Neoclassicism (music)

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Neoclassicism describes the aesthetic trend that pervaded the entire European musical culture from around 1920. In a clear rejection of late Romantic expressiveness, of impressionism and expressionism , neoclassicism is characterized by the pursuit of clarity and simplicity. In neoclassicism, a new , tonal and largely linear music emerged, with the 18th century ( late baroque and pre-classic ) often being the model for composition techniques, forms and genres.

term

The music-historical concept of neoclassicism (not to be confused with the dark wave neoclassic of the 1980s or the neoclassical of the 2000s) emerged after 1920 in Paris around artists such as Igor Stravinsky , Jean Cocteau and the Groupe des Six . Jean Cocteau called for "an objective art detached from the individual that leaves the listener in clear consciousness".

The compositional current of neoclassicism is sometimes incorrectly referred to as neo-baroque . Despite the difficult delimitation (neoclassicism took up both classical and late baroque forms and stylistic devices ), the term neoclassicism has established itself in music history and in the authoritative professional music lexicons ( MGG , New Grove Dictionary ). As an adjective, "neoclassical" is sometimes used instead of neoclassical, even if today this can lead to confusion with the much later neoclassical music genre .

Works and composers

Essential elements of neoclassicism can already be seen in works such as Maurice Ravel's “Menuet Antique” (1895) or Sergej Prokofiev's “ Symphonie Classique ” (1916/17, premier 1918).

Works with a neoclassical character were written by the composers of the Groupe des Six ( Georges Auric , Louis Durey , Arthur Honegger , Darius Milhaud , Francis Poulenc , Germaine Tailleferre ), also (in alphabetical order):

Organ building

In organ building , neoclassicism describes a type of instrument that dominated France between approx. 1925 and 1975, which seeks to combine French-Baroque ("classical"), French-Romantic and North German-Baroque sound elements with the latest technology ("l'orgue neoclassique") . This trend culminated in the organ movement after World War II.

literature