Chapter 37: New Directions
Study Plan
Key Points
- Musical trends in the later twentieth century mirrored movements in the other arts, including abstract expressionism, pop art, and postmodernism. Feminist as well as ethnic art and literature flourished.
- Modern theater and music merged into performance art, a multimedia genre explored by John Cage and Laurie Anderson, among others.
- Some composers moved in the direction of total serialism, imposing a more structured organizational system on their works, while others moved toward freer constructions (aleatoric music, open form).
- European and American composers alike responded to societal changes that occurred after World War II to produce experimental, or avant-garde, music in widely varied styles and genres.
- Electronic music composition began in the late 1940s with the recording and manipulation of natural sounds. This technique was soon replaced with electronically generated sounds.
- Digital technology, MIDI (a standard communications protocol) and computers have all revolutionized the world of electronic music. Computers now can create sounds, compose compositions, interact with live performers, and enhance the capabilities of instruments (hyperinstruments).
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