Radical Modernism Flashcards
Who is in the second veinese School?
Schoenberg, Berg, Webern
What do we need to know about Berg?
He made Wozzeck
-the atonal expressionist opera
How is Wozzeck traditional?
it uses leitmotifs and uses traditional forms (suite, rhapsody etc)
-it is well thought out expressionism, not just random
Wozzeck Act III, Scene III
Berg
- Opera
- 1917
- unifies scene through developing variation
- almost constant reference to familiar
- he used expressionist techniques while keeping with traditional forms
How did Berg write his rows
in such a way that they allowed tonal-sounding chords, progressions
What are the other pieces that Berg wrote besides Wozzeck?
Lyric suite, violin concerto, and Lulu (his second opera)
how did Anton Weber view music history?
- natural law
- great art does what is necessary
- evolution in art is necessary
- history and musical idioms can ONLY MOVE FORWARD
Is equality justice?
no
Symphony Op. 21 (175)
Webern
- Symphony
- 1927
- entire movement is 2x cannon in inversion
- deliberately integrates them
- Applies Schoenberg’s concept of Klangfarbenmelodie
How much influence did Webern have?
not a lot
Where was stravinsky born?
St. Petersburg
Did Stravisnky ever go to a conservatory?
no
What boosts Stravisnky to fame?
His ballets
- Petruschka
- firebird
- rite of spring
Who was Stravisnky’s main funding person?
Sergei Diaghilev
What did Rite of Spring Cause?
a freakin’ Riot!!!!
Where did Stravisnky move to during war years?
Switzerland
Where did STrav go during WWII?
THe US
What did Starvisnky bring from Russia?
- The undermining of meter
- Good for French because that language does not have a lot of accents… it’s fluid
- pervasive ostanato (repeating figure in base)
- layering and juxtaposition of static blocks of sound
- dry antilyrical, colorful use of instruments
What is period number 1 for Stravinsky?
the Russian period
What company performed Stravisnky’s ballets in paris?
Ballets Russes
How can a composer AVOID a pull towards tonic?
using the octatonic scale which has 2 major triads a tritone away
what is primitivism?
evocation of elemental, simple, natural state of prehistoric peoples
Which piece did we talk about having primitivism?
The Rite of Spring
-Igor Stravinsky
What is characteristic of Stravinsky’s works?
they don’t really elide (DISCONTINUITY)
-like where one phrase goes into the next
DANSE DES ADOLESCENTES (from Rite of spring)
- Stravinsky
- 1911
- Ballet
- Undermining meter
- ostinatos
- juxtaposes static blocks of blocks
How did composers establish their place in classical repertoire?
They used neoclassicism in their works
Symphony of Psalms
Stravinsky Choral Symphony 1930 -Changing meters -unexpected rests -scoring for 2x reed instruments, evokes renaissance consort
Serial period
- 12 tone methods extended to parameters other than pitch
- music based on series became known as serial music
Who popularized neoclassicism?
Stravinsky
What is important to know about Bela Bartok
- He was a virtuoso pianist, educator, ethnomusicologist, and composer
- performed as virtuoso pianist all over Europe
What was Stravinsky’s 2nd period?
the neoclassical period
Mikrokosmos No. 23, Staccato and legato
Bartok
- etude
- 1926-39
- use of canon andinversion between the two hands
- successfully blended peasant and classical traditions
- tonal structure reminiscent of Bach
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta (MSP)
-Bela Bartok
-symphony suite
-1936
-neotonality (1 and 5 w/o common practice
harmony)
-analogous to modal melodies and folk songs
-form and counterpoint from classical tradition
Charles Ives
- did not study music lot
- works in obscurity for most of his life
What was Charles Ives’s Father?
a bandmaster
-so, he was around a lot of small town music (church, band)
-
What are Ives’ four distinct spheres
- vernacular music
- protestant church music
- European classical music
- experimental music
General William Booth Enters into Heaven
Charles Ives Song 1914 -art song drawn from American vernacular and Church music -experimental piano drumming -polytonality and novel chord structure
Piano Suite Op. 25
Schoenberg Suite 1921 -Founded the 12-tone method -12-tone rows stand for keys -shaped course of musical practice in the 20th century
Pierrot lunaire Op. 21
Schoenberg
1912
song cycle
-had expressionist elements (Sprechstimme)
-return to form (motives, themes, etc..)
-had traditional elements (varied repetition)
