MUSIC

OF
THE 20 TH

CENTURY
The start of the 20
th

century saw the rise of

distinct musical styles
that reflected a move
away from the
conventions of earlier
western classical music.
These new styles were:
Impressionism
Expressionism
Neo-classicism
Avant-garde music
Modern nationalism
The distinct style of the 20th century would
not have developed if not for the musical
genius of individual composers such as:
*Claude Debussy *Bela Bartok
*Maurice Ravel *Igor Stravinsky
*Arnold Shoenberg *Sergie Prokofiev
*George Gershwin
IMPRESSIONIS
M
 It is a French movement in the late 19
th

and early 20 century.

th

The sentimental melodies and

dramatic emotionalism of the preceding
Romantic Period were being replaced
in Favor of moods and impressions.
There was an extensive use of different timbres
(tone color or tone quality) and effects, vague
melodies, and innovative chords and progressions
leading to mild dissonances through orchestration,
texture, or harmonic usage.
Impressionism was an attempt to suggest reality
not to depict it.
It was meant to create an emotional mood rather
than a specific picture.
In impressionism, the sounds of different
chords overlapped lightly with each other to
produce new subtle musical colors.
Chords did not have definite order and a
sense of clear resolution.
Most of the impressionist works centered on
nature and its beauty, lightness, and
brilliance.
Claude Debussy
One of the most important and influential composer
of the 20th century.
He was the primary exponent of the impressionist
composers.
He changed the course of musical development by
evolving traditional rules and conventions into a
new language of possibilities in harmony, rhythm,
form, texture, and color.
Debussy was born in St. Germain -en- Laye in
France on August 22, 1862.
His early musical talents were channeled into a
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 won the top prize at the Prix de Rome
competition with his composition L’Enfant
Prodigue (The Prodigal Son).
His musical compositions total more or less
227 which include orchestral music,
Chamber music, piano music, operas,
ballets, songs, and other vocal music.
Debussy’s composition deviated from the
Romantic Period and is clearly seen by the way he
avoided metric pulses and preferred free form and
developed his themes.
Debussy’s western influences came from
composers Franz Liszt and Giuseppe Verdi.
From the East, he was fascinated by the Javanese
Gamelan that he had heard at the 1889 Paris
Exposition.
The Gamelan is an ensemble with bells, gongs,
xylophone, and occasional vocal parts which he
later used in his works to achieve a new sound
From the visual arts, Debussy was influenced
by Monet, Pissarro, Manet, Degas, and Renoir.
And from the literary arts, by Mallarme,
Verlaine, and Rimbaud.
Father of the Modern School of Composition.
Most of his close friends were painters and poets
who significantly influenced his compositions.
Debussy spent the remaining years of his life as
a critic, composer, and performer.
He died in Paris on March 25, 1918 of cancer at
the height of the First World War.
Ariettes Oubliees
Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
String Quartet
Pelleas et Melisande
La Mer
Images, Suite Bergamasque, and
Estampes
JOSEPH MAURICE RAVEL
Was born in Ciboure, France to a Baque
mother and a Swiss father.
He entered the Paris Conservatory at the
age of 14 where he studied with the eminent
French composer Gabriel Faure.
The compositional style of Ravel is mainly
characterized by its uniquely innovative but not
atonal style of harmonic treatment. It is defined with
intricate and sometimes modal melodies and
extended chordal components.
It demand considerable technical virtuosity from
the performance.
Many of his works deal with water in its flowing or
stormy moods as well as with human
characterization.
Pavane for a Dead Princess (1899), a slow but lyrical
requiem
Jeux d’Eau or Water Fountains (1901)
String Quartet (1903)
Sonatine for Piano (1904)
Miroirs (Mirrors), (1905) a work for piano known for its
harmonic evolution and imagination.
Gaspard de la Nuit (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
 Valses Nobles et Sentimentales (1911)
 Le Tombeau de Couperin (1911) a commemoration of the musical
advocacies of the early 18th century French composer Francois
Couperin
 Rhapsodie Espagnole
 Bolero
 Daphnis et Chloe (1912) a ballet commissioned by master
choreographer Sergie Diaghilev that contained rhythmic diversity,
evocation of nature, and choral ensemble.
 La Valse
(1920) a waltz with a frightening undertone that had been
composed for ballet and arranged as well as for solo and duo
piano.
Ravel was a perfectionist and every bit a musical
craftsman. He strongly adhered to the classical form,
specifically its ternary structure.
A strong advocate Russian music, he also admired
the music of Chopin, Liszt, Schubert, and
Mendelssohn.
He died in Paris in 1937.
Works, approximating 60 pieces for piano, chamber
music, song cycles, ballet, and opera.
Comparative Styles of Debussy and Ravel
As the two major exponents of French Impressionism
in music, Debussy and Ravel had crossed paths
during their lifetime although Debussy was thirteen
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
approach to 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, Ravel was more
formal and exacting in the development of
his motive ideas.
Expressionism
Revealed the composer’s mind, instead of
presenting an impression of the
environment.
It served as a medium for expressing
strong emotions, such as anxiety, rage, and
alienation.
ARNOLD SCHOENBERG
Born in Vienna, Austria
He taught himself music theory, but took lessons
in counterpoint.
German composer Richard Wagner influenced
his work as evidenced by his symphonic poem
Pelleas et Melisande,Op 5 (1903). A counterpoint
of Debussy’s opera of the same title.
 Schoenberg’s style was constantly undergoing development.
From the early influences of Wagner, his tonal preference
gradually turned to the dissonant and atonal, as he explored
the use of chromatic harmonies.
 Although full of melodic and lyrical interest, his music is also
extremely complex, creating heavy demands on the listener.
 His musical compositions total more or less 213 which include
concerti, orchestral music, piano music, operas, choral music,
songs, and other instrumental. Schoenberg died on July 13,
1951 in Los Angeles, California, USA where he had settled
since 1934
Verklarte Nacht, Three Pieces for Piano, op. 11
Pierrot Lunaire
Gurre lieder
Verklarte Nacht (Transfigured Night, 1899) one of
his earliest successful pieces, blends the lyricism,
instrumentation, and melodic beauty of Brahms with
the chromaticism and construction of Wagner.
IGOR STRAVINSKY
Born in Oranienbaum (now Lomonosov) Russia on
June 17, 1882.
Early music reflected the influence of his teacher,
the Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.
In his first successful masterpiece, The Firebird Suite
(1910), composed for Diaghilev’s Russian Ballet, his skillful
handling of material and rhythmic inventiveness went
beyond anything composed by his Russian predecessors.
He added a new ingredient to his nationalistic work.
A new level of dissonance was reached and the sense of
tonality was practically abandoned.
When he left Russia, for the United States, he slowly turned
his back on Russian nationalism and cultivated his neo-
classical style.
 Stravinsky adapted the forms of the 18th century with his
contemporary style of writing. Despite its “shocking”
modernity, his music is also very structured, precise,
controlled, full of artifice, and theatricality.
 Outstanding works include the ballet Petrouchka (1911),
featuring shifting rhythms and polytonality.
 The Rake’s Progress (1951), a full-length opera.
 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 on April 6, 1971.