Shifts in Tone: The Effects of the First World War on Classical Music
Issue Date
2019-04Author
Halliwell, David
Publisher
Department of History, University of Kansas
Type
Thesis
Degree Level
B.A.
Discipline
History
Rights
Copyright 2019, David Halliwell
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
This paper explores how the First World War affected the lives and compositions of Ralph Vaughan Williams, Maurice Ravel, and Arnold Schoenberg, three well-known twentieth-century composers who fought in the conflict on the British, French, and Austrian sides. The war affected the lives and compositions of these three men in significant, enduring, and divergent ways. The sharp differences in their compositional reactions to the war owe primarily to these authors' previous compositional styles, particularly their prewar approach to tonality, and their divergent wartime experiences, such as the extent of military service and traumatic events that paralleled the war. Despite their differences, a commonality was present; the war prompted these composers to change their view of tonality. More broadly, the war also led to compositions that were characteristically darker, more somber, and dedicated to the injured and deceased.
Description
This thesis was submitted to the Department of History of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for departmental honors.
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