The Cambridge Introduction to Serialism

Serialism, one of the most prominent innovations in music since 1900, is a key topic in the study of music. From Schoenberg to Boulez and beyond, serial composition has been attacked as mathematical and anti-expressive, defended as vital and visionary. Both responses result from an understanding of the relationship between serialism as something new and the existing, established traditions it appeared to challenge so wholeheartedly. Coming nearly a century after the first stirrings of serial thinking in music appeared, this introduction provides a basic outline of the compositional techniques that embody serial principles, and of the historical evolution of those techniques as composers responded to the wealth of social and cultural imperatives that impinged on them in the years after 1920. Following a broadly chronological path, the book demonstrates the variety and adaptability of a wide range of serial compositions, and explains the compositional techniques clearly and concisely.

Arnold Whittall is Professor Emeritus of Music Theory and Analysis at King’s College London.

Arnold Whittall

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© Cambridge University Press 2008

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First published 2008

Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge

A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data

 Whittall, Arnold.
  The Cambridge introduction to serialism / Arnold Whittall.
 p.cm.
 Includes bibliographical references and index.
 ISBN 978-0-521-86341-4 (hardback) – ISBN 978-0-521-68200-8 (pbk.)1.Music – 20th century – History and criticism.2.Serialism (Music)I.Title.
 ML197.W536 2008
 781.3′3–dc222008020522

ISBN 978-0-521-86341-4 hardback
ISBN 978-0-521-68200-8 paperback

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