The late 19th and early 20th centuries were a period of continuing revolutions. The world was changing, new realities were emerging that no longer fitted into the old dogmas, and the language of music could not be unaffected.

This language was bound to change, although no one could have known in advance how it was going to happen. The struggle against limitations turned into a struggle against the canons of European music that had been maturing for centuries. Subverting traditional counterpoint, harmonies and melodies became not only fashionable, but almost obligatory to be recognised as a "modern" composer.

The ability to subvert does not mean the ability to create, especially when the claim is to create something completely new. The geniuses, who were not so numerous, hit the wall of the musical canon and tore it down. The mediocrities, who were always more numerous, pushed forward, taking advantage of a tolerant attitude towards "creative freedom" and "innovation". Traditional harmonies, which naturally express human emotions, found it difficult to cut through the mountains of rubbish produced by both talented "experimenters" and musicians lacking in talent - "free artists".As musicologist Viktoras Gerulaitis notes, "it took Europe millennia to form a musical harmony, three hundred years for it to blossom, and only fifty years to destroy it."

However, chaos is often only a precondition for the emergence of new order. Human nature does not disappear amidst technological inventions, nor does the need for harmonies of sound. They were bound to survive in twentieth-century music, and they did, not only with losses, but also with discoveries.

To delve into this topic with Viktoras Gerulaitis, to listen to the musical testimonies of this dramatic period, and maybe even to discuss these issues, which are still relevant today, we invite you to join the new project of the Music Magic Club "Preserved Harmonies in the Twentieth Century".  

The end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries are a period of continuing revolutions. The world was changing, new realities emerged that no longer fit into the old dogmas, and the language of music could not remain unaffected. 

EARLY MEETINGS:

Attempts to destroy classical harmony | F. List, R. Wagner, K. Debussy - 7 May.

The Crisis of Harmony | A. Schonberg, A. Berg, A. Webern - 28 May

The Return of Harmony | I. Stravinsky and Neoclassicism - 18 June

Recovery of Harmony | I. Stravinsky and Neo-Classicism - 18 June

Resumption in the autumn.