Chapter 19 Prelude: Music and Modernism Industrialization and Progress
Key Terms Modernism Traditionalism Avant-garde Industrialization Uncertainty
Early Twentieth Century Timeline
The Twentieth Century 20th century opened on a changed world Large cities, industrialization, inoculation against disease, automobiles, telephones, movies, & phonographs all in place Rift between classical & popular music also in place American popular music became a major force Characteristic features emerged around 1900, with emergence of ragtime & early jazz
Modernism and Traditionalism Classical music also experienced a split “Modernist” music on one hand More traditional music on the other Modernist ≠ contemporary or modern Modernists of 1900 were anti-traditionalists A movement of radical experimentation Often called the avant-garde – vanguard Included novelists, poets, & painters Proust, Joyce, Pound, Eliot, Picasso, Matisse A revolutionary period for all the arts!
Music and Modernism Modernism flourished from 1890 to 1918 Important in music just as in other arts Debussy, Schoenberg, & Stravinsky Sharp reaction against late Romantic styles Old styles had been “used up” Some composers resisted modernism Others tried it and turned away They explored alternatives, drawing on Romantic or earlier styles for models Still lots of life left in traditional methods
Industrialization and Progress Rate of change accelerated Automobile & air travel, telephones, movies, sound recordings, electric appliances Industries based on new technologies grew Modern nations dominated by urban society with all of its fast-paced stresses Sense of confidence in progress But poor conditions for industrial workers New weapons killed millions in World War I Tanks, submarines, chemical weapons
Science and Uncertainty Science also shook our confidence Einstein’s theory of relativity sowed seeds of doubt about “objective” rules of physics Darwin’s theory of evolution challenged basic human identity – were people created in God’s image or descended from animals? Freud’s theories suggested that people are controlled by unconscious drives & irrational forces Long-accepted understandings were now called into question