MUS 10 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Vaslav Nijinsky, Sergei Diaghilev, Symphonic Poem
MUS10 Lecture 7 – The Modern Era
The Modern Era
• Musical center becomes Paris, France instead of Vienna
• Works that marked the beginning of the modern era
o Tristan & Isolde (Wagner, 1865)
▪ Chord that has unclear resolution
▪ 12-toe serialis or foralis
o Faun (Debussy, 1894)
▪ Use of all chromatic notes
▪ Minimalism or postmodernism
o Rite (Stravinsky, 1913)
▪ Rhythm as driving force
▪ Spectralism
• Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
o Chromaticism and whole tone scales, much different than traditional
conventions
o Influenced by impressionism and symbolist poetry
o Composed solo piano pieces, songs, and operas (no symphonies)
o Prelude to the Afternoon of the Faun
▪ Symphonic poem for orchestra, about 10 minutes
▪ Based on poetry by Stephane Mallarme
▪ Performed as ballet with dancer Vaslav Nijinsky
• Sergei Diaghilev and the Ballet Russes
• Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
o Parisians initially disapproved of his music
o Composed the Rite of Spring
o Influenced by expressionism: subjective perception of the world, distorted
perception used for emotional effect
▪ Edvard Munch The Scream (1893) painting considered representative of
expressionism
• Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)
o Characterized by unstable tonality and very strong emotions, twisted
romanticism
▪ Does NOT use twelve-tone composition
o Used Sprecjgesang or speech-singing: vocalist uses specified rhythms and
pitches but does not sustain the pitches
o Works composed
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