20th Century Test 2

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 mvt 1 and 2

thin texture, departure from expected tonality, leaps; second movement much more energetic, militaristic at times; celesta, symmetrical, homorhythmic

Walton: Belshazzar’s Feast

large scale cantata; huge orchestration, brass bands; Book of Daniel and Psalm 137

Britten: Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings

Britten: Peter Grimes “Embroidery in childhood is such a luxury”

Copland: Piano Variations

Copland: Appalachian Spring

Barber: Piano Concerto, Op 38

Still: Africa, Part II “Land of Romance”

Gerswhin: An American in Paris

Bernstein: Chichester Psalms

Sir William Walton: Façade and Viola Concerto of 1929

Poetry by Dame Edith Sitwell, use of popular dances, response to Pierrot, jazz inspiration; establishes Walton as modern Romantic, dedicated to friend’s wife, similar to Prokofiev, continuous variation, mature contrapuntal technique

Peter Pears

lifelong partner and collaborator of Benjamin Britten; played piano and organ, but mainly a vocalist; lead for Peter Grimes

Britten War Requiem

6 movements based on Latin mass for the dead and 9 poems by Wilfred Owens, STB soloists, mixed choir, boys choir, organ, full orchestra, chamber orchestra; metric ambiguity; tonal, atonal, 12-tone

Billy the Kid and Rodeo

Aaron Copland’s ballets based on wild west themes, open scoring, folk tunes, variety in orchestration, bright timbres; Eugene Loring and Agnes de Mille

Florence Price

first prominent female African American composer of symphonic works; Symphony in E minor premieres with CSO; conservative and naturalistic style, spirituals, juba dance

Marian Anderson

great interpreter of art song, spirituals, opera; first black woman to perform at the Met in 1955

Leontyne Price

first black opera singer to achieve international fame, full ride at Julliard, first black woman to perform lead at the Met in 1961, won many Grammys

Afro-American Symphony

William Grant Still, four movements (Longing, sorrow, humor, aspiration), influenced by Harlem Renaissance, first symphony by an African American composer to be performed by a major orchestra

William Dawson

Balkan Variations

theme and variations on Balkan themes, lively but melancholy, not nationalistic (related to various elements in nature)

Musical Theatre – definition and development

fusion of acting, singing, dancing, scenery, and costumes; developed out of vaudeville, revue, and operetta; songs, staging, drama; often 2 acts; AABA form, simple melodies, less complex; became more integrated over time with more believable plots and sophisticated techniques

Showboat

Jerome Kern; racism and prejudice; husband and wife get in trouble for being in a mixed-race marriage; Ol’ Man River

Rogers and Hammerstein

teamed up to improve musicals in their golden age; helped shape the modern musical; integrated song and dance; standard of American musicals; won many awards; Oklahoma! Carousel, State Fair, South Pacific, The King and I, Sound of Music

Sondheim

Lin-Manuel Miranda

West Side Story