The Modern Era

Question 1

Dates

Answer 1

1900-present

Question 2

Impressionism

Answer 2

A new style of painting that emerged in Paris in the 1860s
Experimentation with colour and painting techniques
Fascination with the play of light on the subject
Exemplified in the works of Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh

Question 3

Expressionism

Answer 3

German art movement of the late 19th and early 20th century
Artists depicted subjective emotions
Embraced exaggeration and bold use of colour
Exemplified in the works of Edvard Munch

Question 4

Primitivism

Answer 4

A late 19th-century European artistic movement that drew its inspiration from tribal art and artifacts
Primal energy is achieved through abstraction and use of geometric designs
Exemplified in the works of early Pablo Picasso

Question 5

Pop Art

Answer 5

An American art movement first developed in the late 1950s
Drew its inspiration from popular culture
Often playful
Identified with the works of Andy Warhol

Question 6

Minimalism

Answer 6

An art style that emerged in New York City in 1960s
Marked by abstraction and geometric elements
Viewer’s attention is drawn to the juxtaposition of shapes and colours
Identified with the works of Donald Judd

Question 7

MMS: post-Romanticism

Answer 7

Late Romantic characteristics extended into the 20th century
Expansive melodies, chromatic harmony, programmatic elements
Example: Piano Concerto No. 2 by Rachmaninov

Question 8

MMS: Impressionism

Answer 8

Late 19th century French style associated with the music of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel
Often programmatic
Use of non-traditional scales
Blurring of metric pulse
Example: Nocturnes by Debussy

Question 9

MMS: Expressionism

Answer 9

Early 20th century German style
Marked by extreme dissonance, irregular groupings
Explored deeply psychological themes
Example: Bluebeard’s Castle by Bartók

Question 10

MMS: atonality

Answer 10

Music that has no tonal center

Example: Five Pieces for Orchestra, op.16 by Schoenberg

Question 11

MMS: serialism

Answer 11

A composition approach developed in the 20th century
Specific orderings of musical parameters undergo manipulations
Also called twelve-tone music
Example: Violin Concerto by Berg

Question 12

MMS: indeterminacy

Answer 12

A 20th century development where composers introduce elements of chance in their scores
Composers may specify certain parameters but leave other musical decisions to the individual performers
Example: Musicircus by Cage

Question 13

MMS: jazz

Answer 13

A musical style based on improvisation that developed in the early 20th century
Combined elements of African, popular, and European music
Often included blue notes and syncopation
Example: West End Blues by Armstrong

Question 14

MMS: electronic music

Answer 14

Any type of music created by electronic means
May utilize recording devices, synthesizers, and computers
Example: Philomel by Babbitt

Question 15

MMS: minimalism

Answer 15

A musical style that evolved in the late 20th century
Characterized by the repetition of short patterns with little variation
Associated with compositions by Philip Glass and John Adams
Example: Glassworks by Glass

Question 16

MMS: neo-Classicism

Answer 16

A post world war 1 style marked by a return of absolute music and traditional formal structures
Example: Symphony No. 1, op. 25 (“Classical”) by Prokofiev

Question 17

MMS: neo-Romanticism

Answer 17

Used in reference to a late 20th-century style
A return to tonal principles and expansive melodies
Characterized by heightened emotionalism
Example: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra by Zwilich

Question 18

MMS: graphic notation

Answer 18

Visually descriptive approach to music notation that was developed by John Cage
Symbols and shapes are used
Combined with elements of traditional notation
Time markings often in place of time signatures and bar lines
Examples: Makrokosmos by Crumb