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==