Elements of 20th Century Musical Style

Question 1

Post-Romanticism

Answer 1

• late romantic characteristics extended into the 20th century
• expansive melodies, chromatic harmonies, lush orchestrations, affinity for programmatic elements

Question 2

electronic music

Answer 2

• any type of music created whole or in part by electronic means
• may utilize recording devices (tape recorder), synthesizers, and more recently, computers

Question 3

Jazz

Answer 3

• a uniquely American musical style developed initially by African Americans in New Orleans, Chicago, and New York
• emphasized syncopation
• inflected melodies (including “blue” notes Flat3, Flat5, and Flat7) and improvisation
• ex. “West End Blues”, Louis Armstrong

Question 4

Serialism

Answer 4

• a compositional approach developed in the 20th century by the Second Viennese School
• any number of musical parameters (such as pitch, rhythm, dynamics, tone colour) are organized using a specific ordering (set) that undergoes manipulation
• sometimes used as a synonym for dodecaphonic (or twelve-tone) music

Question 5

Expressionism in music

Answer 5

• early 20th century German style
• marked by extreme dissonance, angular melodies, irregular rhythmic groupings
• explored deeply psychological themes
• ex. “Erwartung” op. 17, Arnold Schoenberg

Question 6

Indeterminacy, aka aleatoric music

Answer 6

• a style that evolved in the mid-20th century

- relied on randomness and chance to determine some of the aspects of the music and its performance

Question 7

Impressionism in music

Answer 7

• late 19th and early 20th century French style associated most closely with the music of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel
• often programmatic
• use of non-traditional scales: modes, whole tone, pentatonic
• 9th chords, parallel harmonies
• blurring of the metrical pulse

Question 8

neo-Classicism

Answer 8

• a post WWI style marked by a return to absolute music and traditional formal structures
• cultivated a less emotional (more detached) sensibility
• ex. Symphony No. 1, op. 25 “Classical” first movement, Sergei Prokofiev

Question 9

minimalism in music

Answer 9

• a style o music that evolved in the latter half of the 20th century
• generally characterized by he seemingly endless repetition of short melodic patterns, complex cross-rhythms, and a return to tonal/modal principles
• its adherents include Steve Reich, Philip Glass, John Adams, and Michael Nyman
• ex. “Six Pianos”, Steve Reich

Question 10

neo-Romanticism

Answer 10

• generally, a late 20th century style
• a return to tonal principles, lush orchestration, and expansive melodies
• characterized by heightened emotionalism

Question 11

Second Viennese School

Answer 11

• the trio of early 20th century composers formed by Schoenberg and his disciples Alban Berg and Anton Webern
• works demonstrate Expressionism
• developed twelve-tone method
• music marked by atonality and contrapuntal textures
• ex. Violin Concerto, first movement, Alban Berg