Music of The 20TH Century 1ST Quarter Lesson

MUSIC OF THE
20 CENTURY
TH
LESSON 1 : MUSIC OF THE 20TH
CENTURY
• The 20th Century styles : .
• Impressionism
• Expressionism
• Primitivism
• Neo-classicism
• Avant Garde music and
• Modern Nationalism
Musical genius of individual composers such as:
1. Claude Debussy,
2. Maurice Ravel,
3. Arnold Schoenberg,
4. Bela Bartok,
5. Igor Stravinsky,
6. Sergei Prokofieff, and
7. George Gershwin
Musical Elements:
1. Rhythm
2. Melody
3. Harmony
4. Texture
5. Timbre
6. Dynamics, and
7. Form
Distinctive Musical Elements of the 2oth
Century Music:
1. Came up with the new rhythm and meters
2. The use of whole tone scale, pentatonic scale, and

the twelve-tone system
3. Vast use of dynamics
4. Intensified Polyphonic texture
5. In terms of Harmony, created new chords structures.

LESSON 2 : Historical
background of the 20th Century
Music
Performance practice by the composer
during the 20th century:
1. Setting
2. Role of the composers / performers
3. Compositions and
4. Audience
Composer during the 20th century:
1. Migrated in United States
2. International Society for
Contemporary Music
3. Advancement of technology
LESSON 3 : Representative
Composers of 20th Century
Music
One of the earlier forms
declared in the 20th century
music.
IMPRESSIONISM
Based on the art movement
that started on 19th century
by Claude Monet through
his painting Impression
Sunrise.
In impressionism art, it was
meant to create an emotional
mood rather than a specific
picture. The attempt is to
suggest reality not to depict it.
In impressionism music, the

sounds of different chords
IMPRESSIONISM overlapped lightly with each
other to produce new subtle
musical colors.
Chords did not have a definite

order and a sense of clear
resolution.
Most of the impressionist
works centered on nature
and its beauty, lightness,
and brilliance.
IMPRESSIONISM
A number of outstanding
impressionists created
works on this subject- such
as Debussy’s La Mer and
Claire de Lune.
Debussy’s La Mer
Impressionist Composer
• Claude Debussy
• Maurice Ravel
Claude Debussy ( 1862-1918)
One of the most important and
influential of the 20th century
composers. He was the primary
exponent of the impressionist
Claude movement and focal point for
other impressionist composers.
Debussy
(1862-
1918) Born in St. Germain-en-Laye in
France on August 22, 1862.
L’ Enfant Prodigue (The Prodigal
Son) – won the top prize at the Prix
de Rome in 1884.
La Mer (1905)- a highly imaginative

and atmospheric symphonic work
for orchestra about the sea.
Debussy’s
works: Pelleas et Melisande- his famous
operatic work.
Images, Suite Bergamasque, and

Estampes- his most popular piano
compositions.
Ariettes Oubliess
Prelude to the Afternoon of

a Faun
Debussy’s
works: String Quartet
• His musical compositions total
more or less 227 which include
orchestral music, chamber music,
piano music, operas, ballets, songs
and other vocal music.
Maurice
Raval
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
• Born in Ciboure, France

to a Basque mother and
Swiss father. Entered
Paris Conservatory at
14, where he studied
with the eminent French
composer Gabriel
Faure.
Ravel’s works:
• Pavane for a Dead Princess (1899)- a

slow but lyrical requiem.
• Miroirs (Mirrors) 1905- a work for
piano known for its harmonic
evolution and imagination.
• Gaspard de la Nuit (1908)- arguably
the most difficult piece in the piano
repertoire.
• Le Tombeau de Couperin(1917)- a
musical advocacies of Francois
Couperin
• Daphnis et Chloe (1912)- a ballet
commissioned by master
choreographer Sergei Diaghilev.
• La Valse (1920)- a waltz with a
frightening undertone.
• Tzigane (1922)- a violin virtuosic
piece.
• Jeux d’ Eau or Water Fountains
(1901)
• String Quartet (1903)
• Sonatine for Piano (1904)
• Valses Nobles et Sentimentals (1911)
• Rhapsodie Espagnole (1907-1908)
• Bolero (1875-1937)
• Two piano concerti (1929)
Bolero- Maurice Ravel
ARNOLD
SCHOENBERG
( 1874 –
1951 )
Born in a working-
class suburb of
Vienna, Austria on
Arnold September 13, 1874.
Schoenberg
(1874-1951) His works influenced
by a German
composer Richard
Wagner.
Verklarte Nacht (Transfigured
Night, 1899)- one of his earliest
successful pieces.
Verklarte Nacht, Three Pieces for

Schoenberg Piano op. 11
works:
Pierrot Lunaire
Gurreleider
He had produced
approximately 213
Schoenberg compositions
works:
He died in Los
Angele California
USA on July 13, 1951
IGOR
STRAVINSKY
( 1882 –
1971 )
Born in Oranienbaum (now
Lomonosov), Russia on June 17,
1882.
Igor
Stravinsky His music influenced by his
teacher, Nikolai Rimsky- Korsakov
(1881- a Russian composer.
1971)
The Firebird Suite (1910) is his
first successful masterpiece
composed for Diaghilev’s Russian
ballet.
He started as a
nationalist but later
on shifted to neo-
Igor classicist.
Stravinsky
(1881-
His music showed a
1971)
combination of
traditional and
contemporary styles.
• Stravinsky musical
output approximates
127 works, including
Igor concerti, orchestral
Stravinsky music, instrumental
(1881- music, opera,
1971) ballets, solo, vocal
and choral music.
He died in New York
City on April 6, 1971
BELA
BARTOK
( 1881-
1945 )
He is a Hungarian composer born on
March 25,1881.
BELA BARTOK His known as a neo-classicist ,primitivist

and nationalist , He admired the musical
( 1881- styles of Franz Liszt, Richard Strauss
Claude Debussy and Igor Stranvisky
1945 )
The use of Hungarian Folk themes and
rhythms were present in his music.
He produced an
approximate of 700
BELA BARTOK compositions
( 1881-
1945 ) He died in New York
City, USA on
September 26, 1945.
Six String Quartets (1908-
1938) – these exhibited his
greatest achievements that
took 30 years in completion.
Allegro Barbaro (1911) – a
piano piece that displayed
swirling rhythms and
BELA BARTOK percussive chords.
( 1881- Mikrokosmos (1926-1939) – a

1945 ) set of progressive piano
pieces composing of six
books.
Concerto for Orchestra (1943)
– a five-movement musical
composition
LESSON 4 : 20th Century Musical
Styles
It In impressionism art, it was meant to create an emotional
mood rather than a specific picture. The attempt is to suggest
reality not to depict it.emerged in the late 19th and early 20th
century. Art forms in this style focuses more on emotions and
imagination that bring about unnatural images and distorted
figures.
In impressionism music, 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.
Impressionism
It emerged in the late 19th and early 20th century. Art forms in
this style focuses more on emotions and imagination that bring
about unnatural images and distorted figures.
In terms of music, composers elicit these characteristics by using chromatic

melodies, thick textures, enormous orchestral timbres, dissonant chords, and
irregular rhythms that resulted in intense boldness of sounds. Arnold
Schoenberg was the proponent of this musical style and he was the one who
established the twelve-tone school.
Expressionism
This style goes in between the excessive emotions present in
many Romantic music and the ferocious style of expressionist
music. It partially adapted the techniques found in the music
of Classical composers and combined it with modern
techniques.
The use of diatonic scales with dissonances, and the use of

three-movement format for sonata fused with multi meter
were some of the examples on how composers interpreted
music in this style. Bela Bartok, Francis Poulenc, Igor
Stravinsky, and Sergei Prokofieff were some of the 20th
century composers who created their music in this style.
Neo-classicism
This style combined folk materials with
modern techniques in composing music.
Bela Bartok is one of the 20th century
composers who used this style. He merged
Hungarian themes to contemporary
techniques by adding cross rhythm and
changing meters. Another composer, Sergei
Prokofieff infused Russian themes with
dissonances and polytonality.
Modern Nationalism
END OF THE
LESSONS 1-4
THE END !!!

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MUSIC OF THE

6. Sergei Prokofieff, and

2. The use of whole tone scale, pentatonic scale, and

3. Vast use of dynamics

4. Intensified Polyphonic texture

5. In terms of Harmony, created new chords structures.

In impressionism music, the

Chords did not have a definite

La Mer (1905)- a highly imaginative

Images, Suite Bergamasque, and

Prelude to the Afternoon of

• Born in Ciboure, France

• Pavane for a Dead Princess (1899)- a

Verklarte Nacht, Three Pieces for

BELA BARTOK His known as a neo-classicist ,primitivist

( 1881- Mikrokosmos (1926-1939) – a

In impressionism music, the sounds of different

In terms of music, composers elicit these characteristics by using chromatic

The use of diatonic scales with dissonances, and the use of

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