Groves: Twelve-note composition
Music in the Western World: pp. 435-438
The New Yorker 2/18/2002: "Whistling in the Dark" by Alex Ross
If you have any questions about the reading, email me.
Use the questions to guide your note-taking. Do not quote verbatim from the book without putting quotes around it. When taking the quiz, try to paraphrase as much as possible, but if you have to use something verbatim, use quotation marks and cite the source.
questions:
1) Who explored composing with 12-note sets at the same time Schoenberg did?
2) What interval is most avoided in 12-note composition?
3) In what ways can one transform a 12-note series?
4) In his essay, what does Schoenberg say about how he avoids "similarity with tonality?"
5) Summarize Schoenberg's discussion of the power of tonal harmony.
6) In what year did Schoenberg write his first composition strictly with 12-note sets?
7) What does Alex Ross say about how Schoenberg felt about the term "atonality?"
8) What were the criticisms of Schoenberg's musical language and how did he react to them?
9) When other revolutionary musical movements became part of the general cultural scene, how did Schoenberg change the way he presented his ideas?
10) How did Schoenberg's music change after he came to the U.S.?