Introduction
As a vital part of art, music has been utilized as a powerful societal tool for expressing emotions. The songs during this era blended traditional romanticism and modernity (Hodgson and Hodgson 17). Classical symphonies and melodies characterized the post-Romantic period.
Post-Romantic Composers and Their Contributions
John Philip Sousa (1854–1911)
Under the American band music genre, John composed pieces such as “Smick, smack, smuck” in 1878 (Hodgson and Hodgson 15). Then, John recorded “Miss Industry” in 1887, “Dream,” and “O thee.” The marching characteristic is what John added to the post-romantic period.
Gustav Mahler (1860–1911)
Utilizing his expertise on the piano, Gustav composed several symphonies that stand out as a hallmark of modern classical music. Of the notable symphonies, three pintos (1869), a sonata (1897), a symphony in a Minor (1888), and Blueline (1882). Gustav promoted symphonies during the Romantic period.
Igor Stravinsky (1862–1918)
With their emergence in the early 19th century, impressionist compositions dominated European countries (Laneve et al. 1). Among his compositions, the strains quartet (1893), nocturnes for Orchestra, which were recorded in 1901, the pour le piano (1902), and the Clair De Lune (Laneve et al. 7). Most of his recordings were aimed at rejecting classical impressionism.
Arnold Schoenberg(1874-1951)
Using the twelve-tone technique, Arnold composed four distinct works: dodecaphonic (1923), free atonality (1926), perfect fifths (1888), and chromaticism (1919). The distinct characteristic of his work was his ability to influence his audience to echo his words.
Charles Ives (1874-1954)
Using a polytonal style of composition, Ives composed notable works such as the Emerson Concerto (1919), the Violin Sonata (1924), the String Quartet (1914), and the American Variations (1892) (Moreland 146). Most of Ives’s works were characterized by a blend of romanticism and modernism.
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Through his expertise in creating an array of sounds, Ravel composed four iconic artworks: the “Apache” (1902), “Enforced Rivalry” (1906), the iconic string piece “Bolero” (1917), and “Monte Carlo” (1912) (Avila 34). Maurice added the array sound to his compositions.
Béla Bartok (1881-1945)
Using ethnomusicology, Bartok composed three decal classics (1911), the Nazis (1903), the New Influence in 1908, and the iconic Suite in 1923 (Avila 36). Folk music is one of the distinctive characteristics of Bartok’s compositions.
Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971)
Igor played a significant role in the trying nature of post-romantic music. The Petruska (1911), Firebird (1910), Impresario, and Primitivism were launched in 1934 (Avila 35). In his compositions, Igor used the piano and sousaphone.
Anton Webern (1883-1945)
Using the twelve-tone technique, Webern composed the violin concerto in 1923 (Avila 35), the Austral fascisms of 1933, the string quartet in 1909, and the Fehr him” in 1933 (Avila 33). Empathy was a dominant factor in most of his compositions, making it a defining characteristic of his work.
Alban Berg (1885-1935)
Alban, an Austrian composer, founded the genre during this period. Lulu and Wozerk are notable songs composed in 1925 and 1937, respectively; the chamber records by Berg were piano and sonata in 1941 (Laneve et al. 3). Alban was sculpted in Carinthia, Australia, to appreciate his legacy.
Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
Notable compositions included Appalachian Spring, composed in 1944; “Billy the Kid,” composed in 1956; The Hurricane, made in 1937; and Salan, made in 1938 (Laneve et al. 4). The landscape is one of the distinctive characteristics added by Copland’s compositions.
Richard Strauss (1864–1949)
Using the tone poems, Strauss wrote The Alpine, Zarathustra in 1901, Merry Pranks in 1911, and The Metamorphose (Laneve et al. 4). Compared to the other artists, Strauss added the use of fewer instruments.
Historical Perspective of Post-Romantic, Impressionist, and Twentieth-Century Music
Romanticism was dominated by individualistic songs that praised nature. The Romantic period, which ended in the 18th century, gave way to modernism, a more diverse music era (MacInnis and Peters 181). This post-romanticism period was characterized by the use of musical tones, melodies, and rhythm in its compositions.
Claude Debussy’s Contributions
Debussy made a tremendous contribution to post-romantic music. It is difficult to think of a notable composer who has worked during the past century and was not affected by Debussy’s classical compositions. Several composers on both sides of the Atlantic took up the neoclassical aesthetic, while the avant-garde of the 1950s, headed by Pierre Boulez, praised him for the modes of touching the meter (MacInnis and Peters 190). The fact that two British composers of recent times could not be more dissimilar to one another. The throbbing textures at the core of minimalism would also have been unimaginable without Debussy’s compositions.
Igor Stravinsky’s Contribution
Stravinsky was a highly influential composer who made significant contributions to the development of classical music. Although there had been shifts in musical styles in the past, such as those prevalent during the Renaissance and shifts during the Romantic era, Stravinsky’s contributions mark a watershed moment in the history of classical music for several reasons. Of course, this also depends on his use of melody, beat, and harmony.
To begin, he was instrumental in moving away from the conventional harmonic and formal frameworks found in classical music, developing a more fluid and flexible style that was not rigid and static in nature (MacInnis and Peters 177). Second, the compositions of Igor Stravinsky are well-known for the vivid emotions and tones they contain; this quality later became linked with classical music. Stravinsky’s compositions continue to influence musicians writing music today and are well-received by those who listen to classical music.
Igor Stravinsky was one of the most significant composers in France between 1880 and the beginning of the 20th century. Using complex harmonies and a varied timbral palette, the musicians of this era tried to depict scenes and evoke feelings (MacInnis and Peters 177). The strings frequently play music subordinate to the trumpets or woodwinds rather than assuming a prominent role. No composer has ever used the orchestra’s colors so subtly.
However, the main sensation of Stravinsky’s composition is focused on using musical instruments to produce light and shadows. He employs a wordless women’s chorus as a component of the orchestra in Nocturnes; this chorus serves as an additional source rather than a transmitter. Compared to how they are utilized in Western music, the instruments of Indian and Balinese music are played in a very distinctive manner. The concept of contrast established by the several European symphony “choirs” does not constitute the main objective of this work.
The drone, which typically plays on the tambura, helps maintain a consistent tone throughout Indian music. It is not meant to imply that the music is devoid of color; instead, it is supposed to convey that each piece possesses a distinct timbre. Since Stravinsky’s time, Western musicians have engaged with various forms of music, including those of India, the beaches of Bali, and Japan.
A comparison between the music of the Balinese gamelan and the sonatas for unprepared piano composed by the American musician John Cage in the 20th century demonstrates how significant this influence may be. Several great composers who came after Stravinsky and Mahler drastically altered how the Orchestra was used. Igor Stravinsky, a Russian-born composer, utilized “The Rite of Spring” (1913) to illustrate some of the developments and progress portrayed in his compositions, which make him one of the iconic artists of the 20th century (MacInnis and Peters 179). The significance of percussion instruments has grown significantly and has continued to do so. Ionization marked a turning point in the development of percussion pieces as equal collaborators in the music genre.
Arnold Schoenberg’s Contribution
Early works by the composer display the influence of high German romanticism. Schoenberg began one of the most influential eras of his career with Orchestral Pieces (1909) (Hodgson and Hodgson 15). This piece, whose construction lacks conventional tonality, was derided by critics as “atonal.” Schoenberg’s work nevertheless had a devoted and enthusiastic following thanks to its high drama and avant-garde expressive composition methods (Hodgson and Hodgson 18). Anton Webern stands out among Schoenberg’s pupils because both finally reached a prominence comparable to that of their illustrious teacher. The composer Arnold Schoenberg largely drove the growth of atonal or 12-tone music, while Webern advanced it, helping shape the future of modernist composition.
The Impact of Jazz
Jazz was a well-liked musical style that appealed to listeners of all races and cultures. Jazz music originated in New Orleans, America, in the 20th century and quickly spread across the country (Van Vleet 211). In particular, jazz music greatly impacted racial relations in society. Jazz gave people of all races a platform to interact and share their cultural traditions.
Additionally, the genre encouraged self-expression and inventiveness. Jazz music plays a vital role in society, as it appreciates instruments and integrates them with melodies and rhythms. Moreover, jazz music portrays the rise of modernism and the shift from romanticism in music.
Music for the Stage and Films
Music as a fundamental component in cinema has only gained attention as more than a technique to heighten local color or increase emotional expression since the middle of the twentieth century. This is, although many great stage musicals have grown even more popular through the medium of motion pictures. In the early days of silent films, all types of musicals were recorded, categorized, and altered to fit various genres. Several gifted idiots produced brief descriptive pieces. A few more significant motion pictures, such as “The Birth of a Nation,“ were given original music to accompany them.
In contrast to a musical, where the songs are intermingled with dialogue, operas are primarily sung. Drama and language drive both situations’ actions, which are performed before an audience for entertainment purposes (Moreland 142). Both opera and musicals are based on texts or librettos, but the singing in operas tends to seem continuous. In contrast, the spoken sequences surrounding the various songs in musicals reveal much of the plot.
Musicals frequently have larger dancing numbers. The level of sophistication of an opera can range from blatantly middlebrow to highbrow, and it is possible for there to be dancing involved (Moreland 142). For someone familiar with the overall storyline of an opera, the language in which it is sung is typically unimportant. Unlike Broadway actors, opera and musicals commonly have distinct subject matter, and songwriting and orchestration differ across the two professions. Other explanations include why opera and musicals frequently feature distinctive topics.
Conclusion
A diverse nature of music genres characterized the post-Romantic period. The variety of music and performances makes the period a notable era of musical inventions since it is the basis for its current modernism. Artistic compositions made during post-romanticism make up the success of modern music.
Works Cited
Avila, Jaqueline. Cinesonidos: Film Music and National Identity During Mexico’s Época de Oro. Oxford University Press, USA, 2019. pp. 32-35.
Hodgson, Andrew, and Andrew Hodgson. “Individualism in Post-Romantic Lyric: Standing Single.” The Poetry of Clare, Hopkins, Thomas, and Gurney: Lyric Individualism, 2019, pp. 15-42. Web.
Laneve, Sabrina, et al. “The Diachronic Development of Debussy’s Musical Style: A Corpus Study with Discrete Fourier Transform.” Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, vol.10, no.1, 2023, pp. 1-13. Web.
MacInnis, John, and Mark Peters. “Reading Igor Stravinsky’s Poetics of Music in Christian Higher Education.” International Journal of Christianity & Education, vol. 26, no. 2, 2022, pp. 177–190. Web.
Moreland, Sean. “Young Americans in Literature: The Post-Romantic Turn in the Age of Poe, Hawthorne, and Melville. International Journal of Christianity & Education (2020), pp. 142-145. Web.
Van Vleet, Kaitlyn. “Women in Jazz Music: A Hundred Years of Gender Disparity in Jazz Study and Performance (1920–2020).” Jazz Education in Research and Practice, vol. 2, no.1, 2021, pp. 211-227. Web.