Modern classical music is the concert music written from about 1900 on. No single style rules it. Some composers painted with soft colors of sound. Some drove their music with sharp, surprising rhythms. Others worked folk tunes, jazz, and cowboy songs into pieces for the concert hall. A good first piece is Peter and the Wolf by Prokofiev.
This site groups composers who did most of their work between 1900 and 2000 under the Modern era.
When it was
The 1900s brought two world wars, fast travel, and new machines for sound. Records, radio, and film changed how people heard music. For the first time, a family could hear an orchestra at home without playing a note.
Composers wrote for these new outlets. They wrote film scores, music for radio, and pieces to teach children the instruments.
What it sounds like
New colors. Composers chose unusual instruments and mixed them in fresh ways. A tune might go to a saxophone, a celesta, or a muted trumpet.
Strong, uneven rhythm. The beat may shift from bar to bar. Loud chords land where a listener does not expect them.
New scales and chords. Some music floats on five-note scales. Some uses notes that clash on purpose.
Borrowed styles. Folk songs, jazz, ragtime, and dance music all find their way in.
Many moods. Modern music can be dreamy, funny, harsh, or plain and open. Two pieces from the same year can sound nothing alike.
The instruments
A huge orchestra, or a tiny one. Some pieces call for more than a hundred players. Others use a small group in which each player is a soloist.
More percussion. Xylophones, gongs, wood blocks, and many kinds of drums take a bigger part.
The piano inside the orchestra. Composers began to use it as one more color.
New sounds. Later in the century, composers added recorded and electronic sounds.
Eight composers to meet
Each one has a page on this site.
- Debussy, who wrote soft, hazy music about moonlight and snow
- Holst, who wrote The Planets
- Ravel, who wrote Boléro and Mother Goose
- Stravinsky, who wrote The Firebird
- Florence Price, whose symphony was played in Chicago in 1933
- Prokofiev, who wrote Peter and the Wolf
- Copland, who wrote ballets about cowboys and pioneers
- Britten, who wrote The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra
Five pieces to hear first
Peter and the Wolf, by Prokofiev. A story in which each character is an instrument. See the guide.
“Clair de lune,” by Debussy. Soft piano notes, slow and far apart.
“Hoe-Down” from Rodeo, by Copland. A barn dance for full orchestra.
“Jupiter” from The Planets, by Holst. A joyful rush and a grand tune. See the Planets guide.
Finale from The Firebird, by Stravinsky. One quiet horn tune grows until the whole orchestra is playing it.
Music written for children
Several of the best-known pieces for young listeners come from this period. Prokofiev wrote Peter and the Wolf in 1936 for a children’s theater. Britten wrote The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra in 1945 for a film. Ravel wrote Mother Goose for two children he knew, and Debussy wrote Children’s Corner for his daughter.
How to tell it is Modern
Ask three questions. Does the beat or the tune take turns you did not expect? Do you hear unusual instruments or sounds? Is it hard to guess what comes next? Three yes answers point to the 1900s.
Things to do together
Old or new? Play one minute of Mozart and one minute of Stravinsky. Ask which is older and how your child can tell.
Catch the surprise. Play the “Infernal Dance” from The Firebird. Try to clap on each loud chord.
Paint the sound. Play “Clair de lune” and paint with watercolors.
Film music. Many film scores use the tools of these composers. Play a favorite film theme and listen for the brass, the percussion, and the big tunes.
Composers of today
People are still writing concert music. Orchestras play new pieces each season, and composers write for films, games, and schools. Ask your local orchestra which living composers it is playing this year.
Print and play
Sort the composer cards by period. See who was alive in the same years with the composer timeline.
The period before was the Romantic era. For all four, see the guide to composers by era.
More from this guide
This article is part of Classical composers for kids: a guide by era, from Vivaldi to Britten.
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Amy Beach for kids: her life, her music, and what to play first
Amy Beach explained for parents and kids: the American pianist who taught herself to compose, the Gaelic Symphony, four pieces to play first, and things to do.
Bach for kids: his life, his music, and what to play first
Johann Sebastian Bach explained for parents and kids: a short life story, what his music sounds like, five pieces to play first, and a fact sheet to print.
Baroque music for kids: the composers, the sound, and pieces to hear
Baroque music explained for kids and parents: when it was, what it sounds like, the harpsichord, Vivaldi, Bach, and Handel, and five pieces to hear first.
Bartók for kids: his life, his music, and what to play first
Béla Bartók explained for parents and kids: the composer who collected folk songs, Mikrokosmos, four pieces to play first, and things to do together.
Beethoven for kids: his life, his music, and what to play first
Ludwig van Beethoven explained for parents and kids: a short life story, his hearing loss, five pieces to play first, and a fact sheet to print.
Use it with your kids
Print a listening page, a practice chart, or a composer fact sheet. Or try a tool, such as the composer timeline or the piece picker.