Exploring Modern Music Styles: Impressionism to Minimalism

Impressionism in music

Finding different ways to escape musical constraints after the Romantic period.

Claire de Lune

Required work by French Composer Debussy, characterized by low to high jumps, use of low harmonies and high melodies, pedals, and different scales.

2nd Viennese School

Schoenberg feels like there is nothing left to do with the current diatonic scales, and invents his own.

Serialism

A 12 note scale, tone rows instead of melodies, you can't play the same note twice before you play all notes in the 12 note scale, transposed mathematically.

Pointillism (Klangfarbenmelodie)

Passing points of sounds between instruments.

Atonal

Doesn't follow the typical diatonic system, without tone.

Schoenberg

Composer of Pierrot Luniare, a required work.

Neo-Classicism

Throws back to Baroque/Classical form, dance suites and such.

Stravinsky

Composer of Rite of Spring: Dance of Young Girls, a required work.

Prokofiev

Composer of Classical Symphony Movement 1, a required work.

Minimalism

Precursor to lots of movie music of today.

Reich

Composer of Music for 18 musicians, a required work and an example of an Ostinato.

Glass

Composer of Metamorphosis, an example of minimalism as movie music, and a longer Ostinato.

Aleatoric Music

Music of chance, indeterminate music.

Cage

Composer of 4'33", a required work.

Leitmotif

Inspired by Wagner, Leitmotifs are melodies/motives connected to an action, character, or even an emotion.

John Williams

Composer of Imperian March, a required work.