I

While the 20th century ended not long ago, modern music from this period seems far removed from us. Often labeled as "weird" and "unpleasant" and exclusive to a small elite circle, modern music does not have a big following among the public.

Two names often come up when we discuss modern music. One is Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951).

One day in 1899, the premiere of Schoenberg's string sextet Verklarte Nacht ended in brawls. His pioneering musical language was met with incomprehension. Harsh criticism did not disturb Schoenberg's inner peace. Later, Schoenberg developed the atonal, twelve-tone composition technique, which was a more radical departure from conventions. Over the previous years, his musical style had been rejected and ridiculed by many, and he was even called an instigator among young people. Due to repeated attacks, Schoenberg cut himself off from the public and founded the Society for Private Musical Performances. Works included in the programme were not publicly announced, critics were not invited, and applause was not allowed during a concert. A musical performance thus became a small-scale private event and in some sense a lonely experience.

Today, Schoenberg's status in music history has been widely recognized. He emancipated the dissonance and freed Western music from the shackles of major and minor scales.

The other person frequently mentioned in discussions of modern music is American composer John Milton Cage (1912-1992).

In 1957, Cage's 4′33″ sparked heated debate in the music circle at that time. It was undoubtedly the most controversial musical work or musical event in the 20th century. Apart from the word "tacet" (silence) that appeared three times, the score included no notes at all. In the 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence, the performer did not strike any note. All he did was opening and closing the piano lid.

Because of this work, Cage is considered the most controversial composer in the 20th century. He was frantically admired by some but was accused of grandstanding by many others. Some people even called him a liar or lunatic.

However, if we take a look at the impact of 4′33″ rather than the controversial work itself, we may find one of the most important results achieved by this groundbreaking work:Cage liberated sounds, in the same way as Schoenberg liberated dissonance. The composition is void of pitch and rhythm. It invites the audience to embrace in silence those natural ambient sounds in the concert hall, which can also be music. "You could hear the wind stirring outside during the first movement. During the second, raindrops began pattering the roof, and during the third people themselves made all kinds of interesting sounds as they talked or walked out (Cage's speech at the premiere of 4′33″)." It breaks the boundaries between life and music. With this work, Cage made a philosophical statement:"Everything is music." This philosophy of Cage, which expands the definition of music by an unprecedented extent, has a huge influence on the works of later generations of musicians. It is possible that both the use of the sounds of water and paper in Paper Concerto and Water Concerto by Chinese composer Tan Dun (1957- ) and the sounds of propellers, wind, and clocks in the score written by German film score composer and music producer Hans Zimmer (1957- ) for Dunkirk have been influenced by John Cage's revolutionary idea of music.

Basically, all modern music works can find their roots in Schoenberg and Cage. The emancipation of dissonance and sounds has opened up a world of possibilities. Understanding this is the premise of understanding modern music. Composers are freed from the restriction of the major and minor key system that has dominated Western music for hundreds of years. Modern music no longer focuses on such forms as melody, harmony, and rhythm. It is burst with whimsy. Composers are fascinated by all kinds of non-traditional and non-cyclical rhythms and strange sounding methods, timbres, semitones, microtones, noises, and unusual sounds of various instruments. Arnold Schoenberg rightly observed that Cage was "not a composer but an inventor of genius." Indeed, modern music is often about invention and emancipation

II

When traditional aesthetic experiences are at a loss to deal with new musical concepts and forms, how should we make sense of new music?

The adaptability of our musical taste directly determines our aesthetic judgment of modern music.

In 2001, on BTV-l's talk show Common Ground,famous composer Tan Dun stormed out of the room because of the harsh criticism from conductor Bian Zushan (1936- ). It was an outrageous and awkward moment. The dispute between Tan and Bian was essentially a tug-of-war between those who had an ear for classical music and those who appreciated modern music.

How about adapting our musical taste?

When we no longer stubbornly seek out melody, rhythm, harmony and other familiar musical elements or box ourselves in with aesthetic constraints, we may be able to better understand modern music. It's time for us to change the way we appreciate music. Let's feel the emancipated sound, the invention of sound, the wonderful kaleidoscope of sounds, the imagination contained in sound, and the atmosphere created by sound. If we understand the philosophy and logic behind the sound, it will be easier for us to make sense of modern music.

Water splashing, water flowing, water pouring…Water sounds are everywhere. More often than not, we fail to notice these sounds. We seldom contemplate these sounds from an aesthetic point of view. Tan Dun makes music with water. When I listened to his Water Concerto for the first time, I listened intently and tried to understand his music by tapping into my aesthetic sense. The water sounds, which I usually did not notice in daily life, had such rich and subtle timbre and rhythm changes, which I picked up by being open-minded. Reflecting on this experience, I find that sometimes we do not lack aesthetic sense but the aesthetic attitude when it comes to modern music.

Devoid of any melodic or harmonic progression, Atmosphères (1961), the masterpiece of Austrian-Hungarian composer György Sándor Ligeti (1923-2006), has an 87-voice dense canonic structure. There is no discernible pitch, rhythm, or timbre. Instead, what listeners are confronted with is a slow-motion succession of dense sound textures. Ligeti said, "In this kind of music, there are no 'events' but only 'states'…but instead, an uninhabited, imaginary musical space. Tone color, usually a vehicle of musical form, is liberated from form to become an independent musical entity." "This so-to-speak 'informal' music is embodied in a new type of orchestral sound:the sonorous texture is so dense that the individual interwoven instrumental voices are absorbed into the general texture and completely lose their individuality." A musical event mentioned by Ligeti probably refers to melody or harmony and the way it unfolds, while the so-called state may refer to a sound effect or an atmosphere. The use of electronic sound effects in a piece for orchestra reflects Ligeti's amazing acoustic imagination and superb creative technique. Atmosphères was used in 2001:A Space Odyssey, an Oscar-winning film directed by Stanley Kubrick in 1968 to reflect a mysterious, vast and boundless universe. The film won the BAFTA Award for Best Sound in 1968.

While our aesthetic experience shows strings are often associated with femininity, Requiem for String Orchestra, Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu's (1930-1996) signature work, tells us otherwise.

Unlike Ligeti's Atmosphères, Requiem for String Orchestra uses musical sounds, but it does not rely on the contrast of speed and the cyclic rhythm to achieve musical progression like Western classical music. The composition is characterized by atonal melody, non-cyclic, lethargic rhythm, thick and dense texture, and subtle changes in timbre. Sounds seem to converge into a river flowing in slow motion. The score is full of tension and foreboding. It is sorrowful and depressing. Igor Stravinsky was intrigued by this work. He said, "This work is powerful. I can't imagine that such a small man can create such a powerful work." According to Toru Takemitsu, "composing is giving meaning to that stream of sounds that penetrates the world we live in."

III

We would sometimes experience déjà vu when listening to classical or romantic music even if it is a work that we have never heard before. The sense of familiarity and predictability is an important prerequisite for aesthetic acceptance. Major and minor musical keys evoke aesthetic pleasure. This kind of music produces direct pleasure and fills us with calm contemplation and leisurely elegance. Even when expressing pain, such music often implores the listener to explore the beauty of melancholy, transforming something that is not normally considered beautiful into something beautiful. In modern music, dissonance and sound are emancipated. The expansion of the definition of sounds to include noise has changed the aesthetic properties of music. The perceptual gain from modern music may not be direct pleasure or leisurely elegance, but shudder, excitement, novelty, shock and even confusion.

Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima (1960) written by Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki (1933-2020) for 52 string instruments is a good example. Hiroshima is one of the two cities which experienced atomic bombing during World War II. The devastation caused by the bomb to the city was unprecedented in human history. The explosion immediately killed more than 100,000 people, prompting people across the world to reflect on the horrors of war. After the end of World War II, many musicians wrote elegies for the Victims of Hiroshima. To pay homage to victims in the horrific human tragedy, Penderecki confronted suffering directly. There is no beautification. The music created an anti-pleasure atmosphere. The composer combined dense microtone clusters, piercing sounds produced by musical instruments, aggressive use of tremolo and vibrato, strange sounds made by placing the bow close to the fingerboard or bridge of the violin or playing with the bow unconventionally, and caterwauling noises to depict the cruelty, horror and suffering of war. The musical expression is not about beauty in the usual sense. It implores people to stay away from war and cherish peace. This is what modern music is all about. This is the idea and expression of modern music.

Not all modern music is dissonant. Some modern works in the upcoming season sound nice to the ears.

To collect more materials for this article, I listened to Langsamer Satz by Schoenberg's disciple Anton von Webern (1883-1945). The elements of classical music in this work came as a surprise to me. I had never thought Webern would write like that. Fratres, a set of variations for violin and piano written by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt (1935- ), makes use of an endless list of techniques and accentuates the serenity of sacred music. Short Ride in a Fast Machine, a masterpiece of minimalism by John Coolidge Adams (1947- ), is an exhilarating musical joyride that reminds people of the fast pace of modern life.

For these nice-sounding modern music, they are self-explained enough. Just listen. Modern music is whimsical and fascinating. To better understand it, we need to have an open mind toward diversity.