20th Century Classical Music Flashcards
What is Commercialistic vs idealistic?
Commercialistic is popular music, not seen as “art”. People made money with it because it sold copies.
Idealistic is that music should be beyond a profession; it should be art.
What is Americana vs Avante Garde?
Americana has composers like Charles Ives who are looking to traditional, indigenous sources. They use folk music for inspiration
Avante Garde has composers like John Cage who are experimenters and innovators. New sounds from scratch.
Who is Charles Ives?
Most recognizable musical composer of the 20th century
Features of Charles Ives and his music
- Used indigenous material
- Pastiche & humor - pastiche is a collage so all of the influences overlap and clash together
- Dual career - loved business and music
- Support of new music artists
Who is Henry Cowell?
Started out playing violin and piano. Recognized early because of his talent and went to UC Berkeley to study
Features of Henry Cowell and his music
- Influenced by music around the world
- Extended techniques - played standard instruments in unique ways
- founded and edited New Music Quarterly which was a journal that published music from up and coming composers. Ives funded this too.
Who is Nadia Boulanger?
Famous composition teacher who taught at the French conservatory. Everyone went to her because she taught students to compose about their values and aesthetics
Who is Aaron Copland?
Associated with Americana; one of the most well known American composers but he went to Europe to study with Nadia
Who are two people associated with crossing the popular / classical music divide?
William Grant Still
George Gershwin
Who is William Grant Still?
There is a dichotomy between popular music and classical music. He is the leading African American composer and wanted to create an “Afro-American symphony”. Had a dual career in classical and popular music
Who is George Gershwin?
Another man trying to cross the popular and classical music divide. He was famous for “I Got Rhythm” tune.
What are the WII influences?
- European composers in the U.S. - many European musicians migrate here and teach at universities
- Modernity - reliance on new technology so electronic music is becoming a thing and questioning what constitutes as music or sound
- Academic support for new music- before this a lot of composers were supported by the court or state but now they make a living through the university setting
What are the dominant rationales?
Maximum rational control and minimum rational control
What is maximum rational control?
The idea that the composer controls every aspect of the piece
Example: serialism
What is serialism?
Example of maximum rational control; you must play a set series of notes in order and you cannot repeat a note until you have gone through them all. This is a THE most controlled of all compositional forms.
What is minimum rational control?
Composer relinquishes control over what happens in the piece
Example: indeterminacy and graphic notation
What is indeterminacy?
Example of minimum rational control; did not determine what would happen next. This is like chance music where you roll a die to determine what goes next
What is graphic notation?
Example of minimum rational control; alternate notation using pictures to represent musical ideas and notes.
Who is Edgar Varese?
French born American composer who was interested in tone color
What is 4 dimensional music and who is associated with it?
Edgar Varese is associated with it
- 1st dimension is horizontal - melody
- 2nd dimension is vertical - harmony
- 3rd dimension is dynamic - volume
- 4th dimension is space - projection of sound that leaves us and moves through space
Edgar Varese was a pioneer of which two forms of music?
- 4 dimensional music
* tape music
What is Poeme Electronique?
Written for the 1958 World’s Fair in Belgium, tapes were premiered here and projected different images alongside music by Edgar Varese
Who was Milton Babbitt?
A pioneer of electronic music
Features of Milton Babbitt and his music
- He said the composer is a researcher of sound - compared a composer to someone in high level physics. The audience does not need to understand the music just like people do not need to understand high level physics.
- Electronic music - no need for a performer or notation. You shape the sound as you want and you do not need a tape
Who is John Cage?
Considered a renaissance man and was interested in removing his own preferences from his compositions
Features of John Cage and his music
- Conceptual art - questioning what art or music or performance is. Believed anything was music, any sound.
- 4’33” - his most famous piece
- Prepared piano - adapted the piano which changed the sound. Created a percussion orchestra from a piano and then wrote a series of pieces based on that skill
- Indeterminacy - chance music
Who is Harry Partch?
Wrote in a European style but didn’t know if that is what he wanted so he invented his own musical system
What is micro tonality?
Harry Partch’s 43-tone scale; the differences between pitches is not as big as the piano which has a 12-tone scale
Harry Partch’s instruments
He invented his own because common instruments could not create his scales
What is minimalism?
This is the music that closes the growing gap between the audience and composer. It brings audiences back to music. Very influenced by jazz and African music
Who are Terry Riley, Philip Glass, and Steve Reich?
Associated with minimalism
What is performance art?
Performance mixes dance, art, film, theatre, etc. the audience gets to participate too.
Who is Laurie Anderson?
Quirky violinist who famously had an electric tape that she scratched against violin strings instead of bow
What are the philosophical ideals?
- Commercialistic vs idealistic
* Americana vs Avante Garde
