The composer of the

th
20 century
9.CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862–1918)
• He was the primary exponent of the
impressionist movement and the focal
point for other impressionist composers.
He changed the course of musical development
by dissolving traditional rules and conventions
into a new language of possibilities in
harmony, rhythm, form, texture, and color.
10. MAURICE RAVEL (1875–1937)

The compositional style of Ravel is

mainly characterized by its uniquely
innovative but not atonal style of
harmonic treatment.
11. ARNOLD SCHOENBERG (1874–
1951)

was born in a working-class

suburb of Vienna, Austria on
September 13, 1874. He taught
himself music theory, but took
lessons in counterpoint.
 IGOR STRAVINSKY (1882–1971)

Stravinsky’s early music reflected the

influence of his teacher, the Russian
composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. But
in his first successful masterpiece, The
Firebird Suite (1910), composed for
Diaghilev’s Russian Ballet, his skillful
handling of material and rhythmic
 BELA BARTOK (1881–1945)
He started piano lessons with his mother and
later entered Budapest Royal Academy of
Music in 1899. He was inspired by the
performance of Richard Strauss’s Also Sprach
Zarathustra to write his first nationalistic
poem, Kossuth in 1903. He was a concert
pianist as he travelled exploring the music of
Hungarian peasants.
12. SERGEI PROKOFIEFF (1891–1953)

His style is uniquely recognizable for its

progressive technique, pulsating rhythms,
melodic directness, and a resolving
dissonance.
 13. FRANCIS POULENC (1899–1963)
Poulenc was a successful composer for piano,
voice, and choral music. His output included
the harpsichord concerto, known as Concert
Champetre (1928); the Concerto for
Two Pianos (1932), which combined the
classical touches of Mozart with a refreshing
mixture of wit and exoticism in the style of
Ravel; and a Concerto for Solo Piano (1949)
written for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
 14. GEORGE GERSHWIN (1898–1937)

From that time on, Gershwin’s

name became a fixture on
Broadway. He also composed
Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and An
American in Paris (1928), which
incorporated jazz rhythms with
classical forms.
15. LEONARD BERNSTEIN (1918–1990)

Leonard Bernstein endeared himself to his

many followers as a charismatic conductor,
pianist, composer, and lecturer. His big break
came when he was asked to substitute for the
ailing Bruno Walter in conducting the New York
Philharmonic Orchestra in a concert on
November 14, 1943. The overnight success of
this event started his reputation as a great
interpreter of the classics as well as of the
more complex works of Gustav Mahler.