| Contents |
Part one. The materials of contemporary music. The old and the new. Evolution or revolution? ; What is modern? -- The twilight of Romanticism. Classic versus Romantic ; The Romantic movement (c. 1820-1900) ; The end of an epoch -- The Classical heritage. The Classical era (c. 1775-1825) -- Melody in contemporary music. Melody in the Classic-Romantic era ; The new melody -- The new harmony. The Classical system of harmony ; Romantic harmony ; Twentieth-century harmony ; The emancipation of the dissonance ; Melody and harmony in contemporary music -- New conceptions of tonality. The major-minor system ; Tonality in the Classic-Romantic era ; The expansion of tonality in contemporary music ; Polytonality -- Rhythm in contemporary music. Metrical rhythm and free rhythm ; "The tyranny of the barline" ; Twentieth-century rhythm ; New rhythmic devices -- Texture in contemporary music. Texture in the music of the past ; Texture in the twentieth century ; Dissonant counterpoint -- New concepts in orchestration. Orchestration in the Classic-Romantic era ; The new orchestration -- New conceptions of form. The Classical forms ; Form in contemporary music ; The twentieth-century sonata -- Part two. The European scene. Late Romantics. The post romantic generation ; Gustav Mahler. His life ; His music ; Das Lied von der Erde (the song of the earth) -- Richard Strauss. His life ; His music ; Salome -- Jean Sibelius. His life ; His music ; Symphony no. 2 in D major, opus 43 -- Alexander Scriabin. His life ; His music -- Other late Romantics. Leos Janacek ; Hugo Wolf ; Max Reger ; Others -- Impressionism. Impressionism. The impressionist painters ; The symbolist poets ; Impressionism in music ; The revolt against German forms -- Impressionist methods. Modal influences ; The whole-tone scale ; The pentatonic scale ; Impressionist harmony ; Parallel motion ; Expansion of the concept of key ; Other aspects of impressionist music -- Claude Debussy. His life ; His music ; Iberia ; La Cathedrale Engloutie (the sunken cathedral) ; La Chevelure (tresses) -- Maurice Ravel. His life ; His music ; Daphnis and Chloe Suite no. 2 ; Jeux d'eau (fountains) -- Frederick Delius. His life ; His music ; Sea drift -- Other impressionists -- Three representative composers. New trends: the flight from Romanticism. Objectivism ; Primitivism ; Urbanism and machine music ; Sports and ballet ; Humor and satire ; The influence of jazz -- The new classicism. Twentieth-century classicism ; Neo-classicism: the doctrine ; Neo-classicism: the music ; Gebrauchsmusik (workaday music) -- Igor Stravinsky. His life ; His music -- Three works by Stravinsky. Le Sacre du printemps (The rite of spring) ; L'Histoire du soldat (The soldier's story) ; Symphony of Psalms -- Bela Bartok. His life ; His music -- Three works by Bartok. Concerto for orchestra ; Music for string instruments, percussion and celesta ; Fourth string quartet -- Paul Hindemith. His life ; His music ; Symphony Mathis der Maler (Mathis the painter) -- Away from impressionism. Erik Satie. His life ; His music ; Parade -- Les six. Darius Milhaud. His life ; His music ; La Creation du monde (the creation of the world) ; Scaramouche -- Arthur Honegger. His life; His music ; Symphony no. 5 -- Francis Poulenc. His life and music ; La Voix Humaine (the human voice) -- Classicists. Ferruccio Busoni. His life and music --t lbert Roussel. His life ; His music ; Symphony no. 3 in G minor, opus 42 -- Other classicists. Bohuslav Martinu ; Alfredo Casella ; Gian Francesco ; Malipiero ; Vittorio Rieti ; Willem Pijper ; Marcel Poot ; Boris Blacher ; Others -- Nationalists. The new nationalism -- Manuel de Falla. His life ; His music ; El Amor Brujo (bewitched by love) -- Ernest Bloch. His life ; His music ; Schelomo (Solomon) -- Other nationalists -- The Russians. The Soviet view ; Socialist realism ; The composer and the government -- Sergei Prokofiev. His life ; His music ; PIano concerto no. 3 - Dmitri Shostakovich. His life ; His music ; Symphony no. 5, opus 47 -- Other Soviet composers -- Ralph Vaughan Williams. His life ; His music ; A London symphony -- Benjamin Britten. His life ; His music ; Peter Grimes -- The new Romantics. Toward a new Romanticism -- Carl Orff. His life and music ; Carmina Burana -- William Walton. His life and music ; Belshazzar's Feast -- Olivier Messiaen. His life and music -- Other Romantic composers -- Twelve-tone composers. The twelve-tone school. Expressionism ; Atonality ; The twelve-tone method -- Arnold Schoenberg. His life ; His music -- Four works by Schoenberg. Verklarte Nacht (transfigured night), opus 4 ; Five Pieces for Orchestra, opus 16 ; Variations for Orchestra, opus 31 ; Piano concerto, opus 42 -- Alban Berg. His life ; His music -- Two works by Berg. Wozzeck: the drama ; The music ; Concerto for violin and orchestra -- Anton Webern. His life ; His music -- Three works by Webern. Five pieces for orchestra, opus 10 ; Symphony for small orchestra, opus 21 ; Cantata no. 1, opus 29 -- Two late works by Stravinsky. Agon ; Threni (Threnodies) -- Louis Dallapiccola. His life ; His music ; Variazioni per Orchestra -- Partly twelve-tone. Frank Martin ; Goffredo Petrassi ; Rolf Liebermann ; Hans Werner Henze -- Experimentalists. Electronic music -- Karlheinz Stockhausen -- Pierre Boulez. His life ; His music ; Le Marteau sains maitre (the hammer without a master) -- Other avant-garde composers -- .Part three. The American Scene. Music in America. The background ; Three generations of American composers ; Toward an American music -- Impressionists. Charles Martin Loeffler ; Charles Tomlinson Griffes -- Nationalists. Charles Ives. His life ; His music ; Three Places in New England -- Douglas Moore. His life ; His music ; The Ballad of Baby Doe -- Roy Harris. His life ; His music ; Third symphony -- Randall Thompson. His life and music ; The testament of Freedom -- Aaron Copland. His life ; His music -- Two works by Aaron Copland. Appalachian Spring ; Symphony no. 3 -- Other nationalists -- Latin America -- Heitor Villa-Lobos. His life ; His music ; Bachianas Brasilerias no. 5 -- Carlos Chavez. His life ; His music ; Sinfonia India -- Other Latin-American composers -- Classicists. Walter Piston. His life ; His music ; Symphony no. 4 -- Quincy Porter. His life and music ; String quartet no. 8 -- Other classicists - I -- William Schuman. His life ; His music ; Credendum (article of faith) -- Lukas Foss. His life ; His music ; A Parable of Death -- Peter Mennin. His life ; His music ; Symphony no. 3 -- Other classicists - II -- Romanticists. Virgil Thomson. His life ; His music ; Louisiana Story -- Howard Hansion. His life and music -- Other romanticists - I -- Samuel Barber. His life ; His music ; Essay for Orchestra, no. 1 Medea's Meditation and Dance of Vengeance -- Norman Dello Joio. His life ; His music ; Variations, Chaconne and Finale -- Other romanticists - II. Of the theater. George Gershwin. His life ; His music ; An American in Paris -- Introduction to contemporary music. Kurt Weill -- Mark Blitzstein -- Cian Carlo Menotti. His life ; His music ; Amahl and the Night Visitors -- Leonard Bernstein -- Other opera composers -- Toward a new expressionism. Carl Ruggles ; Roger Sessions. His life ; His music ; Symphony no. 1 ; Idyll of Theocritus -- Elliot Carter. His life ; His music ; Variations of Orchestra ; String quartet no. 2 -- Hugo Weisgall -- Leon Kirchner. His life ; His music ; Concerto for piano and orchestra -- Other expressionist composers -- Twelve-tone composers. Wallingford Riegger. His life ; His music ; Symphony no. 3, op. 24 -- Ernst Krenek -- Erich Itor Kahn -- Twelve-tone and partly twelve-tone composers -- Max Powell. His life and music ; Filigree Setting for String Quartet -- Experimentalists. Edgar Varese. His life ; His music ; Ionisation ; Poeme Electronique -- Other Experimental composers. |
| Abstract |
Contains material on the life and music of Mahler, Strauss, Sibelius, Scriabin, Debussy, Ravel, Delius, Stravinsky, Bartok, Hindemith.; Vaughan Williams, Benjamin Britten, Schoenberg, Webern. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical reference (pages 670-674), discography (pages 655-670), and index. |
| Genre/form | Sound recordings. |
| LCCN | 61007480 |
