No One Expects the 12-Tone Inquisition!

The worse thing that can happen to any art form is Orthodoxy, that awful suggestion that there is only one true way.  Orthodoxy is quite possibly the major reason why there are so many problems in classical music today. Orthodoxy impedes free thinking, feeds the idea of believer vs. heathen, and attempts to suppress dissent.  In my most recent post I set out to highlight an example of doctrinal thinking that feeds the perception that classical music is elitist.  The easiest way to expose said orthodoxy, of course, is to challenge it publically by throwing out an outrageous idea.  Looks like I succeeded.

The main problem….. or closer to the truth, the main perceptual problem about classical music is orthodoxy.  The 90% of the populace that never goes to a classical concert perceives our art form as elitist, whether we are or not.  Unfortunately, just as in religion (“That person doesn’t believe exactly what I believe, therefore that person is not a Christian”) or nationalism (“That person doesn’t salute the flag exactly the way I do, therefore that person is not a true American”) there is an undercurrent of orthodoxy in every art form which does its level best to impede rational discussion about any problems said art form may face.  Orthodoxy begets Sacred Cows, and classical music has enough of those to be mistaken for Main Street, New Delhi.

The opposite of orthodoxy is heresy, and to be accused of that is a long and great tradition. Every idea was at one point heretical – just ask Galileo or Stravinsky.  Or for that matter, Schoenberg.  Interestingly enough, many heresies later become orthodoxy.  In classical music it is fairly easy to pick out and pick on an orthodoxy, and for my previous post I could have used any number of topics – Mahler; Period instruments; Crossover; Glenn Gould; Labor relations; Programming; you name it.  I picked Schoenberg and the 2nd Viennese school because……. well, it was there.  Take a swing at it, put that sacred cow on the menu, and hope that what you write will at least engender some discussion.

I freely admit I was surprised and delighted by the discussion that the post generated in the world of social media.  People of all stripes came out of the woodwork to comment and argue.  Many agreed with the post, many didn’t, but the tone was very civil, and if nothing else I believe that social media has allowed a lot of people to interact with each other in a quick way that respects other’s opinions.  I had a composer friend who I have known for almost 3 decades say about the 2nd Viennese school: ” I think its ugly, disturbing and a chore to listen to… and that is exactly why I like it!!”  More power to him!!!  Another friend of mine who I know as a Viola da Gamba expert (and a Dr. Who nerd) unexpectedly chimed in both agreeing with the post and admitting that he’s “a nerd for this sort of music!”  I was unaware that the Viola da Gamba was a favored instrument of the 2nd Viennese School, but I guess one learns something every day.

The most heartfelt response was from a composer friend I know as the Mad Monk of Music.  He tends to be a bit self-flagellatory when it comes to the role of composers today but his heart is most definitely in the right place:

Composers need to reign in their “techniques,” temper their silly quests for novelty and do like the old masters: use common means to construct transcendent results. If you cannot, do the world a favor and put the pen down … drive a cab. If you can, for Godssakes!! …. get busy and give the art of music something to celebrate that is NOW!

The Mad Monk correctly identified that the post was not about Schoenberg per se, but about our relationship to the audience and the world around us.  I should have expected this from him, as perceptive as he is.

These are wonderful responses, and it shows how varied is our perception of classical music.  For all these people, and for many of my friends in general, we all know that the music that we enjoy is a very personal choice.  It doesn’t mean that the music we dislike is evil, but rather it is not for us. It also doesn’t mean that the music we like is good.  However, I can’t count how many times I have gotten into a conversation with someone who no longer attends classical music concerts because they were made to feel uncomfortable expressing a negative opinion about the music they were listening to.  Because they didn’t like what they heard, and they happened to not be “experts” on music, their feelings were denigrated.  Herein lies the worse aspect of orthodoxy – the inability to understand or give creedence to an opposing point of view without denigrating it with attacks or arguments of a condescendingly personal nature.

While the social media response to my previous post was earnest, heartfelt, and respectful to different ideas and attitudes, the True Believers responded with comments directly to this website, all of which I have approved for general perusal.  Enter the 12-Tone Inquisition!  Their chief weapons are surprise, fear, and a fanatical devotion to the 12-tone row! These Defenders of the Faith came armed with their most biting comments and arguments, to the point where even the erstwhile Joseph Ratzinger would be impressed with their ardor.

Certainly not all the responses were of this type, and there is now a lively discussion going on in these comments as well.  None-the-less, the worse elements of classical music orthodoxy have come to bear: the “personal attack” (really? is that necessary? ever?); the “even longer-winded than my original post” diatribe; the “if the Met does it then certainly it would fly in Peoria” diatribe; the “shame on anyone who hires you” diatribe; the “because of this one post I assume you are the enemy of all modern music” diatribe; the “because I love this music and you don’t you’re an idiot” diatribe; etc., etc.  I am somewhat surprised that someone didn’t demand to see my long form birth certificate.  None of this adds anything to the discussion.  It is fulminating orthodoxy.  I’ll joyfully argue these ideas and others all day, but in the end your opinions are yours, and I will respect that of you.  Yes, I have my own sacred cows, but I love it when those are challenged.  It helps me grow as a musician and a human being.

Of course, no one can blame Shoenberg for the current crisis in classical music, anymore than one can blame Queen Elizabeth II for the fact that no British born man has won Wimbledon since 1936. (Now there’s a post that would garner some hate mail, eh?) But that was never the point of my post, and it is very, very interesting that this was understood immediately in the social media world yet almost completely mistaken on the “serious” side.  The point was, and is, that there are way too many sacred cows in this business. Orthodoxy is very, very bad for religion, nationalism, and art.

The flip side of that coin is that I don’t believe in coincidences.  The “composer as international celebrity” idea effectively died between 1945 and the early ’70s, and I do not believe that it was a “coincidence” that this happened when this particular compositional technique was in the ascendant.  The “composer as international celebrity” idea is enjoying something of a rebirth now, and it cannot be a “coincidence” that the composers who are leading this movement have an instinctual ability to understand a nurturing relationship with Mr. Average Listener.  I also freely admit (as I did in that previous post) that perhaps those of us who don’t get the music of the 2nd Viennese School are missing something.

So, another Sacred Cow challenged.  More Heresy.  Less Orthodoxy.  I’m sure I will be the recipient of more hate mail questioning my intelligence, musical experience, writing ability, and proclaiming that I am the classical music equivalent of a Kenyan Socialist Muslim.  So be it.  I’m also having steak for dinner tonight. Bon Appétit!

 

 

21 thoughts on “No One Expects the 12-Tone Inquisition!”

  1. Bill – You wrote: “The flip side of that coin is that I don’t believe in coincidences. The “composer as international celebrity” idea effectively died between 1945 and the early ’70s, and I do not believe that it was a “coincidence” that this happened when this particular compositional technique was in the ascendant. The “composer as international celebrity” idea is enjoying something of a rebirth now, and it cannot be a “coincidence” that the composers who are leading this movement have an instinctual ability to understand a nurturing relationship with Mr. Average Listener.”

    I’d be interested to hear your comments on what you believe might be the reason for rise/fall of celebrity?

    • Hey Bill…been a long time, and just stumbled on your commentary. I’ll take a crack at answering Jim.

      I don’t believe that it is a coincidence either, but I think one thing was missed: the rise of the Television as a primary method of communication, particularly in America. This happened at the same time as the decline of “composer as celebrity”, and I don’t think THAT was a coincidence at all: at the same time composers were “expected” to be writing incredibly intellectual works, we got Mr. Ed, Gilligan’s Island and Gunsmoke (among many others).

      I don’t think Bill is blaming Schonberg at all; he is blaming the post WWII teardown of accepted structures and then the expectation by academia for all to follow it come hell or high water. And I entirely agree with him.

      PS Joe Strauss is a great and incredibly intelligent guy, but I don’t know that I’d be quoting him in this particular argument.

  2. “When this particular compositional technique was ascendant”… Is an interesting phrase. Several searches of actual music history and pedagogy find that if any style or technique held hegemony in classical composition between 1930 and 1990, it was pandiatonic neo-classicism, centered around people like Virgil Thompson, Dominick Argento, and the like. But the real shift in hegemony during that period was the all-consuming rise of commercial music. The redefinition of value by commerce is often ignored in these discussions, though we cannot understand orthodoxy nor heterodoxy in the current and past centuries without it.

  3. I’m sorry, but you wrote:

    ” In the width and breadth of this mighty land the universities and colleges during this era were the bastions of the Dodecaphonists. All other music, especially anything with a melody, was old fashioned and derivative. ”

    “Then, starting in 1945, for at least two full generations those few Joe and Josephine Averages who actually were interested in classical music were constantly subjected to music that they just …….. loathed. ”

    … and it was pointed out to you that both of those statements are completely false, which seems to invalidate your entire thesis. And none of this has anything to do with whether or not you like Schoenberg’s music — I don’t care for much of it either, for what it’s worth — or with you saying anything “shocking” or “unorthodox.” You flatter yourself.

    • Actually, neither of those statements are false. When I was attending conservatories in the late ’70s/early ’80s this battle was raging. I remember clearly students being derided for writing a melody, or not using a system, or whatever. Certainly not by everyone, but definitely by members of collegiate faculty. It was depressing in the extreme.

      As for the 2nd statement – I stand by it. The number of laypeople I know who enjoy the music of that period can be counted on one hand, with fingers left over. Yet today, we get audiences to come out in droves for music written in the past decade. Something has changed, whatever it is.

      And thanks for saying I flatter myself. Somebody has to.

      • (1) What you remember does not make that statement true. See the following, which has already been commended to you once: http://www.scribd.com/doc/36533412/The-Myth-of-Serial-Tyranny-in-the-1950s-and-1960s-J-Straus

        (2) “The number of laypeople I know who enjoy the music of that period” is not relevant to what you said. (I assume by “of that period” you mean “by those three composers”.)

        I am questioning how much twelve-tone or even atonal Schoenberg or Berg “Josephine Average” has been subjected to in a lifetime of orchestral concertgoing (let alone Webern, who as you surely know is essentially never programmed by orchestras because it is so incredibly difficult to perform and requires far more rehearsal than its duration on a concert can justify in practical terms). Your post implies that Ms. Average would love to go the symphony but cannot bring herself to because they just keep programming Schoenberg or Webern on every concert — or, perhaps, that they keep programming new pieces that sound anything at all like Schoenberg or Webern. But outside of international cultural centers, that almost never happens — and, I’d point out, when it does, they get a lot of new audience members in the process.

        This has nothing at all to do with “sacred cows,” your repeated crowing about which is perhaps the most obnoxious part of this whole episode. Saying out loud that you don’t like Schoenberg’s music is not anywhere near as shocking or controversial as you seem to think it is.

  4. Bill,
    you headline your previous column as “IT’S SCHOENBERG’S FAULT!” .. and you follow it up with things like “But I find this music to be completely soulless and, yes, ugly. And I’m someone who has an understanding of it. Imagine how Josephine Average feels.” and you’re surprised that some people took this as a serious pov?

    • Actually, Leon, I thought that putting something so completely over the top like that in the title of a post was a dead giveaway. But despite that – even if it is a serious pov, does it not deserve consideration? Or does it deserve being tagged as Heresy, complete with personal attacks, further rants, and responses even further over the top than the title?

      Sacred cows, Leon, sacred cows. Kill them now.

      • Love the article. Don’t worry about those seeking to shoot the messenger. Shooting the messenger doesn’t change the truth of the message or make it go away. The Classical/Symphonic music world has stuck it’s head in the sand for far too long. That’s a big reason why many symphonies, even major symphonies, are going broke. Too many of them have held themselves above and apart from Society for too long. Now, they are all shocked and shaken when Society has moved on and deems them irrelevant; on the rare occasions society even thinks of them at all.

      • I completely agree with the points you’re making! Everyone is entitled to their own opinion on music and it isn’t the job of anyone else to tell them that they are wrong because they think differently. The more we can get people to realize that their opinions are just as valid as someone who is “educated,” the sooner we can get classical music back into “popular” society. Just came to read the response to the other post and was not disappointed, great post!

  5. I would have to say that I interpret the “Mad Monk’s” quote a little differently. It’s about the composers relationship with the audience, but the “silly quests for novelty” are the result of a desire to please audiences and critics alike.People are so desperate to be different and unique that they lose sight of their real reasons for writing music: to make music that you, and hopefully others, will like. Simple as that

  6. I still think that these geeks vs. average schmoes arguments have been had before. I’m talking about geeks as in people who LOVE having to read a computer manual before installing their own version of a given OS, and average schmoes as people who just want the stupid thing to work so they can send their vacation photos to their grandmother. They don’t want to have to immerse themselves in the manual for two days before they can get the damn thing to work — and it can be impossible to get the geeks to understand that average people:

    1) don’t want to do that, and
    2) aren’t STUPID because of it.

    It’s the same with scary-@$$ modern music that sounds like shite until you get a graduate degree that tells you how to listen to it. The geeks who write it LOVE having to attend a pre-concert lecture all about the minutiae of their favorite pastime, and average folks are like, “What? I need an education before I can even grasp WTH this music is trying to tell me? Why doesn’t it just TELL ME what it’s trying to tell me?” I can sympathize with them. A lot. I wrote a long blathery blog post about this a while back.

    And I have to admit that there DOES seem to be a connection between the advent of avant-garde classical composers who insist that the diatonic scale has been done to death, and the fact that audiences drifted off during the same period of time to listen to people like Billy Joel and the Supremes, who found plenty of interesting things to say in C Major and 4/4 time nonetheless. Coincidence? I doubt it.

  7. I`ve been warily circling the 2VS and could likely babble-a-book with all of the various thoughts in my head so I`ll be brief and say that as I have been reading the various posts I have the Berg VC on from YouTube with Ivry Gitlis as soloist and he seems to me to be a very deeply soulful person.

    Pinchas Zukerman stated that he loves this piece. It was written after the premature death of a young lady, and Berg was distraught. The more and more I immerse in this piece
    (and I went out and bought the score to help things along) the more I am finding touch-points of deep feeling and beautiful sound-resonance. But this journey is taking some time for me.

    As someone rooted in…I`ll tongue-in-cheek term this the *2nd-NYC post-WW2 School* which
    to me is MilesDavis-GilEvans-BillEvans-WayneShorter-ChickCorea-HerbieHancock, I cringe
    when anyone uses terms like `atonal` or `dissonance`. There is always a definable tonic
    on a tempered-tuned piano keyboard even if you double-forearm the thing. Any notes sounding are just colors. Some of those colors are like the planetoid Pluto: i.e. very far away from the
    Sun (tonic). If you have all 12-notes sounding at the same time then you can choose any note as a tonic, at which point it is a matter of your brain/perception/consciousness/attitude/ears etc.

    And talking about soulful: the most deeply soulful musical experience I have ever had in my whole like was hearing Miles play a ballad on the stage of the ESO`s former home the Jube. So Miles
    was not letting this discussion about 12-tone imbalance him in anyway. For me, music is mostly about heart and soul but it should also have lots of brains. Heart and soul are more likely to be perceived quickly, while the brain oftentimes seems to take more of an effort. In the
    *2NYCpWW2S* I get everything I want in music and in good balance, plus they improvise on the spot, collectively, and fast, with huge ears and musicality, plus they swing like mad. The only thing it doesn`t have is a big gorgeous-sounding 60-pc. string section.

    So, I have no issue about 12-tone as per above but in the case of Schoenberg and his view to create tone rows, I will have to do some studying to try to get my head around his approach. I am certainly enjoying Ivry and the Berg. My effort to try to grasp it is beginning to generate some enjoyment pay-off.

    I wouldn`t have a clue as to how the thing might be marketed or promoted.

  8. Previous post corrections: life (not: like) & any way (not: anyway)

    Speaking of the *2NYCpWW2S*: the LA-Phil has recently
    hired Wayne Shorter to put together a piece, and why wasn`t this happening decades ago ??

    E.D. Deb B. (paycheck $1.3M) hired HerbieH who asked Wayne. Thank You.

    And Herbie is doing shows now together with Lang Lang, great (!!)

    If you talk 12-tone, it seems the symphony-world automatically assumes this is all about
    the 2VS. (Perhaps Thelonious Monk might beg to differ.)

    There is a treasure-trove of gorgeous stuff (12-tone or not) ignored by those who program these days, for example: anything by Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) or E.J. Moeran (1894-1950)
    or Rafe VW Symphony 3 which no one ever does.

  9. I can’t say that I’ve listened to a very large sample of 12 tone music but what I have heard I liked…I find it ethereal and sometimes lovely. It tends to put me in a contemplative mood. Interestingly, as a listener I don’t have any care of how it was constructed. I only care for how it makes me feel; how I respond to it. That said I like many different types of music, some of which are not western at all. Anyway, I can totally understand why someone may not like 12 tone music, or eschew what they consider overuse of dissonance but for my part I very much enjoy it.

    All that said I very much eschew orthodoxy of any form. It tends to suck the life out of the thing it guards.

Comments are closed.

Send this to a friend