MUS- M 402 1st EditionLecture 23Outline of Last LectureI. ModernismII. Characteristics of Modernist MusicOutline of Current LectureI. The “Music of the Future Controversy”Current LectureI. The “Music of the Future Controversy”a. The “Music of the Future Controversy” was a great debate that arose as composers deliberated about the “right” was to proceed in music composition following the works of Beethoven.i. There were two sides to this debate:1. The side favoring Absolute Music.a. Included composers such as Schumann, Mendelssohn, andBrahms. i. Schumann believed that programmatic music created a complacent listener. He argued, for example, that the French were often too busy reading the program to be actively involved in actually listening and taking in the music. 1. Schumann wrote about his ideas in the Neuezeitschrift für Musik.ii. Mendelssohn believed that words were too ambiguous. He wanted his listeners to use their own imagination to interpret the music personally without anyone using text to tell them what to think or how to feel.iii. Brahms believed in absolute music because musicaltraditions had already stood the test of time and therefore would continue to do so in the future.2. The side favoring Programmatic “Music of the Future”a. Programmatic Music- music composed on a large scale with a story or plot or text attached/connected to the workto inspire the minds of the audience and explain the geniusbehind the music. b. Included composers such as Wagner, Berlioz, and Liszt.i. Wagner, Berlioz, and Liszt all believed that programmatic music was the next great kind of music. They viewed non-programmatic music as simplistic and unsatisfying.ii. Liszt proposed a new method of composing Symphonic poems- one movement works that had a poem directly attached to the piece to inspire the listener. 1. His technique of thematic transformation was used to break away from Classical Forms and older traditions of
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