Composer Profile - Activefolio

Hungary
The Twentieth Century 127
The music of the Hungarian national school was primarily represented by Zoltán Kodály
(1882–1967) and Bela Bartók (1881–1945). Both shared a keen interest in Hungarian
folklore. Kodály’s most famous composition in this style was the opera Háry János (1926).
Bartók’s popularity and influence reached a far wider audience. Bartók created his own
rhythmic and harmonic identity. His employment of complex rhythms was revolutionary,
making some of his works extremely difficult to perform. There was a freshness in
these rhythms however, that gave his music a captivating quality. His rhythmic imagination
was matched by his harmonic inventiveness. He fought against the “tyrannical rule
of the major and minor keys” and employed the free use of dissonance, polytonality and
modality. Bartók is most famous for his Concerto for Orchestra (1943), Music for Strings,
Percussion and Celeste (1936), his opera Bluebeard’s Castle (1918), six string quartets,
and his concertos for violin and piano. He also composed two ballets and six important
books of piano music titled Mikrokosmos (1926–1939).
America
It took a generation after Dvorak’s admonishment before American national styles began
to develop. When they did, the styles tended to advance along two paths. One path
involved the inclusion of jazz characteristics in serious music. Many composers, including
Ravel and Hindemith, used jazz rhythms and harmonies from time to time. However,
George Gershwin (1898–1937) became the principal composer of music with an
American jazz influence. His opera Porgy and Bess was the first work of its type to explore
the Black experience in America. His tone poems Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and An
American in Paris (1928) freely used blues and jazz harmonies and inflections throughout.
He also composed Concerto in F (1925) for piano and orchestra, which followed
the same influence and has become a staple of the modern repertoire. Even though
Gershwin’s remarkable career was cut short, it included dozens of popular tunes, and
several popular Broadway musicals and film scores.
Aaron Copland (1900–1990) is probably one of the most
important American composers. His music is representative of
many different roots, but he is most famous for his adaptation
of American folk styles into classical music. He experimented with
many different styles including jazz, Neo-Classical and even the
12-tone technique. His greatest compositions were composed
during the 1930s and ‘40s and these works vaulted both him
and American music into the world spotlight. His three ballets
Billy the Kid (1938), Rodeo (1942) and Appalachian Spring
(1944) capture the essence of the American frontier spirit. Though
these works quote very few real folk songs, these ballets “sound”
Library of Congress: LC-USZ62-1033
Copland
like western cowboy music in a unique orchestral setting. Copland’s ballet music was
both distinctively American and distinctively and uniquely his.
Copland’s efforts were not accidental; he even helped create a society dedicated to
promoting American nationalistic musical styles. The very sound of his music has become
synonymous with Americana and has been used behind numerous television ads
and other shows to depict American products or culture.
Perhaps the most popular of all American composers in the twentieth century is
John Philip Sousa (1854–1932). He composed over one hundred marches, the most
famous of which was The Stars and Stripes Forever written in 1897. Though most well
known for these marches, Sousa also composed other miscellaneous works for band and
even operettas. Interestingly, Sousa’s music is still among the most regularly performed