20th century american classical music

american classical music

philosophical ideas of who& what represent us

• commercial v. idealistic

• americana

• avant-garde (experimental)

charles ives’s musical impact

used american folk traditions & literature

• natural use of folk culture

• pastiche (mixing in layers in surprising ways) & humour

• dissonance (2 tones clahing) = strength

• rarely promoted music

charles ives

• born in danbury, CN

• father’s influence

• studied at yale

• career in life insurance

• composing activities

  • composed first piece at 11

henry cowell

influenced by world of music

• studied with charles seeger at berkeley

• extended techniques

  • new method of “attacking piano” (playing with fists)

• new musical quarterly (formed by cowell & ives)

  • published scores

who said “i want to live in the whole world of music”

henry cowell

lou harrison

relationship with ives

• took class with him & studied composition

• pacific rim composer

• threnody for carlos chavez viola & indonesian gamelan

• music for dance

aaron copland

most famous from brooklyn

• studies in paris

• inspiration from folk music, jazz, sound of sacred arts (landscapes of the west)

  • creative works were ballet & film scores, solos

william grant still

crossed the classical music divide

• black composer

• played in popular jazz bands

• became key figure in harlem renaissance

late 20th century currents

• world war II: many european musicians emigrate to US

• modernity: questions of philosophical ideas of sound & noise

• rise of academy as support system

  • NEA gives commission

  • composers find work in universities

two dominant rationals

• maximum rational control

• minimum rational control

maximum rational control

every aspect of performance, composer seeks control in dynamics & tempo

• serialism: highest level, 12 tone music put in order & is used in order, listeners find it chaotic

• electronic music

minimum rational control

composer gives structured setup to allow performers interpret a piece (graphic notation)

• improvisation

• indeterminacy: don’t determine what’s going to happen

edgar varèse

music in 4 dimensions

• horizontal melody

• vertical harmony

• dynamic volume

• movement projection of sound

pioner of electronic tape music

• tried to write a piece for all percussion

horizontal melody

has beginning & end

vertical harmony

2 more notes sounding simultaneously stacked on top of each other

dynamic volume

sounds getting louder/softer (or closer/farther away)

movement projection of sound

feeling sounds move around

electronic poems

• 1958 world’s fair: brussels, belgium

• pavilion design: le corbusier & iannis xénakis

• music: edgar varése

• make pieces with electronic tap machines (electronic soundsm recorded & had to slice takes to edit)

• lines to represent different sounds

milton babbitt

composer known for modern classical music

• electronic music

  • no need for notation

  • composer works with sound as if it was a sculptor'

• RCA mark II electronic synthesizer

john cage

one of the most famous composers in 20th century

• writes pieces in 12 tone style

• conceptual art

  • 4’33: “quiet the mind & wants to sculpt to divine influences”

  • “any sound may occur in any combination”

• prepared piano

• indeterminancy

prepared piano

inspired by asian music, puts items in piano strings to make different sounds

indeterminacy

games of chance, from making to accepting

• compose with dice or the i ching

  • poles with electronic synthesizers

harry partch

an “american original”

• invented his own musical system (microtonality)

• invested his own instruments

• didn’t expect/want anyone to follow his style

what instruments did harry partch invest in?

• marimba eroica

• gourd tree with cone gongs

• the boo: bamboo tubes

• cloud chamber bowls: water jugs cut into different shapes

• kilthara: harp like string

minimalism

antidote to modernism?

• close gap in audience

• reintrocued

  • tonality

  • regular rhythm & repetition: variations over time, shifting textures

• minimal music materials

• parallels in art world

minimalistic artists

terry riley, philip glass, steve reich