Early-20th-Century Euro Composers

Béla Bartók

Hungarian composer from Hungary; major modernist known for folk influence and innovation

Concerto for Orchestra

Work by Béla Bartók (Hungary) that treats every orchestral section virtuously rather than featuring a soloist

Game of Pairs

Second movement of Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra (Hungary) featuring paired instruments

String Quartets (Bartók)

Six quartets by Béla Bartók (Hungary) considered among the most influential after Beethoven

Night Music

Style used by Bartók (Hungary) evoking quiet

Bluebeard’s Castle

Opera by Béla Bartók (Hungary) based on a folk tale about a bride opening forbidden doors

Ethnomusicology

Field pioneered by Bartók (Hungary) involving the study of folk music

Phonograph

Device used by Bartók (Hungary) to record authentic rural folk music

Claude Debussy

French composer from France associated with musical modernism

Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun

Orchestral work by Debussy (France) opening with a famous solo flute line

Whole-Tone Scale

Scale without half steps used by Debussy (France) in works like Voiles

Voiles

Piano prelude by Debussy (France) that uses the whole-tone scale

Parallel Planing

Harmonic technique used by Debussy (France) where chords move together in parallel motion

The Engulfed Cathedral

Piano prelude by Debussy (France) depicting the legend of Ys

Pelléas et Mélisande

Only opera by Debussy (France) that sets the original play text

Paul Hindemith

German composer from Germany who later emigrated to the United States

New Tonality

Style used by Hindemith (Germany) featuring a tonal center without traditional harmony rules

Gebrauchsmusik

“Music for use” written by Hindemith (Germany) for specific purposes or ensembles

Mathis der Maler

Opera by Hindemith (Germany) based on the painter Matthias Grünewald

Yale University

Institution where Hindemith (Germany) taught influential American composers

Der Schwanendreher

Viola concerto premiered by Hindemith (Germany) himself

Gustav Mahler

Austrian composer from Austria and leading late-Romantic symphonist

Nine Symphonies

Complete symphonic output of Mahler (Austria)

Des Knaben Wunderhorn

Collection of poems set in early symphonies by Mahler (Austria)

Symphony No. 5

Symphony by Mahler (Austria) containing the famous Adagietto

Adagietto

Slow movement from Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 (Austria) often interpreted as a love song

Symphony of a Thousand

Nickname of Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 (Austria) due to massive performing forces

Das Lied von der Erde

Vocal symphony by Mahler (Austria) expressing despair and mortality

Sergei Rachmaninoff

Russian composer from Russia and virtuoso pianist

Piano Concerto No. 2

Work by Rachmaninoff (Russia) written after recovering from depression

Four Piano Concertos

Total number composed by Rachmaninoff (Russia)

Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

Concertante work by Rachmaninoff (Russia) using 24 variations

Maurice Ravel

French composer from France known for precision and orchestration

Bolero

Orchestral work by Ravel (France) built on a repeating melody

Snare Drum Ostinato

Constant repeating rhythm in Ravel’s Bolero (France)

Le tombeau de Couperin

Piano suite by Ravel (France) memorializing friends lost in World War I

Pictures at an Exhibition

Orchestration by Ravel (France) of Mussorgsky’s piano suite

Erik Satie

French modernist composer from France and early minimalist

Gymnopédies

Piano pieces by Satie (France) using repetitive harmony

Gnossiennes

Piano works by Satie (France) written without bar lines

Vexations

Keyboard fragment by Satie (France) traditionally repeated 840 times

Parade

Ballet by Satie (France) with artwork by Pablo Picasso

Les Six

Group of French composers influenced by Satie (France)

Arnold Schoenberg

Austrian composer from Austria central to post-tonal music

Atonality

Music without a tonal center developed by Schoenberg (Austria)

Sprechstimme

Half-sung

Pierrot lunaire

1912 work by Schoenberg (Austria) featuring sprechstimme

Twelve-Tone Method

System created by Schoenberg (Austria) ordering all 12 chromatic pitches

Serialism

Compositional technique derived from Schoenberg’s (Austria) methods

Second Viennese School

Group led by Schoenberg (Austria) including Berg and Webern

Jean Sibelius

Finnish composer from Finland inspired by nationalism

Finlandia

Patriotic tone poem by Sibelius (Finland)

Finland Awakes

Hymn-like ending of Finlandia (Finland)

Lemminkäinen Suite

Orchestral suite by Sibelius (Finland) based on the Kalevala

The Swan of Tuonela

Movement from Sibelius’s Lemminkäinen Suite (Finland)

Seven Symphonies

Total number composed by Sibelius (Finland)

Symphony No. 7

Single-movement symphony by Sibelius (Finland)

Igor Stravinsky

Russian composer from Russia and major 20th-century innovator

Russian Period

Early style of Stravinsky (Russia) inspired by folk themes

Neoclassical Period

Middle style of Stravinsky (Russia) inspired by earlier forms

Serial Period

Late style of Stravinsky (Russia) using serial techniques

The Firebird

Ballet by Stravinsky (Russia) that launched his career

Petrushka

Ballet by Stravinsky (Russia) featuring complex rhythms

The Rite of Spring

Ballet by Stravinsky (Russia) whose premiere caused a riot

Pulcinella

Neoclassical ballet by Stravinsky (Russia)

Symphony of Psalms

Neoclassical choral symphony by Stravinsky (Russia)

Dumbarton Oaks

Chamber concerto by Stravinsky (Russia)

Agon

Serial ballet by Stravinsky (Russia) choreographed by George Balanchine