The twentieth century was filled with such musical diversity. By 1900, various composers explored new possibilities that were considered taboo in the past, such as accurately defining music itself. This largely involved experimenting with structure and the piano as a truly percussive instrument. Three major composers contributed to this aforementioned aspect of the piano: Henry Cowell, John Cage and George Crumb. Their pioneering techniques and ideas have helped pave the way for other contemporary composers.
Henry Cowell (1897-1965) successfully combined traditional Irish folk music and Asian music with innovative sounds of the twentieth century. His piano pieces such as “Exultation,” “The Tides of Mananauhn” and “Harp of Life” employ the use of the tone cluster: a large chord that can either be played with the palm of the hand, the fist or the forearm. Other pieces by Cowell explore the inside of the piano. “Sinister Resonance,” for example requires the plucking of piano strings. “The Banshee,” by contrast, calls the piano strings to be scraped with the fingers (to imitate the wailing of the ghost). In addition to his pianism, Cowell also wrote about certain aspects of music, such as the significance of overtones.
John Cage (1912-1992) further experimented with the inside of a piano. His Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano (1946-48), for example, use household items that are inserted either on or between the strings. The sonatas, in binary form, are then performed on the keyboard as written in the score. The end result, though, produces unexpected sounds of wooden or metallic sounds.
In keeping with Cage’s style of chance music, it is equally important to discuss the composer’s perception of music itself. Cage believed that sound exists in many forms, even in silence. A case in point stems from his piece entitled, “4:33.” The three-movement work simply involves the pianist sitting on the bench and repeatedly lifting and closing the piano lid for precisely four minutes and thirty-three seconds. While the pianist is to remain absolutely quiet, the real music behind this spontaneous work is the backgrounds noises from the audience: be it a cough, sneeze, yell, or random inaudible conversation.
Of the three aforementioned composers, George Crumb (b. 1929) continues to explore new musical possibilities. His compositions for piano utilize the techniques of Cowell and Cage. Of particular importance is Crumb’s Makrokosmos (1972) for amplified piano. It is a set of twelve pieces based on the sign of the Zodiac. The score features cutouts of certain parts for performance. Also interesting is the insertion of a microphone to increase the volume of the music. It also utilizes controlled rhythmic patterns (represented by a thick black line) in addition to tone clusters and the plucking of strings. Occasionally, the large work features musical quotation, such as in “Gemini;” Crumb quotes passages from Chopin’s “Fantasie-Impromptu., Op. 66 (Posth.)
Composers of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries have also diversified. Yet, there are still use the procedures set forth by Cowell and Cage. Many composers like Elliot Carter (b. 1908) have experimented with notation and performance. John Corgliano (b. 1938) also provides different possibilities for the performing his“Fantasy on an Ostinato” (1985). It additionally quotes part of a Beethoven Symphony. Some more recent compositions, such as Frederick Rschevki’s “Rubenstein in Berlin” (2008) quote Chopin’s music and make use of obligato dialogue. This particular piece uses props like coins, whoopee cushions and noise makers.
Piano music of the twentieth century opened doors of new ideas. It was through Cage, Cowell, and Crumb that these ideas came to fruition.. Their music paved the way for the future. Over the past few decades many composers have used different media and approaches to composing piano music. Yet these approaches would not be possible were it not for the innovations of Cowell, Cage and Crumb.