20th Century & Contemporary

Evolving from late Romanticism's dissolution, 20th Century & Contemporary Classical music represents a radical break with tradition. Its ethos is one of inquiry and invention, dismantling inherited conventions of harmony, rhythm, and form. Composers like *Arnold Schoenberg* introduced atonality and serialism, while *John Cage* explored chance and indeterminacy. The period saw the orchestra augmented and supplanted by electronics and tape, as heard in the works of *Karlheinz Stockhausen*. Movements like minimalism, championed by *Steve Reich*, re-introduced hypnotic repetition, influencing a wide spectrum of modern music and film scoring.