Tonality Expansion Techniques In Stravinsky's Music During The Period Of New Classicism

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky is one of the most influential composers of the 20 century.His work is also one of the most multi-faceted.Three periods could be found in his work,'Neo-nationalism','Neo-classicism' and 'Serialism'The period of Neo-classicism is what this article talks about.Octet for Wind Instruments,Concerto in E flat,Symphony in C,these three pieces is analyzed in this article.Tonality expansion techniques used by Stravinsky in the period of Neo-classicism could be concluded after analyzing these three pieces.The first chapter discusses about variety of relationships between tonalities which is based on different kinds of form of pieces,for instance,sonata form and ritornello.The second chapter is about the ways that Stravinsky used to set up a key.The expansion of tonality is based on tonal music.Therefore,it is necessary to discuss about how to set up a key first.Stravinsky imitated the technique to set up a key that composers used in common practice,but made differences.In addition,he used other ways to set up a key,for instance,using melody,pedal tone and ostinato.The last chapter shows the techniques that Stravinsky used to expanse the tonality.If the key does not change,he used passing tone and accessory tone,modal mixture,polychord or octave to expanse the tonality.He used techniques which are mode-alternation and sequence with modulation if the key changes.Conclusion summarizes the tonality expansion techniques and the character of harmony language that Stravinsky used in the period of neo-classicism.Stravinsky combined the technique of tonality expansion with his layered music,led to a special and unique music language.