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EXPRESSIONISM

EXPRESSIONISM. What is Expressionism?. Expressionism is a label applied to a style of music written in the first quarter of the 20th Century. Like many 20th Century genres, it can be linked to the artistic and literary movements which were happening at the same time.

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EXPRESSIONISM

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  1. EXPRESSIONISM

  2. What is Expressionism? • Expressionism is a label applied to a style of music written in the first quarter of the 20th Century. • Like many 20th Century genres, it can be linked to the artistic and literary movements which were happening at the same time. • Expressionist artists aimed to express internal emotions, often using bold colours and distorted images. • The opposite of expressionism is impressionism.

  3. Expressionism in Art Self-portrait with a Model by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner The Scream by Edvard Munch

  4. Expressionist Music • Expressionist music sounds very odd to most people! • Characteristics include extremes of dynamics (very quiet to very loud), lots of dissonant chords (clashing) and unusual combinations of instruments, at times playing the very lowest and very highest notes of their range. • The music is described as being atonal (not set in key). • Melodies tend to be disjunct (lots of leaps) and ‘tunes’ are always avoided (you can never whistle a piece of expressionistic music!). • Composers were more concerned with sound colour (combination of instrumental sounds) as oppose to a good melody. • Textures vary greatly throughout a piece of expressionist music, from solo sections to full passages for orchestra.

  5. Arnold Schoenberg • Arnold Schoenberg was the most important expressionist composer. Incidentally, he was also a painter. • He began experimenting with atonal music (music not written in a key) and was more concerned with combinations of timbre (instrumental sounds) than with melody and harmony. • His two students, Webern and Berg, were also composers of Expressionist music before they delved into the world of Serialism.

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