Synopses & Reviews
This study of the music of a group of important composers of the twentieth century includes Debussy, Webern, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Bartók, Janácek, Britten, Carter, Birtwistle, Andriessen and Adams. Arnold Whittall explores the cultural contexts and critical perspectives which shed light on certain works by these composers. In particular, he reveals the continuum between the progressive and the conservative underlying the great variety of styles and musical genres in twentieth-century composition.
Synopsis
Explores the music of twentieth-century composers demonstrating the continuum between the progressive and the conservative.
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 223-232) and index.
Synopsis
In this wide-ranging book, Arnold Whittall explores the music of important composers of the twentieth century. In particular he demonstrates the continuum between the progressive and the conservative which can be shown to underpin the huge variety of styles and musical genres found in twentieth-century composition.
About the Author
Arnold Whittall is Professor Emeritus of Music Theory and Analysis at King's College London and he has written widely on twentieth-century music. His recent publications include The Music of Britten and Tippett (1990) and Musical Composition in the Twentieth Century (1999).
Table of Contents
Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. The work in the world; 2. Reflections, reactions; 3. Rites of renewal and remembrance; 4. Transcending the secular; 5. Overlapping opposites: Schoenberg observed; 6. The subject of Britten; 7. Engagement or alienation?; 8. Rites of transformation; 9. Modernism, lyricism; 10. Experiment and orthodoxy; 11. Modernism in retreat?; Notes; Bibliography; Index.