| Abstract |
"All of us owe something to [Webern], if not in rhythmic vocabulary then in our sensibility to musical time, for I think Webern has raised everyone's sense of refinement in this regard (well nearly everyone's)." Thus Igor Stravinsky, in his brilliant introductory interview "A Decade Later," sets aside both the early hysterical denunciations and the excessive adulation of recent years to consider Webern's true place in the mainstream of great music. Of the celebrated Viennese triumvirate--Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern--Anton von Webern was the last to receive major recognition, and it is only very recently that his music has begun to be heard by a general musical audience. But for the younger generations of composers, seeking a syntax for the musical language of our time, his works have proved to be profoundly significant. The present volume, a collection of papers--critical, analytical, and biographical--which originated at the First International Webern Festival, will be an indispensable addition to the surprisingly limited literature on Webern for musicians, musicologists, and listeners interested in contemporary music. The contributors include eminent composers and scholars intimately connected in one way or another with modern music. Ernst Krenek, one of the most distinguished of the twelve-tone composers, is represented by two papers, "Anton von Webern: A Profile" and "New Dimensions of Music." "Webern's Musical Estate" by James Beale, composer and member of the music faculty of the University of Washington, is a discussion of a number of the pre-Opus 1 works, many of which were performed for the first time at the Festival. Paul Amadeus Pisk, composer, musicologist, and former pupil of Schoenberg, discusses "Webern's Early Orchestral Works," especially Im Sommerwind. Leonard Stein, eloquent pianistic champion of contemporary music and editor of Schoenberg's literary and musical works, writes on "Webern's Dehmel Lieder of 1906-8." Wallace McKenzie of Wayland Baptist College, Texas, examines "Webern's Technique of Choral Composition." William Austin, professor of music at Cornell University, considers "Webern and the Tradition of the Symphony." Leland Smith of Stanford University analyzes "Composition and Precomposition in the Music of Webern." Egon Wellesz and Cesar Bresgen, both composers who were personal friends of Webern, contribute evocative reminiscences of the man as they knew him. Of special interest to present and future scholars is the annotated catalogue of the Webern Archive, an extensive collection of manuscripts, documents, and memorabilia that forms an integral part of the Moldenhauer Archive of Spokane, Washington. The catalogue, which includes new material discovered under dramatic circumstances in the summer of 1965, was prepared by Dr. Hans Moldenhauer, first president of the International Webern Society and the compiler of this volume. The editor, Professor Demar Irvine of the University of Washington School of Music, has contributed a valuable selected bibliography, a reference list of Webern's works, and a Preface that summarizes the history of the First International Webern Festival. The book is illustrated with portraits and manuscript facsimiles previously unpublished. |
