20th Century Music: A Break from Romanticism
Impressionism
The 20th century marked a departure from Romanticism and the rise of diverse musical styles. Until World War II, Romantic music coexisted with more modern forms, some entirely opposed.
These radical changes originated in the late 19th century with movements like Impressionism and Nationalism, offering a fresh alternative to Romanticism. Impressionism, emerging around 1880, was an early rebellion against Romanticism. It aimed to create evocative atmospheres and impressions through new harmonies and timbres.
Claude Debussy (1862-1918) is its main composer, with works like The Sea, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, Clouds, Sirens, and Night.
Related to Impressionism, Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) was a skilled orchestrator, combining sounds and using unconventional instruments. He composed the famous Bolero, Spanish Rhapsody, Le Tombeau de Couperin, and Daphnis and Chloe.
Nationalism and Beyond
The 20th century saw a rapid succession of musical styles. In Paris, the “Group of Six” sought to create music that was light, direct, and far from Romanticism, sometimes called neoclassical.
Nationalism saw composers incorporating folk music from their countries. Hungarian composers notably conducted fieldwork, recording melodies and rhythms from Central European villages.
Manuel de Falla, born in Cadiz, initially used Andalusian folklore but gradually incorporated melodies from other parts of Spain.
American countries, though geographically distant from the concert music scene, possessed rich musical traditions.
Atonality and Serialism
Meanwhile, in Vienna, Arnold Schoenberg composed music that moved away from traditional tonality and triadic chords. He explored atonality—a form of composition based on the free choice of notes and chords. He also embraced dissonance.
Schoenberg later developed twelve-tone technique, using a twelve-tone chromatic scale without repeating any note until all others had been heard. This “series” is equivalent to a key’s scale in twelve-tone music.
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) gained fame composing for the Ballets Russes. His music, difficult to categorize, spanned various styles, from Impressionism and folk elements to neoclassicism and twelve-tone technique.
Post-War Developments
After World War II, the European music scene was devastated. Composers and performers worked to create new music and rebuild culture.
Serialism emerged, applying the series concept to intensities and durations, as well as pitches. Each note had a predetermined length and intensity.
Integral serialism produced evocative music but was rigid. It was increasingly used more freely.
John Cage championed improvised music incorporating indeterminacy and chance. His techniques included:
- Allowing musicians to play freely
- Abolishing ideas through drawings
- Using radios as sound sources
- Composing silent parts
- Shuffling composed music
Concrete and Electronic Music
Concrete music involved recording various noises with different objects onto magnetic tape.
Electronic music used electronic devices to produce sounds.