20th Century Timeline

What is 20th Century music? The history and politics of the 20th Century provided inspiration for the diverse range of musical styles developed between 1900 and 1999, pioneered by composers ranging from Elgar and Britten, to Stravinsky, Gershwin, and John Williams. Advancing technology enabled the recording of classical music and jazz, which in turn lead to the rise of globe-straddling artists like Pavarotti and Callas.

Find out about Britten, Shostakovich, Vaughan Williams and 20th Century music...

Shostakovich: music, biography and videos

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 – 1975) was a Russian composer greatly influenced by the Soviet regime. After disappointing Stalin with his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtensk he wrote his Symphony No. 5 to impress the state, before writing his anti-Stalinist No. 10.

20th Century music: where to start

What does 20th Century music sound like? Who were the most famous composers? Discover the best songs and pieces of the 20th Century, and find out more about its movements, such as Minimalism, Expressionism and Serialism.

Britten: a life

Why we love Vaughan Williams

The Lark Ascending explained

Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue explained

Elgar: music, biography and videos

Edward Elgar (1857 – 1934) was a British composer, famous for his Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, as well as his powerful cello and violin concertos.

America’s greatest composers

Glass, Bernstein, Whitacre, and Gershwin - get to know the most famous American composers and their best music.

Strauss’ Four Last Songs explained

Richard Strauss' famous pieces, the Four Last Songs, (Vier letzte Lieder) for solo soprano and orchestra were his final completed works, composed in 1948.

Glass: music, biography and videos

Philip Glass (1937 - present) is an American composer known for his Minimalist style. His famous pieces include string quartets, his violin concerto, symphonies, and his film soundtrack to The Hours.

Prokofiev: music, biography and videos

Sergei Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) was a Russian composer, whose most famous pieces include Lieutenant Kijé, the ballet Romeo and Juliet, his Violin Concerto No. 2 and Peter and the Wolf.

Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf explained

Completed in 1936, Prokofiev's composition for children, Peter and the Wolf, uses a narrator and simple story with text and music written by the composer himself. Find out more about it.

Einaudi's Le Onde explained

Ludovico Einaudi wrote his piano piece Le Onde (The Waves) in 1996, based on the Virginia Woolf novel of the same name.

Whitacre: the man and the music

Eric Whitacre is one of the most frequently performed modern choral composers, famous for his rich harmonies and rock star persona. Find out more about him.

Rutter’s music by genre

Video game music: 15 of the best scores

Barber: biography, music and videos

Barber’s Adagio for Strings explained

Copland: music, biography and videos

Aaron Copland (1900 – 1990) is an American composer, most famous for his Rodeo, Appalachian Spring, and Fanfare for the Common Man. Discover more about the man and his music.

Pavarotti: interviews, music and biography

Luciano Pavarotti (1935 –2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who performed as part of The Three Tenors with Plácido Domingo and José Carreras. He was one of the finest singers of the 20th Century and one of the most commercially successful.

Dances with Wolves: about the soundtrack

John Williams: the infographic

John Williams: music, biography and videos

An interview with John Williams

Karl Jenkins: music, biography and videos

Karl Jenkins (1944-present) is a Welsh musician and composer. His most famous pieces are Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary and The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace.

Film music: where to start

From Shostakovich and Korngold to Williams and Shore, discover the best film music and how it became one of the most popular genres of contemporary music.

Music in the 20th Century changed dramatically, due to the hostile political climate, advances in technology, and huge shifts in style. Many composers, struggling to build any further on the music of generations gone by, reacted against established musical trends, creating exciting new forms and styles.

Music was greatly influenced by the enormous political events which shook Europe in the middle of the 20th Century. Shostakovich, in particular, was persecuted by the Soviet regime when his music was thought to be too ‘modern’ or élitist, meaning he was forced to write in two styles - symphonies for the authorities, and smaller works such as string quartets which were true to his own voice. The Holocaust, Hiroshima and World War II convinced many post-war composers that they needed to put the past behind them and find ever more progressive methods: see Pierre Boulez’s Structures, Schoenberg’s experiment with tonality and John Cage.
American composers like George Gershwin and Duke Ellington began to draw on their own native music - jazz. Stravinsky and Ravel responded with music that also embraced jazz styles. Folk music was also a great source of inspiration for composers like Vaughan Williams, Bartók and Messiaen.
Modernism in music was about being radical and different. For the first time, musicians and audiences realised that music didn’t have to be confined to tradition, but by 1960 this idea had run out of steam. The next generation of ‘serious’ composers relaxed and had a wider palette of musical colours to work with - influences from other cultures, popular music, ancient music and the experiments of modernism.
Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Michael Nyman and John Adams championed Minimalism, breaking musical boundaries and winning them huge popularity. Their music reflects advances in music and technology - sometimes including elements of jazz and rock.
A group of composers who met while studying in Manchester have become the main exponents of ‘post-modern’ music in Britain. While music written by Peter Maxwell Davies, Harrison Birtwistle and Alexander Goehr isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, it can be profoundly powerful and stimulating.
Film music and video game music increased in popularity towards the end of the century, with the soundtracks to E.T., Star Wars, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings making their mark on classical music.