The Innovations to Classical Music and their Parallel to Societal Trends

 

One time, many years ago, I looked up modern classical music in an attempt to find a fresh spin on the genre of classical music from the early 1800's. I didn't dig deep, but the question of if the classical genre was still being added to never left my mind. In my initial search, I came up with the renowned musician Ludovico Einaudi. His music is diverse to say the least, but some of it falls under what might be considered classical. As I revisited my search for this assignment, I came up with such a variety of musical innovation that somehow falls under the classical genre, or some form of it such as 'contemporary classical', 'neo-classical', etc. There are two main directions that classical music has gone in the last 100 years that I would like to discuss. One is the type of music Einaudi composes, it is very lyrical and, while it is minimalistic in technicality, the expression is all in the musicality of the player. The second appears to throw melody and musical construct out the window. These two tracks of innovation come from the modern trends of minimalism and throwing off control, which are not so unrelated, but sound so different in music. I will compare these with a sonata from possibly the most well known classical composer, Mozart.

The piece by Mozart is his Sonata No. 12 in F major, K332:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cVULyfeDV0

The piece by Einaudi that I will be discussing is his "Elegy for the Arctic":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DLnhdnSUVs

Finally, I will discuss Pierre Boulez's Sonata No. 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZpNlxoXpQg

Mozart - Traditional Classical

The sonata by Mozart is our baseline for this discussion. It contains the lyrical lines, musicality, and technicality that classical music is known for. Presumed to be written in 1783, Mozart wrote this piece in Vienna in company with two other sonatas. When listening to or skimming it, pay attention to the melodies and the rhythms. For the most part you can tap along for the whole sonata and there will be little movement from the tempo, but the rhythms reveal so much technical ornamentation over the base melody. Notice the voices that sing throughout the sonata, going back and forth and up and down in pitch which delineates each voice. For the untrained ear, however, the amount of ornamentation and technicality distracts from the lyrical beauty and it becomes easy to tune out from too much unfamiliarity. This idea has shaped the first track of innovation to classical music which I am discussing in this blog.

Einaudi - Contemporary Classical

It is unsure where it was written, but in 2016, Einaudi composed a short piece called "Elegy for the Arctic" to raise awareness for melting glaciers. He recorded himself playing the piece floating off the coast of Norway with glaciers in the background. Notice how there isn't much going on in the way of notes? At any given time, only a few notes are playing. It is very gentle on unexperienced ears and yet, there is a great deal said in the little that is played and in the way that it is played. Since it is not nearly as technically diverse, it is much easier to pick out the melodical aspect of classical music, as well as the mostly steady tempo. It is everything beautiful about minimalism expressed in music.

Boulez - Modern Classical/Neo-Classical

The sonata by Boulez was written in Paris in 1947-48. This piece deliberately excludes the constraints of music, going precisely where the composer and player would have it go, rather than where the music would lend itself. It is extremely hard to follow, and it may be considered classical largely because of just how directly it refuses certain musical constructs for the genre. One notable difference is that it doesn't even have a time signature, and there isn't really a tempo as much as just a beat which is up to the players interpretation. It is reminiscent of Stravinsky's 'Rite of Spring', but even that was more lyrical. It is as if one needs to squint in order to see, or rather hear, the music in this composition. This is one example of the movement over the last century which views traditional constructs as unduly restrictive. While it is difficult to appreciate it for beauty, after a few listens, one begins to hear the message that a genre is not confined to the virtuosity of one composer that must be attained to, but is free to explore and experiment with.

Sources

Mack, Evan, and DuBose, Joseph. “Piano Sonata No.12 in F Major K. 332 W.A. Mozart.” Classicalconnect.Com, 2010,  www.classicalconnect.com/Piano_Music/Mozart/Piano_Sonata/4185.

Farrant, Dan. “A Guide to Contemporary Classical Music.” Hello Music Theory: Learn Music Theory Online, 26 Feb. 2024, hellomusictheory.com/learn/contemporary-classical-music/.

Keillor, John. “Piano Sonata No. 2: Details.” AllMusic, 2024, www.allmusic.com/composition/piano-sonata-no-2-mc0002365595.

Jackson, Claire. “Ludovico Einaudi: Why Does the Musical Phenomenon Still Struggle to Find Acceptance in the Classical Music World?” Ludovico Einaudi: Why Don’t the Classical Music World like Him?, 2024, www.classical-music.com/features/artists/einaudi-why-does-the-musical-phenomenon-still-struggle-to-find-acceptance-in-the-classical-music-world.