20th Century (1920-2000)
The distinctive feature of classical music
composed in the twentieth century is that
there is no such thing as a "twentieth
century style." Composers in different
countries, and even within a country, took
radically different paths, and the result
was a multitude of styles, none of which
dominated over the others in the way that,
for example, the style of Haydn, Mozart, and
Beethoven dominated the last quarter of the
eighteenth century.
The most radical break with the past
occurred in Germany, where Arnold Schoenberg
and his followers rejected the rules that
had governed composition for the previous
three centuries and began composing "twelve-tone"
or "atonal" works. An offshoot of this
movement was "serialism," which attempted to
create entire compositions out of
mathematically precise formulas for pitch,
rhythm, and dynamics.
Serialism swept France after World War II,
but in the first half of the century French
composers looked back to the eighteenth
century, and their music was appropriately
called "neoclassical." The greatest
Neoclassical composer in France (and later
in America) was Igor Stravinsky, an import
from Russia who also composed fiery ballets
in his youth and serial works in his old age.
In Eastern Europe, Béla Bartók collected
Hungarian folk tunes and incorporated them
in his compositions, while in Russia the
Soviet government kept close rein on what
music composers were allowed to write.
Dmitri Shostakovich and Sergei Prokofiev
were the two greatest Soviet composers;
Shostakovich's music in particular
demonstrates the composer's conflict between
personal expression and political expediency.
English composers such as Ralph Vaughan
Williams and Benjamin Britten were perhaps
the most "mainstream" composers of
mid-century, writing in familiar idioms but
also influenced by English hymns and English
composers of the Renaissance. On the other
side of the Atlantic, classical music in the
United States reached its maturity in the
first part of the century. Aaron Copland
integrated American folk tunes with a very
traditional European style, while George
Gershwin was heavily influenced by ragtime
and jazz.
20th
Century - A 'Project Climax' Subcategory -
11 CDs
Posted By: Flush |
Date: 05 Oct 2006 20:50 |
Comments: 11
Giacomo
Puccini: Tosca Berlin (1858-1924) Ricciarelli Carreras Von Karajan
