Early 20th Century

Second Viennese School

Second Viennese School

Arnold Schoenberg and his pupils: Alban Berg Anton Webern

Alban Berg (1885-1935)

Berg . . .

Schoenberg’s pupil Music rooted in Romanticism (character and

action, mood and atmosphere) Liked formal patterns of the past . . . Fugue

and invention, variations, sonata and suite Famous for Wozzek, Lulu, Lyric Suite

Berg’s most famous pieceWozzeck (an opera)

Inspiration came from an Expressionist play by Georg Buchner

Libretto organizes the play into 3 acts, each containing five scenes, which are linked by brief orchestral interludes. These interludes set the mood of the next scene.

Plot on p. 524 Act III, Scene 4, Interlude and Scene 5

Uses Sprechstimme Use of instruments (celeste creates eerie atmosphere)

Schoenberg’s other studentAnton Webern (1883-1945)

Known for his brevity Entire output could fit on

three CDs Never went back to any

other method of composition after the 12-tone row; included other elements in row format besides the notes

Use of instruments extreme

Webern’s Symphony, Op. 21: II 12-tone For clarinet, bass clarinet, 2 horns, 2 harps, violins,

violas and cellos Takes under 10 minutes to play Only one of the Second Viennese School to

undertake composition of a symphony Klangfarbenmelodie Pointillistic texture – each instrument given just one

or two notes; extreme registers p. 532

Music of the Americas

Stephen Foster – wrote parlor and minstrel songs (Oh, Susanna; Camptown Races, Beautiful Dreamer, Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair)

Instrumental Music – Marine Band, formed in 1798, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 French horns, bassoon, and drums

By 1861-65, brass Greatest bandmaster – John Philip Sousa

Stars and Stripes Forever The Washington Post

Charles Ives (1874-1954)

Charles Ives (1874-1954)

Musically trained Profession was the head of a successful insurance agency Composed every spare second when he wasn’t working Wasn’t recognized until just 7 yrs. before he died; his piece, the

Concord Sonata, was hailed as “the greatest music composed by an American.”

Idealism of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau

Find hymn tunes, marching bands and traditional songs set in an “Ives” tonality

The Things Our Fathers Loved, p. 548-549

Aaron Copland (1900-1990)

After the first performance of Symphony for Organ and Orchestra, Walter Damrosch, a New York conductor, had to “calm” the audience. In 1925, they were not used to the contemporary sounds. He stated, “If a young man at the age of twenty-five can write a symphony like that, in five years he will be ready to commit murder.”

Copland

Decided to simplify his music so that he could reach a larger audience.

Many popular ballets were written: Rodeo Billy the Kid Appalachian Spring

Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man Conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra,

Eugene Goosens, wanted a musical tribute honoring those who were involved in World War II . . . A fanfare for “soldiers, or for airmen or sailors . . .” to be used to open a concert in 1942.

He was asked to compose a traditional fanfare, direct and powerful, yet with a contemporary sound.

Copland was late, and so it was premiered on March 12, 1943, since taxes were to be paid on March 15 – they both felt it was a good opportunity to honor the “common man.”