The 20th century
History of music · The piano through history · Level 5 · 16 min
The 20th century no longer has one dominant style, but an explosion of directions, sometimes opposed. For the pianist it opens entirely new sound worlds: irregular rhythms, liberated dissonance, percussive piano, new playing techniques.
The main currents
| Current | Ideas | Composers and works |
|---|---|---|
| Expressionism, atonality | Leaving tonality behind; then twelve-tone technique: the 12 chromatic pitches ordered in a row | Schoenberg, Three Pieces Op. 11, Six Little Pieces Op. 19, Suite Op. 25; Berg, Sonata Op. 1 |
| Folk music | Rhythms and modes of peasant music, percussive piano | Bartók, Mikrokosmos, For Children, Allegro barbaro; Kodály |
| Neoclassicism | Old forms, clarity, irony | Stravinsky, Prokofiev (Visions fugitives, Toccata), Ravel (Le Tombeau de Couperin), Poulenc |
| Russian late Romanticism | Lyricism and virtuosity | Rachmaninoff (Preludes, Études-tableaux), Scriabin |
| Americans | Jazz, clusters, experimentation | Gershwin (Three Preludes), Ives, Cowell (clusters) |
| Post-war avant-gardes | Total serialism, chance, prepared piano, minimalism | Messiaen, Boulez, Cage, Ligeti, Reich, Glass |
Works from the first half of the century (Bartók, Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Satie…) are largely in the public domain in many countries; those by post-war composers are still protected: listen to them, and get the published scores.
The twelve-tone row
Schoenberg proposed ordering the 12 chromatic pitches into a row, in which none returns before the other 11 have sounded. The row can then be inverted, played in retrograde, transposed. Here is a row (invented for this example):
M:3/4 L:1/8 K:C C B, G, _A, _E _D | D _B, F _G E A |]
Asymmetric rhythms
Bartók, inspired by Bulgarian music, uses metres like 7/8 grouped 2 + 2 + 3: the pulse limps with energy.
M:7/8 L:1/8 K:C "^2+2+3"A2 c2 e3 | d2 B2 G3 | A7 |]
Playing this music
- Absolutely precise rhythm: count the eighths, subdivide, use the metronome.
- Percussive touch when called for (Bartók, Prokofiev): firm wrist, clean attacks, without harshness.
- Careful reading: accidentals often apply to one note only; pedal and dynamic markings are very detailed and must be followed to the letter.
- An open mind: listen several times before judging; the ear adapts surprisingly fast.