Some history
Music has it beginings thousand of years ago.It was used by people as soon
as they start learning to talk and comunicate.Some evidences show as that
people use to sing even before they start talking and comunicating with
eachother. The Romantic Period (1800-1910) saw music evolve from the formats,
genres and musical ideas established in preceding periods such and went further
in expressing different forms of art with music. However, the 20th century saw
the rise of great composers such as Arnold Schoenberg, Charles Ives and Igor
Stravinsky whose contributions to the world of music brought dynamic
changesDiscussed below are the contributions of the aforementioned composers
and their influence on 20th century music.
Europian composers
Europe is known for a lot of composers who become the most famous in the
world.A lot of people come in places like Austria or France to lsiten these
famous composers.They war the most famous artists of the time that anybody
wanted to hear them
Schoenberg, an Austrian born composer is widely celebrated for the
developments that he brought into the musical arena. His music from his early
years was filled with rich harmonies that evolved from the innovative style of
Richard Wagner's operas. He is also credited with extending the works of
Brahms. By 1913, Schoenberg was exploring a new musical language. This had
started in 1908, with his string quartet whose first two movements were written
in a complex tonal style -the central organizing principle of western music in
that period. However, with the third and fourth movements Schoenberg bid
goodbye the world of tonality. As such, he pioneered an innovation in atonality
which became the most polemical characteristic of twentieth century art music.
In the 1920s, he developed the twelve tone technique (dodecaphony) which is a
widely influential compositional method of manipulating an ordered series of
all twelve notes in the chromatic scale. He also coined the term
"developing variation" and was the first composer to discover new ways
of developing motifs without resorting to tonality. With this discovery, he
worked at enabling the texture of his music become simpler and much clearer.
The twelve-tone technique in effect provided control over the melodic and
harmonic aspects of a composition.
American composers
If we move in the next part of the earth in the new continet we will find very talented
compsers too.
For example Ives, one of the first American composers of international
renown combined the American church music with European art music and was among
the first composers to engage in a systematic program of experimental music
with musical techniques like polytonality, polyrhythm, and tone clusters among
others. He was an accomplished pianist and many of his publications had piano
parts that were similar to modern movements in Europe, including bitonality and
pantonality. He is best known for his orchestral music and he composed two
string quartets and other works of chamber music. Ives' music possessed a
number of unique features. He applied unconventional approaches to rhythm and
harmony away from the salon styles of the nineteenth century that were
dependent on European models. He wanted a music that reflected his view of
America: rugged, individualistic, and unafraid to experiment. His music
contains a mixture of hard-hedged dissonance and quotations from his favorite
hymn tunes. Ives' compositional career came to an end in 1918 when he succumbed
to health complications. In 1947, he received the Pulitzer Prize for his Third
Symphony and since then, his works became an integral part of the classical
repertoire and he has been recognized for being a fine composer.
Russian composers
This Russian-born composer, pianist and conductor is widely acclaimed as
one of the most important and influential composers of 20th century music.
Stravinsky's compositional career was notable for its stylistic diversity.
Unlike Arnold Schoenberg who abandoned the world of tonality, he sought to
retain tonality by advancing it to its very limits. Stravinsky first achieved
international renown with three ballets: The Firebird, Petrushka and The Rite
of Spring. The Rite was based upon harsh dissonance, motor rhythms and
ambiguous harmonies that drove tonality to its brink. It transformed the way in
which subsequent composers thought about rhythmic structure, and was
responsible for his enduring reputation as a musical revolutionary, extending
the boundaries of musical design. After this Russian phase, Stravinsky joined
the Orthodox Church in 1926 and turned to neoclassicism. During this period,
his works made use of traditional music forms (concerto grosso, fugue, and
symphony) and were all striking in their austerity and experimental tonality.
In different ways, Igor Stravinsky rewrote music history. His brilliant,
demanding orchestral scores carved the path for the superstar conductor. Years
later, his works continue to play a dominant role in the programming of
symphony orchestras, ballet companies and increasingly, major opera houses.
