Alan Lessem Schoenberg Stravinsky and Neo-Classicism - The Issues Reexamined

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    Schoenberg, Stravinsky, and Neo-Classicism: The Issues ReexaminedAuthor(s): Alan LessemSource: The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 68, No. 4 (Oct., 1982), pp. 527-542Published by: Oxford University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/742156.

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    Schoenberg, travinsky,nd Neo-Classicism:The IssuesReexaminedALAN LESSEMTO heir ontemporaries,hepositions akenbySchoenbergndStravinskyad seemed pposedand rreconcilable. llegiance ooneor the therwas tobe decisive nshapingthemusicaldirections fa youngergeneration fcomposers, othEuropeanand American.Yettoday, hese womenhave becomeculturalmonuments,nd themorerecent ritical iewpoint s to end thequarrel.Hence it sbeingarguedthat ssueswhich once appeared so divisivewereonly the

    fabricationfpartypropagandists nd fellowtravelers,' hile lessbiased observers ould not see the forest or hetrees.According oCharlesRosen,today'smore bjective istorical erspectivefthe wocomposerss that their ifferenceso longer eem ignificant. 2hatwe mustsee as unitingthem, n Donald Mitchell'swords, s thedeterminationo extend nd above all tomaintain hegreat raditionintowhichtheywereborn. ' Inparticular,nsofars both omposersappearto haveparticipatedn the o-calledNeo-Classicalmovement,they houldberegardeds havinghadsimilar,fnot dentical, ims.Yet to insisthastilyon reconciliation or thisreasonwould leaveseveral uestionsunanswered: hose thatpertain o theorigins ndaims of theNeo-Classical program nd those thathave todo withSchoenberg'snd Stravinsky'selationship o t.A reexamination fthe ssuesmayshowthat hedifferencesetween hetwocomposersremainsignificantnd thatNeo-Classicism, arfrom erving s anagent fmediation,s useful nly s a key otheunderstandingf uchdifferences.

    I See Hans Keller, Sch6nbergndStravinsky,ch6nbergiansnd Stravinskyans, usicReview,XV (1954),307-10.2 SchoenbergLondon, 1976),p. 81.3 The Language ofModernMusic (London, 1963),p. 163.527

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    528 The MusicalQuarterlyThe stabilization f theEuropeaneconomy round1924broughtwith tattemptsodefine heguidingprinciples fwhatwasdescribedas NewMusic. Asexpected,he mphasiswas on the econstructionofa devastatedmusical culture: lderEuropeantraditions ere obeprotectedrom he orrosiveffectsfmorerecentvents. n rebellingagainstthe world of theirfathers,heyoungergenerationmade apointoftakingnineteenth-centuryomanticism o taskforhavingbred ttitudes hat ed to the rtisticonfusionas they aw it)oftheprewaryears,tself symptomfthe ocial andcultural egenerationthathad made the war possible.Not surprisingly,he French nd

    Italianswere nclined to see suchdevelopmentsn the ightof theirnationalistic,nti-German ias.Accordingly,lfredo asella,oneofthe hief rchitectsfNeo-Classicism, alled for liquidationof theatonal intermezzo nd for iberation romGermandomination nmusicby wayof a return oItalian instrumentalmusic of theearlyeighteenth entury.4he link betweenCasella's brandofculturalrestorationnd nascent talian Fascismwas no secret,nd itscall forthe xpression f joyful ndoptimisticollectivepiritwas taken pby everal otalitarianegimes fourera.5Noteverycall toorder, obe sure,was thustainted y reactionary oliticalviews.WhatmanyEuropeansand theirAmerican ounterpartsidagreeupon was theneed to rescueprinciples f awfulness rom historyhathad all butdestroyedhem.RogerSessions,for nstance, alledfor reprise econtact, an experiencingnew of certain aws which had been ostfromview in an increasing ubjectivism.. . 6 Essentially,Neo-Classicalpolemicdeniedhistoricalvolution nd fell ackonnotionsofa universal umancondition, otunlike state fnature,nd onethat n musichad mostcompletely een realized n theeighteenthcentury.Clearly,then,Neo-Classicismhad little to do withClassicismproperly peaking,whichhasalwaysbeenunderstood o evolvefromthatwhichhistorically receded t. As Paul Valery nce suggested,Romanticism nd Classicismare the names we giveto twophases

    Scarlattiana,MusikbliitteresAnbruch,XI/1 1929),26-28.5 T. Wiesengrund dornowasamongseveral orespond oCasella and topointout thesinister olitical implications f his reactionaryosture. ee T. W. Adorno, Atonal Inter-mezzo?, Anbruch,XI/5 (1929), 187-93.Shortly hereafterdornoalso took H. H. Stucken-schmidtto task for his nalvet&n calling Germanmusiciansto embracea life-affirming,anti-intellectual eiterkeit joyfulness). ee H. H. Stuckenschmidt,Kontroversefiber ieHeiterkeit, nbruch,XII/1 1930),18-19,withAdorno'sresponse,9-21.6 Music inCrisis, n Schoenberg,d. MerleArmitageNewYork,1937), . 19.

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    Neo-Classicism 529essential o thedevelopmentfthe rts, theromantic hasebeingthecolonizationof newterritory,he lassicbeing tseconomicdevelop-ment nd perfectrganization. '7t is in this ightthatthepre- ndpostwarmusic of Schoenberg nd Stravinskymightprofitablyeevaluated nd compared.Yet n thecase ofbothcomposers he ssuegivenmost ttention as beenthat fhistorical eversion.t has beensaidofStravinsky,or xample, hathe re-instatedertain rinciples,asvalidnowas theyverwere,whichweassociatewith he ighteenthcenturyecause tbestunderstoodhem, 8ndofSchoenberghat isexperimentsuring he1920swere designed orecapturehe ecurityofa vanished lassicism. 9 he confusion,nSchoenberg's ase,of aclassicizing tendencyin Valery's ense)withNeo-Classicismhasonlyclouded thepicture; s for travinsky,heattribution feitherone or theother endencyan be misleading f t is notqualifiedbyseveral ther onsiderations.Beginningn 1923Schoenberg avea gooddeal of time onotingdown histhoughtsn trendsn New Music andhisrelationshipothem. inding hathedoesnotcommand heposition f eadershipnmusicalmatters ebelieves o be hisdue,heattributeshe auseofhisweakened nfluence o a corruptttitudeowards he rts, videntntheway composerspander to changingfashions,Neo-Classicismincluded.'0He looksfor esponsible oncernwithproblems fmusi-cal form, ut finds nlya chatteringclecticism.whichlevates hepotpourri oa principle fconstruction, hilethemode for tylisticimitations fClassicism's moresuperficial eatures rovidesfurtherevidence or decline nmusicalculture.'2WhileCentralEuropeans(among themKrenek nd Hindemith)must share theblame, thedeflection fevolutionarymomentum an also be explainedbythegrowing ssertiveness f otherEuropeannations withmusicalcul-tures hathavenotdeveloped t the amepaceas hisown. Anunpub-lished PolemicagainstCasella (probably rawnup shortlyfter isemigration o Americanan attemptotake tock f thepolitical nd

    7 Valery s quotedinCecil Gray, redicamentsLondon, 1936), . 214.8 Arthur erger,Musicfor heBallet, nStravinskyn theTheatre,d.MinnaLederman(New York,1975),p. 41.9 Rosen,p. 88.10 How OneBecomesLonely, nStyle nd dea:SelectedWritingsfArnold choenberg,ed. LeonardStein London, 1975),p. 52.1 Glosseson theTheoriesofOthers, tyle nd Idea, p. 314.12 New Music,OutmodedMusic,Style nd Idea, Style nd Idea, p. 123.

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    530 The Musical Quarterlymusical ituationhe eft ehind)reprimandshe taliancomposer orhaving bandonedtheprogressiveirection epresentedy tonality,in order oadvocate a return o artistic ormalitywhichhas neverbeen the norm of any time. '3Not surprisingly,is own view isinclinedto see anyattempt o establish normality s a backwardstep,for the trulyhistoricalman can only go forward, sing theaccumulatedheritage fthepastand reachingfor hefuture: Onemust .. have past epochs 'in one,' ... for ne must continue the deas.Theyhavenotyetbeenthought hrough o the nd. '4WhileSchoenberg oes not allow the arger deological mplica-tionsofCasella's Neo-Classicismnotably,ts connectionwithFas-cism) to go unremarked,he case is brought gainsthim on thegrounds fmusical rather hanpoliticalarguments. orSchoenbergbelieved, n reflectingn a composer'srelationship o his musicalmaterials, hatsuch materials re historically etermined orhim;hence tanymoment heywillbe found oembody ertain endencieswhichmustnotonlybe acknowledgedbutinterpreteds demandswhosefulfillmentill constitutehedynamic fmusical and human)progress.5 hus thehistoricallyonscious omposer oesnot ttempttorestorehepastor imitatets outward tylisticharacteristics,utexamines tfor he eeds f ater evelopments.ach,for xample,willbevaluedforhisfar-reachinghromaticismswellas for hehiddenmotivic esourcefulnessfhiscounterpoint, hichSchoenbergmademanifestn his severalBach orchestrations.t is therefore ith uchprogressive lements,ather hanwithBach'scontrapuntalexturesandforms t arge, hat oday's omposer houldbeconcerned. or nterms f the volutionist rgument ecannot imply gnoremusicaldevelopmentsinceBach: nparticular,he mergencef developingvariation n VienneseClassicism, techniquewhich n a sense santithetical o counterpoint.16asella's irresponsibilityowardhis-torys all tooclearly evealed n hiswayofusingfugue nd sonata,which s such that hetwoopposing principles renotmediated ut

    13Throughoutthisarticle,unpublishedwritings y Schoenberg re identifiedytheirlistingnJosefRufer'sThe Works fArnold choenberg, rans.Dika Newlin London, 1962).PolemicagainstCasella is isted sC. 175. amgratefulotheArnold choenbergnstitutenLos Angelesforpermission o use these ources.14 New Music/MyMusic, Journal ftheArnoldSchoenbergnstitute/2 1977),105.15 SeeChristianMartin chmidt,UIber ch6nbergs eschichtsbewusstsein,nZwischenTraditionundFortschritt,d. R. StefanMainz,1973).16The argumentsbrieflyutlined n anunpublished nduntitled otedescribed yRuferas Thoughtson thepolyphonic tyle fwriting, ufer, .18.

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    Neo-Classicism 531simply uxtaposed. n attemptingohavethebest f bothworlds, heNeo-Classicist fails to recognize the critical nature of thecontrapuntal-homophonicuncture, ne with whichSchoenbergsdeeplyconcerned nd to which his thoughts epeatedly eturn. heproblemas he sees it can be stated s follows:while contrapuntalmusicresistsmotivic-thematicevelopment, omophonicmusicen-courages t,but ndoingso is inclined o-sacrificeextural alanceandintegration.Change in music history omes about when theoneprinciple,takento its apparentlimit,gives way to theother, sevidentlyhappened in the earlyeighteenth entury.nterestinglyenough,however, choenberggives contradictorynswers, n thiscaseat least,to thequestionof historical ause: in some nstances espeaksofthe lternation s beingdeterminedytherealization ndcompletion f nherentmusicaltendencies;nothers esaysthat heemergence f eighteenth-centuryomophonywas not a naturaldevelopmenti.e.,the esult fundisturbedistoricalvolution], utman-maderevolution, heresult f an aesthetic fpopular com-plaisance. '7Could itbe thatthe viewof an abruptturnabout ro-vokedbythe ntrusion fpublictaste eflectsperceptionfeventsnhis own time,which also appears to him to be influencedy deo-logues and thepropagandists f fashion?Neo-Classicism henap-pears s the nvader surping herightshat houldmoreproperly econferredpon thosewho travel hetruehistorical ath,namely, isown.18Althoughcontrapuntal nd homophonicprinciples re consid-ered ntagonistic,hegreatmasters renotpreventedromtrivingobringthem nto a fruitfulelationshipwithone another: n thisconnectionSchoenbergmakes particularreferenceo Bach, Beet-hoven, nd Brahms.The genuineattemptst synthesisfhisprede-cessorshowever re a far ry romNeo-Classicism'smixing fhistori-cal styles,which in reachingfora synthesis resents t only incaricature.he examplethat houldbe followeds that fBeethoven'sworking-out n breadth, ength, height and depth, recastinSchoenberg's own words as the technique of filling . . . all the

    17Style nd Idea, pp. 115-16, 08-9.18A shortnotedrawnup in 1923under hetitle HistoricalParallels suggests echnicalsimilarities etween primitive ighteenth-centuryomophony nd the New Music of hisownday.Schoenberg oints, n particular, othe ack oftexturalntegrationetweenmelodyand harmony. ee Rufer, .31.

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    532 The MusicalQuarterlydirectionsn which the music expands. '9 That such a tendencycannotbut in turn undermine heessential estheticpostulateofClassicism onstitutes problem o whichwe shallreturnhortly.In deriding travinskyorwearing a wig ust likePapa Bach,Schoenberg ailedto see thatStravinsky's eo-Classicismbore ittleresemblance o thatproposedby composers uch as Casella or Mil-haud. ForwhileStravinsky'satincounterparts ere allingfor herestorationf their ulturaltraditions,heuprootedRussian com-poserhadtowitness isownbeing wept way,never oreturn. rue,muchofwhatStravinsky as said (or allowed others o sayon hisbehalf) eemstorepresent imas a leaderoftheNeo-Classicalcru-sade: one recalls the ppeals toauthoritynd order, hepronounce-ments gainst decadence roughtboutbynineteenth-centuryndi-vidualism, heattacksnotonlyon Germanmusic buton cherishedbeliefsnhistorical rogress,he allsfor he iberation fmusicfromanExpressionistesthetic,or he estorationf utonomousmusicalform, or hereplacement f theRomanticallynflatedrtist ytheClassically ober rtisan, nd the ike. Neverthelesstis erroneous oattribute o Stravinskyhe same traits f reactionaryr nostalgictraditionalismsappeared nNeo-Classicism lsewhere. e may eemtotakeup the ause of ultural evival, utwhat sfarmore ignificantis his determination o have his statusas an outsiderto Europe'smusicalheritage erve creative urpose.This explainshis cultiva-tionofa special senseof thepast,' whichDonald Mitchell ightlydistinguishes rom choenberg's sense of immediate radition.'20While Mitchelldiscussesthisattributewithouttaking ides,othercritics ave seen fit o condemnhimfor t. T. Wiesengrund dornoand ErnestAnsermet,n particular, avedepicted travinskys thecultural ntruder,aking nlya spectator's ole n thepast, hanginghispointofview as hepleases, ndoccupyinghimselfwithonlythemost uperficialfstylistichenomena.What s borrowed rom is-torysmerely layedwith;the styles ehavewhimsically,withoutregard or mbedded unctions rfor he equirementsf ohesion ndunity.Unable toparticipatenhistory,travinskytrips hemusicalpastof tshistorical ontents nd meaning. n doingso,he becomesthe dvocate f mere ontingency, hichhis invocation fauthority

    19Thayer's ifeofBeethoven,ev. nded. ElliotForbes, vols. Princeton, 964); tyle ndIdea, p. 116.20Mitchell, . 105.

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    Neo-Classicism 533requires s to ccept s authentic nd nfallible. nshort,n relation oEuropeanvalues,he dresses p as a defender ut acts as a nihilist.2'This condemnation,hough xtreme,s notwithout ertinence.tatleasthelpstoputsome critical erspectiven whatStravinskyasassertedbouthis use ofthe constructiverinciples fClassicism,22andwhathisprincipallyAnglo-Americandmirers aveclaimedforhis music s constituting re-instatementr renovation fClas-sicalform.23t must lso beusedagainstthosewho haverightlyeenthatStravinsky's usic cannot be evaluatedbythecriteria, owevermodified, f Classicism,but who neverthelesseg thequestionbyclaimingforhis musica transformationf theClassical languagesothorough hat tsrelationship o that anguage is no longerof realsignificance.24s Adorno and Ansermet avepointedout,thisrela-tionship emains ssential. uttheir iew f t sperverselyestructivereflects historicalbias thatcan no longer pass unquestioned n aworldwhose traditionally umanistic alueshavebeenprofoundlychallenged romwithin ndwithout.Arounder iewofthe travinskyproblemwould begained bybringingt nto inewith oncepts ndmodesoffeeling hatweknow tobecharacteristicfmodernism,ndbygivingparticular ttention o somemodernistpproachesto thehistorical onn&e.Whiletherewould be more o uch n investigationthan anbeprovidedwithin he imits fthis ssay, few ointersmaybe suggested.There is a certain oherence o thefollowingfacts bout Stra-vinsky: is overt use of historical ormswhilethat fSchoenberg,Berg, nd Webern, s hehas himself bserved, emains elaboratelydisguised 25);is nsistence ndrawing urattention ohowa things21 SeeT. W.Adorno, hilosophy fModernMusic,trans.AnneG. Mitchell ndWesleyV.BlomsterNew York,1973),pp. 181-87,204-8,and ErnestAnsermet,es Fondamentsde lamusiquedans a consciencehumaine, vols. Neuchitel,1961), p. 266-84,490-96.For some-whatsimilarviews, ee also Paul HenryLang's editorial ntroductionoStravinsky: NewAppraisalofhisWorkNewYork,1963) nd Pierre oulez, Stravinskynd theCentury:tyle rIdea?, SaturdayReview,May29, 1971.22 I attemptedo build a new musiconeighteenth-centurylassicism singthe onstruc-tiveprinciples f thatclassicism. Stravinskyn ConversationswithRobertCraft London,1962), . 35.

    23Referencemaybemadetothefollowing:RogerSessions, On Oedipus Rex, ModernMusic,V/3 1928),14-15;HerbertMurrill,Aspects fStravinsky, usicandLetters, XXII/2(1951),120;Arthur erger,Musicfor heBallet, travinskyntheTheatre, . 41;EricSalzman,Twentieth-Centuryusic:An IntroductionEnglewoodCliffs, 967), . 46.24 See, in particular,Edward T. Cone, The Uses of Convention:Stravinskynd hisModels, n Stravinsky: NewAppraisal ofhis Work, . 32.25 Stravinskyn Conversation, . 139.

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    534 The MusicalQuarterlydone rather han what s beingsaid, to the formal layof elementsrather han motionalnuance ndinterpretation;isconsideration fmusicalresources s objects ndhisuseofconventionssformulas;his inclination,n settingwords, o solate them rom heir rdinarysemantic ontext nd to do something imilar n his harmonic on-structions.Reflectedn such attitudes s an aestheticposture esscharacteristicfEuropeanNeo-Classicists hanoftheRussian For-malists,whose principal workwas done in the 1920sbut whoseinfluencen literaturend literaryheoryame to be feltn theWestsomewhat ater. The Formalists onsidered rt to be a means ofrescuing eality rom hedeadeninghabitsofconceptualization,e-presentingt in noveland unsuspected ontexts. he necessaryes-trangement fphenomenafrom verydayssociationstakesplacethrough he formalprocess: manipulationof artisticmaterials ymeansoftechniques eliberatelyppliedand devices penly xposed.Formalists howedlittle oncern,whendealingwithart,for argersocio-cultural onsiderations.ViktorShklovsky, ne of the move-ment's ounders,ismissed umanisticmodes f nquiry s irrelevant,for art sa way f xperiencinghe rtfulnessf nobject; he bject snot mportant. 26nticipatingoday'sNewCriticism,heFormalistapproachconsideredontent nlythroughhemedium fform,or tcannotbedescribed,rperceived,partfromts rtisticmbodiment.To besure,Formalism sonly method fanalysis, iot philos-ophyof rtormethod fcomposition.Moreover,heres noevidencefor ts havinghad any direct nfluence n Stravinskyr evenhisParisianmilieu.Nevertheless,t can beregardeds constitutingartofa larger rift oward omenewaesthetic rientationsharacteristicofmodernismnd reflectednwritersuch as JeanCocteau,whowaspartofStravinsky'sntellectual ommunity. orCocteau,poetry e-veals all thesurprising hingsbywhich we are surrounded, ndwhichour senses egistermechanically, ut themerehunting utofnovelsensations s thework fa badpoet;thereadermustbe shownthethingswhichhismind ndeyepassover very ay,butfromuchan angle, and such a speed that he seemsto be seeingthemandexperiencinghem motionally or hefirstime. 27 octeaushared

    26 Viktor hklovsky,Art s Technique, inRussianFormalistCriticism,rans. ee T.Lemonand MarionJ.Reis UniversityfNebraskaPress,1965),12.27 Cocteau's World:An Anthology f Writings yJeanCocteau,ed. Margaret rosland(New York,1972),pp. 368-69.

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    Neo-Classicism 535with heFormalists preferenceor arodisticnd surrealistictylesnwhichconventions nd objectsmade familiar hrough ccumulatedexperiencemaintain their dentitywhile being subjectedto far-reaching,oftenwhimsical,formaltransformations. ore particu-larly,the methodof montage,adopted by the surrealists nd, asStravinskyas himselfndicated,ssuming onsiderable rominenceinhisownwork,8 was well suited othe estrangement felementsrequired ytheFormalists.Montage, ignificantly,tands nan anti-thetical elationship oClassicism, ortsvery urpose stodestroyheillusionofaestheticutonomy hrough hepersistentnd nonlogi-cal intrusion ftheunanticipatedbject revent. orStravinskyheeffectspartlychievedbydrawing apriciously poneveryday usi-cal bric-a-brac.uch material penlyconsortswith elements rawnfrom he omposer's historical ources; here s no attemptt inte-gration.Like thesurrealists,travinsky ishes the familiar o beinterpreteds a sign,butnotnecessarilyne that s tobereasonablyexplainedbyitscontext.Questionable,therefore,re attempts hathavebeenmade to attributeohimmethods fcompositionwhoseformal riteriaemain hose fcohesion, alance, ndunity. his canonlybedone, s the nalyses fE. T. Coneclearlyhow,by bstractingpitchelements rom he context frhythm, hrasing, nd articula-tion, hevery omponents hat travinskyometiculouslyontrivesnpatternshatwillrelentlesslyisrupt ontinuitynd closure.29WithStravinsky,onventionsf thepastdo notmerely eemergetouchedup tosuitmodern aste, s is thecase in Neo-Classicism tlarge.Rather heyreprovocativelyxposed, ogether ith he evicesbywhichthey reelaborated,o that heir estrangedness na mod-ernist ontext an bemorepointedly evealed.This purpose s moststrikinglychievedwheneverythingn themusic s made tohappenon the surface. hus Stravinsky'sonalplanes do not integrate utinstead verlap,whilehismetric nd rhythmicroupings rerigor-ouslytied to a governing ulse which s mechanically, ather haninterpretively,uickenedor slowed. Such methods tand n clearcontrast o thoseof Schoenberg, orwhom (as Carl Dahlhaus has

    28 RegardingOedipus Rex, Stravinskydmitted; Much ofthe music s a Merzbild, uttogether romwhatever ame to hand. Dialogues and a Diary (New York,1963),p. 27. Adescription fhow thefugue n Orpheuswas assembled,montage-fashion,s given byStra-vinskynStravinsky,d. EdwinCorle New York,1949),p. 146.29 See E. T. Cone, Stravinsky:he Progress f Method, nPerspectivesnSchoenbergand Stravinsky,d. BenjaminBoretz nd EdwardT. Cone (New York,1972),pp. 155-64.

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    536 The MusicalQuarterlyalreadynoted) t is essential hat echniqueremainhiddenand thatrhythmicnd textural depth be maintained. Moreover,whileStravinskyurns is attentionlmost xclusively oconcrete articu-lars an inclinationwhichshows tself learlyn theCraft onversa-tions),Schoenberg refersospeakofthe idea which s notto beidentified ith nyof ts ssociated etailsbutratherwith hetotalityofrelationshipshatmakeup thework. f, hen, choenberg's ostureisthemore Classical, it s sobecauseof respect or tructuralogicrather han forconvention n itself. n stressing heprincipleofversification,travinsky eans oelevate onventionnd ts urfacemanipulationtoa principle fform. orSchoenberg,onvention sonlythatwhich s tobedissolved n the tream f musicalprose ;whateveremains f t sonly shadowagainstwhich s illuminatedthepersonalvision.The casefor Neo-Classicaloutlook nSchoenberg'swelve-toneworks omposedbetween hewars sgenerally asedon hisapparentreturn o traditional ormtypes s well as some of thestructuralprocessesassociatedwith them.Rosen, in his Schoenbergbook,claimsthat hecomposer onsidered uchtypes obe ideal shapeswhich could be realized t anytime n any style; heywere abso-lute. 3'He ispuzzledbySchoenberg's ecision o overlook ontradic-tions etweenuchformsnd hisownpersonal anguage, ince morethananyothermusicianof his generation, e understood ow theclassicalforms,specially he onata,were oundupwithtonality.''32Clarificationf thisproblem equires, irst fall, that more arefuldistinction e made between traditionalistcademicism and itsNeo-Classicaloffshoots) hichwould,ofcourse, ivetonalitynd itsrelatedforms n absolute status, nd Schoenberg's pposed viewwhichpreciselynsists hat othbe tied ohistorynd culture. econd,it should be recalledthat n theHarmonielehre nd elsewhere hecomposer xpressed is conviction hat venwithClassicism onalitywas notthesoledeterminantfform: we shall findn theclassics,besidestheunityof tonal relations, hatat least the same end ofcoherences attainedwithat leastthe same amountofcarefulness,throughheunity fconfigurations,heunity f deas. '3Admittedly,

    30 Carl Dahlhaus, Musikalischer unktionalismus, n Sch6nberg nd andere:Gesam-melteAufsatzeurNeuen Musik Mainz,1978), . 61.31Rosen,p. 96.32 Ibid.33 Problems fHarmony, tyle nd Idea, p. 279.

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    Neo-Classicism 537to insist n thisway on theequally significantorm-determiningfunctions fmotives nd themes sperhapsto nterpretheClassicalsonata ntermsf ater evelopments;huswould be ustifiedhe aternineteenth-centuryendency ormotives nd themes o takeon anincreasing hareof a weakening onality'swork, nd finallyin theearlytwentiethentury) hewhole burdenas tonality rops awayaltogether. rom thisperspectivet is not difficultor choenberg osee twelve-toneomposition s a historical onsummation. n hisview, he ontradictionf formndlanguage ofwhichhe saccusedbyRosen) onlyariseswhen the demandsofhistoricallyeterminedmaterialsare not met.This would obviouslybe the case, notesSchoenberg,with thepolytonalNeo-Classicists: heir implerthe-maticmaterials nd phrase tructuresre such as shouldactuallybegivennomore han straightforwardonaltreatment,hereas is,bytheirverynature,will inevitably ring bout thecreation f newforms. 34The twelve-tonemethod eekstoavert hedilemmawhichover-took Neo-Classicismby ensuringthatcomposersusing it will bepreventedrom lippingback toformulas nd idiomsbelongingtohistoricallyarlier tages.Yet ndoingsoitdoesnot, nturn, rovidereplacementor onality; erhaps hereallyndicativebservation nthis uestionwas madebySchoenbergn 1923,when, nrespondingtoHauer,he declaredthatthefindingf a replacementor onalitywould bethe ask f theoryftwelve-toneomposition,ne n whichhe ofcoursewas never oshowanypersonal nterest.Rosen's com-plaintthatSchoenbergian erialism gnores ust thosefacets f themotivewhich re themost ignificantor xpression-namely, hapeandtexture6echoes chargesmadebynot few heoristsnregard othenonsystem'systematicnsufficiencies.llsuch riticismallswideofthemark n notrecognizing choenbergs the reatorwhobelievesthathecan entrust imself, lindly s itwere, o thedeedbecausehehas history n his side; thatwhich constitutesmusical expression(Rosen's shape and texture) oes notrequire ystematicontrolbe-cause it will be taken care of byman's historicalbeing. Thus asignificantaradox s illuminated: Ahandthat ares orenounce o

    34LeonardStein, Five Statements y Schoenberg, erspectives fNew Music, XIV/1(1975),167.35 Hauer's Theories, tyle nd Idea, p. 209.36Rosen,p. 112.

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    538 The MusicalQuarterlymuch of the achievements f our forefathersas to be exercisedthoroughlyn the techniquesthat are to be replacedby thenewmethods.' he historicallyooted reatorsatone and the ametimehewho isprepared o renounce hepast;he s not tobeconfusedwiththe ne who mitates raditionalmodels. choenbergmphasizes hat,unlikemany fhisNeo-Classical ontemporaries,hoseek olutionsbyholdinguphistorical arallels,heneedonlyfollowhis historical)feeling or orm.If Schoenbergdoes call into service lder formtypes-sonata,rondo, hemend variations-it s notbecauseheconsiders hem obeideal, or becausehe attributes o them innateexpressive uali-ties, 39ut because he sees in themusages which should not bedispensedwithuntil henovel nd more ifficultspects fhismusicallanguagearebetter nderstood. imilar n purpose s his allegedlyNeo-Classicaldispositionforphrasetypes nd sequentialconstruc-tions eminiscentftonalmusic andeven upported y naloguesforsometonalfunctions). heyareusedtoapplythebrakes othe peedat whichthemusicalprocess s likely otakeplace;they ontributeocomprehensibility,hat actfulonsiderationfthe istenerwhichwasalways major oncern fthe omposer espitehiscritics'ccusa-tions to thecontrary.Ifcomprehensibilitys madedifficultn onerespect, he writes, it mustbe madeeasier n some otherrespect.Difficulto comprehend n new musicare thechords, hemelodicintervalsnd their rogression. herefore form hould be chosenthatwill on the therhandreduce ifficultiesyproviding familiartype funfolding. 40t s unlikely, owever,hatbythis choenbergmeant osuggest hathewouldsimply akehismodelsfrom hepastjust as he foundthem nd thathe would allow theirproblematicrelationshipoelements fthenew anguagetogounquestioned. orthiswouldrequireus to assume thatwith erialism esimply ban-donedhisaesthetic fexpressive truthfulness, hich had been sodecisive n shapinghis musical visionduringtheprewaryears nd

    37 A Self-Analysis, tyle nd Idea,p. 76.38 An important ifferenceetweenme and thepolytonalists,hefolkloristsnd all theotherswhoelaborateupon folktunes,ances, nd the ike na homophonic tyle Stravinsky,Milhaud, theEnglish,Americans nd therest) s thatthey eekthe solutionbymeansofahistorical arallel,whereas had found hat olutionright t the tart implybyheeding hemattert hand ndgoing longwithmy antasyndfeeling or orm. his unpublished ote fSchoenberg'ss listedbyRufer s D.34,with hetitle Polytonalists.39Rosen,p. 98.40 Old Forms n NewMusic, unpublished,Rufer, .64 (author's ranslation).

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    Neo-Classicism 539whose essence is its radicallycriticalrelationshipwithrespect oinheritedonventions. uchan assumption eems o havebeenmadebyRosen,who believes hat fterhewarSchoenbergurned isbackon his immediate astin order orecapturehe security fClassi-cism;Rosen findsn themusic's smoothnessf surface vidence orthisNeo-Classical orientation.Hereagain,however,mportant is-tinctionsreoverlooked. he purposeofsmooth urfaces n Classi-cism s torenderransparentoth heform nd the tructuralrocess;in Stravinsky,or easons lready escribed,his haracteristicsverymuchexaggerated:onstructionndmusicalresult remadeequiva-lent. n regard oSchoenberg,ustthecontraryolds: for ll that nelementofconstructions revived n twelve-toneomposition, heaudiblemusicalsurface s one thatwilldisguiseorruncounter o t.This can be felt verywhere:n theunder-articulationfphrasebe-ginnings nd endings, heobscuring fsharprhythmicrofilesbymeansofcomplementaryhythmspread hroughll thevoices), heavoidanceofmetric-harmonicmphasis, nd a presentationfmo-tives ndthemeshat emainsntervallicallylusive.Eventhe onven-tionalseparation fthemusic'sthematicmoments rom hosewhichshould be consideredmore trictlyormal s overridden. rigorousapplicationof theprinciple fAusgleich equalizing-out ) nsuresthat verymomentwill be ofsubstance: a transition, codetta, nelaboration, tc., houldnotbeconsideredsa thingnits wn end. 4'Werethisto be permitted,hemusic'sconstruction ouldcometooclose tothe urface. n thisrespect, otethe ontrastwithStravinsky,forwhom t s important oreveal heformal unctionshat choen-bergwishes to disguise. Stravinskywill call a variety f musicalresources ntoplay to articulate uchfunctionsnd underline heirgestural uality.42The Neo-Classical trivingor ormal ompletion ndclosure, hecadencethatcomes in spiteofeverything, opes to securemusic'semancipation romubjectivism.twas an effort uchdiscreditedySchoenberg.WhatFrankKermode,nhis TheSenseof nEnding,hasdescribed s a consonanceof ends withbeginnings, hatessentialfiction bywhich is asserted heaesthetic utonomyof thework,

    41 BrahmstheProgressive, tyle nd Idea, p. 407.42 For xample:theribbons f cales nd the rilledhordswhich, ntheOctet, repare heintroduction's adenceon thedominantbetween ues 4 and 6); or, n thePiano Concerto, hesuddenly ushed hordswithwhich hepianosubmits othe inal eprisefthe peningmarchthemeatcue 86).

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    540 The MusicalQuarterlycould no longerbe taken forgrantedby theprogressivemusicalthinkerf our age. In theabsence ofanyother olution,one couldcertainlyorrow tfrom hepast: s the antataDer neueKlassizismus(Op. 28,No. 3) so derisivelybserves, themainthing s theresolu-tion, flung n the faceof a musical substancewhich no longerinclines owardt.Yet t sevident, oo,that choenberg addifficultywith theproblemofcompletion, nd theearlier welve-tone orks,thosethought obe mostpatentlyNeo-Classical, ffer o morethantentativeolutions.For example,theOverture f Suite,Opus 29,contentstselfwithblatant arodies f -IV-V-I adential atterns,heWindQuintet,Opus 26,witha revival f the FirstChamberSym-phony'swhole-tone nd conjoinedfourthsatterns athered p intoclosing formulas, nd the Third String Quartetwith a nostalgicclosing llusionto C major-minor.f noveralldrive oward omple-tion is not absentfrom thepatterning f melodic and rhythmicelements,nmanynstances ormal losure s shown obeproblematicorelse thatwhichcanonlybe hinted tin thebackwardook.WhileSchoenberg's rinciple f ubstantiveilling-outinall thedirectionsin which hemusic xpands guaranteeshe ntegrityf verymusicalmoment, t thesame time nsuring hatharmonic onality e madetotallyrrelevanto theform,t s also thatwhichwillinevitablyobthe musicofpurelyformalpurposeand hence of theunequivocaldirectionalityhichmakesultimate ndingspossible. rvingHowehassaidofthemodernwriter hat an also be saidofSchoenberg: otany ongerknowingwhether nswers anbefound, e willpresent sonlywithhis dilemmas; he offers is strugglewith themas thesubstance fhistestimony,ndwhatevernityhis workpossesses ..comesfrom he motionalrhythm,hethrust oward ompletion, fthatstruggle.AfterKafkait becomes hard to believenot only inanswers ut even n endings. 43StravinskyppearedtoSchoenberg s one whovainly oughttoemulateClassical Formvollendungwhichhistory ad already eftbehind.YetdespitehisapparentNeo-Classical onversion,travinskyshowed ittlenterestnreviving heformal rocedures evelopedbyHaydn and Beethoven.As he admits n hisAutobiography,ll hefounduseful n thepastwere ts form ategories rgenresn which

    43Editorial ntroductionoThe Idea oftheModern nLiteraturendtheArtsNewYork,1967), . 30.

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    Neo-Classicism 541hadaccumulated collection f dioms nd effects hichcould servehimas concretematerial.Thus he has no compunction n saying,aboutBeethoven,hat t s in the ualityofhismusicalmaterial ndnot nthenature fhis deasthathis true reatnessies.'44 tshouldbequite evident, or nstance, hat the thirdmovement f his PianoSonata uses the secondmovement fBeethoven's -majorSonata,Opus 54,as material n exactly hat ense, uite dissociated romBeethoven's ideas of formal laboration.FromSchoenberg's ositionthis pproachwouldcertainly avelittle ocommendt,butwe arerequired oseethehistoricalutsider'ssense fthepast onethat he doptionofFrenchmanners id ittle ochange)from uitea differentngleifthewholephenomenon s notto ppearwithoutnymeaningwhatsoever. recentnalysis yErnstWaeltnerftheOctet orWind nstruments45shelpfulnthis egard,for t shows how Stravinskyontrived o apply therhythmicndharmonicprinciples eveloped nhis earlier Russian works othenew stylisticontexthe adopted.Waeltner oes notgo so far s todescribe he ffectainedbyattaching o suchprinciples hevariousisolatedmaterials travinskyadpulledoutofhishistorical orages.The effect,amely,s oneofwitnessing process ywhichtheformalprecepts fClassicism redeliberatelyurnednsideout.Classicism'sproportionatelyariedbuttexturallyndharmonically oordinatedflow s nowreplacedbyone thatremains bstinatelyniformwhilethe oordination f ts several extural nd harmonic evels s pulledout ofphaseorotherwise isrupted. onal tendenciesnherentn theborrowed lementsmaycertainly e givensomescope fordevelop-ment rreinterpretation,utthe argemusical tructuresdeterminedlessbythesetendencies hanby imposedtimeframes,whosemea-surementsremeticulously alculated fromwithout, nd towhichsuchtendenciesre made tosubmit. travinsky'siscoveryfwhatwecannowrecognizes anessentiallyinematicmethodmakes tspointin beingapplied tofamiliar-sounding aterials.n this ontext,hetraditional equirementsorformal ompletionneed no longerbeconsidered elevant.ndeed,whatStravinskynsists poninspeaking

    44 gorStravinsky:nAutobiographyNew York,1962),p. 117.45Ernst Waeltner, Aspektezum NeoklassizismusStrawinskys: chluss-Rhythmus,Thema und Grundriss mFinale desBliiser-Oktetts923, nBerichtiber en nternationalenMusikwissenschaftlichenongress onn, 1970, d. CarlDahlhaus (Kassel,1973), 65-74.

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    542 The MusicalQuarterlyof convergenceowards epose 46s realizedmore ften y n exqui-sitelygraduated fade-out the end of theOctet),or by a moreaffirmativeanditualisticear-arrestf he ime lowhrough magnifi-cationof tsunderlying ulse the coda-apotheosis f theSympho-nies of Wind Instruments,pollo, and theSymphony f Psalms).Neither ave muchto do withtheresolution facceleratingmotionthat haracterizeshe ndingofa Classicalwork.All things onsidered,t is questionablewhether,s E. T. Conesuggests,we are meant to discover n Stravinsky's rocedures nanalogue for thoseof Classicism.47 atherdo we findourselvesreflectingn thefate ffamiliartylisticlements owtransposedoanewcontext. heirconsequent estrangement as littlencommon,however,with whatBrechtmeantby alienation, a devicewhosepurpose t is tohelp us gain a critical iewpoint fwhatwealreadythinkwe know.Stravinsky'sompulsive ecomposing foldmastershasas itspurposenottoreveal hepast na new ightbuttosubject ttothedemandsof thepresent.n sum,whilerefusingchoenberg'shistoricallyooted penness o the uture,travinskylsobypassed heNeo-Classical program f restoration.ike thedisturbinglytilledantiquecolumns and Renaissance rchitecturalfagadesn thepaint-ingsofDeChirico,musicalreferencesothepast nStravinskyerve oremind s ofour immediate redicaments.

    46 Poetics fMusic intheFormofSix Lessons New York,1956), p. 37-38.47E. T. Cone, The UsesofConvention, . 29.