Most musicians (yes, even teachers!) have a favorite period of music. In high school I was introduced to the piece Claire de lune by Claude Debussy, and ever since then my heart has belonged to the Impressionists. In fact, I still play that piece at least once a week, and it counts as perhaps my favorite work. Musical impressionism was a reaction to the romantic period, which had tended to be rather overblown and bombastic at times. The pieces are simpler, and aim to evoke a mood rather than necessarily tell you a story. Many works make extensive use of the whole tone scale. Below is a recording of the piece that began my love for 20th century music (note to fans of Twilight – this piece may be familiar!)
Debussy also composed more playful pieces – here is Golliwog’s Cakewalk, from his Children’s Corner – a collection of pieces not necessarily for children, but evoking childhood. This piece is so much fun to play!
Another of my favorite 20th century composers is Aaron Copland. Copland was greatly influenced by American folk music. I have fond memories of singing his arrangement of I Bought me a cat which attending Indiana University! One of my favorite works for piano by Copland is The Cat and the Mouse – see if you can identify each animal!
Sergei Prokofiev will be familiar to anyone who has ever enjoyed a performance of Peter and the Wolf. I love Montagues and Capulets, from Romeo and Juliet.
One last video… Metamorphosis one by Philip Glass. Used on the new Battlestar Galactica, if you are a fan (as I am!) I have the sheet music for this on order, as I have been listening to the recording non-stop lately. Glass is something of a minimalist (though he would prefer not to be called one!) so this piece is not showy. It may seem rather spare, but listen to the sound each chord makes as it begins to die off. What words would you use to describe the emotions this piece evokes for you?
As you can see, 20th century music isn’t all dissonant and ugly (as I have often heard in my studio!) Take some time to explore and you may be surprised! I’ll have a similar post coming up soon for this singers on 20th century vocal composers.
