graduate entrance exam preparation

1900

Mahler-dissonance, chromaticism, intensity-juxtapose chromatic/diatonic

Debussy-weak sense of direction, oscillating chords-exotic-pentatonic, octatonic scales, pitch collections

Rachmaninoff-stark contrast in materials

Scriabin (1910)-series of textures, sonorities

Schoenberg (1920)-Sprechstimme-intense dissonance, distortion, atonal-tone rows

Berg-atonal, not twelve-tone

Webern-Klangfarbenmelodie: change of instrumental timbre as part of the melody-pointillism: succession of tiny points of sound

Stravinsky (1920)-special timbres-juxtapositions, discontinuities(1920-50)-neoclassical style

Bartok (1930)-folk music assimilation

Ives (1910)-American vernacular tradition-cumulative form

Shostakovich (1930)Copland (1940)

-American folk music-open chords-->sense of openness

Messiaen (1940)-repeating cycles

Crumb (1970)-theatricality

Babbitt (1920)-voice with synthesized sound-vocal melody very disjunct, Sprechstimme, glissandos

Cage (1950)-chance operations

Adams (1980)-minimalism: constant pulsation and repetitions