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30 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What are Schoenberg's three periods and their dates?
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Extendend Tonality -> up to 1908
Atonal -> 1908 to 1923 12 Tone Period or Serial -> after 1923 |
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How did Schoenberg make a living?
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He was a teacher in Germany and then moved to America (still a teacher)
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What is the Second Viennese School? Who were Schoenberg’s most famous students?
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The 'Second Viennese School'= Schoenberg and is 2 most famous students (Berg and Webern)
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Was Schoenberg’s break with tonality a radical move or a logical outgrowth of earlier experiments with tonality? How so?
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It was a logical outgrowth. Many composers before him too questioned if music must always be tonal. To him it was a natural outgrowth of 19th century experiments with harmony. 'I am an evolutionary, not a revolutionary.'
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What did Schoenberg mean by “emancipation of dissonance”?
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It is the importance of intuition in composing atonal music. It was a comtemporary interest in the human psyche. It was German expressionism (an extension of Romanticism).
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What painter identified with Schoenberg’s break from tonality and why?
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The painter Kandinsky identified with Schoenberg because his emancipation was similar to his own emancipation of colour in his abstract paintings. Emancipation gives their works individuality.
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What is Expressionism? How is it illustrated in Pierrot lunaire? What are the traditional aspects?
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Expressionism is the use of the unconscious brain to express oneself. It is the use of instinct. Pierrot Lunaire is atonal, has an unusual accompaniment (8 instruments for 5 players), and uses speech song. Innovative aspects of the song cycle
Despite all of this, there are traditional aspects- there is a motific idea (up 3m down 3M), the use of traditional forms and genres (Passacaglia is used). |
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Why did Schoenberg mainly write texted music (i.e. vocal works) during his Atonal period?
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Voice is much easier to manipulate than instruments. This is appealing for atonal composers. There is more of a concrete story line and is difficult to write large scale works without different keys (can't do modulations).
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In the 12 Tone system what is a tone row or series? What different operations or permutations can one apply to the row? What work discussed in class illustrates this system? How does this work also show clear ties to the past?
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From 1921 to 1923 Schoenberg developed a harmonic system for atonal music. 12 tone row, 12 tone series are all 12 chromatic notes. There are three forms in this system- prime, retrograde, and inversion. This is shown in his Piano Suite, Op25. Even with using this system, he still used binary dance form, the suite genre, and the structure (ex. Minuet and Trio- Repeats and Da Capo).
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How does his Wozzeck (by Berg) illustrate Expressionism? source of the libretto? Is this work merely atonal or also serial? Traditional aspects of this work?
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Expressionism is illustrated through atonal music(though not the twelve tone) and includes Sprechstimme. Each act is connected with continuous music. Georg Büchner's play Wozzeck was the source of the libretto. Traditional aspects include leitmotifs, motific development, traditional forms/genres (ex sonata, passacaglia, schezo, fantasie and fugue, suite, etc), variations, principle voice.
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Debussy’s nationality?
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French
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With what movement in painting was Debussy's music identified and why?
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'Impression: Sunrise' by Claude Monet
Both identified as impressionists |
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What aspects of Debussy's music did his contemporaries call him impressionistic?
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Debussy had a stong feeling for tone conlour, ambiguity of form, ambiguity of harmony (including: blurring tonality, chromaticism, colouristic use of chords, use of nontonal scales- octatonic, pentatonic, whole tone, medieval), and Titles often based on 'banal' subjects.
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What are parallel chords?
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Adjacent chords moving in a parallel fashion.Each note within the chord rises or falls by the same interval. Debussy used parallel chords for colouristic use of chords- using tonal harmonies in a non tonal way.
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Aside from tonal scales, what other kinds of scales did Debussy use for his music?
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Octatonic scale- whole, half, whole, half
Pentatonic scale- 5 note scale usu. associated with Asian music Whole tone scale- whole steps only Medieval Scales- Dorian, frigian, lydian, etc |
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Why is Debussy actually more revolutionary than Schoenberg?
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He believes there is no theory to music, pleasure is the law. He didn't try to follow any forms or link his music to the past. 'I have no faith in the supremecy of the C major scale. The tonal scale must be enriched by other scales.'
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What was Stravinsky's nationality?
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Russian
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What was the Ballet Russes?
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Russian Ballet, organized by Diaghilev, fantastic productions in Paris
Stravinsky wrote 5 ballets for them. |
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What was the initial audience reception for the 1913 premiere of The Rite of Spring? What was so disturbing about the subject matter? About the choreography? What was so unusual about the music?
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The premiere in Paris caused a riot. The subject matter was seen as barbaric and primitive ('Scenes of Pagan Russia). The choreography by Nijinsky was the antithesis of classical ballet. After the premiere it became lost but was reconstructed in the 1980s. The music wasn't well received either- there was an unusual treatment of rhythm and metre (often blurred and percussive), unusual treatment of harmony (alternative scales- dorian, pentatonic, octatonic), unusual treatment of melody (fragments, use of folksongs).
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What is Bartok's nationality?
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Hungarian
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How does Bartok's music show the influence of Schoenberg? Of Debussy? Of Stravinsky?
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Schoenberg: use of unusual cominations of instruments, atonal music (with more of a pitch center), relevance of traditional forms/techniques
Debussy: idea of using alternative scales Stravinsky: forefronting of rhythm, use of folksongs as inspiration |
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How was Bartok more self-conscious than Stravinsky about the influence of folksong on his composition? In what various ways does his music show the influence of Eastern European folksong?
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He made the use of folkmusic much more clear. His music has more obvious nationalistic elements. He uses unusual scales (Gypsy scale- raise 4th, lower 7th) and metres/rhythms.
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What is 'cultivated' tradition and 'vernacular' tradition?
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Cultivated: art music in 19th century America; shows the influence of European (esp. German) musc
Vernacular: popular music (popular songs and solo piano music often oriented toward amateurs) and Band music Sousa's Stars and Stripes Forever shows a mixture of both Ragtime is an example of vernacular |
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Who was Amy Beach? In what ways does her Piano Quintet illustrate European influences?
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She was the first US woman to write a symphony. She was seen as the 2nd Claira Schumman- a concert pianist, prodigy, self taught. She based themes from Brahms, she uses chromatic harmony, unusual inversions, colourful nonchord tones, and augmented triads.
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Who was John Philip Sousa? Did he direct an amateur band or a professional band? How do his marches differ from other marches of the time? Other types of pieces he wrote for his band? How might his music also show the influence of the cultivated tradition?
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Sousa was a bandmaster who directed a professional marine band. His marches had more of a dramatic effect, building to a climax rather than returning to the beginning. The da capo is dropped and alternated the lyrical trio with a more aggressive break strain. The repetitions are different in some way (counter melody, dynamics, etc). He also wrote programmatic fantasies. Marches are almost always included in band repetroire.
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What is ragtime? Defining traits? How does it show the influence of the march? of African-American music? when was ragtime popular? Leading composer of piano rags? Was ragtime written only for piano?
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Ragtime: a style popular from the 1890s through the 1910s that featured syncopated rhythm against a regular, marchlike bass
The syncopation is derived from the clapping Juba of African Americans, a survival of African drumming and hand clapping. The emphasis is on the off beat. Scott Joplin was the leading composer of ragtime. In the late 19th century and early 20th century it was written for ensembles and songs, not just for piano. |
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Characteristics of the blues? Example of blues piece discussed in class and performed by whom? How does Still’s Afro-American Symphony show the influence of the blues? Of jazz? In what way does this work represent a “first”?
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Standard blues is 12 bar blues- chord changes on mm 1, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11. A harmonic pattern of chords that 12 bars. 3 lines per stanza aab ccd eef... improvised basic structure, intonation scooping, 'Holler' style of singing
An example of Blues is 'Back Water Blues' sung by Bessie Smith Still uses the 12 bar blues in his Afro-American Symphony, it's swung, use of syncopation, simple pattern, bent pitches, call and response This was the first symphony written by an African American |
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What was the nature of Charles Ive's training in music? how was his father influential on his composition? in what ways was his music experimental? Did Ives pursue music/composition as a career?
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He had traditional training at Yale but developed a unique, highly experimental style (influence of his father- a bandmaster)
He was interested in everyday sounds, which shows in his music- an overlap of sounds in a seemingly unconnected way. He was a church organist in New York then ran a successful insurance agency, |
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Ruth Crawford Seeger: in what ways was her music experimental? (as shown in her 1931 String Quartet). Prestigious award she received? (the first woman to get this award in music). What was her relationship with American folk music?
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She never used the same experiment twice. In her String Quartet she uses two part counterpoint and the dynamics are opposing between the 1st violin and the other strings.
She was the first woman to receive the Guggenheim Fellowship of Music She preserved American folkmusic and transcribed it |
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Did Copland ever write modernist music? what aspects of his music (e.g. Appalachian Spring) illustrate his interest in writing simpler, more accessible styles for audiences? Who commissioned and performed in Appalachian Spring? Genre of this work? How does this work show Stravinsky’s influence? What famous tune does Copland quote and then feature a series of variations on?
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His earlier works show a modernist strain but he was interested in a more simple and accessible style. Appalachian Spring shows the influence of Stravinsky- off beat accents, dissonant chord that is pounded out, metre shifting, piles ideas on top of each other
Also, Appalachian Spring is based on a C Majorscale and uses an old Shaker tune Martha Graham commissioned him to write the music for this ballet |
