Music: An Appreciation, 10th Edition (Kamien)

Composers of the 20th Century to 1950

http://www.kendavies.net/resources/composersto1950.html

A collection of biographical essays of major 20th century composers of classical and popular music.

History of Avant-garde Music

http://www.scaruffi.com/avant/1900.html

A detailed overview of many movements in modern music composition and performance, with links to composer biographies, descriptions of major works and a timeline of rock and roll history.

A Comparison of Free Jazz to 20^th Century Music

http://ccrma-www.stanford.edu/~blackrse/freejazz.html

This online essay provides an overview of the music of the free jazz movement and compares it to other forms of modern classical composition.

Using the websites provided above, answer the following questions.

1			Select three modern composers of your choice and answer the following questions concerning their background and music: a. What social and or political events did the artist witness during his or her lifetime? b. How did these events influence their philosophy and composition? c. How did the mass media and consumer culture influence the dissemination of their work?
2			In what ways is free jazz similar to modern classical composition? How does it depart from traditional jazz?