MUSIC OF THE

20 CENTURY
TH
DESCRIBES ART MUSIC THAT WAS WRITTEN
NOMINALLY FROM 1901 TO 2000. TWENTIETH-
CENTURY MUSIC WAS PRECEDED BY SEVERAL
LATE ROMANTIC ERA DEVELOPMENTS,
INCLUDING IMPRESSIONISM, EXPRESSIONISM,
NEO-CLASSICISM, AVANT GARDE AND MODERN
NATIONALISM.
  IMPRESSIONISM
IMPRESSIONISM IN MUSIC WAS A MOVEMENT
AMONG VARIOUS COMPOSERS IN WESTERN
CLASSICAL MUSIC WHOSE MUSIC FOCUSES ON
MOOD AND ATMOSPHERE, "CONVEYING THE
MOODS AND EMOTIONS AROUSED BY THE
SUBJECT RATHER THAN A DETAILED TONE‐
 CLAUDE DEBUSSY
1862-1918
CLAUDE DEBUSSY WAS A FRENCH COMPOSER. HE IS SOMETIMES SEEN AS THE FIRST
IMPRESSIONIST COMPOSER, ALTHOUGH HE VIGOROUSLY REJECTED THE TERM. HE WAS AMONG
THE MOST INFLUENTIAL COMPOSERS OF THE LATE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURIES. 

BORN: AUGUST 22, 1862, SAINT-GERMAIN-EN-LAYE, FRANCE

DIED: MARCH 25, 1918, 16TH ARRONDISSEMENT OF PARIS, PARIS, FRANCE

INFLUENCED BY: FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN, PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY, MORE

NATIONALITY: FRENCH

PARENTS: VICTORINE MANOURY DEBUSSY, MANUEL-ACHILLE DEBUSSY

PLACE OF BURIAL: PASSY CEMETERY, PARIS, FRANCE

DEBBUSSY’S WORKS:

• ARRIETES OUBLIEES

• PRELUDE TO THE AFTERNOON OF A FAUN

• STRING QUARTET

• PELLEAS ET MELISANDE

• CLAIRE DE LUNE OR MOONLIGHT

 MAURICE RAVEL
(1875-1937)
JOSEPH MAURICE RAVEL WAS A FRENCH COMPOSER, PIANIST AND CONDUCTOR. HE IS OFTEN ASSOCIATED
WITH IMPRESSIONISM ALONG WITH HIS ELDER CONTEMPORARY CLAUDE DEBUSSY, ALTHOUGH BOTH
COMPOSERS REJECTED THE TERM. IN THE 1920S AND 1930S RAVEL WAS INTERNATIONALLY REGARDED AS
FRANCE'S GREATEST LIVING COMPOSER. 

BORN: MARCH 7, 1875, CIBOURE, FRANCE

DIED: DECEMBER 28, 1937, 16TH ARRONDISSEMENT OF PARIS, PARIS, FRANCE

INFLUENCED BY: CLAUDE DEBUSSY, GABRIEL FAURÉ, STÉPHANE MALLARMÉ, CHARLES-VALENTIN ALKAN

HEIGHT: 1.61 M

NATIONALITY: FRENCH

GENRES: IMPRESSIONISM IN MUSIC, FANTASIA, CLASSICAL MUSIC, OPERA

RAVEL’S WORKS:

• PAVANE FOR A DEAD PRINCESS

• JEAUX D’ EAU OR WATER FOUNTAINS

• STRING QUARTET

• SONATINE FOR PIANO

• MIRIORS OR MIRRORS

• BOLERO
EXPRESSIONISM
THE TERM EXPRESSIONISM "WAS PROBABLY
FIRST APPLIED TO MUSIC IN 1918, ESPECIALLY
TO SCHOENBERG", BECAUSE LIKE THE
PAINTER WASSILY KANDINSKY HE AVOIDED
"TRADITIONAL FORMS OF BEAUTY" TO
CONVEY POWERFUL FEELINGS IN HIS MUSIC.
ARNOLD SCHOENBERG
(1874-1951)
ARNOLD SCHOENBERG OR SCHÖNBERG WAS AN AUSTRIAN-AMERICAN COMPOSER, MUSIC THEORIST,
TEACHER, WRITER, AND PAINTER. HE IS WIDELY CONSIDERED ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL
COMPOSERS OF THE 20TH CENTURY. HE WAS ASSOCIATED WITH THE EXPRESSIONIST MOVEMENT IN
GERMAN POETRY AND ART, AND LEADER OF THE SECOND VIENNESE SCHOOL. 

BORN: SEPTEMBER 13, 1874, LEOPOLDSTADT, VIENNA, AUSTRIA

DIED: JULY 13, 1951, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES

CHILDREN: RONALD SCHOENBERG, GERTRUD GREISSLE, MORE

PLACE OF BURIAL: CENTRAL CEMETERY, VIENNA, AUSTRIA

PARENTS: PAULINE SCHOENBERG, SAMUEL SCHOENBERG

SPOUSE: GERTRUD SCHOENBERG (M. 1924–1951), MATHILDE ZEMLINSKY (M. 1901–1923)

PERIOD: DER BLAUE REITER

SCHOENBERG’S WORK:

• THREE PIANO PIECES OR VEKLARTE NACHT

• PIERROT LUNAIRE

• GURRELEIDER
 IGOR STRAVINSKY
(1882-1971)
IGOR FYODOROVICH STRAVINSKY COMSE WAS A RUSSIAN COMPOSER, PIANIST AND CONDUCTOR,
LATER OF FRENCH AND AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP. HE IS WIDELY CONSIDERED ONE OF THE MOST
IMPORTANT AND INFLUENTIAL COMPOSERS OF THE 20TH CENTURY AND A PIVOTAL FIGURE IN
MODERNIST MUSIC. 

BORN: JUNE 17, 1882, LOMONOSOV, SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA

DIED: APRIL 6, 1971, JW MARRIOTT ESSEX HOUSE

SPOUSE: VERA DE BOSSET (M. 1940–1971), YEKATERINA GABRIELOVNA NOSSENKO (M. 1906–1939)

SIBLINGS: YURY STRAVINSKY

CHILDREN: SOULIMA STRAVINSKY, FYODOR STRAVINSKY, MARIA MILENA STRAVINSKY, 

LUDMILA MANDELSTAM

NATIONALITY: AMERICAN, FRENCH, RUSSIAN

SCHOENBERG’S WORK:

• THE FIREBIRD SUITE

• PETROUCHKA

• THE RITE OF SPRING

• THE RAKES PROGRESS

 PRIMITIVISM
PRIMITIVISM IN MUSIC RARELY SUGGESTS LACK OF
CONVENTIONAL TECHNIQUE. RATHER, IT SEEKS TO
EXPRESS IDEAS OR IMAGES RELATED TO
ANTIQUITY OR TO SOME "PRIMITIVE" CULTURE
OR ATTITUDE. PRIMITIVISM CAN ALSO BE
UNDERSTOOD AS A LATE DEVELOPMENT OF 19TH
CENTURY NATIONALISM.
 BÉLA BARTÓK
(1881-1945)
BÉLA VIKTOR JÁNOS BARTÓK WAS A HUNGARIAN COMPOSER, PIANIST, AND
ETHNOMUSICOLOGIST. HE IS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT COMPOSERS
OF THE 20TH CENTURY; HE AND FRANZ LISZT ARE REGARDED AS HUNGARY'S GREATEST
COMPOSERS. 

BORN: MARCH 25, 1881, SÂNNICOLAU MARE, ROMANIA

DIED: SEPTEMBER 26, 1945, NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES

FULL NAME: BÉLA VIKTOR JÁNOS BARTÓK

NATIONALITY: HUNGARIAN

PARENTS: PAULA VOIT, BÉLA BARTÓK

CHILDREN: PETER BARTÓK, BÉLA BARTÓK

BARTÓK’S WORK:

• SIX STRING QUARTET’S

• CONCERTO FOR ORCHESTRA

• ALEGRO BARBARO

• MIKROKOSMOS
 NEOCLASSICISM
NEOCLASSICISM IN MUSIC WAS A TWENTIETH-
CENTURY TREND, PARTICULARLY CURRENT IN THE
INTERWAR PERIOD, IN WHICH COMPOSERS SOUGHT TO
RETURN TO AESTHETIC PRECEPTS ASSOCIATED WITH
THE BROADLY DEFINED CONCEPT OF "CLASSICISM",
NAMELY ORDER, BALANCE, CLARITY, ECONOMY, AND
EMOTIONAL RESTRAINT.
 SERGEI PROKOFIEFF
(1891-1953)
SERGEI SERGEYEVICH PROKOFIEV WAS A RUSSIAN COMPOSER, PIANIST, AND CONDUCTOR WHO
LATER WORKED IN THE SOVIET UNION. AS THE CREATOR OF ACKNOWLEDGED MASTERPIECES
ACROSS NUMEROUS MUSIC GENRES, HE IS REGARDED AS ONE OF THE MAJOR COMPOSERS OF
THE 20TH CENTURY. 

BORN: APRIL 23, 1891, SONTSIVKA, UKRAINE

DIED: MARCH 5, 1953, MOSCOW, RUSSIA

GENRE: CLASSICAL

CHILDREN: OLEG PROKOFIEV, SVIATOSLAV PROKOFIEV

SPOUSE: MIRA MENDELSON (M. 1948–1953), LINA PROKOFIEV (M. 1923–1947)

NATIONALITY: RUSSIAN, SOVIET

PROKOFIEFF’S WORK:

• CONCERTO IN C MAJOR

• ROMEO AND JULIET

• WAR AND PEACE

• PETER AND THE WOLF

• SYMPHONY NO.1
 FRANCIS POULENC
(1899-1963)
FRANCIS JEAN MARCEL POULENC WAS A FRENCH COMPOSER AND PIANIST. HIS
COMPOSITIONS INCLUDE SONGS, SOLO PIANO WORKS, CHAMBER MUSIC,
CHORAL PIECES, OPERAS, BALLETS, AND ORCHESTRAL CONCERT MUSIC. 

BORN: JANUARY 7, 1899, 8TH ARRONDISSEMENT OF PARIS, PARIS, FRANCE

DIED: JANUARY 30, 1963, 6TH ARRONDISSEMENT OF PARIS

NATIONALITY: FRENCH

PARENTS: ÉMILE POULENC, JENNY POULENC

PLACE OF BURIAL: PÈRE LACHAISE CEMETERY, PARIS, FRANCE

RECORD LABELS: NAXOS, HYPERION, ERATO RECORDS, MORE

POULENC’S WORK:
• LES MAMELLES DE TIRESIAS
• DIALOUGES DES CARMELITES
• LA VOIX HUMANE
• LITANIES A LA VIERGE NOIRE
 AVANT-GARDE MUSIC
AVANT-GARDE MUSIC IS MUSIC THAT IS CONSIDERED
TO BE AT THE FOREFRONT OF INNOVATION IN ITS FIELD,
WITH THE TERM "AVANT-GARDE" IMPLYING A CRITIQUE
OF EXISTING AESTHETIC CONVENTIONS, REJECTION OF
THE STATUS QUO IN FAVOR OF UNIQUE OR ORIGINAL
ELEMENTS, AND THE IDEA OF DELIBERATELY
CHALLENGING OR ALIENATING AUDIENCES.
 GEORGE GERSHWIN
( 1898-1937 )
GEORGE GERSHWIN WAS AN AMERICAN COMPOSER AND PIANIST
WHOSE COMPOSITIONS SPANNED POPULAR, JAZZ AND CLASSICAL
GENRES. 

BORN: SEPTEMBER 26, 1898, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES

DIED: JULY 11, 1937, 

CEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITE
D STATES

SIBLINGS: IRA GERSHWIN, FRANCES GERSHWIN, ARTHUR GERSHWIN

NATIONALITY: AMERICAN

AWARDS: PULITZER PRIZE SPECIAL CITATIONS AND AWARDS, MORE

GENRES: CLASSICAL, JAZZ

GERSHWIN’S WORK:
• PORGY AND BESS
• LES SIX
 LEONARD BERNSTEIN
(1918-1990)
LEONARD BERNSTEIN WAS AN AMERICAN CONDUCTOR, COMPOSER, PIANIST,
MUSIC EDUCATOR, AUTHOR, AND HUMANITARIAN. CONSIDERED TO BE ONE
OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CONDUCTORS OF HIS TIME, HE WAS THE FIRST
AMERICAN CONDUCTOR TO RECEIVE INTERNATIONAL ACCLAIM. 

BORN: AUGUST 25, 1918, LAWRENCE, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES

DIED: OCTOBER 14, 1990, THE DAKOTA, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES

SPOUSE: FELICIA MONTEALEGRE (M. 1951–1978)

SIBLINGS: BURTON BERNSTEIN, SHIRLEY ANNE BERNSTEIN

INFLUENCED BY: AARON COPLAND, DIMITRI MITROPOULOS, FRITZ REINER, 

SERGE KOUSSEVITZKY, WALTER PISTON, EDWARD BURLINGAME HILL

BERNSTEIN’S WORK:

• WEST WIDE STORY

• CANDIDE

• ON THE WATERFRONT
 PHILIP GLASS
PHILIP MORRIS GLASS IS AN AMERICAN COMPOSER AND PIANIST. HE IS WIDELY
REGARDED AS ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL COMPOSERS OF THE LATE 20TH
CENTURY. GLASS'S WORK HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH MINIMALISM, BEING
BUILT UP FROM REPETITIVE PHRASES AND SHIFTING LAYERS. 

BORN: JANUARY 31, 1937 (AGE 85 YEARS), 

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, UNITED STATES

GENRE: OPERA, CLASSICAL MUSIC, MINIMAL MUSIC, FILM SCORE, 

CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL MUSIC, CLASSICAL, AMBIENT MUSIC

SPOUSE: CANDY JERNIGAN (M. 1991–1991), JOANNE AKALAITIS (M. 1965–1980)

PARENTS: IDA GLASS, BENJAMIN CHARLES GLASS

CHILDREN: JULIET GLASS, CAMERON GLASS, ZACHARY GLASS, MARLOWE GLASS

GLASS’S WORK:

• MUSIC IN SIMILAR MOTION

• MUSIC IN CHANGING PARTS

• EINSTEIN IN THE BEACH

• MUSIC IN FIFTHS
 MUSICAL NATIONALISM
MUSICAL NATIONALISM REFERS TO THE
USE OF MUSICAL IDEAS OR MOTIFS THAT
ARE IDENTIFIED WITH A SPECIFIC
COUNTRY, REGION, OR ETHNICITY, SUCH AS
FOLK TUNES AND MELODIES, RHYTHMS,
AND HARMONIES INSPIRED BY THEM.
 NIKOLAI RIMSKY-
KORSAKOV
NIKOLAI ANDREYEVICH RIMSKY-KORSAKOV WAS A
RUSSIAN COMPOSER, A MEMBER OF THE GROUP OF
COMPOSERS KNOWN AS THE FIVE. HE WAS A MASTER OF
ORCHESTRATION. 
BORN: MARCH 18, 1844, TIKHVIN, RUSSIA
DIED: JUNE 21, 1908, LIUBENSK, RUSSIA
CHILDREN: SVIATOSLAV RIMSKY-KORSAKOV, 
ANDREY RIMSKY-KORSAKOV, MORE
SPOUSE: NADEZHDA RIMSKAYA-KORSAKOVA (M. 1872–1908)
NATIONALITY: RUSSIAN

KORSAKOV’S WORK:
• VISIONS FUGITIVES
NEW MUSICAL
STYLES
 ELECTRONIC MUSIC
ELECTRONIC MUSIC IS A GENRE OF MUSIC THAT
EMPLOYS ELECTRONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS,
DIGITAL INSTRUMENTS, OR CIRCUITRY-BASED
MUSIC TECHNOLOGY IN ITS CREATION. IT
INCLUDES BOTH MUSIC MADE USING ELECTRONIC
AND ELECTROMECHANICAL MEANS
(ELECTROACOUSTIC MUSIC).
 MARIO DAVIDOVSKY
MARIO DAVIDOVSKY WAS AN ARGENTINE-AMERICAN COMPOSER.
BORN IN ARGENTINA, HE EMIGRATED IN 1960 TO THE UNITED
STATES, WHERE HE LIVED FOR THE REMAINDER OF HIS LIFE. 

BORN: MARCH 4, 1937, MÉDANOS, ARGENTINA

DIED: AUGUST 23, 2019, NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES

AWARDS: PULITZER PRIZE FOR MUSIC, 

GUGGENHEIM FELLOWSHIP FOR CREATIVE ARTS, LATIN AMERICA
& CARIBBEAN

ALBUMS: MARIO DAVIDOVSKY: FLASHBACKS

SPOUSE: ELLEN BLAUSTEIN (M. 1961)

NOTABLE WORK: SYNCHRONISMS

DAVIDOVSKY’S WORK:
• SYNCHRONISMS NO 5
 EDGARD VARÈSE
(1883-1965)
EDGARD VICTOR ACHILLE CHARLES VARÈSE WAS A FRENCH-BORN
COMPOSER WHO SPENT THE GREATER PART OF HIS CAREER IN THE
UNITED STATES. VARÈSE'S MUSIC EMPHASIZES TIMBRE AND RHYTHM;
HE COINED THE TERM "ORGANIZED SOUND" IN REFERENCE TO HIS
OWN MUSICAL AESTHETIC. 

BORN: DECEMBER 22, 1883, PARIS, FRANCE

DIED: NOVEMBER 6, 1965, NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES

NATIONALITY: AMERICAN, FRENCH

SPOUSE: SUZANNE BING (M. 1907–1913)

GENRE: NATURAL SOUNDS

CHILDREN: CLAUDE

VARÈSE’S WORK:
• POEME ELECTRONIQUE
CHANCE MUSIC
• THE TERM “CHANCE” OR “ALEATORIC” MUSIC REFERS TO ANY SORT OF
MUSIC THAT INCLUDES SOME COMPONENTS LEFT TO CHANCE, OR
PARTS OF A COMPOSED WORK LEFT OPEN FOR INTERPRETATION. THIS
ADDS RANDOM AND EXCITING ELEMENTS TO THE WHOLE PROCESS, AS
WELL AS MAKES LISTENERS’ EXPERIENCES MORE ENJOYABLE.
CHANCE MUSIC CAN BE EXCITING AND CHALLENGING FOR
PERFORMERS TO PLAY. IT OFTEN FEATURES UNUSUAL TIME
SIGNATURES AND RHYTHMS, AND IT CAN BE DIFFICULT TO PLAY
WITHOUT MISTAKES. IT MEANS THAT SOME ELEMENTS OF THE PIECE
ARE DETERMINED RANDOMLY, WHICH CAN LEAD TO UNPREDICTABLE
RESULTS.
 JOHN CAGE
(1912-1992)
JOHN MILTON CAGE JR. WAS AN AMERICAN COMPOSER AND MUSIC
THEORIST. A PIONEER OF INDETERMINACY IN MUSIC,
ELECTROACOUSTIC MUSIC, AND NON-STANDARD USE OF MUSICAL
INSTRUMENTS, CAGE WAS ONE OF THE LEADING FIGURES OF THE
POST-WAR AVANT-GARDE. 

BORN: SEPTEMBER 5, 1912, 
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES

DIED: AUGUST 12, 1992, 

SAINT VINCENT'S CATHOLIC MEDICAL CENTER, NEW YORK, UNITED S
TATES

SPOUSE: XENIA CAGE (M. 1935–1945)

GENRE: CLASSICAL

CAGE ‘S WORK:
• MUSIC OF CHANGES