Modern

Episode number 5 of Series “Orchestra Series”.
Part Five of the Orchestra series which describes the evolution of the modern symphony orchestra from its beginnings in the 17th Century to the present. Wagner greatly expanded the orchestra, adding new instruments when necessary. Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler also created their own new and exciting orchestral sounds. Eventually there was a reaction against this type of music, and Debussy, influenced by Impressionism, composed a haze of delicate, shimmering orchestral sounds. Stravinsky’s more aggressive music is demonstrated with the orchestra performing part of the “Rite of Spring”. Before the First World War, Arnold Schoenberg was writing music in which tonality, the basis of all music written, was abandoned. Neither music nor orchestra has remained the same.