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Music History Exam 2
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Ballets Russes | Paris-based ballet company active 1909-1929. Led by Diaghilev, it commissioned bold, modern works that changed music and dance. Stravinsky, Rite of Spring. |
| Twelve-tone composition | Uses all twelve chromatic pitches arranged in a fixed row. Created by Schoenberg, it avoids traditional tonality by treating each pitch equally. Schoenberg's Suite for Piano; Webern's Symphony, Op. 21. |
| Exoticism | The use of musical ideas meant to evoke foreign or non-Western cultures. Composers used special scales, modes, and timbres to create this "other" sound. Debussy's La Mer; Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit. |
| World War I | A global conflict that changed European society and the arts. It's devastation pushed composers toward darker, experimental and fragmented styles. Berg's Wozzeck; Ive's "Concord" Sonata. |
| Modernist | Refers to early-20th-century styles that rejected traditional tonality and forms. It includes atonality, expressionism, and new approaches to rhythm, timbre, and structure. Stravinsky's Rite of Spring; Schoenberg's Six Little Piano Pieces. |
| Symphonic poem | A single-movement orchestral work depicting a story, scene or idea. Blends programmatic content with symphonic form. Don Juan Fantasy; Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. |
| Nationalism | Music expressing a nation's culture, folk melodies, or history. Uses folk tunes, rhythms, or legends to highlight identity. Chopin's Mazurka; Gottschalk Bamboula. |