5.23 The Late Twentieth Century
Uneasy period from 1918-1939 between WWs- after this…
Economic depression
Pearl Harbour
Other uncertainties
Experiment and innovation
“Highly intellectual constrictive tendencies”
Serialized rhythms, dynamics, and timbre
Applied mathematical theories
New sonorities, using both old instruments and electronics
Clarinets used multiphonics, odd chords
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
Time and rhythms had breakthroughs in this time period
Six measure long piece
“Atomized” orchestration
Concentrated music
Intense
Chance music describes a variety of unconventional music, which can be very extreme (dice thrown to determine instruments) or more tame (improvisation parts)
Lots of new composers worldwide post-WWII
French, German, Italian, Pole, Hungarian, Greek, American, and Japanese composers listed
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
“Extraordinary multimedia experience”
Written for 1958 Brussels World’s Fair
Sponsored by Philips Radio Corporation
Musique concrète snare drum
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
16 solo singers and chorus
Some chords with the entire chromatic scale
Hard to illustrate with pitch-time graphs
Four slow “sound surges”
“Father of chance music”
From California
Studied with Schoenberg
Had questions about music foundations
More of a statement
Common with Cage
Any amount of players
Everybody sits in silence for 4 minutes and 33 seconds
Traditional features questioned “in more basic ways”
Less “difficulty and elitism” in avant-garde music
New styles
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?
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
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 “stylistic variety”
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”
Refers to “indigenous”
Chamber orchestra work- 13 players, largely strings and woodwinds
Has comparsas- repeated string chords
Polyrhythms- complex, overlapping rhythms
Noticeable trumpet
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
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
Won the 2013 music Pulitzer Prize
Youngest to win it (30)
Entered “on a whim”
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
Uneasy period from 1918-1939 between WWs- after this…
Economic depression
Pearl Harbour
Other uncertainties
Experiment and innovation
“Highly intellectual constrictive tendencies”
Serialized rhythms, dynamics, and timbre
Applied mathematical theories
New sonorities, using both old instruments and electronics
Clarinets used multiphonics, odd chords
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
Time and rhythms had breakthroughs in this time period
Six measure long piece
“Atomized” orchestration
Concentrated music
Intense
Chance music describes a variety of unconventional music, which can be very extreme (dice thrown to determine instruments) or more tame (improvisation parts)
Lots of new composers worldwide post-WWII
French, German, Italian, Pole, Hungarian, Greek, American, and Japanese composers listed
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
“Extraordinary multimedia experience”
Written for 1958 Brussels World’s Fair
Sponsored by Philips Radio Corporation
Musique concrète snare drum
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
16 solo singers and chorus
Some chords with the entire chromatic scale
Hard to illustrate with pitch-time graphs
Four slow “sound surges”
“Father of chance music”
From California
Studied with Schoenberg
Had questions about music foundations
More of a statement
Common with Cage
Any amount of players
Everybody sits in silence for 4 minutes and 33 seconds
Traditional features questioned “in more basic ways”
Less “difficulty and elitism” in avant-garde music
New styles
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?
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
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 “stylistic variety”
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”
Refers to “indigenous”
Chamber orchestra work- 13 players, largely strings and woodwinds
Has comparsas- repeated string chords
Polyrhythms- complex, overlapping rhythms
Noticeable trumpet
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
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
Won the 2013 music Pulitzer Prize
Youngest to win it (30)
Entered “on a whim”
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
