Polystylism is the use of multiple

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

s or techniques in literature, art, film, or, especially, music. Some prominent contemporary polystylist composers include Peter Maxwell Davies, Alfred Schnittke, and John Zorn. Polystylist composers from earlier in the twentieth century include

Charles Ives Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, 1874May 19, 1954) was an American modernist composer, actuary and businessman. Ives was among the earliest renowned American composers to achieve recognition on a global scale. His music was largely ignored d ...

and Erik Satie. Among literary figures,

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

has been referred to as a polystylist. On the other hand, composers including Sofia Gubaidulina have rejected the term as not applicable to their work.Vera Lukomsky, "Sofia Gubaidulina: 'My Desire Is Always to Rebel, to Swim against the Stream!'”. ''

Perspectives of New Music ''Perspectives of New Music'' (PNM) is a peer-reviewed academic journal specializing in music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Musi ...

'' 36. no. 1 (Winter 1998): 5–41, citation on 24–26. Though perhaps not the original source of the term, the first important discussion of the subject is Alfred Schnittke's essay "Polystylistic Tendencies in Modern Music (1971)". Alfred Schnittke, "Polystylistic Tendencies in Modern Music (1971)", in ''A Schnittke Reader'', edited by Aleksandr Ivashkin, English translation by John Derek Goodliffe, 87–90 (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002) . The composers cited by Schnittke as those who make use of polystylism are Alban Berg, Luciano Berio,

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 19255 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music. Born in Montb ...

, Edison Denisov, Hans Werner Henze, Mauricio Kagel, Jan Klusák, György Ligeti, Carl Orff,

Arvo Pärt Arvo Pärt (; born 11 September 1935) is an Estonian composer of contemporary classical music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs tintinnabuli, a compositional technique he invented. Pärt's music is in p ...

, Krzysztof Penderecki, Henri Pousseur, Rodion Shchedrin, Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Slonimsky, Karlheinz Stockhausen,

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

, Boris Tishchenko, Anton Webern, and

Bernd Alois Zimmermann Bernd Alois Zimmermann (20 March 1918 – 10 August 1970) was a German composer. He is perhaps best known for his opera ''Die Soldaten'', which is regarded as one of the most important German operas of the 20th century, after those of Berg. Hi ...

References

Postmodern art Postmodern music Musical techniques {{postmodern-art-stub

See also

References