General Characteristics
of 20th Century Music
• Tonality dissolves
• Melodies erratic, wide leaps, irregular rhythms and
unexpected notes
• Rhythmic freedom
• Length is unpredictable
• Tone and colour experimentation
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring),
Opening Section
• What is this music’s genre?
• What is Primitivism?
• Describe the nature of the rhythms in this excerpt?
• What is the primary harmonic language? It it mostly
consonant or dissonant? How is this achieved?
• To what degree is this music experimental?
• How was it received by early audiences?
Arnold Schoenberg
Madonna from Pierrot Lunaire (1912)
• What is Expressionism?
• Who wrote the original poetry? What is it about?
Does the music reflect this?
• Why is this music considered atonal?
• What is sprechstimme? How is it used here?
Arnold Schoenberg
Theme and Sixth Variation from Variations
for Orchestra, Op. 31 (1928)
• What is the twelve tone technique? How is it applied
here?
• Why does Schoenber use a Classical form or Theme
and Variations here?
• What are Retrograde, Inversion and RetrogradeInversion tehcniques?
Boulez, Structures I, Book I, for Two
Pianos
• What is total serialism?
• How does it control this piece?
Alban Berg (1885-1935)
Wozzeck, Act III, Scenes 3, 4, and 5
• What is the story? How does the music reflect that?
• What is the tonality of this work?
• Berg borrows musical structures from the past. What
are they and why does he use them?
• There is symmetry embedded throughout this piece.
Where is one example?
• How does Berg make use of leitmotives?