventful and shallow yet certainly effective for its hypnotic charm glass collaborated with the other conceptualist Robert Wilson to produce the four hour Opera Einstein on the beach in 1976 an instant sellout at the New York Metropolitan Opera House he completed the trilogy with the operas satyagaha in 1980 and akhnaten in 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 and today glass lives alternately in Nova Scotia Canada and New York USA another musical movement is called modern nationalism it is focused on nationalist composers and musical innovators who sought to combine modern techniques with folk materials in Europe prominent figures of this style were Bella Bartok and Sergey prokofiev who were neoclassicists to a certain extent together with Bartok prokotia made extensive use of polytonality a kind of a tonality that uses two or more tonal centers simultaneously an example of this style is prokopiev's Vision Fugitive the 20th century music Styles 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 discs and the digital video disk 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 foreign music Styles is 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 vargesse Carl Heinz stockhausen and Mario davidovsky music that uses the tape recorder is called music 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 composers in different ways like by playing the tape recorder in its fastest mode or in reverse in music 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 one of the proponents of this musical movement is Edgar vares Edgard also spelled as Edgar vares was born in 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 vares are characterized by an emphasis on Timber and Rhythm he invented the term organized sound which means that certain Timbers 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 vares's use of new instruments and electronic resources made him the father of electronic 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. [Music] another proponent of this musical movement is Carl Heinz stockhausen Carl Heinz stockhausen is a central figure in the realm of electronic music born in Cologne Germany he had the opportunity to meet messayen Schoenberg and Weber the principled innovators at that time together with Pierre bullets stockhausen Drew inspiration from this composers as he developed his style of total surrealism stockhausen's music was initially met with resistance due to its heavily autonal content with practically no clear melodic or rhythmic sense still he continued to experiment with music concrete some of his Works include groupen in 1957 a piece for three orchestras that moved music through time and space contact day in 1960 a work that pushed the tape machine to its limits and the Epic came then in 1965 an ambitious two-hour work of 40 Jacques to post songs and anthems from around the world the climax of his compositional ambition came in 1977 when he announced the creation of lit or light in English a seven-part authora one for each day of the week for a gigantic Ensemble for solo voices solo instruments solo dancers choirs orchestras mimes and electronics his recent helicopter string quartet in which a string quartet performs while 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 stockhausen's Works total around 31 and he presently resides in Germany another musical movement is called Chan's 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 house 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 Cage's 4 minutes and 33 seconds 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 one proponent of this musical movement is John Cage he was born in Los Angeles California USA and he is 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 achieve new sounds he experimented with what came to be known as chance music cage created a prepared piano where screws and pieces of wood or paper were inserted between the piano strings to produce different percussions possibilities he became famous for his composition 4 minutes and 33 seconds a chance musical work that's instructed The Pianist premierly opened the piano lead and remained silent for the length of time indicated by the title more than any other modern composer cage influenced the development of modern music since the 1950s he was considered more of a musical philosopher than a composer Gage was an important force in other artistic areas especially dance and musical theater his musical compositions totaled around 229. cage died in New York City on August 12 1992. for the summary of this whole lesson 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 Timber in daring ways never attempted before some even made use of electronic devices such as synthesizers tape recorders amplifiers and like to introduce the enhanced sounds Beyond those available with traditional instruments among the resulting new styles were electronic music enchants music this 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 vargas's use of new instruments and electronic resources led to his being known as the father of electronic music in a description of him as the stratospheric Colossus of sound from Germany there was Carl Heinz duckhausen who further experimented with electronic music and music concrete stockhausen's 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 featured the widest array of sounds from the most inventive sources alright that's all for our lesson for the music of the 20th century in grade 10 mapeh and I hope you learned a lot from our discussion stay tuned for our next upload for our next lesson in the next quarter thank you and see you in our next lesson