Atonality

Atonality describes music that departs from the system of tonal hierarchies, which characterizes the sound of classical European music between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. Atonality usually describes compositions written from about 1900 to the present day, where the hierarchy of tonal centers is not used as the primary way to organize a work. Tonal centers gradually replaced modal organization starting in the 1500s and culminated with the establishment of the major-minor key system in the late 1600s and early 1700s.

History of atonality

While music without a tonal center had been written previously, for example Franz Liszt's Bagatelle sans tonalité of 1885, it is with the 20th century that the term atonality began to be applied to pieces, particularly those written by Arnold Schoenberg and The Second Viennese School.

Related Topics:
Franz Liszt - Bagatelle sans tonalité - 1885 - 20th century - Arnold Schoenberg

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Their music arose from what was described as the crisis of tonality in the late 19th century and early 20th century in classical music. It was described by composer Ferruccio Busoni as the ?exhaustion of the major-minor key system,? and by Schoenberg as the ?inability of one tonal chord to assert dominance over all of the others.? The first phase is often described as "free atonality" or "free chromaticism" and involved the conscious attempt to avoid traditional diatonic harmony. Works of this period include the opera Wozzeck (1917-1922) by Alban Berg and Pierrot Lunaire (1912) by Schoenberg. The second period, begun after World War I, was exemplified by attempts to create a systematic means of composing without tonality, most famously the method of composing with 12 tones or the twelve-tone technique. This period included Berg's Lulu and Lyric Suite, Schoenberg's Piano Concerto, his opera Jacob's Ladder and numerous smaller pieces, as well as his final string quartets. Schoenberg was the major innovator of the system, but his student, Webern, then began linking dynamics and tone color to the primary row as well, making the row not only of notes but other aspects of music as well. This, combined with the parameterization of Olivier Messiaen, would be taken as the inspiration for serialism.

Related Topics:
19th century - 20th century - Classical music - Ferruccio Busoni - Wozzeck - 1917 - 1922 - Pierrot Lunaire - 1912 - World War I - Twelve-tone technique - Lulu - Lyric Suite - Piano Concerto - Jacob's Ladder - Olivier Messiaen - Serialism

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Atonality emerged as a pejorative term to condemn music in which chords were organized seemingly with no apparent coherence. In Nazi Germany, atonal music was attacked as "Bolshevik" and labeled as degenerate (Entartete Musik) along with other music produced by enemies of the Nazi regime. Many composers had their works banned by the regime, not to be played until after its collapse after World War II.

Related Topics:
Chord - Nazi Germany - Bolshevik - Degenerate - World War II

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In the years that followed, atonality represented a challenge to many composers?even those who wrote more tonal music were influenced by it. The Second Viennese School, and particularly 12-tone composition, was taken by avant-garde composers in the 1950s to be the foundation of the New Music, and led to serialism and other forms of musical experimentation. Prominent post-World War II composers in this tradition are Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Luciano Berio, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Milton Babbitt. Many composers wrote atonal music after the war, even if before they had pursued other styles, including Elliott Carter and Witold Lutos?awski. After Schoenberg's death, Igor Stravinsky began to write music with a mixture of serial and tonal elements. During this time, the chord progressions or successions designed to avoid a tonal center were explored and named, creating a vocabulary described as musical set theory focusing on pitch classes and pitch sets.

Related Topics:
1950s - Serialism - Pierre Boulez - Karlheinz Stockhausen - Luciano Berio - Krzysztof Penderecki - Milton Babbitt - Elliott Carter - Witold Lutos?awski - Igor Stravinsky - Chord progression - Successions - Musical set theory

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Atonal music continues to be composed, and many atonal composers of the late 20th century are still alive and active. However, atonal composition began to fade in the 1960s?where, on one hand, aleatoric music and electronic music demanded more and more attention and, on the other hand, musicians influenced by Eastern mysticism, modality, and Minimalism began writing music based on ostinato patterns.

Related Topics:
1960s - Aleatoric music - Minimalism - Ostinato

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