Schoenberg's Serial Odyssey

More than sixty years have passed since Arnold Schoenberg revealed the new method of twelve-tone composition which was to establish his position as a revolutionary. Far from being restrictive, the 12-tone method inspired Schoenberg to compose some of his most enduring masterpieces. Furthermore it has proved to be one of the most influential ideas in the history of music. Even Stravinsky, his former rival and regarded by many as the antithesis of serialism, astounded the musical world by adopting the method in his own works in the 1950s. In spite of the central importance of Schoenberg's ideas, relatively little has been written until now about the evolution of his method and the refinement of his technique. Haimo explores this aspect, drawing on Schoenberg's papers, sketches, and manuscripts as well as published scores. The book traces the development of his form from its rudimentary beginnings in 1914 to the highly refined works of his mature 12-tone period, revealing that through his merciless self-criticism the composer systematically sought ways to transform his idea until it embraced the motives, phrases, harmony, melody, and metre, developing variation and form of his music.This study should be of interest to music analysts and theorists, musicologists and students of 20th-century music.