MUSIC OF THE 20 TH

CENTURY
The 20th century began on 1 January 1901 (MCMI), and ended on 31 December 2000
(MM). It was the last century of the 2nd millennium, and was marked by new models of
scientific understanding, unprecedented scopes of warfare, new modes of
communication that would operate at nearly instant speeds and new forms of art and
entertainment.
Music of the 20th Century:
The 20th-century musical works introduced new styles and
movements of music with dissonances, percussive sounds, and
irregular rhythms. The 20th- century Music was greatly influenced by
the movement in Europe within the context of Impressionism,
Expressionism, Neo-classicism, Avant-Garde, and
Modern Nationalism
Music of the 20th Century
IMPRESSIONISM
Impressionism normally gives the sensation of finality
to a piece, moods and textures, harmonic vagueness
about the structure of certain chords, and the use of
a whole-tone scale. Among the foremost famous
impressionist composers within the world, both
developed a specific style of composition were
Claude Debussy and Joseph Maurice Ravel
IMPRESSIONISM
CLAUDE DEBUSSY
A French movement within
the late 19th and early 20th
century. CLAUDE DEBUSSY
was born in St. Germain-en-
Laye in France last August 22,
1862
IMPRESSIONISM
CLAUDE DEBUSSY
A French movement within the late 19th and early 20th century. CLAUDE
DEBUSSY was born in St. Germain-en-Laye in France last August 22, 1862
Among his composition were represented by the following works:
Ariettes Oubliees, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun,
String Quartet, Pelleas et Melisande (1895),
La Mer (1905), Images, Suite Bergamasque, and
Estampes, Claire de Lune (moonlight).
IMPRESSIONISM
MAURICE RAVEL

He was the son of a Basque mother

and a Swiss father and was born in
Ciboure, France. At the age of 14, he
entered the Paris Conservatory with
the eminent French composer Gabriel
Faure and composed several
masterpieces where he studied music
 IMPRESSIONISM
MAURICE RAVEL
He was a strong advocate of Russian music and admired the music of Chopin, Liszt, Schubert, and Mendelssohn.
Approximately 60 pieces for piano, chamber music, song cycles, ballet, and opera were of Ravel’s output.
These are the following works: Pavane for a Dead Princess (1899),
Jeux d’Eau or Water Fountains (1901),
String Quartet (1903),
Sonatine for Piano (c.1904),
Miroirs (Mirrors), 1905, Gaspard de la Nuit (1908),
 Valses Nobles et Sentimentales (1911),
 Le Tombeau de Couperin (c.1917),
Rhapsodie Espagnole, Bolero, Daphnis et Chloe (1912), La Valse (1920), and Tzigane (1922). He died
with Aphasia on December 28, 1937.
 EXPRESSIONISM
EXPRESSIONISM
Expressionism presents atonality and the twelve-tone
scale. It conveys the composer’s mind, expresses strong
emotions, anxiety, rage, and alienation. It depicts the
meaning of emotional experience rather than physical reality.
One of the proponents of expressionism is Arnold
Schoenberg.
EXPRESSIONISM

Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian

composer born last September 13,
1874, in a working-class suburb of
Vienna, Austria. He was famous as
the exponent of the twelve-tone
system with twelve tones related
only to the serial technique
 NEOCLASSICISM
Neo-classicism music is different from the two
movements; light, entertaining, cool, and independent
of its emotional content. The composition style used by
the composer was the seven-note diatonic scale
The composers during neo-classicism are Francis
Poulenc, Igor Stravinsky, Paul Hindemith, and
Sergei Prokofeiff, Bela Bartok.
Neo-classicism music is different from the two movements; light, entertaining, cool, and
independent of its emotional content. The composition style used by the composer was the
seven-note diatonic scale.
This period combined the tonal harmonies applying with slight dissonance had three-movement
formats like shifting time signatures, complex but exciting rhythmic patterns, and the
harmonic dissonance that produces harsh chords. The composers during neo-classicism are
Francis Poulenc, Igor Stravinsky, Paul HFindemith, and Sergei Prokofeif
NEOCLASSICISM

Igor Stravinsky Sergei Prokofieff Bela Bartok

NEOCLASSICISM
He was a Russian-born composer and conductor
who became both an American and a French
Igor Stravinsky citizen. He was born last June 17, 1882, in
Oraniaenbaum (now Lomonosov) Russia.
His style of music is neoclassical that uses the
scale, cords, and tone color clearly and traditionally
with frequent changes in meter signature, offbeat
syncopation, and displacing regular accent as he
utilizes. in which Stravinsky’s work
NEOCLASSICISM
Igor Stravinsky
Stravinsky produced musical output of approximately 127
works. They were the concerti, orchestral music,
instrumental music, operas, ballets, solo vocal, and choral
music. On April 6, 1971, he died in New York City.
 NEOCLASSICISM
Sergei Prokofieff was born last
1891 in Ukraine, enjoying his music
combination of the movements of
Neoclassicism, Nationalism, and Avant-
Garde on his composition. He was
known for his progressive technique,
pulsating rhythms, melodic directness,
and resolving dissonance
 NEOCLASSICISM
Bela Bartok
Bela Bartok was born in
Nagyszentmiklos, Hungary (Romania)
last March 25, 1881. His mother was
his early childhood teacher, helped
him made folk song transcription
which opened the way to new modal
kinds of harmony and irregular meter.
A Hungarian composer and pianist.
 Neoclassicism- Bela Bartok
There were about 700 musical compositions include concerti,
orchestral music, piano music, instrumental music, dramatic
music, choral music, and songs. In 1943 the concerto for
orchestra was a five-movement work featuring the
exceptional talents of each various soloist in an intricately
constructive piece.
Allegro Barbaro (1911) drew percussive sounds with
swirling rhythms where a solo piano was punctuated.
 AVANT-GARDE
AVANT-GARDE The avant-garde movement
dealt with the parameters or the
dimensions of sound in space and was
closely associated with electronic music
AVANT GARDE COMPOSERS
GEORGE GERSHWIN
LEONARD BERNSTEIN (1918-1990)
PHILLIP GLASS (1937)
 GEORGE GERSHWIN
He was considered a phenomenal composer, a cross-
over artist, and a father of American Jazz. GEORGE
GERSHWIN is noteworthy for his numerous songs and
serious compositions that remained highly popular in
the classical repertoire
Rhapsody in Blue (1924), and
 American in Paris (1928),
Porgy and Bess (1934). He was fascinated with
classical music influenced by Ravel, Stravinsky, Berg,
and Schoenberg as well as the group of
contemporaries that shapes the character of his great
works.
LEONARD BERNSTEIN (1918-1990)

LEONARD BERNSTEIN a notable composer was

born in Massachusetts, USA. He was a
charismatic conductor, pianist, composer, and
lecturer to his many followers.
Bernstein’s performances on stage are the key
that made people known him. One of which is
the musical West Side Story (1957), an
American version of Romeo and Juliet. It
displayed a tuneful, off-beat, and highly atonal
approach to the songs
PHILLIP GLASS (1937)
PHILLIP GLASS is one of the Avant-Garde composers who
explored the areas of ballet, opera, theatre, film, and even
television jingles
He was inspired by a renowned Indian satirist Ravi Shankar
and assisted the recording soundtrack for Conrad Rooks film
Chappaqua. His Music in Similar Motion (1969), Music in
Changing Paris (1970), and Einstein on the Beach (1976) with
Robert Wilson produced and formed ensemble works. He
conceptualized and produced four-hour opera during the play
at New York Metropolitan Opera House Satyagraha (1980)
and Akhnaten (1984