20th century classical music, the classical music of the 20th century, was extremely diverse, beginning with the late Romantic style of Sergei Rachmaninoff, Impressionism of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel, and continuing through the Neoclassicism of middle-period Igor Stravinsky, and ranging to such distant sound-worlds as the complete serialism of Pierre Boulez, the simple harmonies and rhythms of minimalist composers such as Steve Reich, and Philip Glass, the musique concrète of Pierre Schaeffer, the microtonal music adopted by Harry Partch, Alois Hába and others, the aleatoric music of John Cage, the electronic music of Karlheinz Stockhausen, and the polystylism of Alfred Schnittke. This article discusses classical music in the first sense (see below). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance, approximately 1400 to 1600. ... Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 and 1750 (see Dates of classical music eras for a discussion of the problems inherent in defining the beginning and end points). ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The era of Romantic music is defined as the period of European classical music that runs roughly from the early 1800s to the first decade of the 20th century, as well as music written according to the norms and styles of that period. ... In the broadest sense, contemporary music is any music being written in the present day. ... Classical music is a broad, somewhat imprecise term, referring to music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of, European art, ecclesiastical and concert music, encompassing a broad period from roughly 1000 to the present day. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... The era of Romantic music is defined as the period of European classical music that runs roughly from the early 1800s to the first decade of the 20th century, as well as music written according to the norms and styles of that period. ... Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (Russian: , Sergej Vasilevič Rakhmaninov, 1 April 1873 (N.S.) or 20 March 1873 (O.S.) – 28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor, one of the last great champions of the Romantic style of European classical music. ... The impressionist movement in music is a movement in European classical music that had its beginnings in the late nineteenth century and continued into the middle of the twentieth century. ... Claude Debussy, photo by Félix Nadar, 1908. ... Maurice Ravel in 1912. ... Neoclassicism in music was a 20th century development, particularly popular in the period between the two World Wars, in which composers drew inspiration from music of the 18th century, though some of the inspiring canon was drawn as much from the Baroque period as the Classical period - for this reason... Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (Russian: Игорь Фёдорович Стравинский, Igor Fëdorovič Stravinskij) (June 17, 1882 – April 6, 1971) was a Russian composer, considered by many in both the West and his native land to be the most influential composer of 20th-century music. ... Serialism is a technique for composing music that uses sets to describe musical elements, and allows the composer manipulations of those sets to create music. ... Pierre Boulez Pierre Boulez (IPA: /pjɛʁ.buˈlÉ›z/) (born March 26, 1925) is a conductor and composer of classical music. ... Harmony is the use and study of pitch simultaneity, and therefore chords, actual or implied, in music. ... Rhythm (Greek = flow, or in Modern Greek, style) is the variation of the length and accentuation of a series of sounds or other events. ... Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is stripped down to its most fundamental features and core self expression. ... Stephen Michael Reich (born October 3, 1936) is an American composer. ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... // Much like electroacoustic music, Musique concrète (French; literally, concrete music), has been subject to conflicting perceptions about its character. ... Pierre Henri Marie Schaeffer (August 14, 1910–August 19, 1995) was a French composer, noted as the inventor of musique concrète. ... Microtonal music is music using microtones -- intervals of less than a semitone, or as Charles Ives put it, the notes between the cracks of the piano. ... Harry Partch (June 24, 1901 – September 3, 1974) was an American composer. ... Alois Hába (June 21, 1893 - November 18, 1973) was a Czech composer primarily known for his microtonal compositions, especially using the quarter tone scale, though he used others such as sixth-tones and twelfth-tones. ... Aleatoric (or aleatory) music or composition, is music where some element of the composition is left to chance. ... For Mortal Kombat character, see Johnny Cage. ... It has been suggested that Electronica be merged into this article or section. ... Karlheinz Stockhausen (born August 22, 1928) is a German composer, and one of the most important and controversial composers of the 20th century. ... Polystylism is the use of multiple styles or techniques of music, and is seen as a postmodern characteristic. ... Alfred Schnittke April 6, 1989, Moscow Alfred Garyevich Schnittke (Russian: Альфре́д Га́рриевич Шни́тке, November 24, 1934 Engels - August 3, 1998 Hamburg) was a Russian and Soviet composer. ...

Perhaps the most salient common thread during this time period of classical music was the wider use of dissonance in composing music. Because of this, the 20th century is sometimes called the "Dissonant Period" of classical music, which followed the common practice period, which emphasized consonance until about 1900.^{[citation needed]} This article discusses classical music in the first sense (see below). ... Dissonance has several meanings, all related to conflict or incongruity. ... In music the common practice period is a long period in western musical history spanning from before the classical era proper to today, dated, on the outside, as 1600-1900. ... Consonance is a stylistic device, often used in poetry. ...

Among the most prominent composers of the 20th century were Béla Bartók, Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, Giacomo Puccini, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Charles Ives, Edward Elgar, Frederick Delius, Arnold Schoenberg, Jean Sibelius, Elliott Carter, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Prokofiev, Gabriel Fauré, Alberto Ginastera, Peter Sculthorpe, Edgard Varèse, Igor Stravinsky, Dmitri Shostakovich, Alban Berg, Manuel de Falla, Henri Pousseur, Peter Maxwell Davies, Silvestre Revueltas, Luigi Dallapiccola, Hanns Eisler, Ottorino Respighi, John Cage, Benjamin Britten, Anton Webern, Carlos Chávez, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Aaron Copland, Carl Nielsen, Luigi Nono, Harrison Birtwistle, Paul Hindemith, George Enescu, György Ligeti, Olivier Messiaen, Toru Takemitsu, Kurt Weill, Milton Babbitt, Samuel Barber, William Walton, Luciano Berio, Arvo Pärt, Pierre Boulez, Henri Dutilleux, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Witold Lutosławski, and Iannis Xenakis. Classical music also had an intense cross fertilization with jazz, with several composers being able to work in both genres, including George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein. An important feature of 20th century concert music is the existence of the splitting of the audience into traditional and avant-garde, with many figures prominent in one world considered minor or unacceptable in the other. Composers such as Anton Webern, Elliott Carter, Edgard Varèse, Milton Babbitt, and Luciano Berio have devoted followings within the avant-garde, but are often attacked outside of it. As time has passed, however, it is increasingly accepted, though by no means universally so, that the boundaries are more porous than the many polemics would lead one to believe: many of the techniques pioneered by the above composers show up in popular music by The Beatles, Deep Purple, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, ELP, Mike Oldfield, Enigma, Vangelis, Jean Michel Jarre and in film scores that draw mass audiences. Béla Bartók in 1927 Béla Viktor János Bartók (March 25, 1881 – September 26, 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and collector of Eastern European and Middle Eastern folk music. ... This article cites its sources but does not provide page references. ... This article is about the German composer of tone-poems and operas. ... Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini (December 22, 1858 – November 29, 1924) was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire. ... Claude Debussy, photo by Félix Nadar, 1908. ... Maurice Ravel in 1912. ... Charles Edward Ives (October 20, 1874 – May 19, 1954) was an American composer of classical music. ... Sir Edward Elgar Sir Edward Elgar, 1st Baronet, OM, GCVO (2 June 1857 â€“ 23 February 1934) was an English Romantic composer. ... Frederick Albert Theodore Delius CH (January 29, 1862, – June 10, 1934) was an English composer born in Bradford in the West Riding of Yorkshire in the north of England. ... Schoenberg redirects here. ... Johan Julius Christian Jean/Janne Sibelius ( ; December 8, 1865 – September 20, 1957) was a Finnish composer of classical music and one of the most notable composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ... Elliott Cook Carter, Jr. ... Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (Russian: , Sergej Vasilevič Rakhmaninov, 1 April 1873 (N.S.) or 20 March 1873 (O.S.) – 28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor, one of the last great champions of the Romantic style of European classical music. ... Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev (Russian: , Sergej Sergejevič Prokofijev; April 27 (April 151 O.S.), 1891–March 5, 1953) was a Russian and Soviet composer who mastered numerous musical genres and came to be admired as one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. ... Gabriel Urbain Fauré (May 12, 1845 – November 4, 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist, and teacher. ... Alberto Evaristo Ginastera (April 11, 1916 Buenos Aires - June 25, 1983 Geneva) was an Argentinian composer of classical music. ... Peter Sculthorpe (born April 29, 1929) is a noted Australian composer from Launceston, Tasmania. ... Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse (December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965) was a French-born composer. ... Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (Russian: Игорь Фёдорович Стравинский, Igor Fëdorovič Stravinskij) (June 17, 1882 – April 6, 1971) was a Russian composer, considered by many in both the West and his native land to be the most influential composer of 20th-century music. ... Dmitri Shostakovich   (Russian: , Dmitrij Dmitrievič Å ostakovič) (September 25 [O.S. September 12] 1906–August 9, 1975) was a Russian composer of the Soviet period. ... Portrait of Alban Berg by Arnold Schoenberg, c. ... Manuel de Falla y Matheu (November 23, 1876 – November 14, 1946) was a Spanish composer of classical music. ... Henri Pousseur (Composer Born 1929) Studied at the Academies of Music in Liège and in Brussels. ... Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, CBE (b. ... Silvestre Revueltas Silvestre Revueltas (December 31, 1899 - October 5, 1940) was a Mexican composer of classical music, violinist and conductor. ... Luigi Dallapiccola (February 3, 1904 – February 19, 1975) was an Italian composer known for his lyrical twelve-tone compositions. ... Hanns Eisler (July 6, 1898 - September 6, 1962) was a German and Austrian composer. ... Ottorino Respighi (Bologna, July 9, 1879 - Rome, April 18, 1936) was an Italian composer, musicologist, pianist, violist and violinist. ... For Mortal Kombat character, see Johnny Cage. ... Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH (November 22, 1913 Lowestoft, Suffolk - December 4, 1976 Aldeburgh, Suffolk) was a British composer, conductor, and pianist. ... Anton Webern (December 3, 1883 – September 15, 1945) was an Austrian composer and conductor. ... Carlos Chávez photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1937 Carlos Antonio de Padua Chávez y Ramírez (June 13, 1899 – August 2, 1978) was a Mexican composer, conductor, teacher, journalist, and the founder and director of the Mexican Symphonic Orchestra. ... A statue of Ralph Vaughan Williams in Dorking. ... Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (November 14, 1900 – December 2, 1990) was an American composer of concert and film music. ... Carl Nielsen Carl August Nielsen (June 9, 1865, Sortelung – October 3, 1931, Copenhagen) was a conductor, violinist, and the most internationally known composer from Denmark. ... Grave of Nono in the San Michele Cemetery, Venice Luigi Nono (born January 29, 1924 in Venice; died May 8, 1990 in Venice) was an Italian composer of classical music and intellectual, increasingly regarded in Europe and beyond, as one of the most important composers of the 20th century. ... Sir Harrison Paul Birtwistle, CH (born July 15, 1934) is a British composer, widely seen as one of the most significant modern composers from that country. ... Paul Hindemith aged 28. ... George Enescu George Enescu (pronunciation in Romanian: ; known in France as Georges Enesco) (August 19, 1881, Liveni – May 4, 1955, Paris) was a Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor and teacher, preeminent Romanian musician of the 20th century, and one of the greatest performers of his time. ... György Sándor Ligeti (May 28, 1923 – June 12, 2006) was a Jewish Hungarian composer born in Romania who later became an Austrian citizen. ... Olivier Messiaen It has been suggested that List of students of Olivier Messiaen be merged into this article or section. ... Tōru Takemitsu (武満 徹 Takemitsu Tōru, October 8, 1930 - February 20, 1996) was a Japanese composer of music, who explored the compositional principles of Western classical music and his native Japanese tradition both in isolation and in combination. ... Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900 – April 3, 1950), born in Dessau, Germany and died in New York City, was a German and in his later years, a German-American composer active from the 1920s until his death. ... Milton Byron Babbitt (born May 10, 1916) is an American composer. ... Samuel Barber, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1944 Samuel Osborne Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer of classical music ranging from orchestral, to opera, choral, and piano music. ... Sir William Turner Walton, OM (March 29, 1902–March 8, 1983) was a British composer whose style was influenced by the works of Stravinsky, Sibelius and jazz. ... Luciano Berio (October 24, 1925 – May 27, 2003) was an Italian composer. ... Arvo Pärt (born September 11, 1935 in Paide), (IPA: ˈɑr̺vÉ” ˈpær̺t) is an Estonian composer, often identified with the school of minimalism and more specifically, that of mystic minimalism or sacred minimalism. He is considered a pioneer of this style, along with contemporaries Henryk Górecki... Pierre Boulez Pierre Boulez (IPA: /pjɛʁ.buˈlÉ›z/) (born March 26, 1925) is a conductor and composer of classical music. ... Henri Dutilleux (born January 22, 1916 in Angers, France) is one of the most important French composers of the second half of the 20th century, producing work in the tradition of Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, and Albert Roussel, but in a style distinctly his own. ... Karlheinz Stockhausen (born August 22, 1928) is a German composer, and one of the most important and controversial composers of the 20th century. ... Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5, 1887 - November 17, 1959) was a Brazilian composer, possibly the best-known classical composer born in South America. ... Witold LutosÅ‚awski at his home. ... Iannis Xenakis Iannis Xenakis (Ιάννης Ξενάκης) (May 29, 1922 Brăila – February 4, 2001 Paris) was a Greek composer and architect who spent much of his life in Paris. ... Jazz is a musical art form that originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States around the start of the 20th century. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Leonard Bernstein (IPA pronunciation: )[1] (August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, and pianist. ... A work similar to Marcel Duchamps Fountain Avant garde (written avant-garde) is a French phrase, one of many French phrases used by English speakers. ... Anton Webern (December 3, 1883 – September 15, 1945) was an Austrian composer and conductor. ... Elliott Cook Carter, Jr. ... Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse (December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965) was a French-born composer. ... Milton Byron Babbitt (born May 10, 1916) is an American composer. ... Luciano Berio (October 24, 1925 – May 27, 2003) was an Italian composer. ... The Beatles were an English rock band from Liverpool whose members were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. ... This article is about the rock band. ... King Crimson are an influential English musical group founded by guitarist Robert Fripp and drummer Michael Giles in 1969. ... Pink Floyd are an English rock band that earned recognition for their psychedelic rock music, and, as they evolved, for their avant-garde progressive rock music. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Michael Gordon Oldfield (born May 15, 1953 in Reading, England) is a multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music and more recently dance. ... Enigma is an electronic musical project started by Michael Cretu, his wife Sandra Cretu, David Fairstein and Frank Peterson in 1990. ... Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou (Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου) [IPA: ] is a world-renowned Greek composer of electronic, New Age and classical music and musical performer, under the artist name Vangelis Papathanassiou (Βαγγέλης Παπαθανασίου) or just Vangelis (a diminutive of Evangelos) [IPA: or ]. He is best known for his Academy Award winning score for the film Chariots of... Jean-Michel André Jarre (born August 24, 1948 in Lyon, France) is a French composer, performer and music producer. ... For the record label, see Film Score Monthly. ...

It should be kept in mind that this article presents an overview of 20th century classical music and many of the composers listed under the following trends and movements may not identify exclusively as such and may be considered as participating in different movements. For instance, at different times during his career, Igor Stravinsky may be considered a romantic, modernist, neoclassicist, and a serialist. The era of Romantic music is defined as the period of European classical music that runs roughly from the early 1800s to the first decade of the 20th century, as well as music written according to the norms and styles of that period. ... For Modernism in an American context, see American modernism. ... Neoclassicism in music was a 20th century development, particularly popular in the period between the two World Wars, in which composers drew inspiration from music of the 18th century, though some of the inspiring canon was drawn as much from the Baroque period as the Classical period - for this reason... Serialism is a technique for composing music that uses sets to describe musical elements, and allows the composer manipulations of those sets to create music. ...

The 20th century was also an age where recording and broadcast changed the economics and social relationships inherent in music. An individual in the 19th century made most music themselves, or attended performances. An individual in the industrialized world had access to radio, television, phonograph and later digital music such as the CD.

Romantic style

Particularly in the early part of the century, many composers wrote music which was an extension of 19th century Romantic music. Harmony, though sometimes complex, was tonal,^{[citation needed]} and traditional instrumental groupings such as the orchestra and string quartet remained the most usual. Traditional forms such as the symphony and concerto remained in use. (See Romantic Music) The era of Romantic music is defined as the period of European classical music that runs roughly from the early 1800s to the first decade of the 20th century, as well as music written according to the norms and styles of that period. ... Harmony is the use and study of pitch simultaneity, and therefore chords, actual or implied, in music. ... Tonality is a system of writing music according to certain hierarchical pitch relationships around a key center or tonic. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The resident string quartet of the Library of Congress in 1963 A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string instruments—usually two violins, a viola and cello—or a piece written to be performed by such a group. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The term concerto (plural is concerti or concertos) usually refers to a musical work in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra. ... The era of Romantic music is defined as the period of European classical music that runs roughly from the early 1800s to the first decade of the 20th century, as well as music written according to the norms and styles of that period. ...

Many prominent composers — among them Dmitri Kabalevsky, Dmitri Shostakovich, Maurice Ravel, and Benjamin Britten — made significant advances in style and technique while still employing a melodic, harmonic, structural and textural language which was related to that of the 19th century and quite accessible to the average listener.^{[citation needed]} Dmitri Borisovich Kabalevsky (Russian Дмитрий Борисович Кабалевский) (1904 -1987) was a Soviet composer. ... Dmitri Shostakovich   (Russian: , Dmitrij Dmitrievič Å ostakovič) (September 25 [O.S. September 12] 1906–August 9, 1975) was a Russian composer of the Soviet period. ... Maurice Ravel in 1912. ... Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH (November 22, 1913 Lowestoft, Suffolk - December 4, 1976 Aldeburgh, Suffolk) was a British composer, conductor, and pianist. ...

Music along these lines was written throughout the 20th century, and continues to be written today. Some other twentieth-century composers of works in a more-or-less-traditional idiom include:

• Samuel Barber
• Leonard Bernstein
• Aaron Copland
• John Corigliano
• George Gershwin
• Henryk Górecki
• Percy Grainger
• Howard Hanson
• Roy Harris
• Gustav Holst
• Alan Hovhaness
• Aram Khachaturian
• Colin McPhee
• Carl Nielsen
• Giacomo Puccini
• Sergei Rachmaninoff
• Joaquín Rodrigo
• Ned Rorem
• Jean Sibelius
• Elie Siegmeister
• Ralph Vaughan Williams
• Heitor Villa-Lobos
• William Walton

Minimalist composers such as Philip Glass have also be said to evoke some sense of nineteenth-century melodic and harmonic language, but depart radically in structure and texture, harmony, ideas, development, counterpoint and rhythm. Samuel Barber, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1944 Samuel Osborne Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer of classical music ranging from orchestral, to opera, choral, and piano music. ... Leonard Bernstein (IPA pronunciation: )[1] (August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, and pianist. ... Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (November 14, 1900 – December 2, 1990) was an American composer of concert and film music. ... John Corigliano (born February 16, 1938) is an American composer of classical music. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Henryk Górecki. ... Percy Aldridge Grainger (8 July 1882 – 20 February 1961) was an Australian-born pianist, composer, and champion of the saxophone and the Concert band. ... Howard Harold Hanson (October 28, 1896 – February 26, 1981) was a composer, conductor and educator from the United States of America. ... Roy Ellsworth Harris (February 12, 1898 – October 1, 1979) was an American classical composer who wrote much music on American subjects and is perhaps best known for his . ... Gustav Holst Gustav Holst (born September 21, 1874 Cheltenham, Gloucestershire - died May 25, 1934) [1] [2] was an English composer and was a music teacher for over 20 years. ... Alan Hovhaness with an Indonesian rebab Alan Hovhaness (March 8, 1911 – June 21, 2000) was an American composer of Armenian and Scottish descent. ... Aram Ilich Khachaturian (Armenian: Ô±Ö€Õ¡Õ´ Ô½Õ¡Õ¹Õ¡Õ¿Ö€ÕµÕ¡Õ¶, Aram Xačatryan; Russian: Аpaм Ильич XaчaÑ‚ypян, Aram Ilič Hačaturjan) (June 6, 1903 – May 1, 1978) was a composer of classical music. ... Colin McPhee photo taken by Carl Van Vechten, 1935 Colin McPhee (February 15, 1900 in Montreal or Toronto, Canada - January 7, 1964 in Los Angeles, CA) was a Canadian composer and musicologist. ... Carl Nielsen Carl August Nielsen (June 9, 1865, Sortelung – October 3, 1931, Copenhagen) was a conductor, violinist, and the most internationally known composer from Denmark. ... Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini (December 22, 1858 – November 29, 1924) was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire. ... Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (Russian: , Sergej Vasilevič Rakhmaninov, 1 April 1873 (N.S.) or 20 March 1873 (O.S.) – 28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor, one of the last great champions of the Romantic style of European classical music. ... The young Joaquin Rodrigo Joaquín Rodrigo, Marqués de los jardines de Aranjuez (Spanish, Marquis of the Gardens of Aranjuez), (22 November 1901 – 6 July 1999) was a Spanish composer, and virtuoso pianist, of classical music. ... Ned Rorem (born October 23, 1923) is a noted American composer and diarist. ... Johan Julius Christian Jean/Janne Sibelius ( ; December 8, 1865 – September 20, 1957) was a Finnish composer of classical music and one of the most notable composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ... American composer, educator and author, Elie Siegmeister (1909-1991) had a varied musical output that was most often concerned with the development of an authentic American musical vocabulary. ... A statue of Ralph Vaughan Williams in Dorking. ... Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5, 1887 - November 17, 1959) was a Brazilian composer, possibly the best-known classical composer born in South America. ... Sir William Turner Walton, OM (March 29, 1902–March 8, 1983) was a British composer whose style was influenced by the works of Stravinsky, Sibelius and jazz. ... Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is stripped down to its most fundamental features and core self expression. ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ...

Many other 20th century composers took more experimental routes.

Modernism

Main article: Modernism Modernism in musicis characterized by a desire for or belief in progressand science, surrealism, anti-romanticism, politicaladvocacy, general intellectualism, and/or a breaking with tradition or common practice. ...

Modernism is the name given to a series of movements (See Modernism) arising out of the idea that the 20th century presented a new basis for society and activity, and therefore art should adopt this new basis, however construed, as the fundamental of aesthetics.^{[citation needed]} Modernism took the progressive spirit of the late 19th century, its love of rigor and of technical advancement, and unhinged it from the norms and forms of late 19th century art.^{[citation needed]} Various movements in 20th century music, including neo-classicism, serialism, experimentalism, conceptualism can be traced to this idea.^{[citation needed]} For Modernism in an American context, see American modernism. ...

The Second Viennese School, atonality, twelve-tone technique, and serialism

(See atonality) Atonality describes music not conforming to the system of tonal hierarchies, which characterizes the sound of classical European music between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. ...

Arnold Schoenberg is one of the most significant figures in 20th century music. His early works are in a late-Romantic style, influenced by Richard Wagner and Gustav Mahler,^{[citation needed]} but he later abandoned a tonal framework altogether, instead writing freely atonal music — he is often reckoned to have been the first composer to have done so.^{[citation needed]} In time, he developed the twelve-tone technique of composition, intended to be a replacement for traditional tonal pitch organisation.^{[citation needed]} His pupils Anton Webern and Alban Berg also developed and furthered the use of the twelve-tone system and were notable for their use of the technique in their own right.^{[citation needed]} They together are known, colloquially, as the Schoenberg "trinity"^{[citation needed]} or the Second Viennese School. This name was created to imply that this "New Music" would have the same effect as the "First Viennese School" of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.^{[citation needed]} Schoenberg redirects here. ... Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner (22 May 1813 – 13 February 1883) was a German composer, conductor, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his operas (or music dramas as he later came to call them). ... This article cites its sources but does not provide page references. ... Atonality in a general sense describes music that departs from the system of tonal hierarchies that are said to characterized the sound of classical European music from the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries. ... Twelve-tone technique (also dodecaphony) is a method of musical composition devised by Arnold Schoenberg. ... Anton Webern (December 3, 1883 – September 15, 1945) was an Austrian composer and conductor. ... Portrait of Alban Berg by Arnold Schoenberg, c. ... The Second Viennese School was a group of composers made up of Arnold Schoenberg and those who studied under him in early 20th century Vienna. ...

Schoenberg's music and that of his followers was very controversial in its day, and remains so to some degree now.^{[citation needed]} Many listeners found, and still find, his music hard to follow, lacking a sense of definite melody or aesthetic meaningfulness.^{[citation needed]} Nonetheless, works such as Pierrot Lunaire continue to be performed, studied and listened to, while many of the contemporary works which were considered more acceptable have been forgotten.^{[citation needed]} A larger measure of the reason for this is that the style he pioneered was very influential, even among composers who continued to compose tonal music.^{[citation needed]} Many composers have since written music which does not rely on traditional tonality.^{[citation needed]} Dreimal sieben Gedichte aus Albert Girauds Pierrot lunaire, (three times seven poems from Albert Girauds Pierrot lunaire), commonly known as Pierrot Lunaire (Moonstruck Pierrot or Pierrot in the moonlight), Op. ...

Twelve-tone technique itself was later adapted by other composers to control aspects of music other than the pitch of the notes, such as dynamics and methods of attack, creating completely serialised music. Milton Babbitt created his time-point system, where the distance in time between attack points for the notes is serialized also,^{[citation needed]} while some composers serialized aspects such as register or dynamics.^{[citation needed]} In Europe, the "punctual", "pointist", or "pointillist" style of Messiaen's "Mode de valeurs et d'intensités", widely viewed at the time as being derived from Webern—in which individual tones' characteristics, or "parameters" are each determined independently—was very influential in the years immediately following 1951 among composers such as Pierre Boulez, Karel Goeyvaerts, Luigi Nono and Karlheinz Stockhausen.^{[citation needed]} After years of unpopularity,^{[citation needed]} twelve-tone technique became the norm in Europe during the '50s and '60s,^{[citation needed]} but then experienced a backlash as generations of younger and older composers returned to writing tonal music, either in a neoclassical, romantic, or minimalist vein.^{[citation needed]} Stravinsky, who studied as a young man with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, became a primitivist, then a neoclassicist, and ultimately incorporated serialism into his compositional techniques following Schoenberg's death in 1951. In music, dynamics normally refers to the softness or loudness of a sound or note, but also to every aspect of the execution of a given piece, either stylistic (staccato, legato etc. ... Serialism is a technique for composing music that uses sets to describe musical elements, and allows the composer manipulations of those sets to create music. ... Milton Byron Babbitt (born May 10, 1916) is an American composer. ... Punctualism (commonly also called pointillism) is a style of musical composition prevalent in Europe between 1949 and 1955 whose structures are predominantly effected from tone to tone, without superordinate formal conceptions coming to bear (Essl 1989, 93). ... Olivier Messiaen It has been suggested that List of students of Olivier Messiaen be merged into this article or section. ... Anton Webern (December 3, 1883 – September 15, 1945) was an Austrian composer and conductor. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Pierre Boulez Pierre Boulez (IPA: /pjɛʁ.buˈlÉ›z/) (born March 26, 1925) is a conductor and composer of classical music. ... Karel Goeyvaerts (Antwerp Jun 8, 1923 - February 3, 1993, Antwerp) was a composer. ... Grave of Nono in the San Michele Cemetery, Venice Luigi Nono (born January 29, 1924 in Venice; died May 8, 1990 in Venice) was an Italian composer of classical music and intellectual, increasingly regarded in Europe and beyond, as one of the most important composers of the 20th century. ... Karlheinz Stockhausen (born August 22, 1928) is a German composer, and one of the most important and controversial composers of the 20th century. ... Neoclassicism (sometimes rendered as Neo-Classicism or Neo-classicism) is the name given to quite distinct movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture. ... The era of Romantic music is defined as the period of European classical music that runs roughly from the early 1800s to the first decade of the 20th century, as well as music written according to the norms and styles of that period. ... Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is stripped down to its most fundamental features and core self expression. ... Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (Russian: Игорь Фёдорович Стравинский, Igor Fëdorovič Stravinskij) (June 17, 1882 – April 6, 1971) was a Russian composer, considered by many in both the West and his native land to be the most influential composer of 20th-century music. ... Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov (Russian: , Nikolaj Andreevič Rimskij-Korsakov), also Nikolay, Nicolai, and Rimsky-Korsakoff, (March 6 (O.S. March 18), 1844 – June 8 (O.S. June 21) 1908) was a Russian composer, one of five Russian composers known as The Five, and was later a teacher of harmony and... Serialism is a technique for composing music that uses sets to describe musical elements, and allows the composer manipulations of those sets to create music. ...

Free dissonance and experimentalism

In the early part of the 20th century modernist composers such as George Antheil and others produced music that was shocking to audiences of the time for its disregard or flaunting of musical conventions.^{[citation needed]} Charles Ives quoted popular music, often had multiple or bitonal layers of music, extreme dissonance, and seemingly unplayable rhythmic complexity.^{[citation needed]} Henry Cowell performed his solo piano pieces by strumming or plucking the inside of the piano, knocking on the outside, or depressing tone clusters with his arms or boards.^{[citation needed]} Edgard Varèse wrote highly dissonant pieces that utilized unusual sonorities and futuristic, scientific sounding names; he also dreamed of producing music electronically.^{[citation needed]} Charles Seeger enunciated the concept of dissonant counterpoint, a technique used by Carl Ruggles, Ruth Crawford-Seeger, and others.^{[citation needed]} Igor Stravinsky and Serge Diaghilev fled the riot that greeted The Rite of Spring and Vaslav Nijinsky's choreography.^{[citation needed]} Darius Milhaud and Paul Hindemith explored bitonality.^{[citation needed]} Amadeo Roldán brought music written specifically for percussion ensemble into the classical tradition^{[citation needed]}; he was soon followed by Varèse and then others.^{[citation needed]} Kurt Weill wrote the popular Threepenny Opera entirely in the popular idiom of German cabarets.^{[citation needed]} Modernist composers being the avant-garde, they often wrote atonally, sometimes explored twelve tone technique, used liberal amounts of dissonance, quoted or imitated popular music, or somehow provoked their audience.^{[citation needed]} This article focuses on the cultural movement labeled modernism or the modern movement. See also: Modernism (Roman Catholicism) or Modernist Christianity; Modernismo for specific art movement(s) in Spain and Catalonia. ... George Antheil (June 8, 1900 – February 12, 1959) was an American composer and pianist of German and Lutheran descent, born in Trenton, New Jersey. ... Charles Edward Ives (October 20, 1874 – May 19, 1954) was an American composer of classical music. ... The use of more than two keys simultaneously is known in music as polytonality. ... In music, a consonance (Latin consonare, sounding together) is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance, which is considered unstable. ... Rhythm (Greek = flow, or in Modern Greek, style) is the variation of the length and accentuation of a series of sounds or other events. ... Henry Cowell (March 11, 1897 - December 10, 1965) was an American composer, musical theorist, pianist, teacher, publisher, and impresario. ... A tone cluster, in music and in Western tuning, is a chord or simultaneity comprised of consecutive tones separated chromatically. ... Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse (December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965) was a French-born composer. ... Charles Seeger (Mexico City, Mexico, 1886 - 1979) was musicologist, composer, and teacher. ... Counterpoint is a very general feature of music (especially prominent in much Western music) whereby two or more melodic strands occur simultaneously - in separate voices, either literally or metaphorically (if the music is instrumental). ... American composer Charles Sprague Ruggles (March 11, 1876 - October 24, 1971), better known as Carl, wrote finely-crafted pieces using dissonant counterpoint, a term coined by Charles Seeger to describe Ruggles music. ... Ruth Crawford-Seeger (July 3, 1901 in East Liverpool, Ohio - November 18, 1953 in Chevy Chase, Maryland), born Ruth Porter Crawford, was a modernist composer. ... Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (Russian: Игорь Фёдорович Стравинский, Igor Fëdorovič Stravinskij) (June 17, 1882 – April 6, 1971) was a Russian composer, considered by many in both the West and his native land to be the most influential composer of 20th-century music. ... Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev (Сергей Павлович Дягилев) (March 19, 1872 – August 19, 1929), often known as Serge, was a Russian ballet impresario and founder of the Ballets Russes from which many famous... The Rite of Spring, commonly referred to by its original French title, Le Sacre du printemps (Russian: Весна священная, Vesna svjaščennaja) is a ballet with music by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. ... Vaslav Nijinsky as Vayou in Nikolai Legats revival of Marius Petipas The Talisman, St. ... Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (IPA: ) (September 4, 1892 – June 22, 1974) was a French composer and teacher. ... Paul Hindemith aged 28. ... The use of more than two keys simultaneously is known in music as polytonality. ... It has been suggested that Cuban folk music be merged into this article or section. ... Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900 – April 3, 1950), born in Dessau, Germany and died in New York City, was a German and in his later years, a German-American composer active from the 1920s until his death. ... The Threepenny Opera (Die Dreigroschenoper) was a revolutionary piece of musical theatre written by the German dramatist Bertolt Brecht in collaboration with the composer Kurt Weill in 1928. ... Atonality in a general sense describes music that departs from the system of tonal hierarchies that are said to characterized the sound of classical European music from the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries. ... Twelve-tone technique is a system of musical composition devised by Arnold Schoenberg. ... Popular music is music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more of the mass media. ...

Neoclassicism

Main Article: Neoclassicism (music) Neoclassicism in music was a 20th century development, particularly popular in the period between the two World Wars, in which composers drew inspiration from music of the 18th century, though some of the inspiring canon was drawn as much from the Baroque period as the Classical period - for this reason...

Neo-classicism, in music, means the movement in the 20th century to return to a revived "common practice" harmony, mixed with greater dissonance and rhythm, as the basic point of departure for music.^{[citation needed]} Maurice Ravel, Igor Stravinsky, Paul Hindemith, Sergei Prokofiev and Béla Bartók are usually listed as the most important composers in this mode, but also the prolific Darius Milhaud and his contemporary Francis Poulenc.^{[citation needed]} Maurice Ravel in 1912. ... Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (Russian: Игорь Фёдорович Стравинский, Igor Fëdorovič Stravinskij) (June 17, 1882 – April 6, 1971) was a Russian composer, considered by many in both the West and his native land to be the most influential composer of 20th-century music. ... Paul Hindemith aged 28. ... Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev (Russian: , Sergej Sergejevič Prokofijev; April 27 (April 151 O.S.), 1891–March 5, 1953) was a Russian and Soviet composer who mastered numerous musical genres and came to be admired as one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. ... Béla Bartók in 1927 Béla Viktor János Bartók (March 25, 1881 – September 26, 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and collector of Eastern European and Middle Eastern folk music. ... Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (IPA: ) (September 4, 1892 – June 22, 1974) was a French composer and teacher. ... Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (IPA: ) (January 7, 1899 - January 30, 1963) was a French composer and a member of the French group Les Six. ...

Neo-classicism was born at the same time as the general return to rational models in the arts in response to World War I.^{[citation needed]} Smaller, more spare, more orderly was conceived of as the response to the overwrought emotionalism which many felt had herded people into the trenches.^{[citation needed]} Since economics also favored smaller ensembles, the search for doing "more with less" took on a practical imperative as well. Stravinsky's L'Histoire du Soldat is thought of as a seminal "neo-classical piece", as are his Dumbarton Oaks Concerto and his "Symphonies of Wind Instruments", as well as his Symphony in C.^{[citation needed]} Stravinsky's neo-classicism culminated with his opera Rake's Progress, to a libretto by the well-known modernist poet, W. H. Auden.^{[citation needed]} “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Histoire du soldat (sometimes written Lhistoire du soldat; translated as The Soldiers Tale or A Soldiers Tale) is a 1918 theatrical work to be read, played, and danced (lue, jouée et dansée) set to music by Igor Stravinsky. ... A libretto is the complete body of words used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, sacred or secular oratorio and cantata, musical, and ballet. ... Wystan Hugh Auden (21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) (IPA: ; first syllable of Auden rhymes with law), who signed his works W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet, regarded by many as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. ...

Stravinsky's rival for a time in neo-classicism was the German Paul Hindemith, who mixed spiky dissonance, polyphony and free ranging chromaticism into a style which was "useful".^{[citation needed]} He produced both chamber works and orchestral works in this style, perhaps most famously "Mathis der Maler".^{[citation needed]} His chamber output includes his Sonata for French Horn, an expressionistic work filled with dark detail and internal connections.

Neo-classicism found a welcome audience in America.^{[citation needed]} The school of Nadia Boulanger in Paris promulgated ideas about music based on her understanding of Stravinsky's music.^{[citation needed]} Her students include Elliott Carter, Aaron Copland, Roy Harris, Darius Milhaud, Ástor Piazzolla, Ned Rorem, and Virgil Thomson. Nadia Boulanger (September 16, 1887 – October 22, 1979) was an influential French composer, conductor, and music professor. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ... Elliott Cook Carter, Jr. ... Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (November 14, 1900 – December 2, 1990) was an American composer of concert and film music. ... Roy Ellsworth Harris (February 12, 1898 – October 1, 1979) was an American classical composer who wrote much music on American subjects and is perhaps best known for his . ... Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (IPA: ) (September 4, 1892 – June 22, 1974) was a French composer and teacher. ... Ástor Piazzolla with his bandoneon in 1971. ... Ned Rorem (born October 23, 1923) is a noted American composer and diarist. ... Virgil Thomson, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1947 Virgil Thomson (November 25, 1896 - September 30, 1989) was an American composer from Missouri, whose rural background gave a sense of place in his compositions. ...

Neo-classicism's most audible traits are melodies which use the tritone as a stable interval, and coloristically add dissonant notes to ostinato and block harmonies, along with the free mixture of polyrhythms.^{[citation needed]} Neo-classicism won greater audience acceptance more quickly, and was taken to heart by those opposed to atonality as the true "modern" music.^{[citation needed]} Neo-classicism also embraced the use of folk musics to give greater rhythmic and harmonic variety.^{[citation needed]} Modernists such as the Hungarians Béla Bartók and Romantically inclined Zoltán Kodály and the Czech Leoš Janáček collected and studied their native folk musics which then influenced their compositions.^{[citation needed]} In music, an ostinato (derived from Italian: stubborn, compare English: obstinate) is a motif or phrase which is persistently repeated at the same pitch. ... Polyrhythm is the simultaneous sounding of two or more independent rhythms. ... Folk music can have a number of different meanings, including: Traditional music: The original meaning of the term folk music was synonymous with the term Traditional music; the term Traditional music was given its more specific meaning to distinguish it from the other definitions that Folk music is now considered... Béla Bartók in 1927 Béla Viktor János Bartók (March 25, 1881 – September 26, 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and collector of Eastern European and Middle Eastern folk music. ... Zoltán Kodály (IPA: ) (December 16, 1882 – March 6, 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, educator, linguist and philosopher. ... LeoÅ¡ Janáček in 1928 LeoÅ¡ Janáček ( ; July 3, 1854 in Hukvaldy, Moravia, then Austrian empire – August 12, 1928 in Ostrava, then Czechoslovakia) was a Czech composer. ...

Post-modernist music

Post-modernism's birth

Post-modernism can be said to be a response to modernism which asserts that the products of human activity — particularly manufactured or created by artifice — are the central subject for art itself, and that the purpose of art is to focus people's attention on objects for contemplation, as composer-critic Steve Hicken explained it.^{[citation needed]} This strain of modernism looks backward to the dada school of art exemplified by Duchamp, and to the collage of "concrete" music, as well as experiments with electronic music by Edgard Varèse and others. However, post-modernism asserted that this was the primary mode of human existence, an individual aswim in a sea of the products of people.^{[citation needed]} Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse (December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965) was a French-born composer. ...

John Cage is a prominent figure in 20th century music whose influence steadily grew during his lifetime, and who is regarded by many as the founder of post-modernist music.^{[citation needed]} Cage questioned the very definition of music in his pieces, and stressed a philosophy that all sounds are essentially music.^{[citation needed]} Cage in the "silent" 4'33" presents the listener with his idea that the unintentional sounds are just as musically valid as the sounds originating from an instrument.^{[citation needed]} Cage also notably used aleatoric music, and "found sounds" in order to create an interesting and different type of music.^{[citation needed]} His music not only rested on his argument that there was no "music" or "noise" only "sound", and that combinations of found sound were musical events as well - but on the importance of focusing of attention and "framing" as essential to art.^{[citation needed]} (See Post-Modernism) For Mortal Kombat character, see Johnny Cage. ... Definition of music is a contested aesthetic evaluation of what constitutes music. ... Aleatoric (or aleatory) music or composition, is music where some element of the composition is left to chance. ... Postmodernism (sometimes abbreviated pomo) is a term applied to a wide-ranging set of developments in critical theory, philosophy, architecture, art, literature, and culture, which are generally characterized as either emerging from, in reaction to, or superseding, modernism. ...

Cage, though, has been seen by some to be too avant-garde in his approach^{[citation needed]}; for this reason, many find his music unappealing.^{[citation needed]} Interestingly, the seeming opposite of Cage's indeterminism is the overdetermined music of the serialists, which both schools have noted produce similar sounding pieces, yet many serialists, such as Pierre Boulez and Karlheinz Stockhausen have used aleatoric processes. Michael Nyman argues in Experimental Music that minimalism was a reaction to and made possible by both serialism and indeterminism.^{[citation needed]} (See also experimental music) A work similar to Marcel Duchamps Fountain Avant garde (written avant-garde) is a French phrase, one of many French phrases used by English speakers. ... Pierre Boulez Pierre Boulez (IPA: /pjɛʁ.buˈlɛz/) (born March 26, 1925) is a conductor and composer of classical music. ... Karlheinz Stockhausen (born August 22, 1928) is a German composer, and one of the most important and controversial composers of the 20th century. ... Michael Nyman (born March 23, 1944) is a British minimalist composer, pianist, librettist and musicologist, perhaps best known for the many scores he wrote during his lengthy collaboration with the British filmmaker Peter Greenaway. ... For experimental rock music, see experimental rock. ...

Post-modernism reached music and painting at very similar moments, on one hand, the spareness, purity, love of mechanism, abstraction and the grid which are very modernist traits were preserved, as was the emphasis on personalizing style and experimentalism.^{[citation needed]} However, post-modernism rejected the hermeneutic stance—the need to be "in" on the joke as it were—of modernism. Instead post-modernism took the popular and pared down as its aesthetic guide.^{[citation needed]} One of the first movements to overtly break with the modernist took inspiration from Cage's work, and its emphasis on layering sounds: Minimalism.^{[citation needed]}

Minimalism

Main article: Minimalist music Minimalist music is a genre of experimental or Downtown music named in the 1960s based mostly in consonant harmony, steady pulse (if not immobile drones), stasis and slow transformation, and often reiteration of musical phrases or smaller units such as figures, motifs, and cells. ...

Many composers in the later 20th century began to explore what is now called minimalism. The most specific definition of minimalism refers to the dominance of process in music — where fragments are layered on top of each other, often looped, to produce the entirety of the sonic canvas. Early examples include Terry Riley's In C and Steve Reich's Drumming. Riley is seen by some as the "father" of minimalist music with In C, a work comprised of melodic cells that each performer in an ensemble plays through at their own rate. The minimalist wave of composers—Terry Riley, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, and La Monte Young to name the most prominent—wanted music to be "accessible" to ordinary listeners, and wanted to express concrete specific questions of dramatic and music form, not hidden in layers of technique, but very overtly.^{[citation needed]} One key difference between minimalism and previous music is the use of different cells being "out of phase" or determined by the performers; contrast this with the opening of Das Rheingold by Richard Wagner which, despite its use of triadic cells, has each part controlled by the same impulse and moving at the same speed. Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is stripped down to its most fundamental features and core self expression. ... Terry Riley – (Portrait by Betty Freeman) Terry Riley (born 24 June 1935) is an American composer associated with the minimalist school. ... In C is an aleatoric musical piece composed by Terry Riley in 1964 for any number of people, although a group of about 35 is desired if possible but smaller or larger groups will work[1]. As its title suggests, it is in the key of C, the simplest key... Minimalist music is a genre of experimental or Downtown music named in the 1960s based mostly in consonant harmony, steady pulse (if not immobile drones), stasis and slow transformation, and often reiteration of musical phrases or smaller units such as figures, motifs, and cells. ... Terry Riley – (Portrait by Betty Freeman) Terry Riley (born 24 June 1935) is an American composer associated with the minimalist school. ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... Stephen Michael Reich (born October 3, 1936) is an American composer. ... La Monte Young (born October 14, 1935) is an American composer whose eccentric and often hard-to-find works have been included among the most important post World War II avant-garde or experimental music. ... For the famous train, see Rheingold Express. ... Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner (22 May 1813 – 13 February 1883) was a German composer, conductor, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his operas (or music dramas as he later came to call them). ...

Minimalist music is often contentious amongst traditional listeners.^{[citation needed]} Its critics find it to be overly repetitive and empty while proponents argue that the static elements that are often prevalent draw more interest to small changes.^{[citation needed]} Minimalism has, however, inspired and influenced many composers not usually labeled "minimalist" such as Karlheinz Stockhausen and György Ligeti.^{[citation needed]} Composers such as Arvo Pärt, John Tavener, and Henryk Górecki, whose Symphony No. 3 was the highest selling classical album of the 1990s,^{[citation needed]} have found great success with what has been called "Holy Minimalism" in their deeply felt religious works.^{[citation needed]} Karlheinz Stockhausen (born August 22, 1928) is a German composer, and one of the most important and controversial composers of the 20th century. ... György Sándor Ligeti (May 28, 1923 – June 12, 2006) was a Jewish Hungarian composer born in Romania who later became an Austrian citizen. ... Arvo Pärt (born September 11, 1935 in Paide), (IPA: ˈɑr̺vÉ” ˈpær̺t) is an Estonian composer, often identified with the school of minimalism and more specifically, that of mystic minimalism or sacred minimalism. He is considered a pioneer of this style, along with contemporaries Henryk Górecki... John Tavener should not be confused with the sixteenth-century composer John Taverner. ... Henryk Górecki. ...

The next wave of composers working in this tradition are not called "Minimalist" by some, but are by others.^{[citation needed]} These include opera composer John Adams and his student Aaron Jay Kernis. The expansion of minimalism from process music, to music which relies on texture to hold together the movement of the music has created a wider diversity of compositions and composers.^{[citation needed]} For the Alaska-based postminimalist composer, see John Luther Adams. ... Aaron Jay Kernis (born January 15, 1960) is one of the most highly-honored contemporary composers. ...

The influences of minimalists such as Steve Reich (in particular Drumming) are clear in much of the work of DJ Spooky showing a perfect example of the crossover between 20th century classical, and electronic music such as trip-hop and even trance and drum n bass.^{[citation needed]} Stephen Michael Reich (born October 3, 1936) is an American composer. ... DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid (born Paul D. Miller, 1970), is a Washington DC-born electronic and experimental hip hop musician whose work is often called illbient or trip hop. He is a turntablist and producer. ... Trip hop (also known as the Bristol sound or Bristol acid rap) is a term coined by British dance magazine Mixmag, to describe DJ Shadow s hip hop instrumentals that (inspired by Organized Konfusions track Releasing Hypnotical Gases) changed-up the beat and pallet mid-cut, giving the listener... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Drum and bass (drum n bass, DnB) is an electronic music style. ...

Electronic music

Main article: Electronic art music Electronic music has existed, in various forms, for more than a century. ...

Technological advances in the 20th century enabled composers to use electronic means of producing sound. The first electronic instrument was invented in Russia in 1919 by Leon Theremin, and was called the theremin. Some composers simply incorporated electronic instruments into relatively conventional pieces. Olivier Messiaen, for example, used the ondes martenot in a number of works (though none of them could really be called "conventional"). It has been suggested that Electronica be merged into this article or section. ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... A young Leon Theremin playing his invention Leon Theremin (born Lev Sergeivitch Termen) (August 15, 1896–November 3, 1993) was the Russian inventor of the Theremin, an electronic musical instrument. ... Léon Theremin playing an early theremin The theremin (originally pronounced but often anglicized as [1]), or thereminvox, is one of the earliest fully electronic musical instruments. ... Olivier Messiaen It has been suggested that List of students of Olivier Messiaen be merged into this article or section. ... Ondes martenot demonstrated by inventor Maurice Martenot The Ondes Martenot (or Ondes-Martenot or Ondes martenot or Ondium Martenot or Martenot or ondes musicale) is an early electronic musical instrument with a keyboard and slide invented in 1928 by Maurice Martenot, and originally very similar in sound to the Theremin. ...

Other composers abandoned conventional instruments and used magnetic tape to create music, recording sounds and then manipulating them in some way. Pierre Schaeffer was the pioneer of such music, termed Musique concrète. Some figures, such as Karlheinz Stockhausen, used purely electronic means to create their work. In the United States of America, Milton Babbitt used the RCA Mark II Synthesizer to create music. Sometimes such electronic music was combined with more conventional instruments, Stockhausen's Hymnen, Edgard Varèse's Déserts, and Mario Davidovsky's Synchronisms offer a few examples (although Déserts is sometimes performed today without the tape part).^{[citation needed]} Compact audio cassette Magnetic tape is a non-volatile storage medium consisting of a magnetic coating on a thin plastic strip. ... Pierre Henri Marie Schaeffer (August 14, 1910–August 19, 1995) was a French composer, noted as the inventor of musique concrète. ... // Much like electroacoustic music, Musique concrète (French; literally, concrete music), has been subject to conflicting perceptions about its character. ... Karlheinz Stockhausen (born August 22, 1928) is a German composer, and one of the most important and controversial composers of the 20th century. ... Milton Byron Babbitt (born May 10, 1916) is an American composer. ... RCA Mark II with Babbit, Mauzey, Ussachevsky The RCA Mark II Sound Synthesizer (nicknamed Victor) was the flagship piece of equipment at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center. ... Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse (December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965) was a French-born composer. ... Mario Davidovsky (born March 4, 1934) is an Argentine-American composer. ...

Oskar Sala, created the non-musical soundtrack for Alfred Hitchcock's film The Birds, using the trautonium electronic instrument he helped develop. Morton Subotnick provided the electronic music for the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.^{[citation needed]} Oskar Sala Oskar Sala (June 18, 1910 - February 26, 2002) was a 20th century German electronic musician and composer. ... Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock KBE (August 13, 1899 – April 29, 1980) was a highly influential film director and producer who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and thriller genres. ... The Birds (1963) is a horror film by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on the short story The Birds (ISBN 0-582-41798-8) by Daphne du Maurier. ... The trautonium is a monophonic electronic musical instrument invented ca. ... Morton Subotnick (born April 13, 1933) is an American composer of electronic music, best known for his Silver Apples of the Moon, the first electronic work commissioned by a record company, Nonesuch, and composed on the Buchla modular synthesizer which he helped to design. ...

Some well-known electronic works generally regarded as in the classical tradition include "Film Music" by Vladimir Ussachevsky, A Rainbow in Curved Air and Shri Camel by Terry Riley, "Silver Apples of the Moon", "The Wild Bull", and "Return" by Morton Subotnick, Sonic Seasonings and Switched-On Bach by Wendy Carlos, "Light Over Water" by John Adams, Aqua by Edgar Froese, and Poème électronique by Edgar Varèse. Terry Riley – (Portrait by Betty Freeman) Terry Riley (born 24 June 1935) is an American composer associated with the minimalist school. ... Switched-On Bach is a musical album by Wendy Carlos (then Walter Carlos) on CBS Records, released in 1968. ... Wendy Carlos (November 14, 1939 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island) is an American composer and electronic musician. ... Edgar W. Froese (born June 6, 1944) is an artist and electronic music pioneer, best known for co-founding the electronic music act Tangerine Dream. ...

Iannis Xenakis is another modern composer who used computers and electronic instruments, including one he invented, in many compositions. Some of his electronic works are gentle ambient pieces and some are savage sonic violence.^{[citation needed]} Iannis Xenakis Iannis Xenakis (Ιάννης Ξενάκης) (May 29, 1922 Brăila – February 4, 2001 Paris) was a Greek composer and architect who spent much of his life in Paris. ...

Composers such as Alvin Lucier, Gordon Mumma, and David Tudor created and performed live electronic music, often designing their own electronics or using tape.^{[citation needed]} Alvin Lucier Alvin Lucier (born May 14, 1931) is an American composer of music and sound installations exploring acoustic phenomena, especially resonance, as well as a former member of the Sonic Arts Union along with Robert Ashley, David Behrman, and Gordon Mumma. ... Gordon Mumma (March 30, 1935, in Framingham, Massachusetts) is a composer. ... David Eugene Tudor (January 20, 1926 - August 13, 1996) was a pianist and composer of experimental music. ...

A number of institutions specialising in electronic music sprang up in the 20th century, with IRCAM in Paris perhaps the best known. The IRCAM, Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique, was founded in the 1970s by Pierre Boulez. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ...

Jazz-influenced composition

A number of composers combined elements of the jazz idiom with classical compositional styles. Notable examples include: Jazz is a musical art form that originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States around the start of the 20th century. ...

• George Antheil, Jazz Symphony (1925)
• Bruce Arnold, A Few Dozen (1955)
• Milton Babbitt, All Set (1957)
• Leonard Bernstein, Sonata for Clarinet and Piano (1941–42), Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs (1949), Serenade for violin, strings, harp, and percussion, after Plato: Symposium (1954)
• George Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue (1924), An American in Paris (1928), Porgy and Bess (1935),
• Paul Hindemith, 1922 Suite für Klavier
• Ernst Krenek, Jonny spielt auf (1926)
• Rolf Liebermann, Concerto for Jazzband and Symphony Orchestra (1954)
• Darius Milhaud, La Création du Monde (1923)[1]
• Maurice Ravel, Piano Concerto in G (1929–1931)
• Gunther Schuller, Concertino for Jazz Quartet and Orchestra (1959)
• John Serry, Sr., American Rhapsody (1955)
• Elie Siegmeister, Clarinet Concerto (1956)
• Karlheinz Stockhausen, Kreuzspiel (1951), Mikrophonie II (1965), Tierkreis (1974–75), Luzifers Tanz (1983)
• Igor Stravinsky, Ragtime for 11 instruments (1917–18), L'Histoire du Soldat (1918), Piano-Rag Music (1919), Praeludium (1936–37/53), Scherzo a la russe (1944), Ebony Concerto (1945)
• Kurt Weill, Threepenny Opera (1928)

George Antheil (June 8, 1900 – February 12, 1959) was an American composer and pianist of German and Lutheran descent, born in Trenton, New Jersey. ... Bruce Arnold (born July 31, 1955) is an American jazz guitarist, composer, educator and author. ... Milton Byron Babbitt (born May 10, 1916) is an American composer. ... All Set is the 5th studio album by punk rock band Buzzcocks. ... Leonard Bernstein (IPA pronunciation: )[1] (August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, and pianist. ... Leonard Bernsteins Sonata for Clarinet and Piano was published in 1942, and was Bernsteins first published piece. ... Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs is a jazz-in-concert hall composition written by Leonard Bernstein for a jazz ensemble, which features a solo clarinet. ... In music, a Serenade (or sometimes Serenata) is, in its most general sense, a musical composition, and/or performance, in someones honor. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Cover of the original sheet music of the two piano version of Rhapsody in Blue. ... An American in Paris is a symphonic composition by American composer George Gershwin which debuted in 1928. ... The cast of Porgy and Bess during the Boston try-out prior to the Broadway opening. ... Paul Hindemith aged 28. ... Ernst Krenek Ernst Krenek (August 23, 1900 – December 22, 1991) was an Austrian-born composer of Czech ancestry; throughout his life he insisted that his name be written Krenek rather than KÅ™enek, and that it should be pronounced as a German word. ... Jonny spielt auf (Jonny Strikes Up) is an opera with words and music by Ernst Krenek about a jazz violinist. ... Rolf Liebermann (1910-1999, born in Zurich) was a German composer of different kinds of music: chansons, classical, and light music. ... Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (IPA: ) (September 4, 1892 – June 22, 1974) was a French composer and teacher. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... Maurice Ravel in 1912. ... Concerto in G major is a piano concerto by Maurice Ravel composed in the period of 1929–1931. ... Year 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Gunther Schuller Gunther Schuller (born November 22, 1925) studied at the St. ... The requested page title was invalid, empty, an incorrectly linked inter-language or inter-wiki title, or contained illegal characters. ... American Rhapsody refers to a musical composition written by the noted musician John Serry, Sr. ... American composer, educator and author, Elie Siegmeister (1909-1991) had a varied musical output that was most often concerned with the development of an authentic American musical vocabulary. ... Karlheinz Stockhausen (born August 22, 1928) is a German composer, and one of the most important and controversial composers of the 20th century. ... Kreuzspiel (Crossplay) is a composition by Karlheinz Stockhausen written for for oboe, bass clarinet, piano and three percussionists in 1951. ... Mikrophonie is the title given by Karlheinz Stockhausen to two of his compositions, written in 1964 and 1965, in which “normally inaudible vibrations . ... Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (Russian: Игорь Фёдорович Стравинский, Igor Fëdorovič Stravinskij) (June 17, 1882 – April 6, 1971) was a Russian composer, considered by many in both the West and his native land to be the most influential composer of 20th-century music. ... Histoire du soldat (sometimes written Lhistoire du soldat; translated as The Soldiers Tale or A Soldiers Tale) is a 1918 theatrical work to be read, played, and danced (lue, jouée et dansée) set to music by Igor Stravinsky. ... Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900 – April 3, 1950), born in Dessau, Germany and died in New York City, was a German and in his later years, a German-American composer active from the 1920s until his death. ... The Threepenny Opera (Die Dreigroschenoper) was a revolutionary piece of musical theatre written by the German dramatist Bertolt Brecht in collaboration with the composer Kurt Weill in 1928. ...

Other

"New Complexity" is a current within today's European contemporary avant-garde music scene. Some composers identified with this term are Brian Ferneyhough, James Dillon and Michael Finnissy. Another prominent development is the extension of instrumental technique and timbre, for instance in the music of Luigi Nono, Helmut Lachenmann and Salvatore Sciarrino. Another notable movement is spectral music. Prominent spectral composers include Tristan Murail and Gérard Grisey, and the 'post-spectral' composers Kaija Saariaho and Magnus Lindberg. The New Complexity is a primarily British movement of avant garde classical music dating from the 1970s. ... Brian John Peter Ferneyhough (born 16 January 1943 in Coventry) is a British composer. ... James Dillon (26 September 1902 - 10 February 1986) was an Irish politician and leader of Fine Gael from 1959 to 1965. ... Michael Finnissy is an English composer and pianist born in Tulse Hill, London in 1946. ... Grave of Nono in the San Michele Cemetery, Venice Luigi Nono (born January 29, 1924 in Venice; died May 8, 1990 in Venice) was an Italian composer of classical music and intellectual, increasingly regarded in Europe and beyond, as one of the most important composers of the 20th century. ... Helmut (Friedrich) Lachenmann (born November 27, 1935) is an important German composer. ... Salvatore Sciarrino, born April 4, 1947, in Palermo. ... Spectral music (or spectralism) is a musical genre or movement originating in France in the 1970s and characterized by the use of computer analysis of sound wave components as the basis for composition. ... Tristan Murail (b. ... Gérard Grisey (born 1946; died November 11, 1998) was a French composer of contemporary music. ... Kaija Saariaho (born October 14, 1952) is a Finnish composer. ... Magnus Lindberg (born June 27, 1958) is a Finnish composer. ...

References

See also

• List of 20th century classical composers
• Contemporary music

Composers of 20th century classical music include: Heikki Aaltoila (1905-1992) Juhan Aavik (1884-1982) Frank Abbinanti (1949- ) Kyle Abbot (1950-2004) Keiko Abe (born 1937) Rosalina Abejo (1922–1991) Michael Abels (born 1962) Muhal Richard Abrams (born 1930) Juan Manuel Abras (born 1975) Jean Absil (1893-1974) María... In the broadest sense, contemporary music is any music being written in the present day. ...

External links

• The Avant Garde Project, free downloads of out of print avant garde music
• Ircam Paris
• MICROCOSMS: A Simplified Approach to Musical Styles of the Twentieth Century by Phillip Magnuson
• Dolmetsch.com: music history online: music of the 20th century by Dr. Brian Blood
• Art of the States
• Recordings of classes on 20th Century Music given by a Dallapiccola pupil
• Música y filosofía contemporánea; Registros polifónicos de John Cage a Peter Sloterdijk | Dr. Adolfo Vasquez Rocca

Publishers

• G. Schirmer, Inc.
• Boosey&Hawkes Music Publishers
• Schott Music International
• 4´33" Vierdreiunddreißig München Musikverlag
• Atopos Foundation for Contemporary Classical Music