Introducing
Your new presentation assistant.
Refine, enhance, and tailor your content, source relevant images, and edit visuals quicker than ever before.
Trending searches
COMPOSERS
1866-1925
Erik Satie
3 July 1878 - 5 Nov 1942
George M. Cohan
25 Mar 1881 - 26 Sept 1925
Bela Bartók
8 July 1882 - 20 Feb 1961
Percy Grainger
17 June 1882 - 6 Apr 1971
Igor Stravinsky
3 Oct 1882 - 29 Mar 1937
Karol Syzmanowski
16 Dec 1882 - 6 Mar 1967
Zoltán Kodály
22 Dec 1883 - 6 Nov 1965
Edgard Varèse
3 Dec 1883 - 15 Sept 1945
Anton Webern
27 Jan 1885 - 11 Nov 1945
Jerome Kern
9 Feb 1885 - 12 Dec 1935
Alban Berg
25 Jan 1886 - 30 Nov 1954
Wilhelm Furtwangler
16 Sept 18887 - 22 Oct 1979
Nadia Boulanger
11 May 1888 - 22 Sept 1989
Irving Berlin
23 Apr 1891 - 5 Mar 1953
Sergei Prokofiev
10 Mar 1892 - 27 Nov 1955
Darius Milhaud
21 Aug 1893 - 15 Mar 1918
Lili Boulanger
20 Jan 1894 - 12 Nov 1976
Walter Piston
16 Nov 1895 - 28 Dec 1963
Paul Hindemith
28 Dec 1896 - 16 Mar 1985
Roger Sessions
11 Mar 1897 - 10 Dec 1965
Henry Cowell
12 Feb 1898 - 1 Oct 1979
Roy Harris
6 Dec 1896 - 17 Aug 1983
Ira Gershwin
26 Sept 1898 - 11 July 1937
George Gershwin
7 Jan 1899 - 30 Jan 1963
Francis Poulenc
14 Nov 1900 - 2 Dec 1990
Aaron Copland
2 Mar 1990 - 3 Apr 1950
Kurt Weill
3 Aug 1900 - 2 Dec 1991
Ersnt Krenek
6 June 1903 - 1 May 1978
Aram Khachaturian
3 Feb 1904 - 19 Feb 1975
Luigi Dallapiccola
1 Mar 1904 - 14 Dec 1944
Glenn Miller
25 Sept 1906 - 9 Aug 1975
Dmitry Shostakovich
10 Dec 1908 - 27 Apr 1992
Oliver Messiaen
11 Dec 1908 - Present
Elliott Carter
30 May 1909 - 13 June 1986
Benny Goodman
4 Aug 1910 - 15 Feb 1992
William Schuman
7 July 1911 - 1 Feb 2007
Gian Carlo Menotti
5 Sept 1912 - 12 Aug 1992
John Cage
22 Nov 1913 - 4 Dec 1976
Benjamin Britten
6 May 1915 - 23 Jan 2009
George Perle
10 May 1916 - 29 Jan 2011
Milton Babbitt
25 Aug 1918 - 14 Oct 1990
Leonard Bernstein
7 Apr 1920 - Present
Ravi Shankar
4 Apr 1922 - 18 Aug 2004
Elmer Bernstein
?29 May 1922 - 4 Feb 2001
Iannis Xenakis
28 May 1923 - 12 Jun 2006
Gyorgy Ligeti
29 Jan 1924 - 8 May 1990
Luigi Nono
26 Mar 1925 - Present
Pierre Boulez
12 Jan 1926 - 3 Sept 1987
Morton Feldman
25 May 1926 - 28 Sept 1991
Miles Davis
1 July 1926 - Present
Hans Werner Henze
10 Jun 1928 - 13 Mar 1989
Carl Dahlhaus
22 Aug 1928 - 5 Dec 2007
Karlheinz Stockhausen
24 Oct 1929 - Present
George Crumb
26 Feb 1932 - 12 Sept 2003
Jonny Cash
23 Nov 1933 - Present
Krzysztof Penderecki
8 Sept 1934 - Present
Peter Maxwell Davies
27 Nov 1935 - Present
Helmut Lachenmann
11 Sept 1935 - Present
Arvo Part
24 June 1935 - Present
Terry Riley
28 Mar 1936 - Present
Bill Gaither
3 Oct 1936 - Present
Steve Reich
31 Jan 1937 - Present
Philip Glass
16 Mar 1937 - Present
David Del Tredici
16 Feb 1938 - Present
John Corigliano
26 May 1938 - Present
William Bolcom
9 Jun 1938 - Present
Charles Wuorinen
6 Sept 1938 - Present
Joan Tower
10 Feb 1939 - Present
Roberta Flack
7 Jul 1940 - Present
Ringo Starr
9 Oct 1940 - 8 Dec 1980
John Lennon
24 Jan 1941 - Present
Neil Daimond
24 May 1941 - Present
Robert Zimmerman
(Bob Dylan)
13 Oct 1941 - Present
Paul Simon
5 Nov 1941 - Present
Art Garfunkel
4 Mar 1942 - Present
Gloria Gaither
25 Mar 1942 - Present
Aretha Franklin
18 Jun 1942 - Present
Paul McCartney
20 Nov 1942 - Present
Meredith Monk
10 Jan 1943 - 20 Sept 1973
Jim Croce
25 Feb 1943 - 29 Nov 2001
George Harrison
31 Dec 1943 - 12 Oct 1997
John Denver
28 Jan 1944 - Present
John Tavener
19 Jan 1946 - Present
Dolly Parton
17 Jun 1946 - Present
Gerard Grisey
15 Feb 1947 - Present
John Adams
11 Mar 1947 - Present
Tristan Murail
25 Mar 1947 - Present
Elton John
5 Jun 1947 - Present
Laurie Anderson
3 May 1950 - Present
Stevie Wonder
30 Jan 1951 - Present
Phil Collins
2 Sept 1953 - Present
John Zorn
21 Oct 1953 - 28 Jul 1982
Keith Green
29 Aug 1958 - 25 Jun 2009
Michael Jackson
5 Jun 1961 - 22 Feb 2006
Anthony Burger
(Arr.)
17 Jan 1971 - Present
Kid Rock
(Robert Ritchie)
14 Oct 1978 - Present
Usher Raymond IV
4 Sept 1981 - Present
Beyonce Knowles
28 Mar 1986 - Present
Stefani Germanotta
(Lady GaGa)
13 Dec 1989 - Present
Taylor Swift
ALL THINGS MUSIC: MUSICAL EVENTS, STYLE PERIODS, PERFORMANCE MEDIUMS and MUSIC OF OTHER CULTURES
1877
Thomas Edison invents dound recording
1878
Thomas Edison patents phonograph
1891
Carnegie Hall opens in New York
1900
Puccini's Opera "Tosca" in Rome
1901
Rachmoninoff Piano Concerto no. 2
Dvorak's Opera "Rusalka" in Prague
Verdi died
Ragtime jazz develops in US
Wigmore Hall opens in London
1902
Elgar composes his first "Pomp and Cirumstance"
Debussy's Opera "Pelleas et Melisande" in Paris
Frederick Delius' "Appalachia"
Leo Blech's comic opera "Das War Ich" in Dresden
Sebilius - Symphony no. 2
Enrico Caruso records on phonograph for the first time
1903
Oscar Hammerstein built Manhattan Opera House in New York
Elgar's oratorio "The Apostles" in Birmingham
Very first recording of an opera - Verdi's "Ernani"
1904
Puccini's opera "Madame Butterfly" in Milan
First transmission of music over radio at Graz. Austria
London Symphony Orchestra established
1905
Richard Strauss' operal "Salome" in Dresden
First American opera produced in Europe - Coerne's "Zenobia"
Albert Schweitzer - "J. S. Bach"
Sir Thomas Beecham debuts as conductor in London
1906
George M. Cohan produces "Forty-five Minutes from Broadway" NY
Ethel Smyth's opera "The Wreckers" in Leipzig
Mozart Festival in Salzburg
Interets on Europe's central music sparked by publication of the book by Bartok and Kodal "Hungarian Fold Songs"
1907
Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8 in E-flat major
First staging of "Ziegfeld Follies" in New York
1908
Korngold composes first stage work "The Snowman" at age 11
Oskar Straus' operetta "The Chocolate Soldier"
1909
Richard Strauss' opera "Elektra" in Dresden
Ralph Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme of Tallis"
1910
Stravinsky's ballet "The Firebird" in Paris
Beecham's first season of opera at Covent Garden in London
Maassenet's opera "Don Quichotte" in Monte Carlo
The Tango becomes popular in U.S. and Europe
Victor Herbert's American operetta "Naughty Marietta" in New York
1911
Irving Berlin's "Alexander's Ragtime Band"
Lehar's opera "Eva" in Vienna
Stravinsky's ballet "Petrouchka" in Paris
Emile Jaques-Dalcroze founded institutions for the teaching of
eurhythmics at Hellerau, Germany
1912
Maruice Ravel's ballet "Daphnis and Chloe" in Paris
Delius composed "On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring"
Schoenberg's song cycle "Pierrot Lunaire" in Berlin
Leopold Stokowski named conductor of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra"
1913
De Falla's opera "Vida Breve" in Nice
Scriabin's symphonic poem "Prometheus" in Moscow
Jack Judge composes song "Tipperary"
1914
Irving Berlin's "Watch Your Step" in New York
Beniamino Gigli debuts as Italian tenor
ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) founded
1915
Max Reger's "Mozart Variations" Op. 32
Rouget de Lisle (Composer of "La Marseillaise") remains taken to Invalides, Paris
Max von Schillings' opera "Mona Lisa" in Stutgart
Classic new Orleans jazz begins to bloom
Novello composes "Kee the Home Fires Burning"
1916
Jazz sweeps the U. S.
Leo Fall's operetta "Die Rose von Stambul" in Vienna
Charles Ives finishes his Fourth Symphony
1917
Hans Pfitzner's opera "Palestrina" in Musich
Chicago becomes world's jazz center
George M. Cohan writes "Over There" American war song
Dixieland Jass Band opens in New York's Reisenweber's Restaurant and also made the first jazz recording
"Les Six" beomes a group
1918
Jerome Kern's "Rock-a-Bye Baby" in New York
Irving berling's "Yip Yip Haphank" in New York
Franz Schreker's opera "Die Gezeichneten" in Frankfurt
Igor Stravinsky's "Histoire du soldat" in Lausanne
New York Philharmonic bans compositions by German composers
Karl Muck, German conductor, arrested as enemy aliem
Paris Opera opens Gounod's "Faust"
Latvian National Opera founded in Riga
Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge debuted her first music festival in Pittsfield Mass.
1919
Jazz arrives in Europe
Harry Tierney's "Irene" in New York
Edgar Varese conducts New York New Symphony Ochestra's first concert of modern music
A. D. Julliard died leaving 20 million dollard to endow Julliard School of Music, New York
1920
Christmas Radio Concert from Germany
Maurice Ravel's "La Valse"
Paul Whiteman and band tours Europe
Ralph Vaughan Williams' final version of "London Symphony"
Gustav Holst's first complete performance of "The Planets" in London
1921
Irving Berlins' first "music Box Revues" New York
Paul hindemith's one-act oepras "morder, hoffnun der Frauen" and "Das nusch-nuschi" in Stutgart
Brittain's Musicians' Union founded in London
Sergeri Prokofiev's opera "The Love for Three Oranges" in Chicago
Teatro all Scala opens under Arturo Toscanini
"Die Walkure" became first Wagnerian opera staged at Paris Opera since before the war
Festical of Contemporary music at Donaueschingen
1922
Louis Armstrong joins Joe King Oliver's band in chicago after arriving from New Orleans
Faul Hindemith's one-act opera "Sancta Susanna" in Frankfurt
I. S. C. M. (International Society for Contemporary Music)
formed in Salzburg
1923
"Bix" Beiderbecke organizes jazz band in Chicago
Manuel de Falla's "Master Peter's Puppet Show"
George Gershqin's "Rhapsody in Blue"
Popular songs "Yes, We Have No Bananas; "
"Tea for two:" and "I Want to Be Happy"
Bessie Smith ("Queen of the Blues") records her first song
1924
Alban Berg "Chamber Concerto" written for Arnold Schoenberg
Juilliard School opens in New York
Arnold Schoenberg's "Erwartung" monodrama in Prague
Jean Sebelius' Symphony No. 7 in C Major Op. 105
Igor Stravinski's Piano Concerto
1925
Alban Berg's "Wozzeck" in Berlin
Aaron Copeland's Symphony for Organ and Orchestra
Chicago style jazz arrives in Europe
James Johnson "The Book of American Negro Spirituals"
Franz Lehar's Operetta "Paganini"
Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 1
Aaron Copeland awarded first Guggenheim Fellowship
1926
Bela Bartok's Ballet "The Miraculous Mandarin" in Cologne
Duke Ellington's first records appear
Arthur Honegger's opera "Judith" in Monte Carlo
Zoltak Kodaly "Hary Janos"
Giacamo Puccini's "Turandot"
Siegfried Wagner's opera "The Angel of Peace"
Karlsruhe Kurtweill's opera "The Protagonist" in Dresden
1927
Aaron Copeland's "Concerto for Piano and Orchestra" premiers, Boston Symphony Orchestra
George Gershwin's "Funny Face" in New York
Alois Haba develops theory of quarter-tone harmony
Ernst Krenek's "Jonny Spielt Auf" in Leipzig
Rdogers and Hart's "A Conneticut Yankee" in New York
Lev Theremin invents the earliest electronic musical instrument
Igor Stravenski's "Oedipus Rex" in Paris
1928
George Gershwin's "An American in Paris" in New York
Igor Stravinski's ballet "Apollo Musagetes"
Toscanini named conductor New York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra
Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's "Die Dreigroschenoper" premiers in Berlin
1929
Aaron Copeland's "Symphonic Ode"
George Gershiwin's "Show Girl"
Oxford History of Music begins to appear
Cole Porter "Fifty Million Frenchmen"
1930
BBC Symphony Orchestra formed
Director, Sir Adrian Bolt
Leos Janacek's opera "From the House of the Dead"
Arnold Schoenberg's opera "Von Heute auf Morgen"
Igor Stravinski's "Symphony of Psalms"
Friedrich Trautwein invents the Trautonium, an electronic instrument
Kurt Weill's studetns' opera "Der Jasager"
Popular songs: "Georgia on My Mind," "I Got Rhythm,"
"Body and Soul"
1931
George Dyson's oratorio "The Canterbury Pilgrims"
Gershwin, Kaufman, and Ryskind win Pulitzer Prize "Of the Icing"
William Grant Still's "Afro-American Symphony"
Edgar Varese's "Ionisation"
Francis Scott Key's text put to "Anacreon in Heaven" becomes U. S. National Anthem "Star-Spangled Banner"
1932
Sir Thoms Beecham founds Lodon Philharmonic Orchestra
Maurice Ravel's "Piano Concerto in G Major"
Arnold Schoenberg completes two acts of opera "Moses and Aaron"
1933
Aaron Copeland's "The Short Symphony
Sergei Prokofiev returns to the U. S. S. R.
1934
Benjamin Britten's "Fantasy Quartet Op. 2" performed at Florence Festival of the International Society for Contemporary Music
Paul Hindemith's symphony "Mathis der Maler"
Cole Porter's "Anything Goes" in New York
Dmitri Shostakovich's opera "Lady Macbeth of Mzensk" in Moscow
Rachmaninoff's "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini"
Popular Songs: "Blue Moon," "All Through the Night"
1935
Electric Hammond Organ becomes popular in U.S.
Gershwin's opera "Porgy and Bess" in New York
Jazz becomes Swing
1936
Samuel Barber's Symphony No. 1 in Rome
1937
Rdogers and Hart's muscial comedy "Babes in Arms"
Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana"
Isreal Philharmonic Orchestra founded in Tel-Aviv
Popular Songs: "The Lady is a Tramp," "It's Nice Work if You Can Get It," "Whistle While You Work"
1938
New style brought to jazz music by Benny Goodman
Negro singer Marian Anderson recieves honorary
doctorate from Harvard University
Foy Acuff joins Grand Ole Opry
-brings national recognition to the Nashville-based radio program
Rachard Strauss' opera "Daphne" in Munich
Werner Egk's opera "Peer Gynt" in Berlin
Popular songs: "A Tisket, A Tasket," "Jeepers Creepers," "September Song," and "You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby"
1939
Rodgers and Hart's "The Boys from Syracuse"
Aaron Copland's ballet "Billy The Kid" in New York
Myra Hess organizes National Gallery concerts, London
War songs in England: "Roll Out the Barrell," "Hang out the Washing on the Siegfried Line," "The Last Time I Saw Paris"
War songs in Germany: "Wir fahren gegen England," "Bomben auf England," and "Lili Marlene"
Carl Orff's fairy-tale opera "Der Mond"
Cole Porter's musical comedy "Du Barry Was a Lady" in New York
Popular Songs: "God Bless America," "Three LIttle Fishes,"and "Over The Rainbow."
1940
Irving Berlin's "Louisianna Purchase"
Stravinsky's Symphony in C major
Composers including Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Bartok, Hindemith, Krenek, Milhaud, Martinu, Weill, Toch, Kalman, Benatzky, Abraham, Stolz, and Oskar Straus move to the U. S.
Duke ellington known as composer and Jazz pianoist
Popular songs: "Oh, Jonny," "When You Wish Upon A Star," and "You Are My Sunshine"
1941
Roy Harris' "Folk Song Symphony" in Boston
Popular Songs: "Deep in the HEart of Texas," "Chattanooga Choo-Choo," "I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good"
1942
Benjamin Britten's "Sinfonia da Requiem"
Aaron Copland's "Rodao" in New York
First gold record created when RCA Victor sprayed gold over Glenn Miller's "Chattanooga Choo Choo"
Randall Thomposon's opera "Solomon and Balkis" premieres over radio
Irving Berlin's "White Christmas"
Popular Songs: "White Chrismas," "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammnition," "Paper Doll," and "That Old Black Magic"
1943
Rodgers and hammerstein'g "Oklahoma!" in New York - special Puliter Prize
Silliam Schuman's "Secular Cantata No. 2 , A Free Song" wins first Pulitzer Prize for music
Schoenberg's "Ode to Napoleon"
Popular Songs; "Mairzy Doats," "People Will Say We're in Love," and "Comin' in on a Wing and a
1944
Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring" danced by Martha Graham in Washington, D.C., Pulitzer Prize
Oxford University establishes faculty of music
Richard Strauss' opera "Die Liebe der Danae" hehearsed but canceled as Nazis closed theatres
Leonard Bernstein's "On the Town" in New York
Prokofiev's opera "War and Peace" in Moscow
Popular songs; "Rum and Coca-Cola," and "Sentimental Journey"
1945
Richard Staruss' "Metamorphosen"
Zoltan Kodaly's "missa Brevis"
Prokofiev's ballet "Cinderella" in Moscow
Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical comedy "Carousel" in New York
Benjamin Britten's "Peter Grimes" premier in London signals the rebirth of British opera
1946
Salzburg Festival reopens
Irving Berlin's "Annie Get Your Gun" in New york
1947
Pablo Casals promises not to play in public if Franco is in power
Carl Orff'sa "Die Bernaurein" in stuttgart
Popular songs: "I'll Dance at Your Wedding"
Gian Carlo Menotti's operas "The Medium," and "The Telephone" in New York
1938
Olivier Messiaen's "Turangalila-Symphony"
Britten's new version of "Beggar's Opera" in Cambridge
Columbia Rcords introduces 33 1/3 LP record
Arnold Schoenberg's "Survivor from Warsaw"
Cole Porter's musical comedy "Kiss Me, Kate" in New York
Popular songs; "All I Want ffor Christmas Is my Two Front Teeth," And "Buttons and Bows"
1949
The Samba becomes fasionable
Theodor W. Adorno "Philosophie der neuen Musik"
Kurt Weill's "Lost in the Stars" New York
Rodgers and mahherstein's "South Pacific" New York
45 rpm records sold in U.S.
Popular songs: "Bali Ha'i," "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend,"
1950
Gian Carlo Menotti's opera "The Consul" Pulitzer Priz,e New York
International Bach Year honos J. S. Bach
"Cool jazz" developed from bebop
Popular songs: "Ragg Mopp," "A Bushel and a Peck," and "Mona Lisa"
Howard Swanson's "Short Symphony" New York
Aaron Copland's "Clarinet Concerto" premiered by Benny Goodman and NBC Symphony Orchestra
1951
R. Vaughan Williams' opera "The Pilgrims Progress" in London
Robert Matthew builds Royal Festival Hall, London
Rodgers and Hammerstein's "The King and I" New York
Gian Carlo Menotti's opera written on commission for NBC-TV "Amahl and the Night Visitors"
Popular Songs: "Come On-a My House," "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening," and "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine"
1952
Hans Werner Henze's opera "Boulevard Solitude" in Hanover
Alexei Haieff, Piano Concerto
Popular Songs: "I Saw Mama Kissing Santa Claus," "Wheel of Fortune," and "It Takes Two to Tango"
1953
Britten's opera "Gloriana" in London
R. Vaughan Williams' "Sinfonia antartica" No. 7 Manchester
Hindemith, "A Composer's World"
Karlheinz Stockhausen's "Electronic Study I"
Leonard Bernstein's musical "Wonderful Town" New York
William Shuman's opera "Mighty Casey" in Hartford
Popular songs: "Doggie in the Window," "Stranger in Paradise," and "I Love Paris"
1954
Shoenberg's opera "Moses and Aaron" in Hamburg
Stravinsky's "Septet"
Roy Harris' Symphonic fantasy
Popular songs: "Mister Sandman," and "Hey, There"
1955
Alder and Ross' musical comedy "Damn Yankees" in New York
Darius Milhaud's Symphony No. 6 in Boston
Popular songs: "Roch Around the Clock," "Whatever Lola Wants," "Sixteen Tons"
1956
Lerner and Loewe's musical "My Fair Lady" in New York
Elvis Presley gains popularity as on eof the world's first rock stars
Bernstein's musical comedy "Candide" in New York
Popular songs: "Blue Suede Shoes," "Que Sera Sera," and "Dont be Cruel"
1957
Carl Orff's Easter oratorio "Comoedia de Christi Resurrectione"
Hindemith's opera "Harmonie der Welt" in Munich
Francis Poulenc's opera "Dialogues des Carmelites" in Milan
Leonard Bernstein's musical "West Side Story" in New York
Meredith Wilson's "The Music Man" in New york
Popular Songs: "Young Love," and "Seventy-six Trombones"
1958
Van Vliburn wins Moscow Tchaikovsky piano competition
Cha Cha Cha gains popularity
Pierre Boulez's cantat "Le Visage Nuptial"
Samuel Barber's opera"Vanessa" wins pulitzer Prize
Popular songs: "Catch A Falling Star," and Chanson d'Amour"
1959
Alban Berg's opera "wozzeck" revived in New York
Theodor W. Adorno "Klangfiguren" Theory of Modern Music
Richard Rodgers' "The Sound of Music"
Popular Songs: "He's Got the Whole World in His Hand," "Everything's Coming Up Roses," "High Hopes," and "The Sound of Music"
1960
Pierre Boulez's "Portrait de Mallarme"
Karlheinz Stockhausen "Konstake" for electronic sounds
Benjamin Britten's opera "A Midsummer Night's Sream" in Aldeburgh
Lionel Bart's "Oliver!"
Popular songs: "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini," "Never on Sunday," and "Calcutta"
1961
Luigi Nono's opera "Intoleranza"
Popular songs: "Moon River,"and "Exodus,"
1962
Britten's "War Requiem"
Shostakovick finished his twelfth symphony
Robert Ward's "The Crucible" gains pulitzer PRize
Popular songs: "Go Away, Little Girl," and "Blowin' in the Wind"
1963
Menotti's "Labyrinth"
Joan Baez and Bob Dylan gain popularity
Samuel Barber's Piano Concerto No. 1 wins Pulitzer Prize
1964
Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 10 completed by Deryck Cooke
Karlheinz Stochkausen's "Plus/Minus"
jerry Herman's "Hello, Dolly" in new York
Popular songs: "I Want to Hold your Hand,," and "Chim Chim Cheree"
1965
Leonard Bernstein's oratorio "Chichester Psalms"
Private commercial stations established oof Brittish coast
Boris Blacher's ballet "Tristan und Isolde"
Popular songs: "Downtown," and "A Hard Day's Night"
1966
William Schuman's ballet "The Witch of Eendor" in New York
Harry Freedman's "Rose Latulippe" in Stratford
first full-length Canadian ballet
40th World Music Festival of ISCM held in Stockholm
Josef Matthias Hauer's opera "Die Schwarze Spinne" in Vienna
The new Metropolitan Opera House opens
Popular songs: "Born Free," "Eleanor Rigby," and "Strangers in the Night"
1967
Willard Stright's opera "toyon of Alaska" in Anchorage as celebration of the purchase of Alaska from Russia
Barbra Streisand sings in New york for 135,000
Masteroff, Kander, and Ebb's musical "Cabaret" opens in New York
1968
Jean Louis Barrault produces "Carmen" at metropolitan Opera
Aretha Franklin competes for popularity with Jimi Hendrix
Popular songs: "Hey Jude," and "Cinderella Rochefella"
1969
Pierre Boulez conducts 16 concerts with New York Philharmonic
Olivier Messiaen's oratorio "The Transfiguration"
Woodstock Music and Art Fair in New York has more than 300,000 enthusiasts
1970
Kripps conducts Walton's "Improvisations on an Impromptu of Benjamin Britten" in San Francisco
Duke Ellington holds sacred concert at Saint-Sulpice Church inHharlem, New York City
1971
"Fiddler on the Roof" is longest running musical in Broadway history
Krzysztof Penderecki's symphony "Utrenja" in New York
1972
Mahalia Jackson famous (Gospel singer) dies
Lleonard Bernstein's "Mass" in Washington, D.C.
Goeran Gentele appointed manager of metropolitan Opera
1973
Benjamin Britten's "Death in Venice" in Aldeburgh England
1975
Sarah Caldwell is first woman conductor of the Metropolitan Opera, in New York
Charles Ives and Arnold Schoenberg's centennials works are performed
George Rochberg's "Concerto for Violin and Orchestra" premiered by Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra dn isaac stern
Musicians' strike closes 12 Broadway musicals for 25 days
Berlioz's opera "Benvenuto Cellini" premieres in America in Boston
George Crumb's "Makrokosmos II"
1976
Gian carlo Menotti's opera "The Hero" in Philadeplphia
1977
Elvis Presley dies
U.S.S.R. uses new text for national anthem after 20 years of which the anthem could not be sung due to it's praises of Joseph Stalin
1978
Composer and Cellist Mstislav Rostropovich and his wife, soprano Galina Vishnevskaya are revoked their citizenships by the Soviet Union
Krzysztof Penderecki's opera "Paradise Lost" in Chicago
Disco become popular
29 Italian opera house managers, directors, and agents arrested for allege "corruption in the opera world"
1979
Samuel Barber's "Third Essay for Orchestra"
Michael Tippett's opera "The Ice Break"
Joseph Schwantner's "Aftertone of Infinity" wins Pulitzer Prize
A peak in Utah is named "Mount Messiaen" in celebration of Oliver Messiaen's 70th birthday
1980
John Lennon was shot dead by Mark Chapman in new York
Popular songs: "Sailing," "The Rose"
1981
New York City Ballet stages popular Tchaikovsky Festival
1982
Toronto an, Aarhus, and the Barbican Center open new concert halls
New operas: Luciano Beria's "La Vera Storia," Bernard Herrmann's
"Wuthering Heights," and Stephen Paulus's "The Postman Always Rings Twice"
U. S. Festival at San Bernardino, CA, has 400,000 + attenders in the audience
1983
Unkown chamber symphony by Mozart (age 9) discovered in Odense, Denmark
Messiaen's first opera "Saint Francis of Assisi" preiers in Paris
Karen Carpenter dies (birth 1951)
U. S. Festival in Southern California attracts 725,000
Popular songs: "Beat It," "Thriller," "Every Breath You Take," and "Can't Slow Down"
1984
Marvin Gaye shot dead by father
New York Metropolitan Oepra's centennial season has it's first performance of Handl's opera Rrinaldo"
John Scott wins J. S. Bach International Organ Competition in Leipzig
Michael jackson wins unprecedented eight Grammy Awards for the album "Thriller" (over 37 million copies sold)
1985
Canada holds their first International String Quartet Competition and was won by the Colorado Quartet
U. S. A. for Africa records Ethiopian benefit song, "We Are the World" written by Lionel Richie and Micheal Jackson
Elliot Carter awarded the National Medal of Arts of the U. S.
Xue Wei from China wins the Carl Flesch International Violin Competition
Grawemeyer Award for distinction in music coposition goes to Witold Lutoslawski
1986
International Women's Festival of Music held in Beer-Sheva, Israel
The most extensive festival yet to celebrate Leonard Bernstein is mounted at Barbican, London
Unknown score by Edward Elgar found in a drawer in Bournemouth, England
Alun Hoddinot composes "The Silver Hound" a song-cycle for tenor and piano
"The Phantom of the Opera" world premieres in London - Michael Crawfor is the lead
"Les Miserables" wins eight Tony awards on Broadway
Ozzy Osbourne unsuccessfully sued by parents of a man who show himself after listening to Osbourne's "Suicide Solution"
Whitney Houston and Madonna hold popularity diva standards
1987
Amadeus String Quartet splits up after viola player Peter Schidlof dies
A notebook of Mozarts symphonies 22-30 auctions for $4 million
Stephen Sondheim's "Into the Woods" premiers on Broadway
Popular songs: "Graceland," "Bad," and "Higher Love"
A group of small, London-based labels coin the term "world music" and help record sellers find rack space for the eclectic music, thus making room for the African, Latin American, and other genres
1988
Boston hosts festival of Soviet music
Jean-Michel Jarre holds a concert in Dondon's Docklands with fireworks and lasers
Popular songs: "Don't Worry Be Happy," and "Faith"
1989
Claudio Abbado appointed as cheif conductor at Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
1990
The 1990 Dance Biennial in France has the largest gather of U.S. dance companies
Contemporary Christian artist and songwriter Anna Stevens is born.
Rap is all the rage
Supplemental Summary of Performance Mediums
Purpose: to give a short summary of the creation of electronic mediums and unique instruments created in the twentieth century. Remaining mediums are to be found within the heading “ALL THINGS MUSIC: Events, Style Periods, Performance Mediums, and Music of Other Cultures.”
A list of instruments and voice techniques in the late nineteenth and early twentieth-century
Piano
Orchestra
Stage music for ballets and operas
String quartets
Folk music
Sprechstimme (speech-song)
Using the voice as a tool for non-sense syllables in scat (jazz)
Using a jazz combo for “big band” sounds – usually a trumpet, clarinet, or trombone or vocal sound taking the lead and supported by percussion (drums and piano).
From 1945 on
Composers wanted to bring something new and divergent to the mix, so some began creating new instruments, and also experimenting with scales including intervals smaller than a semitone. This yielded instruments like the modified guitar, marimbas, cloud-chamber bowls, a gourd tree (Harry Partch), and the Japanese koto – plucked string instrument (Henry Cowell). A few more examples of these newly created instruments are he theremin and ondes martenot. The Theremin was invented in 1920 by Lev Termen. It was an instrument that changed pitch according to the amount of space between the performer’s hand and the instrument’s antenna. Maurice Martenot invented the ondes martenot in 1928 which was controlled by a ribboh, wire, or keyboard. Both instruments could produce one pitch at a time of the entire pitch continuum which allowed for a vocal-like quality.
During this time, traditional sonorities and mediums were still being used as electronic music was introduced by the ability to record, amplify, and manipulate sound with the tape recorder.
As electronic music studios were founded, more electronically produced sounds were made possible.
Eventually, synthesizers were created to ease the process of creating these new sounds in recording and performance by using multi-function, computerized electronics. This was a huge part of the changing process in performance and gave much more freedom to the performers rather than relying on the composers for every detail. Recorded patches of music were then used in conjunction with live performance to create an even MORE divergent sonority.
As experience was gained and as time has passed, this “noise-based” sound of music has saturated our current musical culture.
NON-MUSICAL EVENTS
1900
Relief of Mafeking
King Umberto I of Italy murdered
-son Victor Emmanual III succeeded him
Commonwealth of Australia created
William McKinley re-elected as U.S. President
1901
Edmund Barton becomes first Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia
Queen Victoria dies
-son Edward VII succeeds her
U.S. Presiden McKinley assassinated by anarchist
-Theodore Roosevelt succeeds him
Anglo-German alliance negotiations end
Social Revolutionary Party founded in Russia
1902
Treaty of Vereeniging ends Bore War, Orange Free State becomes British Crown Colony
Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria, Italy) renews for 6 years
U.S. gains control over Panama Canal
Arthur Balfour named British Prime Minister
1903
British take control of Northern Nigeria
The Russian Social Democratic Party divides into Mensheviks and Bolsheviks
1904
Wqr breaks out between Russia and Japan
Theodore Roosevelt wins U.S. Presidential election
1905
Bloody Sunday in Russia
Imperial Duma, the Russian Parliament is brought into existence
Treaty of Portsmouth ends Russian/Japanese war
First worker's soviet formed in St. Petersburg
Norwegian Parliament separates from Sweeden
Theodore Roosevelt is re-elected as U.S. President
Henry Campbell-Bannerman named Prime Minister of Britain
1906
Algeciras Conference allows France and Spain control of Morroco
First meeting of Russian Duma in May
President Theodore Roosevelt takes first trip outside U.S. by a President in office
1907
Japanese emmigration to U.S. banned by President Theodore Roosevelt
United Methodist Church established in Britain
Peace Conference at the Hague
Oklahoma becomes America's 46th State
Czar Nicholas II takes Rasputin into his court
Run on banks caused by the Panic of 1907
Pavlov studies conditioned reflexes
1908
Olympic games in London
Ford Motor Co. produces first Model T
1909
William Howard Taft becomes President of U.S.
Lenin writes "Materialism and empiric Criticism"
T. H. Morgan begins research in genetics
Establishment of Rockefeller Sanitary Commission
1910
King Edward VII dies
-George V succeeds him
The Mann Act passed by Congress
China abolishes slavery
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People established (NAACP)
Marie Curie writes "The Treatise on Radiography"
The "weekend" becomes popular in U.S.
1911
German gunboat "Panther" arrives in Agadir; international crisis ensues
Winston S. Churchill names First Lord of the Admiralty
Marie Curie awarded Nobel Prize for Chemistry
Rutherford creates theory of atomic structure
First practical electric automobile self-starter invented by U.S. Kettering
1912
New Mexico and Arizona join the U.S.
Woodrow Wilson wins U.S. Presidency
Triple alliance renewed
Lenin and Stalin take over editorship of "Pravda"
F. Oppenheimer writes "The Social Problem and Socialism"
Britain establishes Royal Flying Corps
The S. S. Titanic sinks
Stockholm hosts Olympic Games
1913
U.S. 16th Ammendment introduces Federal income tax
Woodrow Wilson wins Presidential election
Balkan War
Establishment of U.S. Federal Reserve system
Vitamin A is isolated
Zippers become popular
Foxtrot comes into fashion
Assemblyline techniques used in Henry Ford's factory
Rockefeller Institute founded
1914
World War I begins
Archduke Ferdinand and wife assassinated
German/Russian armistice signed
U.S. declares war on Austria and Hungary
Turks surrender Jerusalem
Mata Hari executed as a spy
Woodrow Wilson is re-elected as U.S. President
1918
Woodrow Wilson 14 points for world peace
1,388 planes of the German Luftwaffe assembled for attack
Germany bombs Paris
President Wilson demands that Germany and Austria retreat to their own territory before Armistice is signed; they agree
Czechoslovakia declares independence
Allies sign armistice with Austria-Hungary
Allied conference at Versailles
Armistice signed between allies in Germany; German fleet surrenders
Ex-Czar Nicholas II and family executed
Austria becomes a republic
Billy Graham born
Daylight Savings time introduced
Worldwide influenza epidemic
1919
18th Amendment declares prohibition in America
President Wilson presides over first League of Nation meeting in Paris
Soviet government formed in Budapest
German peace treaty signed at Versailles
Race riots in Chicago
Church assembly established by British Parliament
John Watson writes "Psychology from the Standpoint of the Behaviorist"
Thomas Morgan writes "The Physical Basis of Heredity"
Lady Astor - first woman elected to British Parliament
Woodrow Wilson receives Nobel Peace Prize
1920
U.S. votes against joining League of Nations
19th Amendment grants American women suffrage
End of Russian Civil War
Adolf Hitler announces 25 point program at Hofbrauhaus in Munich
Samuel Alexander writes "Spacetime and Deity"
Babe Ruth sold to the Yankees
Billy Sunday dies
1921
Winston Churchill becomes Colonial secretary
Hitler's "storm troopers" begin terrorizing political opponents
Freiderich Bergius hydrogenates coal to oil
Thomas Morgan postulates Chromosome Theory of Heredity
1922
U.S. and japan sign Naval agreement
Germany and U.S.S.R. sign treaty of Rapallo
Mussolini marches on Rome and forms fascist government
Soviet states form U.S.S.R.
John Dewey writes "Human nature in Conduct"
Herbert Hoover writes "American Individualism"
Pope Benedict XV dies
-succeeded by Pope Pius XI
1923
Germany abandons passive resistance
Wilhelm Marx becomes German Chancellor
200,000 members attended Tri-state conclave of the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana
King Tutankahamen's tomb is discovered
Prohibition enforcement repealed in New York
Sigmund Freud writes "The Ego and the Id"
Fritz Mauthner writes ""Atheism and It's History in the Western World"
1924
Lenin dies
British recognition of U.S.S.R.
Hitler is sentenced to 5 years in prison and is released after 8 months
Calvin Coolidge elected U.S. President
J. Edgar Hoover appointed director of the what was later named the Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I.)
1925
Hindenburg elected President of Germany
Hitler publishes "Mein Kamph" and reorganizes the Nazi Party
United Church of Canada founded
Hebrew University founded in Jerusalem
1926
Germany declares war on Russia and France, then invades Belgium
Britain declares war on Germany
Austria declares war on Russia
Montenegro and Serbia declare war on Germany
France and Britain declare war on Austria
Russia, France, and Britain declare war on Turkey
Russian invade Hungary
Pope Pius X dies
-succeeded by Pope Benedict XV
Charlie Chaplin in "Making A Living"
U.S. Federal trade commission established
1915
Germans sink the "Lusitania"
Czar Nicholas II takes over command of Russian army
Albert Einstein - General Theory of Relativity
1916
Battle of Verdun
Germany declares war on Portugal
Italy declares war on Germany
Hussein proclaimed "King of the Arabs"
Peace note sent from Germany to the Allies
Peace note sent to belligerents by Wilson
Woodrow Wilson re-elected as U.S. President
U.S. Purchases the Virgin Islands
Lionel Curtis writes "The Commonwealth of Nations"
Martin Buber writes "The Spirit of Judaism"
Margaret Sanger joins in opening of the first birth-control clinic
1917
Germans withdraw on the Western front
February Revolution in Russia
U.S. and Cuba declare war on Germany
Albania declares independence
British Royal family renounces ALL German names and titles
China declares war on Germany and Austria
Pope Benedict XV writes peace note
Lenin appointed chief commissar
Battle at Cambrai
-first battle with tanks
Fascist Youth organizations founded in Italy and Germany
Queen Elizabeth II dies
Germany joins League of Nations
1927
German economic system collapses "Black Friday"
Ivan Pavlov writes "Conditioned Reflexes"
Charles Lindbergh flies "Spirit of St. Louis" from New York to Paris non-stop
1928
Herbert Hoover elected U.S. President
J. L. Baird demonstrates color television
Alexander Flemming discovers Penicillin
1929
Hitler appoints Himmler "Reichsfuhrer S.S>"
Church of Scotland formed
"Black Friday" in U.S. American Stock Exchange collapses
Construction of Empire State Building in New York begins
1930
Albert Einstein writes "About Zionism"
"Technocracy" becomes a matter of discussion (the absolute domination of technology)
1931
U.S. President Hoover suggests a moratorium for the duration of one year on the repayment of war debts
German Nazi party is 800,000 strong
Jehovah's Witnesses formed from Interational Bible Students Association
1932
The second Five Year Plan begins in the U.S.S.R.
Hitler runs in the presidential election in Germany and loses
Franklin D. Roosevelt wins U.S. presidential election
Hitler, born in Austria, receives German citizenship
1933
Adolf Hitler appointed German Chancellor
The Nazis erect the first concentration camps in Germany
Boycott of Jews beings in Germany
U.S. 21st Amendment repeals prohibition
1934
Hitler and Mussolini meet in Venice
German plebiscite votes for Hitler as "Fuhrer"
U.S.S.R. admitted into League of Nations
Japan renounces Washington treaties of 1922 and 1930
1935
Nazis reintroduce compulsory military service
Nuremberg Laws against the Jews
Silver Jubilee celebrated in Britain
President Roosevelt signs U.S. Social Security Act
Sidney and Beatrice Webb write "Societ Communism: A New Civilization"
Robert Watson Watt builds Radar Equipment to detect aircraft
German Luftwaffe formed
1936
King George V of England dies
-succeeded by King Edward VIII
Elections in German: Hitler wins 99% of the vote
Arab High Committee formed, combats Jewish claims
Rome--Berlin Axis declared by Hitler and Mussolini
John Starchy writes "The Theory and Practice of Socialism"
Hindenberg Disaster: dirigible "Hindenberg," after transatlantic flight, lands in Lakehurst, New Jersey where it caught fire and was destroyed
1937
George VI crowned King of Great Britain: ceremony is broadcast worldwide
F.D. Roosevelt signs U.S. Neutrality Act
Neville Chamberlain becomes Prime Minister of Britain
U.S. Supreme Court establishes minimum wage laws for women
Aldous Huxley writes "Ends and Means"
Protestant parson, Martin Niemoller, sent to a concentration camp by Hitler
First jet engine is built
1938
Hitler appoints himself German War Minister
Martin Dies named chairman of the House Un-American Activities Committee in the U.S.
1939
Roosevelt requests $552 million for defense and demands assurance against attack on the 31 United States from Hitler and Mussolini
Royal visit from King George VI and Queen Elizabeth to the U.S.
Women and children are evacuated from London
World War II
U.S. declares amnisty
Churchill named First Lord of the Admiralty
1940
Bacon, butter, sugar rationed in Britain
Winston Churchill comes British Prime Minister and gives his "Blood, toil, tears, and sweat" speech
RAF begins night bombimg of Germany
Blitzkrieg, German "Lightening War," raids being in London
T. D. Roosevelt re-elected U.S. President
Penicillin developed as a practical antibiotic
1941
German air raids on London are resumed
Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor
U.S. and Britain declar war on Japan
U.S. savings bonds and stamps are sold
1942
U.N. Achieves world-wide prominence
Japanese defeat ed by Americans at Midway
The murder of millions of Jews in gas chambers begins
Keynes announces his plan for an international currency union
U.S. Supreme Court reverses a 1940 ruling and states children need not salute the American flag in their schools if it is against their religious beliefs
1944
Heavy air raids on London continue
D-Day
Roosevelt elected for a fourth term as U.S. President
Battle of the Bulge begins
1945
Franklin D. Roosevelt dies
-Harry S. Truman succeeds him as President
Mussolini is murdered by Italiam partisans
Adolf Hitler commits suicide
V.E. Day ends war in Europe
Attlee voted British Prime Minister
U.S. drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
V.J. Day: Japan surrenders, ending World War II
1946
Churchill gives his "Iron Curtain" speech
Verdict in Nuremberg Tribunal
Pope Pius XII creates 32 new cardinals
Electronic Brain built at Pennsylvania University
U.N. permanent headquarters established in New York City
1947
Rights of U.S. Labor Unions restricted by Taft-Hartley Act of Congress
Dead Sea Scrolls discovered
U.S. Airplane first to fly at supersonic speed
+1 million American war vetrans enroll in college as a result of the G.I. Bill of Rights
1948
Mahatma Gahndi is assassinated
Jewish State comes into existence
Harry S. Truman is elected as U. S. President
World Jewish Congress meets in Montreux
World Council of Churches organized
1949
U.S. Foreign Assistance Bill grants $5.43 billion to Europe
Blockade of Berlin officially lifted
Cortisone discovered by Philip Hench
U.S.S.R. tests its first atomic bomb
Eleving U.S. Communists are found cuilty of conspiracy to overthrow government
1950
Britain recognizes Communist China
Senator Joseph McCarthy advises President Truman that the U.S. State Department is full of Communists and Communist sympathizers
Britain recognizes Isreal
World population is approx. 2.3 billion
1951
General MacArthur relieved of Far East command
British diplomats Burgess and Maclean, spies for the Russians, escape to the U.S.S.R.
22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that the longest any president can serve is two terms (8 years)
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are sentenced to death for spying against the U.S.
Electric power produced from atmoic energy in U.S.
1952
King George VI of England dies
-succeeded by daughter Queen Elizabeth II
Churchill announces that Britain has produced an atomic bomb
U.S. President Truman announces Hydrogen bomb (H-Bomb) tests in the Pacific
Dwight D. Eisenhower is elected as Presidence of the U.S.
U.S.S.R. Communist Party Congress meets in Moscow
Isreal and Germany reach agreement for restitution for damages done to the Jews by the Nazis
1953
Stalin dies
-succeeded by G. M. Malenkov
Khrushchev named First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party
Queen Elizabeth II crowned
U.S.S>R. explodes hydrogen bomb
Alfred C. Kinsey publishes the "Kinsey Report"
Lung cancer is reported to be attributable to cigarette smoking
1954
U.S.-Japanese defense agreement
U.S. Supreme Court rules that segretation by color in public schools is a violation of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution
Senator Joseph R. McCarthy continues his hunt for Communist infiltrators into the U.S. Army, culminating in a nationally televised hearing. He was formally censured and condemned by a Senate resolution which followed
1955
U.S.S.R. degrees end of war with Germany
Albert Einstein dies
Churchill resigns and is succeeded by Anthony Eden
U.S. and U.S.S.R. announce that they will launch earth satellites in the International Geophysical Year 1957-58
1956
Jordan and Israel accept UN truce proposals
Pakistan becomes Islamic Republic
Nasser elected President of Egypt
"Rock and Roll" Dance is en vogue
Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier of Monaco and becomes Princess Grace
Dwight D. Eisenhawer re-elected as U.S. President
1957
Teamsters Union is expelled from ALF-CIO because Jimmy Hoffa refuses to expel criminals and union refuses to expel Hoffa
U.S.S.R. launches Sputnik I and II, first earth satellites
1958
Khrushchev succeeds Bulganin as Chairman of Council of U.S.S.R. Ministries
Fidel Castro begins "total war" against the Batista government in Cuba
Alaska becomes 49th state in the U.S.
Tension mounts as desegregation is attempted in Southern U.S. schools. Governor of Arkansas defies Supreme Court by closing schools in Little Rock, reopening them as Private, segregated schools
U.S.S.R. Sputnik III Launched
U.S. Establishes National Aeronautics and Space Administration to administer scientific ezploration of space
1959
Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba
Hawaii becomes 50th U.S. State
Pope John XXIII calls the first Ecumenical Council since 1870
Anti-Semitism flares in Cologne, Germany
1960
John F. Kennedy elected U.S. President
Neo-Nazi groups banned in Germany
Emily Post dies
1961
U.S. ends diplomatic relations with Cuba
Peace Corps established in U.S.
Bay of Pigs
Moscow synagogues closed
"Freedom Riders" beaten in Anniston and Birmingham, U.S.
1962
Cuban Missile Crisis
Robert Bolt's "A Man for All Seasons" premiers in New York
1963
Winston Churchill becomes honorary U.S. citizen
Nuclear testing banned by U.S., U.S.S.R., and Britain
200,000 "Freedom Marchers" demonstrate in Washington
Pope John XXIII dies
-succeeded by Pope Paul VI
President John F. Kennedy assassinated by Lee Harvy Oswald in Dallas Texas
Lyndon B. Johnson sworn in as president
America watches on TV while Lee Harvey Oswald is shot and killed by Jack Ruby
1964
Winston Churchill makes his last appearance in the House of Commons before his 90th birthday
Race riots erupt in Harlem, New York and in many other cities as a reaction against civil rights law enforcement
President of Teamsters Union, Jimmy Hoffa, found guilty of jury tampering and is sentenced to 8 years in prison and payment of a $10,000 fine
Jimmy Hoffa convicted of fraud and conspiracy and is sentenced to five years in prison and another $10,000 fine
Pope Paul VI makes pilgrimage to the Holy Land
Lyndon B. Johnson elected President of the United States
1965
Winston Spencer Churchill dies
Singapore gains independence
Malcolm X, Black Muslim leader is shot in New York
President Johnson signs Medicare bill into law
Major race riots in Los Angeles results in 35 deaths, 4,000 arrests, and $40 million in property damage
1966
Israeli and Jordanian forces fight battle in Hebron area
Pope Paul Vi issues encyclical on Vietnamese war
Miniskirts come into fashion in U.S.
1967
Israeli forces use tanks against Syria in worsening border conflict
Six day war between Isael and Arab Nations
Jerusalem proclaimed to be a united city under Israeli rule
British model, Twiggy, takes U.S. fashion scene by storm
Martin Luther King leads anti-Vietnam war march in New York
1968
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated in a Memphis motel
Scotland Yard arrests James Earl Ray in London for murder of Martin Luther King. Ray is extradited to U.S. to stand trial
Pierre Elliott Trudeau sworn in as Canadian Prime Minister
78 million TV sets in U.S.
Senator Robert F. Kennedy assassinated in Los Angeles, following his victory speech upon winning California Democratic Primary
Jordanian, Sirhan Sirhan, is arrested and convicted of the crime
1969
Violent fighting in Northern Ireland between Protestants and Roman Catholics
Yasir Arafat elected Chairman of Executive Committee of Palestine Liberation Organization
Ryukyu Islands returned to Japan
Queen Elizabeth II invests Prince Charles as Prince of Wales
First U.S. troops withdrawn from Vietnam
Pregnant actress Sharon Tate murdered by Charles Manson
1970
Israel and the U.A.R. agree to a 99-day truce along the Suez Canal
U.S. strength in Vietnam is reduced to below 400,000 men
Assassination attempt on Pope Paul VI in the Philippines
TV sets in use throughout the world estimated at 231 million
1971
U.S. planes bomb Vietcong supply routes in Cambodia
U.S. conducts large-scale air raids against N. Vietnam
Cigarette advertisements are banned from U.S. television
Roman Catholic Church and Church of England end a 400-year-old dispute by agreeing on a definition of the "essential meaning of the Eucharist"
U.S. and U.S.S.R. sign treaty banning testing of nuclear weapons on ocean floor
1972
U.S. returns Okinawa to Japan
President Nixon visits China and Russia
President Richard M. Nixon reelected U. S. President
The Star of Sierra Leon is unearthed--largest diamond ever discovered
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling prohibits capital punishment, pending ruling from the states
1973
Watergate
U.S. Supreme Court rules that indicidual states may not prohibit abortions during the first six months of pregnancy
Pablo Picasso dies
Energy Crisis in U.S. a%nd Europe
Rebecca Popplewell graduates from high school
1974
Worldwide inflation drives up cost of fuel, food, and materials
Year long Daylight Saving Times is adopted in U.S. to save fuel, but is later repealed
Watergate Impeachment
1975
Britain's inflation rate jumps 25
Unemployment rate in the U.S. reaches 9.2%
1976
U.S. and U.S.S.R. sign a treaty limiting the size of underground nuclear explosions set off for peaceful purposes, allows for on-site inspection
New Panama Canal treaties signed
Queen Elizabeth II of England celebrates Silver Jubilee
Pope John VI dies
-succeeded by Pope John Paul I
Pope John Paul I dies
--succeeded by Pope John Paul II (first Pole ever elected Pope, first non-Italian Pope elected in 456 years)
1979
Camp David Peace treaties
Margaret Thatcher becomes Conservative Prime Minister of Britain
Pope John Paul II become first Pope to visit a Communist country when he returns to his native Poland
Mother Teresa is awarded Nobel Peace Prize
American Ku Klux Klan stages 50-mile “white-rights” march
1980
President Carter breaks off diplomatic relations with Iran and announces trade ban
United Jerusalem is proclaimed capital of Israel instead of Tel Aviv
Ronald Reagan is elected U.S. President
22nd Olympic Games held in Moscow, 50 nations, including U.S., boycott
U.S. Supreme Court allows patent of a microbe created by G.E.
GENRES OF COMPOSITION
Modernism
-Alexander Scriabin
-Claude Debussy
-Gustav Mahler
-Richard Strauss
-Busoni
-Stravinsky
-Schoenberg
-Schreker
-Ives
Nationalism
-Ralph Vaughan-Williams
-Aaron Copland
-Carlos Chavez
-Heitor Villa-Lobos
Microtonal music
-Julian Carrillo
-Mildred Couper
-Alois Haba
-Charles Ives
-Erwin SChulhoff
-Ivan Wyschnegradsky
-Easley Blackwwod, Jr.
-Wendy Carlos
-Ezra Sims
-Karlheinz Stockhausen
-Iannis Xenakis
Neoclassicism
-Igor Stravinsky
-Paul Hindemith
-Arnold Schoenberg
Experimental Music
-John Cage
Minimalism
-Terry Riley
-Steve Reich
-Philip Glass
-John Adams
-Henryk Gorecki
Contemporary classical music
-Oliver Knussen
-Thomas Ades
-Michael Daugherty
Electronic Music
-Edgard Varese
-Karlheinz Stockhausen
-Milton Babbitt
-Pierre Boulez
-Iannis Xenakis
Folk Music
-Johann Gottfried Herder
-Aaron Copland
Popular Music
-The Sex Pistols
-Frank Zappa
-Billie Holiday
-Scott Joplin
-George Gershwin
-Andrew Lloyd Webber
Blues
-Bessie Smith
Bluegrass
-Wade Mainer
-Blue Grass Boys
-Stanley Brothers
-J.D. Crowe
-Norman Blake
-Tony Rice
-Dolly Parton
-Ricky Skaggs
Country music
-Vernon Dalhart
-Don Richardson
-Jimmie Rodgers
-Gene Autry
-Jerry Lee Lewis
-Ike Turner
-Elvis Presley
-Johnny Cash
-Chet Atkins
-Patsy Cline
-Ray Charles
-Bob Dylan
-Willie Nelson
-Kenny Rogers
Disco
- Jerry Butler
-Donna Summer
-The Bee Gees
-KC and the Sunshine Band
-The Jacksons
Hip Hop
- Melle Mel
-Chuck D
-Newcleus
-Blondie
-Beastie Boys
-Big Daddy Kane
Jazz/Swing/Bebop
-King Oliver
-Bessie Smith
-Louis Armstrong
-Duke Ellington
-Benny Goodman
-Glenn Miller
- Dizzy Gillespie
-Miles Davis
-George Gershwin
New Age Music
- Steven Halpern
-Karunesh
-Dean Evenson
-Paul Horn
Polka
-Dmitri Shostakovich
-Igor Stravinsky
-Lawrence Welk
-Tom Brusky
-Weird Al Yankovic
Rock and Roll
-Elvis Presley
-Fats Domino
-Jerry Lee Lewis
-Buddy Holly
Alternative rock
-The Sugarcubes
-New Order
Progressive rock
- Pink Floyd
-Gentle Giant
-Rush
-Genesis
Salsa
-Dexter Gordon
-Celia Cruz
SUPPORTING EVENTS
1896
Ragtime is born
1902
Claude Debussy brings impressionism to music in Pelleas and Melisande at Opera Comique in Paris
1908
Major change in classical music by Arnold Shoenberg's "Book of Hanging Gardens"
-harmony and tonality of classical music replaced by dissonance
1919
Jazz establishes Chicago as her capital after moving from southern roots
1932
Duke Ellington's "It Don't mean a Thing, If It Ain't Got That Swing" presages the swing era of the 30s and 40s
1944
Dizzy Gillespie founds the "bop" orchestra
1948
Charlie Parker experiments with "bebop"
Bill Monroe invents bluegrass music
1951
dj Alan Freed terms rock 'n' roll as R&B in order to broaden the audience of white listeners
1957
Johnny Cash established as country music artist
1960
John Coltrane forms quartet and is the voice of Jazz's New Wave movement
1961
Patsy Cline crosses from country to pop with the releases of "I Fall to Pieces" and "Crazy"
1963
The Beatles take Britain's obsession
The Rolling Stones rage against The Beatles' style with blues
1973
Jamaican film "The Harder They Come" launches reggae's popularity in the U.S.
1974
Patti Smith releases first punk rock single "Hey Joe"
Punk emerges out of Britain with bands such as "Sex Pistols," "Clash" in order to express nihilistic and anarchistic views against a lack of opportunity in Britain and boredom
1976
Philip Glass competes "Einstein on the Beach" - his first widely known example of minimalist composition
1979
The Sugar Hill Gang brings rap off the New York Streets to the popular music scene
1991
Nirvana releases the hit "Smells Like Teen Spirit" which brings the grunge movement (distorted guitars, dispirited vocals, and flannel shirts)
TECHNIQUES OF MUSICAL ORGANIZATION
The turn of the century – post-romanticism
-Debussy (1862-1918) was the bridge from Romanticism to the twentieth-century. He used a blend of different influences in his works such that future composers were highly impacted by them. His compositions include motives that link with distinct figures, harmonies, and scales. His primary focus was not the resolution, but the sound of music.
-Ravel’s (1875-1937) music focused highly on resolution
-Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) brought repetition, modal melodies, and pedal points to the mix.
-Sergei Rachmaninow (1873-1943) included texture and individual melody with harmony in ABA’ form
-Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) created a somewhat tonic based on complex chords
Tonal and Post-Tonal
-Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) sought not for repetition, but for building on the past in music. While his compositions began to “emancipate dissonance,” they broke free from the need of resolution and took on atonal organization (His works also included Sprechstimme.) He later composed with what theorists call “sets” or “pitch-class sets” (a collection a pitches). As expressionism came into play, the twelve-tone method began to emerge using pitch-class sets in original (prime), inversion, retrograde, and retrograde inversion forms and brought form to this method.
-Alban Berg (1885-1935) used Schoenberg’s method, but combined it with techniques of tonal music which gained him more popularity than Schoenberg originally possessed. His pitch-class sets were set up in a manner which traditional chordal progressions could be used.
Avant-Garde
-Erik Satie (1866-1925) used plain techniques and modal, nonfunctional harmony to go against Romanticism. Other composers along with Satie focused not on historic ways, but on what was happening at the present time (futurism.)
Neoclassicism
-Composers and groups such as Les Six, Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud, and Francis Poulenc were considered “progressive” in that they viewed classicism to include various styles and genres not depending fully on nationality. They used techniques such as polytonality in their compositions.
-Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) used repetition without transition and dissonances from either octatonic form or superimposed triads, juxtaposed and static blocks of sound, layering, slight connections of discontinuity, dissonance based on diatonic and octatonic scales, and covered organizational parties including neoclassicism, neotonality, and serialism (an extension of twelve-tone methods).
-Bela Bartok (1881-1945) was also a nationalistic composer that combined new techniques with classical music techniques such as sonata, fugue, canon, and cyclical form. He strongly connected music with ideals from the past.
Music and Politics, innovations
-Ernst Krenek (1900-1991) was attacked by the Nazis for his incorporation of jazz into his compositions and composers such as Kurt Weill (1900-1950) aimed to entertain regular folk as opposed to the intellectuals. Music here was saturated with political warfare in terms of opposition and freedom and many composers were banned from their countries as they sought political freedom in their compositions, a picture of the larger struggle for freedom in all areas of life.
-Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) brought about harmonic fluctuation which is phrases starting with consonance, move to great dissonance and then return to consonance.
Popular Music
-Band music and parlor songs emerged in American music as composer such as John Philip Sousa (1854-1932) and Stephen Foster (1826-1864) and produced marches, dances, display pieces (virtuoso), and the popular form of verse and refrain (chorus) came into play, often including a musical hook for repetition.
Experimental, Electronic Music, and Musique Concrete
-This music included a variety of polytonality, unmatched dissonance and rhythmic complexity, and cumulative form. The outcome of this music is highly unpredictable and was portrayed by composers such as Charles Ives (1874-1954), Edgard Varese (1883-1965), Henry Cowell (1897-1965), and Ruth Crawford (1901-1953). Some forms of new, innovative ideas included spatial music (sound masses interact unconventionally in register, pitch, and rhythm), tone clusters, playing the piano strings directly, rhythmic independence, and dissonant counterpoint.
-Recording, producing and manipulating sounds exploded after 1970! Electronic music studios were founded and synthesizers eased complications of mixing sounds and recording.
-Processes of change in music were highlighted by composers such as Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001), and Krzysztof Penderecki (1933).
Jazz & Blues
-Blues uses distinct effects, contours of melody, and freely syncopated rhythms with sliding notes on scale degrees 3, 5, and 7, and twelve-bar blues.
-Jazz in its early stages was a mixture of ragtime and dance music. It uses improvisation, anticipated beats, and swung rhythms. It’s later developments include bebop (rhythm section with one or more melody instruments, complex harmonies, rhythm, chromaticism and improvisation), modal jazz (slowly revealed melodies over static modal harmony), and free jazz.
-A few composers and performers include George Gershwin (1898-1937), Duke Ellington (1899-1974), Miles Davis (1926-1991), John Coltrane (1926-1967), and Louis Armstrong (1901-1971).
Stage Music
-Musical theater included music, lyrics, choreography, staging, sets, and costumes! Many comedies emerged from this style and Broadway was born here.
Film Music
-Technology allows recorded music to be put to film. Both music in the film heard by the performers and diegetic music (background movie-music) were used in the 1930s. This music helped to steer the audience’s emotions into the direction perceived by the writers of the script.
Extensions of Serialism
-Total serialism began in the late 1940s and applied serialism to duration and dynamics rather than just pitch. They can appear random
Aleatoric music
-Chance was put to play in making decisions normally left up to the composer and placing them on the performer. John Cage (1912-1922) applied these techniques to his composistions.
-Interdeterminacy ( leaving certain aspects such as notes and rhythms unspecified) along with Aleatoric music John Cage and composers alike aimed for sound rather than meaning in the music.
Minimalism
-Minamalism reduces materials and simplifies proxedures. Its purposes exceed that of only the avant-garde and was brought about by individuals such as Steve Reich (1936), Philip Glass (1937), and John Adams (1947).
Works Cited
Grum, Bernard. The Timetables of History. New 3rd Revised. 1992.
Hanning, Barbara Russano. Concise History of WEstern Music. 3rd. Edited by Maribeth Payne. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2006.
Music Timeline. Prod. Information Please Database.
Net, Classical. Composer Information Lists.
Salzman, Eric. Twentieth-Century Music, An Introduction. 4th. Edited by Laura A. Lawrie. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001.
Simms, Bryan R. Music of the Twentieth Century. New York, New York: Schirmer Books, 1986.
Timelines in music history: Contemporary music. Online encyclopedia reference.
Wikipedia. 20th-Century Music. June 20, 2012.