Modern
Why do musical styles change? The evolution of musical styles is strongly marked by the influence individual composers on one another. This influence is not always positive. Sometimes the work of a composer is a reaction against the style practiced by his predecessors, even if he admires their music. An example of this could be drawn from the relationship of the Classical era to the Baroque era which it followed, personified by the relationship of the music of J.S. Bach and his sons.
The late Romantic era had its extremes: it made maximum use of harmonies and melodies and exhausted this possibilities to their limits. The music of the 20th century was both a continuation of the Romantic style, but it was also a reaction against Romanticism in order to create new possibilities.
20th century music was a series of 'isms' and 'neo-isms'. The rough energy of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring was labelled neoprimitivism; the extreme emotional tones of early Schönberg were given the label expressionism; the return to cleanly structured forms and textrues was called neoclassicism. All of these labels were an attempt at orientation in the heterorogenous world of music in the 20th century.
During the first half of the 20th century, nationalism continued to have a large influence, the study of folk songs enriched the music of many composers, such as that of Ralph Vaughan Williams (Great Britain), Bela Bartok (Hungary), Heitor Villa Lobos (Brazil) and Aaron Copland (USA). Jazz and popular music also had a strong influence on many "serious" composers, whether in America or Europe.
The advance of technology also had an enormous impact on the evolution of music in the 20th century, with some composers using, for instance, the cassette player as a compositional tool (ie. Violin Phase by Steve Reich), or electronically generated sounds alongside classical instruments, the use of computers to compose music, and so on.
The late Romantic era had its extremes: it made maximum use of harmonies and melodies and exhausted this possibilities to their limits. The music of the 20th century was both a continuation of the Romantic style, but it was also a reaction against Romanticism in order to create new possibilities.
20th century music was a series of 'isms' and 'neo-isms'. The rough energy of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring was labelled neoprimitivism; the extreme emotional tones of early Schönberg were given the label expressionism; the return to cleanly structured forms and textrues was called neoclassicism. All of these labels were an attempt at orientation in the heterorogenous world of music in the 20th century.
During the first half of the 20th century, nationalism continued to have a large influence, the study of folk songs enriched the music of many composers, such as that of Ralph Vaughan Williams (Great Britain), Bela Bartok (Hungary), Heitor Villa Lobos (Brazil) and Aaron Copland (USA). Jazz and popular music also had a strong influence on many "serious" composers, whether in America or Europe.
The advance of technology also had an enormous impact on the evolution of music in the 20th century, with some composers using, for instance, the cassette player as a compositional tool (ie. Violin Phase by Steve Reich), or electronically generated sounds alongside classical instruments, the use of computers to compose music, and so on.
Important Composers
Leos Janacek (1854-1928)
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Carl August Nielsen (1865-1931)
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Bela Bartok (1881-1945)
Igor Stravinskij (1882-1971)
Anton Webern (1883-1945)
Alban Berg (1885-1935)
Sergej Prokofiev (1891-1953)
Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)
George Gershwin (1898-1937)
Kurt Weill (1900-1950)
Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
Dmitrij Schostakovic (1906-1975)
Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)
John Cage (1912-1992)
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Pierre Boulez (1925)
Luciano Berio (1925)
Philip Glass (1937)
Leos Janacek (1854-1928)
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Carl August Nielsen (1865-1931)
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Bela Bartok (1881-1945)
Igor Stravinskij (1882-1971)
Anton Webern (1883-1945)
Alban Berg (1885-1935)
Sergej Prokofiev (1891-1953)
Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)
George Gershwin (1898-1937)
Kurt Weill (1900-1950)
Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
Dmitrij Schostakovic (1906-1975)
Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)
John Cage (1912-1992)
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Pierre Boulez (1925)
Luciano Berio (1925)
Philip Glass (1937)