For centuries, composers created music that sang with beautiful melody and harmony. Then suddenly, just over a hundred years ago, a battle began for the very soul of music.
The series tells the story of a revolution in sound as avant-garde composers broke from the melodic mainstream.
Tonight's episode
Tonight’s episode at 9.00pm looks at the shift in the language and sound of music from the beautiful melodies and harmonies of the giants of classical music such as Mozart, Haydn and Brahms into the fragmented, abstract, discordant sound of the most radical composers of the new century – Schoenberg, Webern, Stravinsky among others.
Following episodes
Following episodes look at how the freewheeling modernism that had shocked, scandalised and titillated audiences in the twentieth century’s first two decades then came under state control. Arguably the most notorious work of 20th century classical music, John Cage’s ‘silent’ composition 4’33”, is examined.
OpenLearn
There's extensive content on OpenLearn in connection with the series subject areas including a new interactive called 20th Century Composers: making the connections, as well as information about hundreds of concerts and events taking place at London’s Southbank Centre in the year-long festival The Rest is Noise, in partnership with the OU.
Comments
The sound and the fury was/is a superb overview of modern music and the views of modernist composers, both views about each other and on their own journey to compose something new. e.g.
John Adams "I like Webern, but I also find it ugly, emotionally stingy - tightly wired".
Stravinsky, about his Paris audience who objected to The Rite of Spring " The audience is a fool"