"True modernism is freedom of mind, not slavery of taste. It is independence of thought and action.It is science but not its wrong application to life.”

Modernism inspired me

In this new entrance we're going to do a briefly introduction of some important authors of this period.

Modernism music is characterized by a desire of progress, of and surrealism, anti-romanticism, surrealist, general intellectulism and a breaking with the past and rutinary practice. Later this modernism period will disappear and will begin a post-modernism period.




Gustav Mahler at his first symphony.

 The first author is Gustav Mahler, was an Austrian- Bohemian composer and one of the leaders of his generation. He was an earlypromise and he studied at the Vienna Conservatory in 1878. In 1897 he culminated his career being the director of the Viena Court Opera.

Mahler is considered one of the best intepreter of the stage works of Wagner and Mozart. Late in his life he was briefly director of New York's Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic.He composed ten symphonies in a very large scale with an important orchestra support. Some of his symphonies are:

- Der Trompeter von Säkkingen ("The Trumpeter of Säkkingen", his first work)

- Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen ("Songs of a Wayfarer", love poems to Johanna Ritcher a love affair)

- Lieder und Gesänge ("Songs and Airs")



Claude-Achille Debussy (August 22, 1862 – March 25, 1918)was a French composer. He was one of the most prominent figures of impressionist music. He was made Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur.

His compositions reflected the turbulance of his life.

At age ten, Debussy entered the Paris Conservatoire, where he spent eleven years. When he was young he player fantastic pieces and movements of Bethoveen, Schumann and Weber and Chopin. It is conclude that Debussy's achievement was the synthesis of monophonic based "melodic tonality" with harmonies, albeit different from those of "harmonic tonality. His music has an own sign and language influenced by the Symbolist Movement. Some of his works are:

- The Deux Arabesques (Eraly work)

- Clair de Lune (One of the most important pieces)

- Pelléas et Mélisande (his only complete opera)

And the last but not the least is Richard Georg Strauss (11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949). He is a German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. Strauss is well known for his operas and his tone poems and orchestral works that we are going to mention later. 

In his youth, he received a thorough musical education from his father. He studied music at the Munich Court Orchestra and he also studied particual classes. Richard Strauss married soprano Pauline de Ahna on 10 September 1894, they shared  love of music. She was a great source of inspiration to him and he preferred the soprano voice for his works. His famous works are:

- Don Juan (1888), the first tone poem.

- Death and Transfiguration (Tod und Verklärung, 1889)

- Salome (1905) based on the play by Oscar Wilde.

- Der Rosenkavalier, an important opera such as Salome.

- Four Last Songs

- Metamorphosen (1945), his last orchestral work.

To finish we can see this masterpiece.Thanks.

Spring.