MUSIC

Primitivism
Primitivistic music is tonal through the stressing of one
note as more two simple events to create a more complex new event. In
its purest form, primitivism combines two familiar or simple ideas together
creating new sounds.
Primitivism has links to Exoticism through the use of
materialism from other cultures, to Nationalism through the use of
materials indigenous to specific countries, and to Ethnicism through the
use of materials from European ethnic group. Two well-known proponents
of this style were Stravinsky and Bela Bartok. It eventually evolved into
Neo-classicism.

Bela Bartok- was born in Nagyszentmiklos, Hungary on

March 25, 1881 to musical parents. He started piano lesson with his
mother and later entered Budapest Royal Academy of Music in 1899. He
was inspired by the performance of Richard Straus’s Also Sprach
Zarathustra to write his first nationalistic poem, Kossuth in 1903. In 1906,
he published his collection of 20 Hyngarian folk songs. For the next
decade, he continued to explore Magyar folk songs. Bartok has
approximately 700 musical compositions. In 1940, the political
developments in Hungary led him to migrate to the United States, where
he died n September 26, 1945 in New York City.
Neo-classicism
Neo-classicism was a moderating factor between the
emotional excesses of the Romantic period and the violent impulses of the
soul in expressionism. It was, in essence, a partial return to an earlier
style of writing, particularly the tightly-knit form of the Classical period,
while combining tonal harmonies with slight dissonances. It also adopted
a modern, freer use of the seven-note diatonic scale. Example of neo-
classicism Bela Bartok’s Song of the Bagpipe and Piano Sonata. In this
latter piece, the Classical three-movement format is combined with ever-
shifting time signature, complex but exciting rhythmic patterns, as well as
harmonic dissonance that produce harsh chords. The neo-classicist style
was also used by composers such as Francis Poulence. Igor Stravinsky,
Paul Hindermith, and Sergei Prokofief.

Sergei Prokofieff- regarded today as a combination of neo-

classicist, nationalist, and avant-garde composer. His style is uniquely
recognizable for its progressive technique, pulsating rhythms, melodic
directness, and resolving dissonance. He was born in Ukraine in 1891 and
died in Moscow on March 15, 1953.
Here are some composers of their compositions:
Bartok - Six String Quartet(1908-1939), Concerto for
Orchestra(1943), Allegro Barbaro(1911),Mikrokosmos(1926-1939),
Music for Strings, String Quartet no.4
Prokofieff- Romeo and Juliet (ballet), War and Peace (opera), Peter and
the Wolf, Symphony no. 1 (also called classical symphony)
The avant-garde style was associated with electronic music and
dealt with the parameter or dimensions of sound and space. It made use
of variations of self-contained note groups to change musical continuity
and improvisation, with an absence of traditional rules on harmony,
melody, and rhythm.
George Gershwin was born in New York to Russian Jewish immigrants in
1898. His older brother Ira was his artistic collaborator who wrote the
lyrics of his songs. His first song was written in 1916 and his first
Broadway musical, La La Lucille, in 1919. Other musical compositions of
Gershwin are; Rhapsody in blue (1924), An American in Paris (1928),
Porgy and Bess(1934). He is a true “crossover artist” and he is considered
as the “Father of American Jazz” his “mixture of the primitive and
sophisticated”. He has total around 396 compositions and he died in
Hollywood, California, USA on July 11, 1937.
Leonard Bernstein was born in Massachusetts, USA, in 1918. Endeared
himself to his many followers as a charismatic conductor, pianist,
composer, and lecturer. His big break came when he was asked to
substitute for the ailing Bruno Walter in conducting the New York
Philharmonic Orchestra in a concert on November 14, 1943. The overnight
success of this event started his reputation as a great interpreter of the
classic as well as of the more complex works of Gustav Mahler. He is best
known for his composition on stage. The title of his compositions are:
West Side Story (1957), Candide (1956), Mass(1971), On the Waterfont
(1954). He is remembered for his television series as “Young People’s
Concerts” (1958-1973). He has 90 musical compositions. And he died in
New York City, USA on October 14, 1990.
Philip Glass one of the most commercially successful minimalist
composers who is also an avant-garde composer. He explored the
territories of ballet, opera, theater, film, and even television jingles. His
distinctive style involves cell-like phrases emanating from bright
electronic sounds from the keyboard that progressed very slowly from one
pattern to the next n a very repetitious fashion. Aided by soothing vocal
effects and horn sounds, his music is often criticized as uneventful and
shallow, yet startingly effective for its hypnotic charm. His musical
compositions are; Music in Similar Motion(1969), Music in Changing
Parts(1970), Einstein on the Beach(1976), Satyagraha(1980),
Akhnaten(1984). He has 170 total of musical composition. He lives
alternately in Nova Scotia, Canada and New York, USA.
Modern Nationalism- a looser form of 20 th century music
development focused on nationalist composers and musical innovators
who sought to combine modern techniques with folk materials. In Russia,
a highly gifted generation of creative individuals knwn as the “Russian
Five”, Modest Mussorgsky, Mili Balakeriv, Alexander Borodin, Cesar Cui,
and Nikolai Rimsky Korsakov infused chromatic harmony and incorporated
Russian folk music and liturgical chants in their thematic materials. French
composer and pianist Erik Satie was a colorful figure in early 20 th century
music specifically avant-garde and modern nationalism.

ARTS
EXPRESSIONISM: A Bold New Movement
In the early 1900s, a movement arose in the Western art world that came
to be known as expressionism. Expressionist artists created works with
more emotional force, rather than with realistic or natural images. To
achieve this, they distorted outlines, applied strong colors, and
exaggerated forms. They worked more with their imagination, and
feelings, rather than with what their eyes saw in the physical world.
Among the various styles that arose within the expressionist art
movements were:
Neoprimitivism - was an art style that incorporated elements
from the native arts of the South Sea Islanders and the wood
carvings of African tribes that surged in popularity at that time.
Among the Western artists who adapted these elements was
Amadeo Modigliani, who used the oval faces and elongated
shapes of African art in both his sculptures and paintings.
Head-1913-stone Yellow Sweater-1919

Fauvism – was a style that used bold, vibrant colors, and visual
distortions. Its name was derived from les fauves (“wild beast”),
referring to the group of French expressionist painters who painted
in this style. Perhaps the most known was Henri Matisse.
Blue Window-1911 Woman with Hat-1905

Dadaism – was a style characterized by dream fantasies,

memory images, and visual tricks and surprises as in the paintings
of Giorgio de Chirico. Although the works appeared playful, the
movement arose from the pain that a group of European artists felt
after the suffering brought by World War I. Wishing to protest
against the civilization that had brought on such horrors, these
artists rebelled against established norms and authorities, and
against the traditional styles in art. They chose the child’s term for
hobbyhorse, dada, to refer to their new “nonstyle.”Melancholy and
Mystery of a Street-1914

Surrealism - was style that depicted an illogical, subconscious

dream world that seemed to exist beyond the logical, conscious,
physical one. Its name came from the term “super realism,” with
its artwork clearly expressing a departure from reality as though the
artists were dreaming, seeing illusions, or experiencing an altered
mental state. Many surrealist works depicted morbid or gloomy
 subjects, as in those by perhaps the best-known surrealist Salvador
Dali. Others seemed quite playful and even humorous, such as
those by Marc Chagall, Paul Klee, and Joan Miro.
Persistence of Memory-1931I and the Village-1911-Marc Chagall

Social Realism – expressed the artist’s role in social reform.

Here, artists used their works to protest against injustices,
inequalities, immoralities, and ugliness, of the human condition. In
different periods of history, social realists have addressed different
issues: war, poverty, corruption, industrial and environmental
hazards, and more in the hope of raising people’s awareness and
pushing society to seek reforms. Ben Shahn’s Miners Wives, for
example, spoke out against the hazardous conditions faced by coal
miners, after a tragic accident killed 111 workers in Illinois in 1947,
leaving their wives and children in mourning.

Another group of artistic styles emerged at the same time as the

expressionist movement. It had the same spirit of freedom of expression
and openness that characterized life in the 20 th century, but it differed
from expressionism in certain ways. This group of styles was known as
abstractionism.
The abstractionist movement arose from the
intellectual points of view in the 20 th century. In the world of science,
physicists were formulating a new view of the universe, which resulted in
the concepts of space-time and relativity. This intellectualism was
reflected even in art. While expressionism was emotional, abstractionism
was logical and rational. It involved analyzing, detaching, selecting, and
simplifying.
Abstractionism has the following styles:
 Cubism – the cubist style derived its name from the cube, a three-
dimensional geometric figure composed of strictly measured lines,
planes, and angles. Cubist artwork were, therefore, a play of planes
and angles on a flat surface. Foremost among the cubists was
Spanish painter/sculptor Pablo Picasso

 Futurism – began in Italy in the early 1900s. as the name implies,

the futurists created art for a fast-paced, machine-propelled age.
The admired the motion, force, speed, and strength of mechanical
forms. Thus, their work depicted the dynamic sensation of all these
as can be seen in the works of Italian painter Gino Severini.

 Mechanical style – as a result of the futurist movement, what

became known as the mechanical style emerged. In this style, basic
forms such as planes, cones, spheres, and cylinders all fit together
precisely and neatly in their appointed places. This can be seen in
 the works of Fernand Leger. Mechanical parts such as crankshafts,
cylinder blocks, and pistons are brightened only by the use of
primary colors. Otherwise, they are lifeless. Even human figures are
mere outlines, rendered purposely without expression.

 Nonobjectivism – the logical geometrical conclusion of

abstractionism came in the style known as nonobjectivism. From the
very term “non-object,” works in the style di9d not make use of
figures or even representation of figures. They did not refer to
recognizable objects or forms in the outside world. Lines, shapes,
and colors were used in a cool, impersonal approach that aimed for
balance, unity, and stability. Colors were mainly black, white, and
the primaries (red, yellow, and blue). Foremost among the no
objectivist was Dutch painter Piet Mondrian.