Schoenberg's Musical Imagination (Music in the Twentieth Century, Series Number 24)

No composer was more responsible for changes in the landscape of twentieth-century music than Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951) and no other composer's music inspired a commensurate quantity and quality of technical description in the second half of the twentieth century. Yet there is still little understanding of the correlations between Schoenberg's musical thought and larger questions of cultural significance in and since his time: the formalistic descriptions of music theory do not generally engage larger questions in the history of ideas and scholars without understanding of the formidable musical technique are ill-equipped to understand the music with any profundity of thought. Schoenberg's Musical Imagination is intended to connect Schoenberg's music and critical writings to a larger world of ideas. While most technical studies of Schoenberg's music are limited to a single compositional period, this book traces changes in his attitudes as a composer and their impact on his ever-changing compositional style over the course of his remarkable career. No composer was more responsible for changes in the landscape of twentieth century music than Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951), and no other composer's music inspired a commensurate quantity and quality of technical description. Yet there is still little understanding of the correlations between Schoenberg's musical thought and larger questions of cultural significance in and since his time: the formalistic descriptions of music theory do not generally engage larger questions in the history of ideas, and scholars without an understanding of the formidable musical technique are ill-equipped to understand the music Schoenberg's Musical Imagination is intended to connect Schoenberg's music and critical writings to a larger world of ideas. While most technical studies of Schoenberg's music are limited to a single compositional period, this book traces changes in his attitudes as a composer, and their impact on his ever-changing compositional style over the course of this remarkable career No composer was more responsible for changes in the landscape of twentieth century music than Arnold Schoenberg, and no other composer's music inspired a commensurate quantity and quality of technical description. Yet there is still little understanding of the correlations between Schoenberg's musical thought and larger questions of cultural significance in and since his time: the formalistic descriptions of music theory do not generally engage larger questions in the history of ideas and scholars without an understanding of the formidable musical technique are ill-equipped to understand the music. This book is intended to connect Schoenberg's music and critical writings to a larger world of ideas. While most technical studies of Schoenberg's music are limited to a single compositional period, this book traces changes in his attitudes as a composer, and their impact on his ever-changing compositional style over the course of his remarkable career Frontmatter List of music examples and figures (page viii) Acknowledgements (page xv) Introduction (page 1) 1 A passing of worlds: Gurrelieder as Schoenberg's reluctant farewell to the nineteenth century (page 20) 2 Dialectical opposition in Schoenberg's music and thought (page 44) 3 Dramatic conflict in Pelleas und Melisande (page 68) 4 Motive and memory in Schoenberg's First String Quartet (page 155) 5 Uncanny expressions of time in the music of Arnold Schoenberg (page 173) 6 The tone row as the source of dramatic conflict in Moses und Aron (page 230) 7 The String Trio: metaleptic Schoenberg (page 299) Notes (page 340) Bibliography (page 384) General index - names and topics (page 390) Index of Schoenberg's works and writings (page 396) A Passing Of Worlds : Gurrelieder As Schoenberg's Reluctant Farewell To The Nineteenth Century -- Dialectical Opposition In Schoenberg's Music And Thought -- Dramatic Conflict In Pelleas Und Melisande -- Motive And Memory In Schoenberg's First String Quartet -- Uncanny Expressions Of Time In The Music Of Arnold Schoenberg -- The Tone Row As The Source Of Dramatic Conflict In Moses And Aron -- The String Trio : Metaleptic Schoenberg. Michael Cherlin. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [384]-389) And Indexes.

A study of the music and critical writings of the influential composer Arnold Schoenberg.