Composers of the 20th Century Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Composers of the 20th Century - Essay Example The first and most important way by which Stravinsky did this is by introducing the changing face of his style of composition, while retaining essential and distinctive identity. Stravinsky also introduced the use of motivic development. This involved the use of repeatable musical figures in different guises either in a section of the composition, or in its entirety. Herein, notes are added or subtracted to a motif, without any regard to consequent changes that may take place in metre (20). It is against the backdrop of Stravinsky’s contributions that the idea and practice of pushing rhythms across the bar lines began to gain more notoriety. Consequently, because of Stravinsky’s input, the rhythmic structure in music gained a more fluid and spontaneous streak, especially in his work on The Rite of Spring. The same also made Stravinsky’s compositions take on a more offbeat, primitive and rhythmic drive and thereby making his work more unique. The veracity behind this is underscored by the fact that it is through this effort that Stravinsky is known in the history of music as the only composer who upgraded music to its artistic status. In equal length, Arnold Schoenberg also broke ranks with musical traditions of the past by the many inventions and contributions he made. Particularly, Schoenberg invented the dodecaphonic compositional method which is also known as the twelve-tone compositional method. In so doing, Schoenberg set the path for his students such as Anton Webern, Alban Berg and Hans Eisler who followed the dodecaphonic method of composition and made it famous. Byron points out that Schoenberg showed a departure from the musical traditions of the past by abandoning key centers in his musical composition, and thereby helping perpetuate the concept of free atonality which was relatively new by then (7). Also, Schoenberg’s work and procedures at it were organized in a dual manner, simultaneously. Schoenberg’s