Early 20th century terms

Expressionism

Early-twentieth-century term derived from art. Music that avoids all traditional forms of “beauty” in order to express deep personal feelings through exaggerated gestures, angular melodies, and extreme dissonance

Schoenberg, Pierrot lunaire

Impressionism

Term derived from art, used for music that evokes mood and visual imagery through colorful harmony and instrumental timbre

Debussy, Nuages

Neoclassicism

Trend in music from the 1910s-1950s in which composers took from the styles, genres, and forms of pre-romantic music, particularly from the 18th century

Stravinsky, Octet

Free atonality

Music that does not have a tonal center

Schoenberg, Pierrot lunaire

Sprechstimme

German for “speaking voice.” Vocal style developed by Schoenberg where the performer approximates the written pitches in the gliding tones of speech, while following the notated rhythm

Schoenberg, Pierrot lunaire

Twelve-tone technique

Invented by Schoenberg; a form of atonality based on the systematic ordering of the twelve notes of the chromatic scale in a row that may be manipulated according to certain rules

Schoenberg, Variations for Orchestra

New Objectivity (Neue Sachlichkeit)

Term coined in the 1920s to describe a kind of new realism in music, in reaction to the emotional intensity of the late Romantics and the expressionism of Schoenberg and Berg

Hindemith, Kammermusik

Socialist Realism

A doctrine of the Soviet Union in the 1930s, which required artists to use a consumable approach to portray socialism in a positive light. Meant the use of simple, accessible language, centered on melody and patriotic subject matter

Shostakovich, Symphony No. 5

Formalism

Term used by the Soviet Union to condemn music that was see as too abstract or not patriotic

Schostakovich, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk

Tin Pan Alley

District in Ney York where numerous publishers specializing in popular songs were located (1880s - 1950s)

Gershwin, Swanee

“Degenerate Music” (Entartete Musik)

Term for music that was banned by Nazis. Included jazz music and music from Jewish composers

Krenek, Johnny Strikes Up the Band