Contemporary classical music facts for kids

Contemporary classical music is a type of classical music created in our modern times. It often refers to music made after 1945, especially new styles like serial music, electronic music, experimental music, and minimalist music. More recently, styles like spectral music and post-minimalism have also become popular.

A Look Back: How Modern Classical Music Started

Early 20th Century Changes

At the start of the 1900s, classical composers began trying out new sounds. They used more dissonant (clashing) notes, which sometimes led to music without a clear key, called atonal music.

After World War I, some composers wanted to move away from the grand, emotional style of late Romantic music. They chose a neoclassic style instead. This meant they aimed for balanced forms and clear musical ideas, similar to older classical music.

After World War II

After World War II, composers explored new ways to control their music. They used techniques like the twelve-tone technique and serialism. This meant organizing all 12 notes of the musical scale in a specific order.

At the same time, other composers tried the opposite! They explored indeterminacy or aleatoric processes, which meant leaving some parts of the music up to chance.

New technology also brought electronic music to life. Composers used tape loops and repeated sounds, which helped create minimalism. This style uses simple, repeating patterns that change slowly. Other composers explored how music could be a performance, mixing it with performance art or mixed media.

Today, new contemporary classical music is still being created. For example, the Boston Conservatory at Berklee puts on hundreds of performances each year, with many new pieces by students.

1945 to 1975: Different Paths

After World War II, European and American classical music started to develop in different ways.

In Europe, important composers included Pierre Boulez, Luigi Nono, and Karlheinz Stockhausen. They were influenced by Olivier Messiaen. A key idea at this time was serialism, which built on the ideas of Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern. However, some composers like Dmitri Shostakovich and Benjamin Britten kept writing music with a traditional tonal (key-based) style.

In America, composers like John Cage, Philip Glass, and Steve Reich developed their own ideas. Some of them explored experimental music. They questioned basic ideas about music, like how it's written down, performed, or how long it lasts. Others, like Milton Babbitt, continued to develop Schoenberg's twelve-tone serialism.

Main Styles and Movements

Neoromanticism

Some modern composers still use the rich, emotional style of the late 1800s and early 1900s. This style, called Neoromanticism, has always been popular and is not seen as controversial. Many composers continue to work in this more traditional, tonal style.

High Modernism

Serialism was a very important movement after the war. This style, also called "integral serialism," was led by composers like Pierre Boulez and Karlheinz Stockhausen in Europe, and Milton Babbitt in the United States. In serialism, composers use a specific ordered set of notes or sounds as the basis for their entire piece. This is often linked to the twelve-tone technique, where all 12 notes of the musical scale are used in a specific order.

Even though serialism became less common in the late 1900s, many composers still continued to develop these ideas. Some of these composers included Pierre Boulez and Toru Takemitsu. Today, composers like Magnus Lindberg and George Benjamin continue to explore high modernism.

Electronic Music

Electronic music uses electronic instruments and technology to create sounds.

Computer Music

Between 1975 and 1990, computers became much more common and affordable. This made electronic music easier to create and share. Personal computers became a key tool for electronic musicians. They could use computers to compose, create sounds, process audio, and control other equipment.

Music Theatre

Music theatre combines music with elements of theatre, like acting and staging.

Spectral Music

Spectral music is a style that focuses on the actual sound qualities (or "spectrum") of musical notes. Composers analyze the natural sounds of instruments and then create music based on these complex sound patterns.

Polystylism (Mixing Styles)

Some composers use "polystylism," which means they mix different musical styles in one piece. This can be like taking ideas from classical, jazz, or even pop music and putting them together. Some people call this "eclecticism."

Post-Modernism

Post-modernism in music often questions traditional ideas and can mix different styles and ideas in new ways.

Minimalism and Post-Minimalism

Minimalist music uses simple, repeating patterns that change very slowly over time. Think of it like a musical pattern that slowly evolves. Post-minimalism builds on these ideas but often adds more complexity, emotion, or traditional musical elements.

Historicism

Musical historicism means using older musical ideas, styles, or techniques in new compositions. This can include using old instruments or musical forms from hundreds of years ago. This movement is linked to the study of music history and the revival of early music. Composers like Gavin Bryars have used medieval styles in their post-minimalist works.

Art Rock Influence

Since the 1980s, some classical composers have been influenced by art rock, a type of rock music that often includes experimental or classical elements. An example is Rhys Chatham.

New Simplicity

New Simplicity was a movement that aimed for simpler, more direct musical expression, often as a reaction to the complex music of high modernism.

New Complexity

New Complexity is a style of music that is, as its name suggests, very complex! It's often a reaction to the "New Simplicity" movement. Composers in this style use very detailed and difficult musical notation.

This music can sound atonal (without a clear key) and very dissonant (clashing). It uses techniques like:

• Extended techniques: Unusual ways to play instruments.
• Microtonality: Using notes between the standard notes on a piano.
• Complex polyrhythms: Many different rhythms happening at once.
• Unusual instrumentations: Using strange combinations of instruments.
• Sudden changes in loudness and intensity.

Composers in this style include Brian Ferneyhough and Richard Barrett.

Music for Different Groups

Opera

Opera is a play where the story is told mostly through singing. Many composers have written new operas since 1975. Some well-known names include John Adams, Philip Glass, and Kaija Saariaho.

Cinema and Television

Many composers write classical-style music for movies and TV shows. These scores help tell the story and create the mood. Famous composers in this area include John Williams (who wrote music for Star Wars and Harry Potter), Hans Zimmer (known for The Lion King and Inception), and Ennio Morricone (famous for Westerns).

Sometimes, concert music is used in films. For example, Stanley Kubrick's movie 2001: A Space Odyssey used music by György Ligeti.

Chamber Music

Chamber music is written for a small group of instruments, usually one player per part. It's meant to be played in a smaller room or "chamber." Some famous chamber works include:

• Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima (1960) by Krzysztof Penderecki
• Ramifications (1968–69) by György Ligeti

Concert Bands (Wind Ensembles)

Many composers also write music for concert bands, which are groups of wind, brass, and percussion instruments. Some notable composers for concert bands include Frank Ticheli, John Mackey, and Eric Whitacre.

Festivals

Many festivals around the world celebrate contemporary classical music. These events are great places to hear new pieces and discover new composers. Some well-known festivals include:

• Darmstädter Ferienkurse in Germany
• Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival in the UK
• Warsaw Autumn in Poland
• Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in California, USA

See also

In Spanish: Música clásica contemporánea para niños

• List of contemporary classical ensembles