Schoenberg\"s Transformation of Musical Language (Music in the Twentieth Century)
Price 103.27 - 125.00 USD
Arnold Schoenberg is widely regarded as one of the most significant and innovative composers of the twentieth century. It is commonly assumed that Schoenberg"s music divides into three periods: tonal, atonal, and serial. It is also assumed that Schoenberg"s atonal music made a revolutionary break with the past, particularly in terms of harmonic structure. This book challenges both these popular notions. Haimo argues that Schoenberg"s "atonal" music does not constitute a distinct unified period. He demonstrates that much of the music commonly described as "atonal" did not make a complete break with prior practices, even in the harmonic realm, but instead transformed the past by a series of incremental changes. An important and influential contribution to the field, Haimo"s findings help not only to re-evaluate Schoenberg, but also to re-date much of what has been defined as one of the most crucial turning points in music history.