Musical Style and Period

[tenzinlhazey]

Hello everyone, I was wondering what the difference is between musical style and period...because I have my grade 5 trinity piano exam and I have to do the musical knowledge questions. Thank u so much !

[iansinclair]

Heavens.  What a question.  That would take a book, or at least a short paper!  Period -- classical.  Romantic.  Baroque.  Renaissance.  Musica nova.  And the list goes on!

Style.  Bossa nova.  Samba.  Viennese waltz.  Rock and roll.  Verismo.  Wagnerian.  Antiphonal.  Madrigal.  Opera Seria.  Sprechstimme.  Gospel.  Spiritual.

Where's my Grove's when I need it?

[tenzinlhazey]

Thank you Ian!

[109natsu]

Hi tenzinlhazey,

Ian is right to add on, a musical period is just referencing the time period. That is closely related to style, but not entirely. I can see why that is confusing. Good luck on your exam

Heavens.  What a question.  That would take a book, or at least a short paper!  Period -- classical.  Romantic.  Baroque.  Renaissance.  Musica nova.  And the list goes on!

Style.  Bossa nova.  Samba.  Viennese waltz.  Rock and roll.  Verismo.  Wagnerian.  Antiphonal.  Madrigal.  Opera Seria.  Sprechstimme.  Gospel.  Spiritual.

Where's my Grove's when I need it?

YOU! My friend! You forgot Impressionism! You can't have piano without impressionistic pieces!

Just messing around,
Natsu

[tenzinlhazey]

Thank you very much Natsue!

[quantum]

This is one way of differentiating them:

Period: referring to time period.  When the music was composed, performed, etc.  Goes alongside artistic periods in the other fine art disciplines and global/political events.  It is a timeline context.

Style: A set of common characteristics that can be attributed to a group of pieces.  A period can have multiple styles that were used within that time period.  A style would give these common characteristics a name, an identifier, which can be easily referred to. 

[visitor]

This is one way of differentiating them:

Period: referring to time period.  When the music was composed, performed, etc.  Goes alongside artistic periods in the other fine art disciplines and global/political events.  It is a timeline context.

Style: A set of common characteristics that can be attributed to a group of pieces.  A period can have multiple styles that were used within that time period.  A style would give these common characteristics a name, an identifier, which can be easily referred to.  

+1.
to OP and style can and frequently acts outside of period.
ie we are not in the romantic period, but pieces can still be written and published in romanic style or, we can also use the term 'tradition' interchangable with style since there is usually some overlap at the beginning/and ends of periods (and the years/decades that happens is always debated).
so you can have a piece composed in a neo impressionistic tradition that could have been written just a few years ago, but by chronology, it's decidedly contemporary (and the terms used can vary since some dinosaurs still call music at /just after world war I modern....
ie
this is a contemporary by date but listen, you'll hear hints of Debussy, Ravel, Jazz,  mid century modernism, etc. so I would perosonally call it neo impressionism or impressionistic and 20th century fusion

so when you have Scriabin writting more 'tonal' he's late to the Romantic game but the style is decidedly more Romantic  in tradition than his later works which deviates from the style and moves towards looser tonality.

there are guidelines, and generally agreed upon breaks in time vs style, but it's not hard and fast.

In mid 20th century, there were composers that turned against the atonal rubbish of the new aesthetic movement and instead looked back and pre romantic, we tend to call them neo classical, ie Francaix, etc.

[themeandvariation]

Visitor -- to throw around terms like 'atonal rubbish' … is irresponsible and reductionist.. There is rubbish in Any style, as there may be great works in any style.. I would venture to say that you haven't much explored this atonal stuff, and quick to pronounce judgement - because you don't like What you have heard -what you would term atonal..
I guess you prefer a watered down jazz cliche (kitsch) rubbish in classical clothing …
(See,… not very pleasant to have a style reduced as rubbish, does it? )
I suppose you like Claude Bolling 

[visitor]

Visitor -- to throw around terms like 'atonal rubbish' … is irresponsible and reductionist.. There is rubbish in Any style, as there may be great works in any style.. I would venture to say that you haven't much explored this atonal stuff, and quick to pronounce judgement - because you don't like What you have heard -what you would term atonal..
I guess you prefer a watered down jazz cliche (kitsch) rubbish in classical clothing …
(See,… not very pleasant to have a style reduced as rubbish, does it? )
I suppose you like Claude Bolling  

theme and variation, didn't say all atonal was rubbish, i was specifically referring the rubbish music that happend to be atonal, since the movement was all the rage, all sorts of stuff that adhered to atonal but wasn't particularly inspired or well constructed was coming out like crazy, a lot of rubbish was at the forefront of people's minds.... there was some really cool stuff happening so some atonal music survives and is is still performed or should be , some is forgotten for good reason. my term wasn't absolute and was not exclusive of romantic rubbish, salon rubbish, classical rubbish, etc lol there' are stinkers to be found in every period  haha.

thanks for catching that and helping me have to  chance to explore further.

i re state, my statement atonal rubbish, was not meant to say all atonal from said perid is rubbish, i actually like more of it than most  
meh, Claude Bolling is interesting sometimes but I don't find it terribly appealing, I honestly am never drawn enough to actively seek it out to listen to in full/often or learn it (but sentiments change, maybe sometime in future it will speak to me , but not yet at least   )

[visitor]

..there was really cool stuff happening so some atonal music survives and is is still performed or should be...

ie take this for example, i purchased this score few years ago, note not complete and in order but gives you idea of the sound. they are well constructed and interesting and I really like this
note out of cntext harder to appreciate but i could not find it played in full in order so you get the main theme then all the variations, cool work nonetheless

[themeandvariation]

Fair enough
Thank you for responding and clarifying… (i felt the need to say, because so much of the time Here - atonal and rubbish are used together… almost exclusively!)
I appreciate you explaining further, as there are impressionable minds that may be reading.
Thanks.

[themeandvariation]

It's been a while, but i remember liking Persichetti.. I'll give it a whirl. Thanks.

[visitor]

It's been a while, but i remember liking Persichetti.. I'll give it a whirl. Thanks.

yes, and Druckman was a pupil of Perichetti, those 7 deadly sins variations are groovy. Perichetti's sonatas are inventive.

Also look for Rober Starere's preludes and other pieces is

,
and if you look outside of piano, take a listen to David Diamond, his 2nd symphony in particular is probably the finest American symphony of the 20th century, powerful work.
here is first movement

and you'll notice in the comments, to be verified but it's quoted that Arnold Schoenberg called David Diamond a young Bruckner...that's a strong statement but very believable.

[themeandvariation]

Thank you.  I'll take a listen.
Have you heard..
Corigliano piano concerto:

Lou Harrison piano concerto:

[visitor]

Thank you.  I'll take a listen.
Have you heard..
Corigliano piano concerto:

Lou Harrison piano concerto:

will do thank you!
oh btw and to steer it back to OP you can see from above disc some variety in style but by period it is 20th century.

here is an example of another modern composer but he devidated from more atonal and had a post romantic tonal lean to him. I love his piano concerto and this is a cool solo piano piece, you can hear stylistically, it is decidedly not atonal but still modern in style