Schönbergs Werke für Klavier by Georg Krieger; Arnold Schönberg: Drei Klavierstücke Op.

11. Studien zur Frühen Atonalität bei Schönberg by Reinhold Brinkmann

Review by: Elaine Barkin
Perspectives of New Music, Vol. 9/10, Vol. 9, no. 2 - Vol. 10, no. 1 (Spring/Summer -
Autumn/Winter, 1971), pp. 344-348
Published by: Perspectives of New Music
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 PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC

as to minimizethisaspect to the point theirmainclaimto substantive

of virtualnonexistence.
The finalsectionof thebook, deal-
ing with tonal music, is very old-
fashioned, cursory, and probably
totallyineffective;it seems almost to
have been added on more as a sop to
detractors than as an attempt to
teach something about the body of
tonal literature. A discography is
appended which is more well
rounded than one might expect,
though the only German composer
before 1900 who is represented is
Bach. (The two listed worksby Bach
are on the BWV label!)
What is most troublesome about
these two books is that they profess
to teach "what music is inherently"
by using the ideas of a group of
composers during a fifteen-year
period in the history of Western
music whose views are sympto-
maticallycolored bytheirideas about
what music should be rather than
what it has been and what it can be.
This is the same type of historical
nearsightednesswhich has so often
been the subvertingfactorof music
pedagogy in the past. In this way
they are, as educators, no different
than the worstof theirpredecessors.
Furthermore,their notions of crea-
tivity,
pedagogicalreform, are barelymore
thanreactions to traditional
methods
whose embodied ideas about cre-
ativitywere probablyprettymuch
the same. It is as if theyweresay-
ing, "We're doing now what they
wouldn'tlet us do then."Creative-
ness is, in one way,theabilityof an
individualto view the structure of
the worldand humanthoughtin a
uniquemanner.Developingsuchan
abilityin childrenmeansmorethan
indulgingthem in variousmodish
fingerpainting-type activities
and hy-
persensitizingtheir reactions to
their environments; it also means
deepening their appreciationand
perceptionof human thoughtand
endeavor,by teachingthemabout
thestructure of theseareasand pro-
vidingthemwithat leastan insight
intothe potentialtheyhave foren-
richingtheirlives.Unlesseducators
can remove themselvesfrom the
influenceof the incredibly counter-
productiveegotismof fashion,these
two approacheswill never provide
eachotherwiththecomplementation
necessaryfor successfulteaching,
and we willbe no betteroffthanwe
werebefore,probablyworse.
- Paul Lansky

SCHONBERGS WERKE FUR KLAVIER. By Georg Krieger. G6t-

tingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1968.

ARNOLD SCHONBERG: DREI KLAVIERSTUCKE OP. 11. STUDIEN

ZUR FRUHEN ATONALITAT BEI SCHONBERG. By Reinhold
Brinkmann.Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag GMBH, 1969.

THE stylisticallycrucial positions be viewed not onlyas harbingersbut

occupied by Schoenberg's pieces for also as full-fledgedinstancesof new
solo piano have been noted in the kinds of musical coherence which
criticalliterature.These pieces may were to shape musical thinkingfor
. 344-

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 COLLOQUY AND REVIEW
more than half a century. There
lush sonic surfaces, "long lines,"
and technical problems should be
an attractionfor many pianists.The
remarkable variety of dynamics(s),
durational, and attack articulations,
pedal indications,even the occasional
outer-dimensional indications (e.g.,
dolce, zart, innig) are evidence of
Schoenberg's care and concern for
the best possible sonic projection
of the compositional idea. Interest
in these pieces appears to have
reached some sort of apex, for we
now have two books about thislitera-
ture, one devoted to all of it, the
other to Op. 11 (and to the general
matterof early "atonality").
Krieger, who is a composer and
pianist,discusseseach of the pieces in
some detail, in chronological order.
His initialcommentson each include
an overview and a consideration of
sectional design; the amount, kind,
and focus of detail subsequentlydis-
cussed varies frompiece to piece and
seems to be determined by his view
of whatcountsas the significant com-
positional (and pianistic) problems
unfolded within each piece. Too
often, however, such considerations
are indistinguishablefrom enthusi-
asms and opinions: Op. 19/4:"can be
construed as a scene of an opera ...
recitative. . . solo"; Op. 23: "some-
what experimental... Schoenberg's
Heiligenstiitter Testament"; Op. 25
(Prelude): "enthusiastic,passionate";
Op. 25 (Menuett): "one of the most
agreeable"; Op. 33b: "especially
friendly"; Op. 42 (Menuett): "ag-
gressive."
Fortunatelythere is more to the
book than a successionof the likesof
the above; still, the author's ana-
lytic insights often seem question-
able. For example, he points out the
. 345 -
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varied registralexpansions and shifts
of Op. 23/1 but then wonders
whether,in instanceswhere a chro-
matic tune has been displaced over
several registers,it makes any differ-
ence whichnote is chosen withinthis
contextof such "immense" intervals
(p. 43); he catalogues the highly
varied succession of simultaneitiesin
Op. 11/3in order of theirfrequency
of occurrence and concludes (from
an inexplicitlymotivated"system"of
pitch-content reduction) that the
"minor second" occurs least fre-
quentlyand thatit oftenhas the role
of a traditionaldissonance (pp. 17-
21) (traditional-tonalnomenclature
is invoked throughout,even in his
discussionsof twelve-tonemusic); he
notes the prevailing4- (and 3-) note
structuresin Op. 33a, lists the sets,
but makes no reference to combi-
natoriality.
There is littlethat is really objec-
tionable about the book; it might
have its greatest success with, and
appeal to, pianists(and "Schoenberg
beginners"). Krieger, unwaveringin
his enthusiasm, sticks to the music
and advises his readers to do the
same. He provides numerous ex-
amples; no footnotes,no secondary
sources.
With Reinhold Brinkmann'sbook,
Schoenberg'sOp. 11 and atonalitiit, in
general, enter into the domain of
music history.1That such a volume
has been published seems,ipso facto,
worth noting; the contents are well
organized and care has been takenin
its layout and design (despite the oc-
casional typos in the English quota-
1 This book is the latestin the Archiv
fiirMusikwissenschaft series.Othersin
the series include studiesof Heinrich
Scheidemann.Anonymous4, and the
stileanticoin themusicofJ. S. Bach.
 PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC
tions and a few errors in the music
examples). And even if we should
finallychoose to disagree with the
author's interpretations,the book is
worthreading forthose interestedin
Schoenberg'scompositionalconcerns
in the earlydecade(s) of thiscentury.
Brinkmann considers Op. 11 as
paradigmaticfor all of Schoenberg's
"atonal" music, the work itself de-
scribed as "representingthree con-
current stages" of atonality both
originatingfrom and terminatingin
a "moment of historicalrelevance."
In the first half of the book the
author places Op. 11 in an aesthetic,
historical, and compositional con-
text, drawing heavily on Schoen-
berg's own writings;there is a well-
documented discussion of those
events leading up to, and concur-
rent with,the compositionof Op. 11.
One chapter (Literaturbericht) in-
cludes a critical appraisal of earlier
analyticapproaches and opens with
the following: "The changes in-
volved in the formulation of the
[analytic]questions themselves mir-
ror a slice of music history.Firstthe
motivicaspects, the formalorganiza-
tion, then harmonyas the center of
interest,and always the vitalissue of
continuitywith tradition . .. after
WW II and up to the present,other
factorsappear in the [analytic]fore-
ground: dynamics,phrase structure,
time organization, new points of
view correspondingto contemporary
compositional practice" (p. 41).
Brinkmann begins his survey with
Reti (1910), and includes Leichten-
tritt,Webern (whose "Es soil immer
etwas Neues kommen" is all too fre-
quently invoked to account for mo-
ments in these pieces still vex-
ingly unaccountable), Steuermann,
Adorno (whose characterizationof
0 346-
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m. 12 in Op. 11/1 as an A4ufldsungs-
feld2 serves as Brinkmann's starting
point), Rufer, Dahlhaus, Perle,
Friedheim, and a score of others.
However, the author's criticismsand
interpretations of the earlier ap-
proaches are betterdefined and less
conjectural than are some of the
criteria he subsequently invokes in
his own analysis.
The "three stages" [of atonality],
as described by Brinkmann,can be
summarized as follows: Op. 11/2,
though it remains "tonally"oriented
(Eb)-with its "autonomous (D-F)
pedal point" and overall "closed
form"-is the furthestremoval from
classical tonality;the "new" aspect is
"die Identitat von Simultanem und
Sukzessivem" in m. 43. Op. 11/1
illustrates "schwebende Tonalitit"
(E-Eb polarities) and special signifi-
cance is assigned to m. 12, an inter-
ruptive Aufl6sungsfeld or Ausbruchs-
zone.In m. 12 "etwasNeues" involves
"all dimensions of the composition:
rhythm, meter, dynamics, tempo,
harmony; the total phrase structure
is altered in one radical turnover
[Umbruch]... it appears to have no
[prior] correspondences... and the
perception of the [entire] work will
arise out of an explanation of this
moment ... (pp. 60ff.).And finally
Op. 11/3,described as the complete
"breakthrough":all of its parts are
The author suggests
Aufjisungsfelder.
thatthe order of successivefelderwas
not arbitrarilydetermined,that the
piece is indeed in a "closed form."
2Auflosungsfeld can
(and Ausbruchszone)
be interpretedto meana fieldor area of
or "looseningup," or of
"dissolving,"
"breakingapart" fromthat whichhas
preceded.Brinkmann viewsthismoment
in Op. 11/1withina broadhistoricaland
aesthetic
framework.
 COLLOQUY AND REVIEW

References are made throughoutto "upbeat" and would like to suggesta

other "atonal" pieces withinthe con- basis upon which the events in mm.
textof the above "stages." 1-3 and m. 12 can be linked. Con-
It may well be that the surface of sider the "pitch-interval
chain" in the
m. 12 (Op. 11/1) is "new" (Krieger example, in which many "interior"
calls it a "wegwischendeGeste"), but correspondences are observable.
a closer look reveals an indebtedness With such a view one can notice not
to opening events. There seem to be only the obvious surface differences
several loose ends in Brinkmann's but the internal similitudesas well,
analysis: his consideration of the and hence might question whether
simultaneitiesin mm. 2-3 as (merely) this measure is as "dissolved" or
"chords of accompaniment,"and his "eruptive"or "absolutelydiscontinu-
relegation of B-C-B in m. 12 to the ous" as Brinkmann suggests. (For
status of an "upbeat figure." I that matter I have strong reserva-
question the relative insignificance tions about the usefulness of such
assigned to these "chords" and the expressions as Aufl6sung,"dissolu-

mm. 1-3
..
Trichord (014) (026) (016) (046) (048) (014) (014)

m.12 7 _

I (and/or)
* m.4
SI

* Note instance(s)of pitch-class

identity. (014) (036) (014) (012)
1" = simultaneity
= "tied"pitches
which trichords
interlocking
generate

Missig( = 66) 2
1 3

P --------

12 vielscbneller

unacorda

. 347 -

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 PERSPECTIVES
OF NEWMUSIC

tion," et alii.) Other of the author's ings, chronological data of the

analyticquestions and answers seem
to have been insufficiently formu-
lated, at least to one reader.
The book is well documented; it
has manycross-referencedfootnotes,
a bibliographyof Schoenberg's writ-
"period," a partialsketchof Op. 11/3
(includingsome ultimatelydiscarded
measures), and could provide one
with a good and provocative basis
for furtherstudy.
- Elaine Barkin

"An IntroductoryCatalogue of Computer SynthesizedSounds." By

Jean Claude Risset.A Bell Telephone Laboratories Report.*

RISSET'S Catalog is an excellent system in great detail, is assumed.

example of an anatomical treatment
of musical composition at the most
fundamental level: the synthesisof
timbres and sound textures. All of
the elementarysounds described in
the book and recorded on the two
accompanying disks are defined in
complete detail using Max V.
Mathews'scomputer score language,
MUSIC V. They can be recreatedby
anyone who has access to a MUSIC
V computer sound synthesissystem.
The computer user can then "de-
viate" from the models and param-
eter that Rissetemploys to create his pitchglissandi.The firstsix examples
own version of the sounds. Since
Risset has done considerable re-
search to determine the recipes for
good imitationsof familiarsounds as
wellas forthosewhichare completely
unfamiliar to the average listener,
his work forms an excellent basis
for composers who would like to
explore the use of similaror related
sound materialswithinmusical con-
textsof theirown choosing.
Unfortunatelyfor the uninitiated,
much of the language in the Catalog
is terse and technicallyoriented. A
good familiaritywith Mathews's The
Technology of ComputerMusic (M.I.T.
Press),whichdescribesthe MUSIC V
* To be publishedbyM.I.T. Press,1971. tion of the score one can understand
. 348-
However, almost anyone can appre-
ciate the examples recorded on the
disks. Experienced users of MUSIC
V will be mainly interestedin how
Risset specifieshis sound examples,
and these details are verywell docu-
mented.
The 28 examples (referred to in
the text as "runs") are each quite
complex in texture or timbre,and
some of themconsistof severalparts.
They can be placed in three cate-
gories: a) wind-likesounds; b) per-
cussive sounds; c) spectrum and
lead us througha seriesof flute-like,
clarinet-like,brass-like,and double
reed-like syntheses.The next nine
examples present us with a number
of piano-like, drum-like, bell-like,
and gong-likesounds. Except forthe
last one, the remaining examples
explore the possibilitiesof descend-
ing pitch and descending spectral
envelope.
Risset clearly is very interestedin
perceptual illusions. The "endless
glissando," a tone which goes down
in pitchbut never seems to reach any
destination,is a primeexample. With
concentrated listeningone can hear
out the octave partials that make up
thistone, and by reading thedescrip-

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