The language of modern music / Donald Mitchell.

Author/creator Mitchell, Donald
Format Book
Publication InfoNew York : St. Martin's Press, 1970.
Description185 pages ; 20 cm
Subjects
Music--20th century. --History and criticism.

SeriesSt. Martin's music paperbacks
Contents Schoenberg: the principle capable of serving as a rule -- Cross-currents with cubism -- Stravinsky: the past made accessible to new feeling -- Postscript (1963) -- Cross-currents with expressionism -- Postlude (1965) -- Music or 'Music'? (1968).
Abstract This is a study of the ideas and creative forces that went into shaping the language of 20th-century music. The author's argument is based on a consideration of Schoenberg and Stravinsky, during the course of which he makes forays into the related arts. He believes that new modes of feeling create the need for new means of expression; that a period can offer a unity of feeling which lends the work of the composer, painter or architect a demonstrable community of language. The modern movement in music--in particular the significance of Schoenberg and his serial method--is the author's point of departure. He draws many parallels between this seminal evolution in music and the modern movements in painting and architecture. In his last chapter, he surveys the development of Stravinsky, and argues that it is through the composer's many approaches to the problem of melody that we can understand what his music is "about". It is in their mutual concern with melody that the author discerns a unity of practice which brings into meaningful relation, especially in their serial music, the two great antithetical figures in twentieth-century music, Schoenberg and Stravinsky.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references and index.
LCCN 79106374

Availability

Library Location Call Number Status Item Actions
Music Course Reference ML197.M55 L3 1970 ✔ Available
Music Music Stacks ML197.M55 L3 1970 ✔ Available Place Hold