msc exam 3
introversion- looking inwards towards oneself (beethoven and chopin)
individualism- unique individual styles and sounds
idealism- music representing something larger than itself,
Richard Wagner- German composer who came up with several innovations to music: Bayreuth festival theater, dimming lights, holding applause until after performance, every seat costing the same, hiding musicians in a pit in front of the stage.
Music Dramas / Operas- mature operas, stage dramas set to music. No spoken text, everything is sung.
Gesamtkunstwerk (Total Art Work)- an artwork, design, or creative process where different art forms are combined to create a single cohesive piece.
Leitmotif- a recurrent theme that appears throughout a musical or literary composition, and is associated with a particular person, idea, or situation.
Frederic Chopin- Renowned Polish composer known as the “poet of the pianio”, Composed works for short solo piano pieces (character pieces: nocturnes):
Character Piece- Short expressive pieces usually meant for solo piano, used to reflect a mood or idea.
Nocturne- “of the night”: Chopin’s interpretation of the night time (a kind character piece about the night)
Rubato- expressive device, “to rob time”, points where rhythm slows down or speeds up.
Modernism (1890 – 1950) a turn towards new musical technology and language.
Maurice Ravel- famous French impressionist composer who knew how to make each instrument sound the best. Composed the Piano Concerto for the Left Hand
Impressionism- A style emphasizing atmosphere, mood, and tonal color, often inspired by nature and visual arts.
Scott Joplin- borne in Missouri, took lessons from German immigrant piano teacher. Popularized a revolutionary new style of music which included new harmonies, rhythms, and syncopations (ragtime). Had an incredible sense of timing, and produced maple leaf rag.
Ragtime- a genre of music where a syncopated or “ragged” rhythm meets a steady beat or march.
Postmodernism (1950 – Today)- Combinations of high and low styles with incorporation of New Technologies like electronic music.
Minimalism- music that repeats basic fragments over and over again
Philip Glass- Commercially known for his works in film music like Koyaanisqatsi (1983). He scored well over 200 film projects.
Julius Eastman: Born in Ithaca, New York: played for dance classes, was faculty at SUNY Buffalo. African American queer composer. Very artistic, and wanted to express himself in his work (race, sexuality, occupation), he chose evocative titles for his pieces, like femenine. He was quiet about the intents behind his work, so it was mainly up to interpretation. Drifted into mental illness and homelessness.
Gabriela Lena-Frank: Her compositions are based on her background as a person of mixed descent. Her mother was peruvian-chinese, and her father was lithuanian-jewish, and she was born in the Bronx. Her partial-deafness during her childhood motivated her to become a composer.