20th Century Classical Music

• Modern classical music has taken many directions and split into varied styles.
• Composers have experimented with harmonies, melodies, and rhythms, sometimes combining many at the same time or removing them completely.
• The use of electronic instruments and computer technology has opened up musical possibilities.

Paul Hindemith (1895–1963)

• Modernized music in an inventive and witty way.
• Mixed 1920s jazz style with classical forms and Bach-style baroque music.

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975)

• Was criticized for composing "discordant and confused" music.
• Combined different trends including tonal and atonal music, and romance with violent emotion.

Percy Grainger (1882-1961)

• Pioneered the idea of "free music" by experimenting with random, gliding music where there's no set rhythm or pitch.
• Devised elastic scoring, meaning that a work could be played by any instrument.

Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)

• Featured an early electronic instrument, the ondes Martenot with its trembling swooping sound.
• The instrument was featured in his Turangalila-Symphonie in 1948.

Igor Stravinsky, Charles Ives, and Béla Bartók

• Developed polytonal music; different parts played at the same time in different keys.

John Cage (1912-1992)

• Developed the idea of music happening by chance.
• Created 4'33", a piece of silence where any "chance" noises during its performance became part of the work.

Terry Riley

• In 1964 created In C, where any number of instrumentalists repeated a short phrase over and over at different times before moving on to the next phrase at some point
• Other composers, such as Philip Glass and La Monte Young, developed this slowly shifting minimalist music.

Karlheinz Stockhausen

• In the 1950s and 1960s, broke new ground in electronic music by manipulating the playback of tape recordings through loudspeakers.

György Ligeti

• Experimented with creating a new shifting orchestral sound without a clear melody.

Pierre Boulez

• In the 1970s, the French composer founded an institution for music research and experimentation called IRCAM (Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique).

Iannis Xenakis

• The Greek composer was interested in the mathematics of music, and also used computer programs to create compositions.

Luciano Berio (1925-2003)

• Working at IRCAM in the 1970s, he studied speech patterns and applied this to music.
• His compositions are also inspired by Sicilian folk music.

Tõru Takemitsu (1930-1996)

• Combined traditional Japanese scales and instruments with Western styles and orchestra, creating interesting harmonies.

Hildur Guðnadóttir (1982-)

• Explores dark themes in her compositions and is greatly inspired by Iceland's landscape and its long, dark winters.
• Won an Oscar in 2020 for the musical score of the Hollywood film Joker.

Arvo Pärt (1935–)

• Experiments with minimalist orchestral techniques to convey poetic sounds in his religious music.

Steve Reich (1936–)

• Inspired by tape-loops and speech recordings, creates rippling, phase-shifting music where the instruments steadily play at slightly different speeds.

John Adams (1947–)

• Applies a lively sense of humor and rhythmic excitement to minimalism.
• Writes pieces based on world headlines and major events.

Kevin Volans (1949-)

• After working with Stockhausen, this South African composer combined rhythms and techniques from African music with his own style.

Kaija Saariaho (1952-)

• Experiments with a combination of synthesized electronic and instrumental sounds to produce dramatic and mysterious new music.

Julia Wolfe (1958-)

• Includes many modern music influences in her classical compositions.
• Her 2002 composition Dark Full Ride is written for four drum kits.

A look at 20th-century classical music and its many directions. Composers experimented with harmonies, melodies, and rhythms. Electronic instruments and computer technology opened up new musical possibilities.