20th Century Music: Analysis of Three Works by Berg, Webern, and Varese

This article analyzes three works of 20th century music by Berg, Webern, and Varese. It explores the tonality and composition of each work, highlighting the use of unusual instruments and effects in this non-uniform period of music.

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Introduction
The 20th Century music was characterized by different kinds of orchestral and
instrumental works along with different genres of music like the operas, choral, ballets,
symphonies and other similar. This century did not have a dominant or a particular type of
music. There were various kinds of and genres of music that had been featuring the 20th century
musical scenario. People were responding to all kinds of musical styles, and artists were using
their own independence to innovate1. In the previous century there were various types of music
depending on the themes such as “Modernism, impressionism and post-romanticism.” In the
early 20th Century the styles that were introduced were “Neo classicism and expressionism”.
The primary genre and theme that dominated music during the turn of the century was
“Romanticism”. After the starting of the new century the “Post Romantic phase” begun. The
impressionist movement in art started around this time itself. The person behind the idea was
Claude Debussy, this was mainly developed in France. The composers namely Gustav Mahler
and Richard Strauss were composing Symphonic music in the post romantic era, whereas
Maurice Ravel had been experimenting with which was mainly based on impressionist ideals.
The Romantic era was starting to be replaced by the post romantic ideas.
Discussion
The three works chosen in this case are “Three pieces of Orchestra” by Alban Berg,
Anton Webern’s, 5 Sätze Für Streichquartett, and “Ameriques” by Edgard Varese.
In music Tonality is the arrangement or the placement of the musical notes and pitches in
a series of hierarchy which have relation and directionality2. The tonality of the music or the
1 Seeger, Anthony. "Music of Struggle and Protest in the 20th Century." In Springer Handbook of Systematic
Musicology, pp. 1029-1042. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2018.
2 Straus, Joseph N. Introduction to post-tonal theory. WW Norton & Company, 2016.

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arrangement of the notes make sure that the final sound that is being heard by the listener is
having a balance and appeal. The first mention and analysis of tonality was made by Jean
Phillipe Rameau in his “Treatise on Harmony in the year 1722. In the period of early 20th
Century the tonality that prevailed all along through the years starting from the 17th Century was
broken. The analysis of tonality at this period is problematic because the system was now not
following any principles or system. Ambiguous and unpredictable chords were used, harmonic
arrangement was not probable, the melodies that were now designed were unusual. Listening of
the new kind of music of the early 20th Century followed no proper harmony of notes and
unusual effects were the characteristic feature of the period3. There were no restrictions of how
the tonality must be utilized in the musical system to bring uniformity. This was the time when
it was seen that the triadic structure is not really necessary for generating a particular tone, non-
triadic may be made to function in the same way as well.
The work by Berge’s called the “Three pieces for orchestra”. The musical instruments
used in the particular piece are 4 flutes, 4 Oboes, 4 clarinets, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, 6 horns, 4
trumpets, 4 trombones. 1 tuba, 4 timpani, 4 percussions, 2 harps. And a number of strings,
violins, and violas. All these musical instruments were used in various scales and various
unusual methods.
This work became a revolutionary work of the artist. This came about from his idea of
composing a purely orchestral master piece. The initial two of the three pieces were debuted on 5
June 1923 amid an "Austrian Music Week" in Berlin, led by Anton Webern. The primary
execution of the entire work (which requires gigantic symphonic powers) was not given until 14
3 Phull, Hardeep. Story behind the protest song: a reference guide to the 50 songs that changed the 20th century.
Greenwood, 2015.

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April 1930, after Berg had modified it, in Oldenburg; his companion and student Johannes
Schüler was the director.
With respect to music creation crosswise over most melodic types, there are two primary
strategies that composers ordinarily take after. Harmonic structure and melodic sythesis.
Normally, an author is more talented at both of these techniques. Following symphonious
arrangement, the author will initially settle on the harmony movement, and the tune will take
after in this manner. This is most likely the 'simpler' of the work courses, as there are boundless
effective harmony movements that one can source, reference to or take after, which have just
been set up in particular melodic classifications4. When following harmony creation, one doesn't
need to 'reexamine' the melodic wheel - in the event that one needs to make a 12-bar blues, for
instance, the harmony movement is as of now given. The test as author lies more with picking
the instrumentation and voice-driving inside the harmony movement.
Anton Webern: 5 Sätze Für Streichquartett, Webern had composed these pieces in the
year of 1909. He was not much influenced by the existing musical genres and styles. Hence the
composer has endeavored in coming out of tradition to compose these pieces. The classic or
traditional conventions are opposed in the “5 Sätze Für Streichquartett”. In the middle of the total
composition is a very high pitched work, a distorted tonal variation, that is somewhat unusual,
and the composer also takes inspiration from earlier works such as with “damper" , "Pizzicato",
"on the bridge" or "col legno" “(painted with the wood of the bow)”. The first notes appears to be
very traditional because of the antithetic. The final climax of the music contrasts highly with the
first part and these are not limited to the limits anymore. The basic characteristics of this work
are its static sound surfaces, the preference of dissonant intervals such as tritone and major
4 Rosen, Charles. "Freedom of interpretation in twentieth-century music." In Composition, Performance, Reception,
pp. 66-73. Routledge, 2017.

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seventh in melody and harmony, the alienation of the natural string sound and the wavering
between brutal aggressiveness. The work was edited by Webern in 1928 and the plasticity was
improved and the clarity of the composition was renewed as well5.
Edgard Varèse's Amériques is an instrumental arrangement that is scored for a vast,
sentimental symphony with extra percussion (for eleven entertainers) including sirens.
Composed in the vicinity of 1918 and 1921 and overhauled in 1927, it was the main work Varèse
formed after he moved to the United States6. The work is in one development which keeps going
around 23 minutes, with full instrumental association nearly all through. Despite the fact that it
opens unobtrusively, it rapidly works in unique power and is punctuated by enormous crescendos
which are comparable in style to those found in Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring yet on a
substantially bigger scale. The work is set apart by its savagely noisy harmonies and musically
complex polyphonies for percussion and winds. It creates in constant advancement with
repeating short themes, which are compared without improvement.
Conclusion
Till a considerable length of time, instrumental music had either been made by singing, or
utilizing mechanical music advancements, for example, drawing a bow over a string that is hung
on an empty instrument or culling showed gut or metal strings (string instruments), tightening
vibrating air (woodwinds and metal) or hitting a comment cadenced sounds (percussion
instruments). In the mid twentieth century, electronic gadgets were concocted that were equipped
for producing sound electronically, without an underlying mechanical wellspring of vibration. As
ahead of schedule as the 1930s, authors, for example, Olivier Messiaen consolidated electronic
5 Webern, Anton. Fünf Sätze für Streichquartett: op. 5. Philharmonia Partituren in der Universal Edition, 1949.
6 MacDonald, Malcolm. Varèse: astronomer in sound. Kahn & Averill Publishers, 2003.

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instruments into live execution. While sound chronicle innovation is regularly connected with
the key part it played in empowering the creation and mass promoting of prominent music, new
electric and electronic sound account innovation was utilized to deliver workmanship music, too.
The main challenge for analysis of music from this period is the non-uniform pattern of
music and their tonal variation. The use of uncertain and strange instruments and sudden effects
make them hard to explain but good to perceive or hear.

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References:
MacDonald, Malcolm. Varèse: astronomer in sound. Kahn & Averill Publishers, 2003.
Phull, Hardeep. Story behind the protest song: a reference guide to the 50 songs that changed the
20th century. Greenwood, 2015.
Rosen, Charles. "Freedom of interpretation in twentieth-century music." In Composition,
Performance, Reception, pp. 66-73. Routledge, 2017.
Seeger, Anthony. "Music of Struggle and Protest in the 20th Century." In Springer Handbook of
Systematic Musicology, pp. 1029-1042. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2018.
Straus, Joseph N. Introduction to post-tonal theory. WW Norton & Company, 2016.
Webern, Anton. Fünf Sätze für Streichquartett: op. 5. Philharmonia Partituren in der Universal
Edition, 1949.