ISSN:
2181-3906
2025
International scientific journal
«MODERN SCIENCE АND RESEARCH»
VOLUME 4 / ISSUE 4 / UIF:8.2 / MODERNSCIENCE.UZ
1364
CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL MUSIC AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY:
STYLISTIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
Gulzira Mukhiddinova
PhD Student, 1st Year, Department of Music Theory
State Conservatory of Uzbekistan
Republic of Uzbekistan, Tashkent.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15280765
Abstract.
This article explores the development of compositional techniques in
contemporary classical music from the late 20th to the early 21st century. It offers a concise
overview and explanation of various stylistic trends that emerged during this period. The article
highlights the pioneers and key figures behind these movements, emphasizing how modern
composers responded to shifts in aesthetics, science, and society.
Keywords:
First avant-garde, Second avant-garde, Expressionism, Serial technique,
Serialism, Electronic music, Musique concrète, Aleatoric music, Minimalism, Sonorism, Ligeti's
micropolyphony, Xenakis’ stochastic compositions, Spectralism.
СОВРЕМЕННАЯ КЛАССИЧЕСКАЯ МУЗЫКА НА РУБЕЖЕ ВЕКОВ:
СТИЛИСТИЧЕСКОЕ И ТЕХНОЛОГИЧЕСКОЕ РАЗНООБРАЗИЕ
Аннотация.
В этой статье рассматривается развитие композиционных приемов
в современной классической музыке с конца 20-го по начало 21-го века. Она предлагает
краткий обзор и объяснение различных стилистических тенденций, возникших в этот
период. В статье освещаются пионеры и ключевые фигуры, стоящие за этими
движениями, подчеркивая, как современные композиторы реагировали на сдвиги в
эстетике, науке и обществе.
Ключевые слова:
Первый авангард, Второй авангард, Экспрессионизм, Серийная
техника, Сериализм, Электронная музыка, Musique concrète, Алеаторическая музыка,
Минимализм, Соноризм, Микрополифония Лигети, Стохастические композиции Ксенакиса,
Спектрализм.
Introduction
The closing decades of the 20th century witnessed a profound transformation in
contemporary classical music. This period was defined by an extraordinary range of stylistic
diversity, with no single dominant trend.
ISSN:
2181-3906
2025
International scientific journal
«MODERN SCIENCE АND RESEARCH»
VOLUME 4 / ISSUE 4 / UIF:8.2 / MODERNSCIENCE.UZ
1365
The emergence of new compositional approaches can be roughly grouped into three main
categories:
1. Aesthetic and extramusical factors
2. Musical innovations
3. Scientific and technological influences
Artists and composers began to reflect life’s complexities more directly in their work. No
longer confined to expressing beauty alone, music became a medium for portraying all aspects of
the human experience, including turmoil, aggression, and existential doubt—mirroring the
impact of historical upheavals like the World Wars.
The tonal system began to exhaust its expressive potential: harmonic saturation, long
thematic lines, and the emancipation of dissonance led to the decline of traditional tonality. At
the same time, advances in technology and the invention of new electronic instruments expanded
musical possibilities.
Key Movements and Techniques
1. Expressionism (First Avant-Garde)
This style introduced atonality and dodecaphony (twelve-tone technique), which replaced
tonal harmony with ordered sequences of pitches. Arnold Schoenberg was one of the pioneers of
this method, though other composers were exploring similar ideas at the time. Valentin
Silvestrov noted that the strict rules of dodecaphony offered a much-needed sense of order
during an era of musical anarchy.
2. Serialism (Second Avant-Garde)
Emerging in the 1940s through the Darmstadt Summer Courses, serialism extended the
twelve-tone technique to parameters like dynamics, rhythm, and timbre. Leading figures
included Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Luigi Nono. Key types of serial composition
include:
- Total serialization (applying serial rules to all musical parameters)
- Group composition (where one tone is replaced by a group of tones)
- Mass composition (statistical textures with indistinct pitch content)
3. Electronic Music
In the 1960s and 70s, electronic music became a distinct genre thanks to krautrock
pioneers such as Can, Tangerine Dream, and Kraftwerk. These artists used synthesizers and
electronic processing to create new soundscapes.
ISSN:
2181-3906
2025
International scientific journal
«MODERN SCIENCE АND RESEARCH»
VOLUME 4 / ISSUE 4 / UIF:8.2 / MODERNSCIENCE.UZ
1366
4. Musique Concrètе
Developed by Pierre Schaeffer, Pierre Henry, and Edgard Varèse in the 1940s, this style
used recorded environmental and mechanical sounds, manipulated using magnetic tape.
5. Aleatoric Music
Popularized in the 1950s, aleatoric music (or chance music) allowed for random
combinations of musical elements, affecting both form and content.
6. Minimalism
In the 1960s and 70s, American composers like Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Terry Riley,
and John Adams pioneered minimalism. This style is based on the repetition of short rhythmic or
melodic patterns (known as “loops” or “patterns”).
7. Sonorism (Sonoristics)
This technique emphasizes coloristic and textural sound qualities over traditional melody
or harmony. Key figures include Witold Lutosławski, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Sofia
Gubaidulina.
8. Micropolyphony (György Ligeti)
Ligeti’s innovation involved tightly layered polyphonic lines moving at different speeds
and rhythms, creating dense sonic textures that obscure individual voices. His piece
*Atmosphères* exemplifies this approach.
9. Stochastic Music (Iannis Xenakis)
Combining mathematics and architecture, Xenakis created compositions based on
probabilistic models and complex structures, a method he termed “stochastic composition.”
10. Spectralism
Spectral music analyzes the acoustic properties of sound and uses this data to construct
musical material. Notable spectralists include Gérard Grisey, Tristan Murail, Beat Furrer, and
Kaija Saariaho.
11. Instrumental Musique Concrète
German composer Helmut Lachenmann coined this term for works that reinterpret
traditional instruments through extended techniques. He emphasized new ways of listening and
understanding sound within a changed musical context.
Contemporary Directions
Composers today continue to work within these frameworks, often blending multiple
approaches or developing personal styles.
ISSN:
2181-3906
2025
International scientific journal
«MODERN SCIENCE АND RESEARCH»
VOLUME 4 / ISSUE 4 / UIF:8.2 / MODERNSCIENCE.UZ
1367
Distortion in orchestral music or the merging of electronic and acoustic sounds is not
uncommon. Contemporary classical music remains vital and evolving—regularly performed at
institutions such as the State Conservatory of Uzbekistan and major opera houses.
REFERENCES
1.
V. Kholopova – Forms of Musical Works, Part III
2.
E. Weinberg – Compositional Techniques of the 20th–21st Century (Lecture)
