Rhythm in twentieth century music

Abstract

As will be seen in more detail later, so much emphasis was given to the development of harmony, especially in the classical and romantic periods, that rhythm was somewhat neglected It was mainly used as a carrier of harmony. However, this is not to be taken too literally. When compared to twentieth century music one will clearly notice that rhythm became a :fundamental part of composition, sometimes even at the expense of harmony. This can be clearly seen in the music of such composers as Stravinsky, Cage and Carter. The main concentration of this dissertation will be on some of the major early twentieth century composers, namely Bartok, Stravinsky, Webem and Messiaen.