20 th Century Classical Music (1900-1999)

1. 20th Century Classical Music(1900-1999) By Karl Chamberlin, Halim Chun, and AlexaZieniuk

2. Styles • Romanticism • Impressionism • Modernism • Free Dissonance and Experimentalism • Futurism • Expressionism • Atonality and Serialism • Neoclassicism • Postmodernism • Minimalism • Spectralism

3. Modernism • Based on rejection of common practice • Comes from Surrealism and Romanticism • Most 20th century classical music categories are part of Modernism Postmodernism Styles that succeeded the Modernist movement John Cage’s “4’33””

4. Free Dissonance and Experimentalism • Highly dissonant • Uses techniques such as: • Polytonality – multiple keys at a time • Polyrhythm – multiple rhythms at a time • Tone clusters – chord with three or more consecutive tones • Aleatoric elements – parts of the work are left to be determined by the performer • Quarter tones – interval equal to half of a half-step • “The Celestial Railroad” by Charles Ives

5. Futurism • Began as an artistic movement in Italy • Most prevalent in Italy and Russia • Incorporated a variety of sounds into a composition, especially machinery • Alarms • Bells • Horns • Machines • “Ballet Mecanique” by George Antheil

6. Expressionism • Reaction against the passivity of Impressionism • Meant to express intense feelings and emotions • Prevalent in Germany and Austria • Rejected common practices such as: • Cadences • Repetition • Sequences

7. Atonality and Serialism • Music without a key • Does not have a Tonic • Usually based on a twelve-tone chromatic scale • Strongly opposed by the public and the classical music community • Prominent composers: • Arnold Schoenberg • Alban Berg • Anton Webern

8. Neoclassicism • Based on older, traditional classical music • Also called Neobaroque • Sought to avoid the emotionalism of Romanticism • Popular between World War I and World War II • Most well-known composer: • Igor Stravinsky

9. Minimalism • Postmodern form of Experimentalism • Very fundamental • Included repetition and iteration • Common technique – phasing: • Two voices or instruments performing the same part at different tempos in repetition

10. Jazz Influence • Some composers incorporated jazz techniques into classical music • Common in Europe • George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1U40xBSz6Dc

11. Electronic Music • Advances in technology allowed for: • The creation of new sounds and forms of music, such as Futurism • The ability to record and manipulate music

12. Works Cited • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20th_century_classical_music • http://www.jahsonic.com/Futurism.html • http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Dissonance+(music) • http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Neoclassicalism • http://www.charlesives.org/02bio.htm • http://library.thinkquest.org/27110/noframes/periods/expressionism.html • http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Atonality • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUJagb7hL0E • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8Vn_65yBD4 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1U40xBSz6Dc • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJ4Z7O_TIGc