The Twentieth-Century

By the turn of the century and for the next few decades, artists of all nationalities were searching for exciting and different modes of expression. Composers explored unusual and unorthodox harmonies and tonal schemes. French composer Claude Debussy was fascinated by Eastern music and the whole-tone scale, and created a style of music named after the movement in French painting called Impressionism. The tried-and-true genre of the symphony, somewhat modified by this time, attracted such masters as Gustav Mahler and Dmitri Shostakovich, while Igor Stravinsky gave full rein to his manipulation of kaleidoscopic rhythms and instrumental colors throughout his extremely long and varied career.

While many composers throughout the twentieth-century experimented in new ways with traditional instruments, many of the twentieth-century’s greatest composers, such as Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini and the Russian pianist/composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, remained true to the traditional forms of music history. In addition to new and eclectic styles of musical trends, the twentieth century boasts numerous composers whose harmonic and melodic styles an average listener can still easily appreciate and enjoy.

13. Read the text and complete it with the phrases (a—i).

a) painter and writer

b) intended to compensate for the loss of usable floor area at ground level

c) it was often mainly glass

d) a track for joggers

e) and is still a strong influence today

f) who are given freedom to express their ideas

g) the personality of those who designed the building

h) the monotonous repetitions of verticals and horisontals

i) which he planned in the 1950s

Le Corbusier

After the First World War the doctrine of Fimctionalism in architecture came into favour. The idea behind this was that, if a building or object is perfectly fitted for its function and constructed with sensible regard for the materials used, it will be pleasing to the eye and satisfying to the mind. The great Swiss architect, 1. __, Le Corbusier, the pseudonym of Charles Jeanneret (1887—1965), pointed to Greek temples as perfect examples of this. The Functionalists discarded traditional conventions and superficial ornament, and had a great simplifying and purifying influence on design in every kind of material. This new tradition soon spread around the world 2. ____.

A new method of building construction — reinforced concrete -was perfectly suited to this structural approach. Concrete floors were supported on upright steel girders. The outer skin could be of any suitable material - 3. ____. The inner walls were merely partitions which could be placed and replaced wherever required as they played no part in supporting the building. The many opportunities afforded by this building method were demonstrated by Le Corbusier as early as in 1915.

In the 1920s and '30s Le Corbusier's most significant work was in urban planning. He advanced ideas dramatically different from the comfortable, low-rise communities proposed by earlier city planners. He also built many villas and several small apartment complexes and office buildings. In these hard-edged smooth-surfaced geometric volumes he created a language of what he called pure prisms - rectangular blocks of concrete, steel and glass, often endowed with roof gardens 4. ____.

After World War II Le Corbusier moved away from purism. He showed the way to free architecture from 5. ____.

Le Corbusier was commissioned by the French government to plan and build his Vertical City in Marseilles. The result was a huge block of 340 villas raised above the ground, laced with two elevated thoroughfares of shops and other services and topped by a roof-garden community centre that contained, among other things, 6. ____.

His reputation led to a commission from the Indian government to plan the city of Chandigarh, the new capital of Punjab, and to design and build the Government Centre and several of the city's other structures. These handcrafted buildings represented a second, more humanistic phase in Le Corbusier's work.

His revolutionary design for the church of Notre Dame du Hart at Ronchamp in France, 7. ____, contrasts strongly with the earlier, impersonal approach. With its curved surfaces and an absence of straight lines and right angles, architecture becomes here almost a form of sculpture. Le Corbusier's church at Ronchamp has been a great influence on the designers of other unconventional buildings in more recent years.

Today architecture seems to be suffering from a kind of tug-of-war. The need to economize pulls it towards the featureless, tower-block type of construction, where mass-production and mechanisation are possible. On the other hand, there is a desire to avoid regimentation. A more personal approach is favoured. Buildings which are the chosen creations of gifted architects, 8. ____, are naturally verycostly to design and erect. They can

usually only be considered for such special buildings as national theatres, art galleries and churches.

Find in the text Le Corbusier (Ex. 3) words and word combinations that mean the following:

1. well suited for something

2. stopped using

3. a long strong beam used for constructing bridges and large buildings

4. important

5. having the shape of four straight sides and right angles of 90°

6. was given the job of making something

7. a public road or street used by traffic

8. different from what most people consider to be usual or normal

9. a situation in which two people or groups try in a determined way to get something they want

10. strict organisation and control

11. very expensive to plan and build

14. Read the sentences and complete them with the correct words derived from the words in bold on the right.

1. In the 18th century in Russia for the first time since the______________of _________________ sculpture became a major______________ art form. 2. During the 19th century there was a ________________ of medieval Russian architecture. 3. Russian architecture in the 20th century, after a brief phase of constructivist_________________in the 1920s, tended toward an____________of neoclassicism and skyscraper___________. 4. Sculpture was an art form_________ praised during the Baroque period. 5. As each new generation of Greek architects tried to make their ________s more perfect they became aware of certain____________illusions that distorted very_________________ their true aspect. 6. The Renaissance is really the _____climax of a period of change that has been gathering ______________for a long time. 7. The Medici were not __________________ businessmen of Florence; they were _______ involved in the __________________ of humanism and developings in art. 8. The Gothic style of building had never been accepted with____________in Italy. 9. When the Middle Ages began there were only two important classes in society the _____________ and the ___________ . 10. The study of _________writings and art gave great _____________ to the growing ________________ seen everywhere. 11. Ancient Greek palaces were __________ planned. The _______________feature in them was a great hall with a colonnade. 12. The early __________ culture is called Minoan after the ___________ King Minos, who ruled in Crete. 13. Many ______________s at Pompeii were buried in _____________ ash when Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. 14. Most of the fine old cathedrals have _________ ________arches over doors and windows. 15. At the __________ of the 19^th century__________________s began to ______________sites______________. 16. Many _______________ and important ____________________were made ______________the remains of ancient Troy.

introduce Christian Russia revive experiment imaginative construct high build optics slight strike strong mere deep grow enthusiast noble peasant classics encourage dependence noble centre Crete legend build volcano grace point begin archaeology cover careful excite discover include

15. Read the text. Complete it with the correct words derived from the words in bold on the right.

Russian Architecture of the 17^th —18^th Centuries During the 17th century influences from Lithuania and Poland brought about a 1.______________________ interest in 2. _______________ antiquity that was to culminate in the 3. _______________ of Russia under Peter the Great. In 1712 Peter moved his capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg and began the 4.______________of a mud flat on the coast of Finland into a 5. ____________ 6._____________ city. A host of 7.___________________ architects was imported and continued to work under 8._____________________reigns. The 9.__________________ architect of the period was Conte Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli. Working in a Rococo style, he designed the Winter Palace, Smolny Cathedral, and the facade at Petergof, one of the most 10. _________________ 11.______________s in St. Petersburg.

humanist classic westernize transform sparkle Europe west succeed outstand beauty build

16. You will hear a text about English castles. Listen to it and choose the right item (A—C) for the statements below.

1. The typical motte and bailey castles in Europe began to appear in the 9th century AD.