THE THIRD STREAM is a new genre of music located about half way between jazz and classical music. This definition was coined by
Gunther Schuller in the late 50's, to define music which had strong elements of both classical and jazz. The Third Stream, according to Schuller, was not an assault on traditional jazz or classical music. It was
different from both those streams. But the introduction of 'non classical' elements into classical music probably began in the late 19th century.
The earliest attempts to infuse folk and gypsy strains into classical music were made by composers like
Antonin Dvorak, Gustav Mahler and Bela Bartok. I
gor Stravinsky's ballet
"The Rites of Spring" which premiered in Paris in 1913 (widely considered to be one the most significant musical event of the 20th century) took this infusion further. The pounding jungle rhythms of this ballet injected a new energy and vitality into classical music. Later he wrote several compositions with a strong element of jazz music like the Preludium, Ragtime for 11 instruments and The Ebony Concerto.
In 1922 the French composer
Darius Milhaud visited the United States and heard jazz music for the first time. The following year he wrote a ballet called
The Creation Of The World which incorporated the music he had heard on the streets of Harlem. In 1940 he emigrated to America and his work there as a teacher and composer influenced both classical and jazz musicians.
In the 1920's radio gained in popularity, and the influence of Afro American music first started percolating into classical music. The years after WW1 until the Depression of '29 are known as the Jazz age or the roaring 20's. Perhaps best known for Scott Fitzgerald magnificent novel "The Great Gatsby". And for the music of
George Gershwin. Gershwin's compositions melded the classical music of the old world with the fresh, energetic music of the new world. His brother Ira Gershwin wrote the lyrics for his songs. Among his famous compositions are
Rhapsody In Blue, An American In Paris and the opera
Porgy and Bess, which has been covered by jazz musicians like Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Oscar Peterson, John Coltrane, Nina Simone and Sarah Vaughan.
The American composer Aaron Copland also fused his classical compositions like the
Dance Symphony and
Piano variations with whiffs of jazz. And the Russian composer Dmitri Shostokovich wrote some electrifying music which was released as
"The Jazz Album".
Igor Stravinsky - Ebony Concerto - YouTube
