Book contents
- Schoenberg in Context
- Composers in Context
- Schoenberg in Context
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Musical Examples
- Notes on Contributors
- Preface and Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Part I Schoenberg in Place
- Part II More than a Composer
- Part III Approaches to Composition
- Chapter 10 Tonality
- Chapter 11 Atonality
- Chapter 12 The Twelve-Tone Style
- Part IV Paradoxes and Predicaments
- Part V Schoenberg’s Others
- Part VI Viennese Institutions
- Part VII Performers and Critics
- Part VIII Ideas, Beliefs and Interventions
- Further Reading
- Index
Chapter 11 - Atonality
from Part III - Approaches to Composition
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 September 2025
Edited by
Book contents
- Schoenberg in Context
- Composers in Context
- Schoenberg in Context
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Musical Examples
- Notes on Contributors
- Preface and Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Part I Schoenberg in Place
- Part II More than a Composer
- Part III Approaches to Composition
- Chapter 10 Tonality
- Chapter 11 Atonality
- Chapter 12 The Twelve-Tone Style
- Part IV Paradoxes and Predicaments
- Part V Schoenberg’s Others
- Part VI Viennese Institutions
- Part VII Performers and Critics
- Part VIII Ideas, Beliefs and Interventions
- Further Reading
- Index
Summary
Schoenberg explored atonality principally in ten groundbreaking works composed between March 1908 and the end of 1917. The atonal works can be divided into two phases, which differently develop the expressive capacities of atonality in a wide array of vocal, orchestral, chamber and solo piano genres. In this chapter, Schoenberg’s atonal musical language is contextualized relative to his broader compositional characteristics and trajectory, and the ten works are each situated in terms of genre and thematic content, to map out Schoenberg’s exploration of atonality as an expressive soundscape.
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- Schoenberg in Context , pp. 108 - 121Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
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