20th Century Classical Music

Philosophical divide in 20th-century music

Commercial vs. idealistic approaches to art

avant-garde music

Experimental, boundary-pushing music

Americana in music

Music that draws on American folk traditions and historical themes

Charles Ives

20th-century classical composer known for humor, dissonance, and pastiche

What did Charles Ives incorporate into his music?

Hymns, patriotic songs, marches, parlor songs, and folk tunes

What was Charles Ives known for stylistically?

Layering multiple musical styles to evoke memory, chaos, or nostalgia

What was unique about Charles Ives's career?

He had dual careers as an insurance executive and a composer

What was Ives's role in music history?

Supported experimental music and inspired avant-garde composers

Henry Cowell

A composer known for extended techniques and musical innovation

The Banshee

A piano piece by Henry Cowell using extended techniques

What did Henry Cowell found?

New Music Quarterly to promote innovative composers

Lou Harrison

A Pacific Rim composer who fused Western and Eastern traditions

What musical culture influenced Lou Harrison?

Indonesian Gamelan

What was Lou Harrison's connection to Ives?

He worked with Ives as a conductor

Aaron Copland

A composer known for incorporating folk and jazz influences, studied with Nadia Boulanger

Morning on the Ranch

A piece by Copland reflecting American themes

Nadia Boulanger

A famous teacher who taught Aaron Copland

William Grant Still

African American classical composer of the "Afro-American Symphony"

What influenced American classical music in the mid-20th century?

WWII, modernity, and support from institutions like the NEA

serialism

A musical method with maximum rational control, using strict structure

electronic music

Music created or manipulated through electronic technology

improvisation in music

Music created spontaneously, with minimal rational control

indeterminacy in music

Use of chance or graphic notation to reduce control in composition

Edgar Varèse

Composer who explored music as movement and space, wrote "Ionisation"

Poème Électronique

A surround-sound multimedia experience at the World's Fair

What do melody, harmony, dynamics, and movement refer to in Varèse's theory?

Horizontal (melody), vertical (harmony), dynamic (volume), movement (motion in music)

Milton Babbitt

A composer known for serialism and use of the electronic synthesizer

How did Babbitt view composition?

As scientific sound research

John Cage

Experimental composer known for indeterminacy and conceptual music

4'33" by John Cage

A piece of complete silence, emphasizing ambient sound

Sonata No. 2 by Cage

A piece for prepared piano using inserted objects to create new sounds

Harry Partch

A composer who invented his own instruments and musical system

What was Harry Partch's philosophy of music?

Music should reflect individuality and personal expression

minimalism in music

A style that reintroduced tonality, repetition, and regular rhythm

Steve Reich

A pioneer of minimalist music