Terms
Compositions which employ simple rhythm and tonal patterns, often featuring repetition.
Minimalism
There were no ___________ for music in the 20th and 21st century like there were during the Baroque and Classical Period.
Rules
John Cage is a composer who liked to experiment with music composing this piece of music which consists of four minutes and thirty three seconds of silence.
4'33'
He teamed up with his brother Ira to compose and sell songs, many of which became Broadway hits and he was the first composer to combine elements of jazz with classical music and his music can be found in movies such as Mr. Holland’s Opus, When Harry Met Sally, and Fantasia 2000.
George Gershwin
This time period literally means re-birth.
Renaissance
Music that lacks a specific key or tonal center.
Atonality
Thanks to the development of ___________ and ____________, audiences were able to listen to music via recordings.
Radio and Gramophone Records
Some composers thought music had become too complicated. In response, they developed this style, in which a simple theme continually repeats with only gradual changes throughout.
Mininimalism
He earned his nickname from his childhood friends because of his superb manners and politeness, his orchestra played together continuously for almost 50 years and he was given a Pulitzer Prize Special Award for music.
EDWARD KENNEDY “DUKE” ELLINGTON
This time period means misshapen pearl.
Baroque
Tension created by two or more musical notes, creating an inharmonious sound.
Dissonance
Before recorded music, people could only enjoy music these two ways.
Live performances in their home or public theater
As a child, she listened to rock and folk music from the 60’s, she’s composed chamber music, vocal and choral works, orchestral works, wind ensemble and band music, and an opera, and she won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2009 and won two Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Classical Composition.
JENNIFER HIGDON
He has been called “the Dean of American Composers," he didn’t come from a musical family, but persisted in gaining an education in music with the help of his teacher and he is best known for his populist style in the 1930’s and 40’s, which appealed to the general population.
AARON COPLAND
This composer bridged the gap between the Classical and Romantic period.
The idea that a composition's meaning comes directly from its form rather than the feeling it evokes.
Formalist
Composers such as Gershwin, Ellington, Bernstein, and Copeland, combined elements of this style of music with art music. A well-known example of this is Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue.'
Jazz
He founded the concept of the “Virtual Choir”, which brings together individuals from around the world in an online choir, he is best known for his choral works, and in 2012 he won a Grammy for best choral performance for his album Light and Gold.
ERIC WHITACRE
He was an extremely innovative composer, who once described music as, “a purposeless play," he developed indeterminacy in music
, and his best known composition is 4’33”, which is a silent work in which audience members are meant to listen to the sounds around them.
JOHN CAGE
This composer would not leave his house without his wig.
GEORGE FREDERICK HANDEL
Compositions in which one or more elements are left to chance.
Aleatoric Music.
Composers often experimented with music in 20th and 21st Century music, such as composing without a recognizable melody or using non-traditional _______________ like a typewriter, vacuum cleaner, or music stand.
Instruments
He is best known for his film music, such as his theme for Star Wars, Jaws, and the first three Harry Potter films, he was conductor of the Boston Pop’s Orchestra for fifteen years, and in addition to film music, he has composed orchestral works, concertos, and chamber works.
JOHN WILLIAMS
An art movement from the 19th century that aimed to capture a moment in time with a focus on light and color of the moment as opposed to precise details.
IMPRESSIONISM