20 Century Music

th

Impressionism,
Expressionism
and Primitivism
MUSICAL
STYLES
Impressionism
Impression, Sunrise (1872)
Claude Monet
 As with most artistic
movements, the Impressionist
movement in music was a
reaction to the previous era of
music, namely the Romantic
era, in which the music of
many composers is heavy and
overly dramatic
by comparison.
IMPRESSIONISM
 Originated in Paris, France
during the late 19th century-early
20th century.
 Impressionism was a rejection of
the Romantic style in which
composers wrote music that
portrayed emotions.
 The goal of Impressionism was
to create a mood.
 Tone color 

Atmosphere

Fluidity
 TONE COLOR

- the quality of sound that

distinguishes one instrument or
voice from another
 ATMOSPHERE

The sounds work together to create a

space where sound becomes the
encompassing theme, mood and
character of the immediate environment.
 FLUIDITY

is used as a metaphor for the

expressive relationship between the
composer and performer
Expressionism
The term Expressionism was originally
borrowed from visual art and literature. Artists
created vivid pictures, distorting colours and
shapes to make unrealistic images that
suggested strong emotions. Expressionist
composers poured intense
emotional expression into their music exploring
their subconscious mind.
Expressionist music often features:
A high level of dissonance
Extreme contrasts of dynamics
Constantly changing textures
‘Distorted’ melodies and harmonies
Angular melodies with wide leaps
Primitivism
Primitivism is a word that describes the
condition or quality that belongs to
something crude and unrefined. In music,
primitivism was a reaction to the rich
complexity of Romanticism and later on,
Impressionism. 
CHARACTERISTICS:
 Exploration of cultural concerns from
outside of the European tradition
 Crudeness and rawness of materials.
Abstraction of the figure in visual arts.
 Emphasis on rhythm and percussive
elements in music.
20 Century
th

Composers
Impressionism
Claude Debussy
(1862-1918)
the primary exponent of the
impressionist movement and the
focal point for other impressionist
composers

 he gained a reputation as an
erratic pianist and a rebel in theory
and harmony
he won the top prize at the Prix
de Rome competition with his
composition L’ Enfant Prodigue
(Prodigal Son)

 he got exposed to the music of

Richard Wagner
Debussy’s mature creative period was
represented by the following works:
 Ariettes Oubliees
 Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
 String Quartet
 Pelleas et Melisande (1895)—his famous
operatic work that drew mixed
extreme reactions for its innovative
harmonies and textural treatments.
 La Mer (1905)—a highly imaginative
and atmospheric symphonic work
for orchestra about the sea
 Images, Suite Bergamasque, and
Estampes—his most popular piano
compositions; a set of lightly textured
pieces containing his signature work
Claire de Lune (Moonlight)
 His musical compositions total
more or less 227 which include
orchestral music, chamber music,
piano music, operas, ballets, songs,
and other vocal music
 The creative style of Debussy was
characterized by his unique approach to the
various musical elements. Debussy’s
compositions deviated from the Romantic
Period and is clearly seen by the way he
avoided metric pulses and preferred free
form and developed his themes. Debussy’s
western influences came from composers
Franz Liszt and Giuseppe Verdi.
 From the East, he was fascinated by the
Javanese gamelan that he had heard at the
1889 Paris Exposition.
 From the visual arts, Debussy was
influenced by Monet, Pissarro, Manet,
Degas, and Renoir; and from the literary
arts, by Mallarme, Verlaine, and Rimbaud.
 His role as the “Father of the Modern
School of Composition” made its mark in
the styles of the later 20th century
composers like Igor Stravinsky, Edgar
Varese, and Olivier Messiaen.
 Debussy spent the remaining years of his
life as a critic, composer, and performer.
 He died in Paris on March 25, 1918 of
cancer at the height of the First World
War.
Maurice Ravel
(1875-1937)
 born in Ciboure, France to a
Basque mother and a Swiss
father.
 He entered the Paris Conser-
vatory at the age of 14 where
he studied with the eminent
French composer Gabriel Faure.
 his compositional style is
mainly characterized by its
uniquely innovative but not
atonal style of harmonic
treatment.
 Ravel was a perfectionist and
every bit a musical craftsman.
 A strong advocate of Russian
music, he also admired the music
of Chopin, Liszt, Schubert, and
Mendelssohn.
 He died in Paris in 1937.
Ravel’s works include the following:
 Pavane for a Dead Princess (1899), a
slow but lyrical requiem
 Jeux d’Eau or Water Fountains (1901)
 String Quartet (1903)
 Sonatine for Piano (c.1904)
 Miroirs (Mirrors), 1905, a work for
piano known for its harmonic evolution
and imagination
 Gaspard de la Nuit (1908), a set
of demonic-inspired pieces based on the
poems of Aloysius Bertrand which is
arguably the most difficult piece in the
piano repertoire.
 These were followed by a number of
his other significant works, including
Valses Nobles et Sentimentales (1911)
 Le Tombeau de Couperin
(c.1917), a commemoration of the
musical
advocacies of the early 18th century
French composer Francois Couperin,
 Rhapsodie Espagnole
 Bolero
 Daphnis et Chloe (1912), a
ballet commissioned by master
choreographer Sergei Diaghilev
that contained rhythmic
diversity, evocation of nature,
and choral ensemble
 La Valse (1920), a waltz
with a frightening undertone
that had been
composed for ballet and
arranged as well as for solo and
duo piano.
 The two piano concerti composed
in 1929 as well as the violin
virtuosic piece Tzigane (1922) total
the relatively meager compositional
output of Ravel, approximating 60
pieces for piano, chamber music,
song cycles, ballet, and opera.
Expressionism
 Arnold Franz
Walter Schoenberg
(1874-1951)
 Schoenbergwas born in a
working-class suburb of Vienna,
Austria on September 13,
1874.
 He taught himself music
theory, but took lessons in
counterpoint.
 German composer Richard
Wagner influenced his work as
evidenced by his symphonic
poem Pelleas et Melisande, Op
5 (1903), a counterpoint of
Debussy’s opera of the same
title.
 Schoenberg’s style was
constantly undergoing development.
From the early influences of
Wagner, his tonal preference
gradually turned to the dissonant
and atonal, as he explored the use
of chromatic harmonies
 Although full of melodic and lyrical
interest, his music is also extremely
complex, creating heavy demands on
the listener.
His works were met with extreme
reactions, either strong hostility from
the general public or enthusiastic
acclaim from his
supporters.
 Schoenberg is credited
with the establishment of
the twelve-tone system.
His works include the following:
 Verklarte Nacht, Three Pieces for Piano,
op. 11
 Pierrot Lunaire,
 Gurreleider
Verklarte Nacht (Transfigured Night,
1899), one of his earliest successful
pieces, blends the lyricism, instrumen-
tation, and melodic beauty of Brahms
with the chromaticism and construction of
Wagner.
 His musical compositions total
more or less 213 which include
concerti, orchestral music, piano
music, operas, choral music, songs,
and other instrumental music.
 Schoenberg died on July 13,
1951 in Los Angeles, California, USA
where he had settled since 1934.
Primitivism
Igor Stravinsky
(1882-1971)
 stands alongside fellow-
composer Schoenberg, painter
Pablo Picasso, and literary
figure James Joyce as one of
the great trendsetters of the
20th century.
 He was born in Oranienbaum
(now Lomonosov), Russia on
June 17, 1882.
 Stravinsky’s early music
reflected the influence of his
teacher, the Russian composer
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.
 In his first successful
masterpiece, The Firebird Suite
(1910),composed for Diaghilev’s
Russian Ballet, his skillful
handling of material and
rhythmic inventiveness went
beyond anything composed by
his Russian predecessors.
 The Rite of Spring (1913)
was another outstanding work
 When he left the country
for the United States in 1939,
Stravinsky slowly turned his
back on Russian nationalism and
cultivated his neo-classical style.
 Stravinsky adapted the forms
of the 18 century with his
th

contemporary style of writing.

Despite its “shocking”
modernity, his music is also very
structured, precise, controlled,
full of artifice, and theatrically.
 Other outstanding works
include the ballet Petrouchka
(1911), featuring shifting
rhythms and polytonality, a
signature device of the composer
 The Rake’s Progress (1951) , a
full-length opera, alludes heavily to
the Baroque and Classical styles of
Bach and Mozart through the use of
the harpsichord, small orchestra,
solo and ensemble numbers with
recitatives stringing together the
different songs.
 Stravinsky’s musical output
approximates 127 works,
including concerti, orchestral
music, instrumental music,
operas, ballets, solo vocal, and
choral music. He died in New
York City on April 6, 1971.
Bela Bartok
(1881-1945)
 born in Nagyszentmiklos,
Hungary (now Romania) on March
25, 1881,to musical parents.
 He started piano lessons with
his mother and later entered
Budapest Royal Academy of Music
in 1899.
 He was inspired by the
performance of Richard Strauss’s
Also Sprach Zarathustra to write
his first nationalistic poem,
Kossuth in 1903.
 He was a concert pianist as he
travelled exploring the music of
Hungarian peasants.
 In 1906, with his fellow
composer Kodaly, Bartok
published his first collection
of 20 Hungarian folk songs.
 For the next decade, although
his music was being badly received
in his country, he continued to
explore Magyar folk songs. Later,
he resumed his career as a concert
pianist, while composing several
works for his own use.
 As a neo-classicist,
primitivist, and nationalist
composer, Bartok used Hungarian
folk themes and rhythms. He
also utilized changing meters and
strong syncopations.
 His compositions were
successful because of their rich
melodies and lively rhythms.
 He admire the musical styles
of Liszt, Strauss, Debussy, and
Stravinsky.
 Bartok is most famous for his Six
String quartets (1908-1938).
It represents the greatest
achievement of his creative life,
spanning a full 30 years for their
completion. The six works combine
difficult and dissonant music with
mysterious sounds.
 The Concerto for Orchestra
(1943), a five-movement work
composed late in Bartok’s life,
features the exceptional talents
of its various soloists in an
intricately constructed piece.
 The short and popular Allegro
Barbaro (1911) for solo piano is
punctuated with swirling
rhythms and percussive chords,
while Mikrokosmos (1926–
1939), a set of six books
containing progressive technical
piano pieces, introduced and
familiarized the piano
student with contemporary
harmony and rhythm.
 His musical compositions
total more or less 695 which
include concerti, orchestral
music, piano music, instrumental
music, dramatic music, choral
music, and songs.
 In 1940, the political
developments in Hungary led
Bartok to migrate to the
United States, where he died
on September 26, 1945 in
New York City, USA.
QUIZ #1
I. Identify the composer being
described in each number. Then
write beside your answer the
musical style used by the
composer

Example: 1. Ravel - Primitivism

I. As a neo-classicist, primitivist, and
nationalist composer, he used Hungarian
folk themes and rhythms. He also utilized
changing meters and strong syncopations.

2. The primary exponent of the

impressionist movement and the focal point
for other impressionist composers
3. He was a perfectionist and every bit a
musical craftsman.

4. His style was constantly undergoing

development. From the early influences of
Wagner, his tonal preference gradually
turned to the dissonant and atonal, as he
explored the use of chromatic harmonies
5. His compositions were successful
because of their rich melodies and lively
rhythms.

6. He is credited with the

establishment of the twelve-tone
system.
7. His creative style was characterized by
his unique approach to the various musical
elements. His compositions was deviated
from the Romantic Period.

8. His compositional style is mainly

characterized by its uniquely innovative but
not atonal style of harmonic treatment
9. One of his outstanding works featured
the shifting rhythms and polytonality which
became a signature device of the composer
10. He adapted the forms of the 18 th

century with his contemporary style of

writing. Despite its “shocking”
modernity, his music is also very
structured, precise, controlled, full of
artifice, and theatrically.
I. Bartok - Primitivism
2. Debussy - Impressionism
3. Ravel - Impressionism
4. Schoenberg - Expressionism
5. Bartok - Primitivism
6. Schoenberg - Expressionism
7. Debussy - Impressionism
8. Ravel - Impressionism
9. Stravinsky - Primitivism
10. Stravinsky - Primitivism