Music History Notes

Russian composer, primarily pianist and composer.
Three distinct eras of writing:
- Romantic style: Large orchestra (100+ pieces), complex arrangements.
- Neoclassical style:
  - Neo means new; Inspired by Bach and Mozart.
- Serial form: 12-tone music (covered later).
Known for intensely emotional music with rhythmic energy.
Ballets:
- The Firebird
- Petrushka
- The Rite of Spring
The Rite of Spring:
- Ballet about virgin sacrifice.
- Premier performance (May 29, 1913) caused a riot due to the controversial theme and violent choreography.
- Complex music, including "misuse of the bassoon" (written in an unusually high register).
- Audience reaction: Catcalls, whistles, boos, fist fights, shouting.
- The producer's perspective: "There's no bad press."

Music lacking a tonal center or key.
Extended harmonies and nebulous melodies led away from traditional key signatures.
Reactionary to impressionism.
Key Figures:
- Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)
- Alban Berg (1885-1935)
- Anton Webern (1883-1945)
Sprechstimme: A style of vocal performance between speech and singing, focusing on rhythm and articulation rather than precise pitch.

Developed by Schoenberg and peers to control tonality by using all 12 chromatic pitches.
Uses a 12x12 grid to create a tone row.
A tone row is a chosen order of the 12 notes, used as the basis for a composition.
The piece is built using the tone row:
- Forwards.
- Backwards (retrograde).
- Inverted.
- Retrograde Inversion.
Stravinsky experimented with serial techniques later in his career.
Webern:
- Symphony number 21.
- Concerto for nine instruments.
Berg:
- Wozzeck (atonal opera)
  - Composed during World War I, completed in 1922, performed in 1925.

Music designed by chance, a reaction to the rigidity of the 12-tone system.
John Cage:
- Known for 4'33" where the performer sits silently at the piano, highlighting ambient sounds as the music.
- Music of Changes: Cage consulted the I Ching (an ancient Chinese divination tool) to determine musical events.
- Prepared piano: Attaching objects to piano strings to alter the sound.

The use of musical ideas associated with specific countries, regions, or ethnicities.
Became prominent as a reaction to late Romanticism and atonality.
Examples:
- Aaron Copland (1900-1990): American composer who incorporated American sounds into his music. Famous works include:
  - Billy the Kid
  - Rodeo
  - Appalachian Spring
- Bela Bartok (1881-1945): Hungarian composer and ethnomusicologist who studied folk music extensively.
  - Romanian Folk Dances
- Paul Hindemith (1895-1963): German composer who referenced folk music in various styles.
  - Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber
- Stephen Foster (1826-1864): American songwriter known as the "father of American music."
  - Oh! Susanna
  - Camptown Races
  - My Old Kentucky Home
  - Old Folks at Home

Experimentation and development similar to orchestral music.
Chromaticism, atonality, dissonance, and 12-tone music were all explored in choral music.
Schoenberg: Played with Sprechstimme.
Zoltan Kodaly (1882-1967):
- Hungarian composer, violinist, and philosopher in the nationalist style.
- Created the Kodaly method of music education, which focused on:
  - Understanding child development.
  - Introducing musical concepts progressively.
  - Using solfege with movable "do."
  - Inventing solfege hand signs.
  - Psalmus Hungaricus
Carl Orff (1895-1982):
- German composer who created an influential method of music education using Orff instruments (xylophones).
- Emphasized rhythm, dance, speech, ostinatos, and improvisation.
- Carmina Burana
  - A multi-movement work with a recurring structure.
  - Features a tenor singing from the perspective of a roasting swan.