5.23 The Late Twentieth Century

Uneasy period from ==1918-1939== between WWs- after this…

• Economic depression
• Pearl Harbour
• Other uncertainties

The Postwar Avant-Garde

• Experiment and innovation
• “Highly intellectual ==constrictive tendencies==”
  • Serialized rhythms, dynamics, and timbre
  • Applied mathematical theories

New Sound Materials

New sonorities, using both ==old instruments== and ==electronics==

Clarinets used ==multiphonics==, odd chords

Electronic Music

• Electronic sound can ==generate== noise, and recording equipment can ==reproduce== sounds
• ==Magnetic tape== (WWII development) revolutionized made tape manipulation easier
• Post WWII “==Musique concrète==” incorporated life sounds into compositions (similar to modern ==sampling==)
• ==Synthesizers== appeared in the 1960s, revolutionizing creation of new sound w/ patch cords
• Computer/electronic music has ==increased in popularity== over time

On the Boundaries of Time

==Time and rhythms== had breakthroughs in this time period

Webern, Five Orchestral Pieces (1913), IV

• Six measure long piece
• “Atomized” orchestration
• ==Concentrated== music
• ==Intense==

Chance Music

==Chance music== describes a variety of ==unconventional== music, which can be very extreme (dice thrown to determine instruments) or more tame (improvisation parts)

The New Generation

• Lots of ==new composers== worldwide post-WWII
  • French, German, Italian, Pole, Hungarian, Greek, American, and Japanese composers listed

Edgard Varèse (1883–1965)

• ==Older== than some other composers of the time
• Very ==radical== music
• Fire destroyed Paris and Berlin (early) works
• “Found his voice” after ==moving to America==

Poème électronique (1958)

• “Extraordinary ==multimedia== experience”
• Written for 1958 Brussels ==World’s Fair==
  • Sponsored by Philips Radio Corporation
• Musique concrète snare drum

György Ligeti (1923–2006)

• Ligeti went to the ==Budapest Academy of Music== as a student and a young teacher
• ==Moved West== from Hungary in 1956 due to Communist restrictions
• New sonorities
• Sometimes ==no clear pitches/chords==
• ==No== discernible ==meter==/distinct ==rhythm==

Lux aeterna (1966)

• ==16== solo singers and chorus
• Some chords with the entire ==chromatic== scale
• Hard to illustrate with pitch-time graphs
• Four slow “==sound surges==”

John Cage (1912-1992)

• “Father of ==chance music==”
• From California
• Studied with Schoenberg
• Had questions about ==music foundations==

4’33” (1952)

• More of a ==statement==
  • Common with Cage
• Any amount of players
• Everybody sits in ==silence== for 4 minutes and 33 seconds

Music at the Turn of the Millennium

• Traditional features ==questioned== “in more basic ways”
• ==Less== “difficulty and elitism” in avant-garde music
• ==New styles==

Steve Reich (b. 1936) and Minimalism

• ==Minimalism==: famous mid-60s style with simple and very repetitive melodies, motives, and harmonies
  • Big in opera
• Keyboardist ==Steve Reich== is an “acknowledged master”
  • Early music “explores issues of rhythm and timing”
  • Later is more broad?

Music for 18 Musicians (1974-76)

• Early ==minimalist classic==
• Cellist, violinist, 2 clarinetists, 4 singers, 4 pianos, 3 marimbas, 2 xylophones, vibraphone
  • ==Percussion== majority
• “Rigorously, almost schematically, ==organized==”
  • Intro, 12 connected sections, and conclusion

New Expressionism and Connecting to the Past

• More ==accessible== and approachable than previous music
• Some had “more straightforward expression”
• Some composers “==recalled==” late Romantic music
  • George Rochberg, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich
  • ==Postmodern== defines “new music that refers to styles older than modernism”
• General “eclecticism” and “s==tylistic variety==”

Tania León (b. 1943)

• Cuban refugee to America
  • ==Global heritage==
  • Influences compositions, she uses ==many cultural themes==
• Studied at the National Conservatory of Havana
• Once worked w/ ==ballets==! (Dance Theatre of Harlem)
• Now teaches at Brooklyn College
• Uses more ==dissonant==/atonal harmonies
• “Enormously ==dynamic rhythm==”

Ind­ígena (1991)

• Refers to “indigenous”
• ==Chamber orchestra== work- 13 players, largely strings and woodwinds
• Has ==comparsas==- repeated string chords
• ==Polyrhythms==- complex, overlapping rhythms
• Noticeable trumpet

John Adams (b. 1947)

• A “true ==American== original”
• Raised in New England, went to Harvard
• First influenced by Steve Reich’s ==minimalism==
• Has written several ==operas==
  • Topics “plucked from headlines”
  • Common American themes

Doctor Atomic (2005)

• Opera about the testing of ==atomic bombs== (“Manhattan Project”)
• Uses a ==sonnet== from early 17th century poet John Donne
  • Lyric poem of 14 lines
• Aria opening with orchestral ==ritornello==

Caroline Shaw (b. 1982)

• Won the 2013 music ==Pulitzer Prize==
  • Youngest to win it (30)
  • Entered “on a whim”

Partita for 8 Voices (2013)

• A “==partita==” was an early 1600s section in a set of variations (usually for keyboard). In the 1700s, it was a dance suite for 1 instrument

  • Bach made six for harpsichord, and three for violin

• Shaw used ==both partita elements==, and wrote four movements w/ Baroque names

• Very ==complex==

  • “Broken’ voice of [yodeler]”
  • Hummed glissandos
  • Lots of ==speaking== instead of singing

• ==Three variations==

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