20th Century Music - Vocabulary Flashcards

Impressionism

A style that emphasizes mood, atmosphere, and tone color over clear melodies; features include vague melodies, whole-tone and pentatonic scales, harmonic vagueness, and nature-inspired themes.

Expressionism

A style marked by emotional intensity, often atonality and dissonance; associated with Schoenberg and the development of the 12-tone system.

Neo-Classicism

A return to Classical forms with modern harmonies and techniques; associated composers include Stravinsky, Bartók, Prokofieff, and Poulenc.

Primitivism

A style with strong rhythms and simple melodies influenced by folk and non-Western music; linked to Stravinsky and Bartók.

Avant-Garde

Experimental, unconventional methods in music, including electronic and chance techniques; notable composers include Gershwin, Cage, Bernstein, and Glass.

Modern Nationalism

Music that uses folk themes alongside modern techniques; associated with Bartók, Prokofieff, and the Russian Five.

Claude Debussy

French composer and leading figure in Impressionism; key works include La Mer, Clair de Lune, and Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun.

Maurice Ravel

French composer known for Boléro, Pavane pour une Princesse défunte, and Daphnis et Chloé.

Arnold Schoenberg

A pivotal composer in Expressionism who developed the 12-tone (serial) system; notable works include Pierrot Lunaire and Verklarte Nacht.

Igor Stravinsky

Russian-born composer famous for The Firebird, Petrouchka, and The Rite of Spring; later periods include Neo-Classicism.

Béla Bartók

Hungarian composer known for Concerto for Orchestra, Allegro Barbaro, and Mikrokosmos.

Sergei Prokofieff

Russian composer known for Peter and the Wolf, Romeo and Juliet, and the Classical Symphony.

Francis Poulenc

French composer known for Concert Champêtre and Dialogues des Carmélites.

George Gershwin

American composer noted for Rhapsody in Blue, An American in Paris, and Porgy and Bess.

Leonard Bernstein

American conductor/composer known for West Side Story, Candide, and Mass.

Philip Glass

American minimalist composer known for Einstein on the Beach and Satyagraha.

Electronic Music

Music that uses synthesizers, tape recorders, and recorded environmental sounds; key figures include Edgard Varèse (often called the father of electronic music) and Karlheinz Stockhausen.

Musique concrète

A technique of using recorded real-world sounds arranged creatively as musical material.

Chance Music

Music that changes with every performance due to random elements; example includes John Cage’s 4’33”.

John Cage

American composer associated with Chance Music; famous for 4’33”, which emphasizes ambient sound and the element of chance.