Music in the Early 20th Century Era

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Music in the Early 20th Century Era
Introduction
When talking of the 20th Century era, reference usually is made to the years between 1900 and 2000, when the millennium was witnessed, and it is wake, ushered in the 21st century. However, in our case, we will be looking at the musical forms and composers that shaped the early 20th century, between 1900 and 1950. It is important to note that music in the early 20th century was still being composed by musicians born in the 19th century. During this period, most musicians were mainly influenced by nationalism, and art. Extreme energy was witnessed in many composers such as Igor Stravinsky, who bore the label neoprimitivism (Radio Prague, 2001). The introduction of television and radio broadcasting was perhaps one of the greatest inventions that shaped the early 20th century style of music, as it was possible to generate sounds electronically.
Composers begun experimenting with this new found technology, and though they still incorporated elements of classical music, their music was found to be critical of the classical style. New trends such the twelve-tone and atonal systems did not in any way conform to the tonal hierarchy system that characterized classical music (Asiado, 2011). Because of the fact that 20th century music was not limited to operas and concerts, freedom was immense among the musicians of that time, to experiment with new innovations that made them gain global popularity. In this paper, important genres and in addition, the greatest composers of the early twentieth century era will be presented alongside their works- why was their work influential and important during the first half of the 20th century?
Important Composers and their Works
Giacomo Puccini ranks high among some of the greatest composers of the early 20th century. He was born in 1858, and died in Brussels in November 1924. He has been credited with ensuring the continuity of Verdi, a version inherent in Italian operas (Sherrane, 2011). As such, most of his works are characterized by realism or Verismo. Some of his most important and acclaimed operas include Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and La Boheme. Another important composer is definitely Edgar Varese, who despite having being born in France, lived most of his life in the USA. He was born in 1895, and died in New York in 1965. Most people consider him a pioneer of avante-garde style of music. One of his most important works is lionization, which has been criticized positively due to its huge piano and percussion ensembles.
Benjamin Britten is another important composer who was born in 1913 and died in 1976. He is mostly known for his vocal music and chorals, and for his collaboration with another great composer (Peter Pears), with whom he practiced post-romanticism in a very liberal way. His greatest work is perhaps the opera Peter grimes, although the Four Sea Interludes is well known to. But perhaps one of the most versatile of all composers of the early 20 century era was Igor Stravinsky (McGraw-Hill, 1998). He is known to have composed in different styles from serialism, to Russian nationalism and even Neoclassicism. The Rake’s Progress, Classic Cat, and Island of freedom, are among some of his most acclaimed works. Although Stravinsky was an excellent composer, he had problems managing his wit, and constantly got into trouble with other composers for expressing his feelings negatively. His most notable feud was with Vivaldi, where he remarked that the Venetian had written the same concerto hundreds of times (Musicacademyonline.com, 2011).
Why these works were Important and Influential
Most of the works of the composers in the early twentieth century as earlier stated were influenced mainly by art and nationalism. Let us not forget that World War I had been fought, and most of these composers living in Europe such as Giacomo Puccini, witnessed its firsthand occurrence (Sherrane, 2011). As such, most of ...