In this detailed study, Dale (music, U. of Hull) identifies the two chamber symphonies (Opus 9 and Opus 38) that she considers to be pivotal moments in Schoenberg's musical development, and how Opus 38 seeks a reconciliation of tonality and atonality. In addition to analyzing the works, she examines those which preceded Opus 9 and indicate the composer's progression towards atonality. In a similar exploration of pieces surrounding Opus 38, she provides an assessment of the triadic language that became available to the composer in his late tonal and serial works. She also makes reference to Schoenberg's musical sketches, several of which are reproduced in this volume along with other examples from scores. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

"There cannot ever be too many good books about Schoenberg, and so it is a special pleasure to welcome Constructive Dissonance, which is far beyond just 'good.' These essays cover a generous range in style and idea. Many of them also are deeply moving, and nothing could be more appropriate for the composer of our century's most fiercely intense music."--Michael Steinberg, author of The Symphony: A Listener's Guide "Although much has been written about Schoenberg, no group of essays examines his life and work in such a broad context. Here we find Schoenberg's matrix: the social, cultural, political, and artistic currents that helped shape him, and to which he made his own extraordinary contribution."--Robert P. Morgan, author of Twentieth-Century Music "As we approach the turn of this century, it is clear that Arnold Schoenberg must becounted as one of the most important figures in Western art music during the last one hundred years. Schoenberg's influence on art-music culture has not only worked its effects through his music, but also through his thinking and writing about music. This collection makes a fitting tribute to Schoenberg and does an admirable job of presenting the many facets of Schoenberg the composer, music theorist, and thinker. These thought-provoking essays present a broad range of approaches to a rich variety of topics within Schoenberg scholarship, and readers will find both familiar and not-so-familiar issues arising during the course of the volume. Constructive Dissonance is certain to become an important book for those interested in twentieth-century art music and culture, and seminal reading for anyone interested in Arnold Schoenberg and his work."--John Covach, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Two-Dimensional Sonata Form is the first book dedicated to the combination of the movements of a multimovement sonata cycle with an overarching single-movement form that is itself organized as a sonata form. Drawing on a variety of historical and recent approaches to musical form (e.g., Marxian and Schoenbergian Formenlehre, Caplin’s theory of formal functions, and Hepokoski and Darcy’s Sonata Theory), it begins by developing an original theoretical framework for the analysis of this type of form that is so characteristic of the later nineteenth and early twentieth century. It then offers an in-depth examination of nine exemplary works by four Central European composers: the Piano Sonata in B minor and the symphonic poems Tasso and Die Ideale by Franz Liszt, Richard Strauss’s tone poems Don Juan and Ein Heldenleben, the symphonic poem Pelleas und Melisande, the First String Quartet and the First Chamber Symphony by Arnold Schoenberg, and Alexander Zemlinsky’s Second String Quartet.

Few genres of the last 250 years have proved so crucial to the course of music history, or so vital to public musical experience, as the symphony. This Companion offers an accessible guide to the historical, analytical and interpretative issues surrounding this major genre of Western music, discussing an extensive variety of works from the eighteenth century to the present day. The book complements a detailed review of the symphony's history with focused analytical essays from leading scholars on the symphonic music of both mainstream composers, including Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven and lesser-known figures, including Carter, Berio and Maxwell Davies. With chapters on a comprehensive range of topics, from the symphony's origins to the politics of its reception in the twentieth century, this is an invaluable resource for anyone with an interest in the history, analysis and performance of the symphonic repertoire.

This title was first published in 2000: In this detailed study, Dale (music, U. of Hull) identifies the two chamber symphonies (Opus 9 and Opus 38) that she considers to be pivotal moments in Schoenberg's musical development, and how Opus 38 seeks a reconciliation of tonality and atonality. In addition to analyzing the works, she examines those which preceded Opus 9 and indicate the composer's progression towards atonality. In a similar exploration of pieces surrounding Opus 38, she provides an assessment of the triadic language that became available to the composer in his late tonal and serial works. She also makes reference to Schoenberg's musical sketches, several of which are reproduced in this volume along with other examples from scores.