The Delta: Music in the 20th Century

The Turn of the 20th Century

Aesthetic Contexts

DECADENCEClassicism

REALISMRomanticism

SYMBOLISM

Charles Baudeliaire

Oscar Wilde

Stephane Mallarme

J. K.Huysman

MauriceMaeterlinck

CharlesDickens

VictorHugo

Claude Debussy (1862-1918)Major Works

Orchestral:•Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun•La Mer•Three Nocturnes

Piano:•2 books of Preludes•2 books of Etudes•Misc.

Chamber:•String Quartet (early)•Violin Sonata, Cello Sonata,Sonata for Flute, Viola,and Harp (all late)

Opera:Pelléas et Mélisande

Two Piano Preludes

The Girl With the Flaxen HairThe Sunken Cathedral

Impressionism

Claude MonetHaystacks in Late Summer

DebussyLa Mer

“From Sunrise to Noon on the Sea”

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)

Younger composer, often linked with Debussy as French Impressionist composer

•Highly colorful, vibrant, orchestral writing•Light, wistful, textures•Influence of Jazz, and other “ethnic” music styles

Major Works:•String Quartet•Bolero•La Valse•Daphnis et Chloé•2 operas•Piano Music