45. An Introduction to Early 20th-Century Modernism

Overview

New music has always been difficult for its contemporary listeners. The self-expressive revolution began with Beethoven and became increasingly extreme as the 19th century progressed. Eventually, composers needed extreme musical means to express extreme states. Mahler, for example, in his Symphony no. 9, depicts his own heart attack and death, pushing traditional tonality to its limits in order to do so. The late 19th century and early 20th century was a time of accelerated change, and some composers, recognizing traditional tonality to be outmoded, responded with momentous changes in terms of the musical language with which they chose to express themselves.

Cast