The musical thought and spiritual lives of Heinrich Schenker and Arnold Schoenberg / Matthew Arndt.

Format:

• Book

Author/Creator:

• Arndt, Matthew, author.

Series:

• Ashgate studies in theory and analysis of music after 1900

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

• Schenker, Heinrich, 1868-1935--Criticism and interpretation.
• Schoenberg, Arnold, 1874-1951--Criticism and interpretation.
• Schoenberg, Arnold, 1874-1951.
• Schenker, Heinrich, 1868-1935.
• Music--20th century--History and criticism.
• Music.
• Criticism and interpretation.

Physical Description:

xviii, 282 pages : illustrations, music ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, [2018]

Summary:

This book examines the origin, content, and development of the musical thought of Heinrich Schenker and Arnold Schoenberg. One of the premises is that Schenker's and Schoenberg's inner musical lives are inseparable from their inner spiritual lives. Curiously, Schenker and Schoenberg start out in much the same musical-spiritual place, yet musically they split while spiritually they grow closer. The reception of Schenker's and Schoenberg's work has sidestepped this paradox of commonality and conflict, instead choosing to universalize and amplify their conflict. Bringing to light a trove of unpublished material, Arndt argues that Schenker's and Schoenberg's conflict is a reflection of tensions within their musical and spiritual ideas. They share a particular conception of the tone as an ideal sound realized in the spiritual eye of the genius. The tensions inherent in this largely psychological and material notion of the tone and the metaphysical notion of the genius shape both their musical divergence on the logical (technical) level in theory and composition, including their advocacy of the Ursatz versus twelve-tone composition, and their spiritual convergence, including their embrace of Judaism. These findings shed new light on the musical and philosophical worlds of Schenker and Schoenberg and on the profound artistic and spiritual questions with which they grapple.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

• 9781138287259
• 1138287253

OCLC:

975369635

Online:

Audio examples at the Routledge Music Research Portal (directions for access given in book)