1. Impressionism to Modernism
A synopsis of music history

2. Impressionism: An overview
Composers tried to create a dreamlike quaility that mimicked the art of the era
Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh were two important Impressionistic painters
Art tended to appear unfocused up close, but gained focus as you moved away, so music also could appear unfocused at first listen
Music used musical elements to evoke a particular mood or image in the mind of the listener, much like a painting

3. Visual Art Example 1: Monet

4. Visual Art Example 2: Renoir

5. Visual Art Example 3: Cassatt

6. Musical Characteristics
Atonal- Lacking a tonal center or key
Whole Tone- A musical interval of two semitones (half step)
Modes- Similar to the old church modes
Lydian-C D E F G A B C
Dorian-D E F G A B C D
Phrygian C Db Eb F G Ab Bb C

7. Claude Debussy 1862-1918, French
Studied at the Paris Conservatory and in Rome, but influences ranged from Wagner to Javanese music
Used to Phrygian mode along with other lesser known modes
Main works were orchestral pieces, piano sets, and songs
Associated his later music with visual impressions of the East, Spain, landscapes etc, in a sequence of sets of short pieces.
Died of cancer

8. Clare de Lune

9. Arabesque

10. Golliwog’s Cakewalk

11. Maurice Ravel 1876-1937 Studied at the Paris Conservatory
Failed to win the Prix de Rome 5 times and left to work as a freelance musician
Fascinated with creating music that evoked a far away place or idea
Wrote everything from piano pieces to ballet to opera
His last major effort was a pair of piano concertos, one joyful and urban, one(for left hand only) more dark and solid.

12. Maurice Ravel’s Bolero

13. Modern Music A bit more atonal than Impressionistic music
Development to the 12-tone music
12-tone music: all 12 notes of the chromatic scale is used in a particular, reoccurring order

14. Visual Art Example 4: Jackson Pollack

15. Visual Art Example 5: Matisse

16. Visual Example 4: Picaso

17. Anton Schoenburg 1874-1951 Born in Vienna, Austria but moved to L.A.
Played and composed from a young age, but didn’t have formal training until his teens
Developed the “Serial” method of 12-tone music
Serial Method: A mathematical formal comprised of tone rows that dictated the form in which the notes were composed
Also developed Sprechgesang, or singing-speech
Once in America, returned to more of a tonal sound
Taught a UCLA

18. Tone Row Matrix

19. Peirot Lunaire

20. Schoenberg Piano Concerto

21. Anton Webern 1883-1945 Austrian Studied composition under Schoenburg
Made a career as a conductor
Was obsessed with 12-tone music and once learned, never composed any other way again
Was accidentally shot by a soldier at the end of WWII
Left only about 3 hours worth of music

22. Webern’s Music

23. Webern Concerto for 9 Instruments

24. Bela Bartok 1881-1945 Hungarian, moved to New York
Attended Budapest Academy and studied under a former student of Franz Liszt
Transcribed a lot of Hungarian folk songs
Made a career as a pianist
Influenced by Debussy and Schoenburg
Wrote his final work, Piano Concerto no. 3 to provide his widow with income when he died

25. Bartok plays Bartok

26. Microcosmos 1

27. Microcosmos 153

28. Igor Stravinsky 1882-1971 Russian Parents wanted him to be a lawyer
Moved to New York, then L.A.
Lived near Schoenberg
Dabbled in 12-tone serialism
Wrote modern symphonies in a neo- classical manner
Music sometimes caused rioting, as in “Rite of Spring” and his version of “The Star Spangles Banner”

29. Stravinsky by Picaso

30. Rite of Spring

31. Stravinsky Conducting The Firebird Suit

32. Stravinksy’s Star Spangled Banner