EXPRESSIONISM
IN MUSIC
• Expressionism is an art
movement that began in
Germany during the 20th
century.
• The term Expressionism was
originally borrowed from
painting which intended to
express strong emotion such as
anxiety, anger, and feeling of
isolation.
• In music, it is characterized by subjectivity, dissonance, and
atonality.
• It made use of polytonality (simultaneous use of two or more
keys), and the twelve-tone scale which was established by
Arnold Schoenberg
the central figure of expressionism and one of the
members of the Second Viennese School.
Schoenberg's students Anton Webern and Alban Berg are also
known expressionist composers.
Expressionist
Composers
Arnold Schöenberg
1874 - 1951
• Arnold Schoenberg was one of the most influential figures in
music and founder of musical modernism of the early 20 th century.
• He created a new method in composition using the twelve-tone
system.
• He was a self-taught musician, who was born in Vienna, Austria
on September 13, 1874. He began to compose simple pieces for
the violins at age eight even without a formal training.
1901
• In 1901, Schoenberg moved to Berlin
where he worked as a musical
director in Überbrettl, an artistic
cabaret in Germany.
• With the help of a German composer,
Richard Strauss, he became a
composition teacher at the Stern
Conservatory.
1902
• In 1902, he composed Pelleas und Melisande Op. 5, his
only symphonic poem for large orchestra.
[Link]
1903
• In 1903, Schoenberg came back
to Vienna and became acquainted
with Gustav Mahler, an Austrian
composer who became one of his
strongest supporters.
1912
• He encountered an artistic crisis
in 1912 and for almost a decade
he had not completed a new
major piece.
• During those years, Schoenberg
earned money mainly from
private teaching and some of his
students who gained a notable
career in music were the Austrian
composers Alban Berg and Anton
Webern.
1933
• When the Nazis came to power in
1933, Schoenberg left Europe and
migrated in America where he spent
most of his life.
• He became a professor at UCLA and
an influential teacher in the United
States. Later on, his health dete-
riorated and forced him to resign from
his academic appointment.
1951
• In July 13, 1951 he died in Los Angeles, California, USA
In what year Arnold Schoenberg composed Pelleas
und Melisande Op. 5
1901
1902
1903
1912
In what year Schoenberg left Europe and migrated in
America where he spent most of his life and he became a
professor at UCLA
1933
1902
1951
1912
In what year Schoenberg died
1933
1902
1951
1912
Schoenberg's composition includes:
• piano music
• instrumental and orchestral music
• Cantata
• Opera
• Oratorio
• choral
Some of his known works are:
• Verklarte Nacht
• Pelleas und Melisande
• Pierrot Lumaire
• Erwartung
• Gurre- lieder; Ihree Pieces for PianoOp. 11
• String Qwantet in D Major
• Fantasia.
Schoenberg developed a more systematic
method of organizing atonal music or the
twelve-tone system. He manipulated the tone
row or the unifying idea through four basic
forms.
He was a self-taught musician, who was born in
Vienna, Austria
Arnold Scholberg
Arnold Soeberg
Arnold Suberg
Arnold
Arnold Schoenberg
Schoenberg
What are the four basic forms of Schoenberg
Forward (original form)
Backward (retrograde form)
Upside down (inversion)
Backward and upside down
(retrograde inversion)
Igor Stravinsky
1882 - 1971
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky
is a Russian composer,
pianist, conductor, and was
considered as one of the most
popular and influential
composers of the 20th
century due to his innovative
stylistic variations.
1882
• He was born in Oranienbaum, Russia on June 17,
1882 from a musical family.
• At an early age, he started taking piano and
showed passion in music.
Despite his love for music, his parents wanted
him to become a lawyer and was enrolled in a law
school.
After the death of his
father, he pursued to
study music and met
Nikolai Rimsky-
Korsakov, a famous
Russian composer who
became his teacher.
1909
• In 1909, Sergei
Diaghilev, the founder
of the Ballets Russes in
Paris invited him to
orchestrate Chopin's
work for his ballet and
in turn led to the
commission of his ballet
The Firebird in 1910.
1911
His fame was reinforced with the production of
his Petrushka in 1911, and The Rite of Spring
which nearly triggered a riot upon its premiere
in 1913 and was later hailed for its
revolutionary score.
During World War I, he brought his
family to Switzerland where he
composed music inspired by Russian
folklore and music with jazz influences.
1939
Renard and Les Noces are two of his best
known works in Switzerland. In 1939, he
moved to New York City and completed
his Symphony in C
1971
April 6, 1971 he died
with more than 100
works to his name.
In what year Sergei Diaghilev, the founder of the Ballets
Russes in Paris invited Stravinsky to orchestrate Chopin's
work for his ballet
1909
1882
1911
1912
Stravinsky is one of the influential composers of the
20th century due to his __________ stylistic
variations.
simple
unique
innovative
systematic
A famous Russian composer who became Stravinsky
teacher
Arnold Schoenberg
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Gustav Mahler
Igor Stravinsky
