Music History 11/9 Flashcards
American Music History
As a young country, it had no cultural past. Had to draw upon European culture.
Composers at the time studied in Europe and were romanticists who came on the scene too late. Were overshadowed by greater composers of Europe
American
Edward MacDowell was 19th Century ___ composer with some name recognition
19 Century American Composer
Edward MacDowell
Americans, American
____ were inferior as musicians and composers, ___ style of writing was needed.
American Impressionists
The music scene switched from German Romanticism to French Impressionism - American composers began to be noticed - with a new kind of music, comparisons were not so apt to be made
Charles Griffes
___________ was most prominent of American Impressionists
American Impressionism
Noted for White Peacock and Poem for Flute, Charles Griffes
Charles Ives
Did not have fame until after his death but is considered father of American music. First original voice of American composers
Charles Ives
Born in Conn, father was a musician who challenged his son and family musically.
Charles Ives
Studied at Yale with Horatio Parker
Charles Ives
Was not a musician by vocation but owned an insurance company. Wrote music on weekends.
Charles Ives
Conductors would not play his music, scoffed at it. Stopped composing at 44 after illness, many years later his music first gained attention in Europe. Concord Sonata gained him recognition.
Charles Ives
Began music to be popular, his third symphony was awarded Pulitzer Prize in 1947. Then 2nd symphony was performed 50 years after it was composed
Charles Ives
Made use of hymns, folk, and popular songs indigenous to America
Charles Ives
Subjects were American. 4th of July, Central Park in the Dark, Three Places in New England, etc
Charles Ives
Influenced by childhood experiences like two bands in a parade playing in different keys and tempi (Putnam’s camp)
Charles Ives
Used polytonality, atonality, clusters, and polyrthyms
Charles Ives
One of the first to write without bars or time signature
New Music in America
New music began to be promoted in our universities and by conductors in the 1920’s. This gave composers more exposure to public and hence more acceptance.
New Music in America
Music scene shifted from Vienna to France. American composers went to France to study.
Nadia Boulanger
Who did composers study with in France?
Nadia Boulanger
Most prominent teacher in France
Nadia Boulanger
Pupils were Copland, Harris, Piston, Thomson.
Copland, Harris, Piston, Thomson
these composers found recognition in the 30’s but there were still some who were not interested din neoclassicism. These were the experimentalists.
Edgard Varese
Born in Paris, came to US in 1915.
Edgard Varese
Founded international Composer’s guild to perform new works, gave American Premier of Pierrot Lunaire
Edgard Varese
Public did not like his works. Quit composing in 1930’s. He was the first to experiment with electronic music and turned his attention to that.
Edgard Varese
He resumed composing again in 1952 - by this time the world had caught up with what he was doing and he gained much recognition
Edgard Varese
One of the extreme radicals of music at the time
Music rejected tonality, interest in rhythm, sound for sound’s sake
Edgard Varese
Melody and Harmony per se were rejected in favor of sonority (sound masses) and polyrhythm. Had interest in percussion
Edgard Varese
Used good titles! Density 21.5, Hyperprism, Ionisation, etc.
Edgard Varese
Music sounded like none heard before, totally original. Mostly interested in winds and percussion.
Henry Cowell
First of the so-called experimentalists
Had an interest in music of Far East, was influenced by it
Henry Cowell
Used tone clusters for sound rather than harmony, was interested in sound and sonority. Music encompassed aleatory, atonality, polytonality.
American Folk Song
In 30’s, ____ began to interest more composers in the midst of the Depression. More American composers were being published and commissioned.
Henry Cowell
ASCAP and BMI took interest in classical composer awarding him shares of revenues from performances.
New York
During the late 30s, many composers left Europe and _____ began the musical center for the world.
American Composers
Active as teachers, conductors, and performers and influenced music in America. Used folksong and subjects that were uniquely American.
Jazz Music
Had a huge influence on American Music
George Gershwin
Born in Brooklyn, had an interest in Jazz at an early age
George Gershwin
Wrote songs for a publisher at the beginning. Got fame with Swanee by AI Jolson.
George Gershwin
Brother Ira was his lyricist. Wrote very original songs, lyrical melodies with chromatic harmonies and sudden modulations
George Gershwin
Rhapsody in Blue was first and most famous orchestra piece with piano solo. Concerto in F also sought to synthesize jazz and classical
George Gershwin
American In Paris best known musical. Porgy and Bess - Folk opera about African-Amerian life in America
George Gershwin
Died at 38
Used ragtime, jazz, and blues was not stale like the European attempts
George Gershwin
We have a tendency to think of him as a broadway composer byt he was respected as a great American composer by many other composers including Schoenberg and Ravel
Aaron Copland
Born in Brooklyn, America’s foremost composer. Interested in composing at an early age.
Aaron Copland
American Composer that studied with Nadia Boulanger in France and was greatly influenced by
Aaron Copland
Followed some of the experimental paths in early works. He became more conservative later.
Aaron Copland
Instrumental in helping American and Latin American composers through League of Composers and American Composers Alliance. He was concerned in his early period that he was not relating to public through music
Aaron Copland
His music strove to be “American” using American subjects, jazz, cowboy music
Aaron Copland
Musical texture is not thick, but simple and straightforward. Harmony is primarily diatonic but imaginative. Melody is simple, rhythm is strong. Liked change of meter and syncopation
Samuel Barber
Born in Pennsylvania to a musical family. Entered Curtis institute in ‘24 and studied composition and piano. Joined faculty at Curtis in ‘39-42
Samuel Barber
Won Prix de Rome in ‘35. Wrote symphony in one movement
Samuel Barber
Regarded as a strong melodist and art song composer. Neo-romantic style, harmonies tonal, some free chromaticism.
Samuel Barber
Fine orchestrator, most performed American composer at one time. Received Pulitzer Prize in ‘58 for opera Vanessa and in ‘63 for Piano Con.
Leonard Bernstein
First American born and trained conductor of NY Philharmonic
First-rate pianist, conductor, composer, and educator
Leonard Bernstein
Music is very “American,” use of jazz rhythms and broadway influence. Melody and harmony are conventional and generally tonal.
Leonard Bernstein
Wrote equally successfully for the musical theatre: West Side Story, On the Town, as well as “classical” music via symphonies etc. and opera candide
American Composers
Carl Ruggles, Ferde Grofe’ Walter Piston, Howard Hanson
American Composers
Virgil Thomson, Roy Harris, Lou Harrison
American Composers
William Schuman, Alan Hovhaness, Vincent Persichetti
Hector Villa-Lobos
Fused music of Brazil with classical writing
Choros, Hector Villa-Lobos
Series of pieces fusing Brazillian, Indian, and popular melodies of the people. Written for different instrument combinations.
Carlos Chavez - Mexico
Drew upon Aztec culture and Mexican folk music Neoclassical style of writing
