NoncommunicativeMusicGrammarsofthe20thCentury

It is unfortunate that progressive technicality of the 20th century led to the spread of
new type of music grammar the noncommunicative one. This type is new to the music
afterthe2ndWorldWar.Itischaracterizedbyacertainscholasticisminimplementationof
a chosen compositional technique where the matters of technicality supersede the
mattersofexpression.Understandingthistypeofgrammarandabilitytoidentifyitinthe
vastrepertoireofmodernmusicisaconditionwithoutwhichitisimpossibletoconducta
semioticstudyofmodernconceptualmusic.
Itisimportanttopointoutthatevenhighlydisciplinedtechniques,likeserialism,donot
completelydefythepossibilityofwritinganexpressivepieceofmusic.Theentireserialist
output of Alban Berg is recognized as a landmark of heightened emotionality. Even total
serialismhasproducedseveralnotableworksofundeniableexpressivemeritssuchasIl
Canto Sospeso (1956) by Luigi Nono. So, the term noncommunicative refers not to the
qualityofeveryworkwritteninsuchcompositionaltechnique,butrathertothedesignof
the technique itself: the very method of organization that the technique employs which
makes it poorly suited to convey the set of moods, images and characters that has been
traditionallyassociatedwiththefieldofconceptualmusic.
The very choice of coding structures is the source of communicative difficulties here:
like words are poorly suited to convey the dancing motions it might be possible in a
particularcasetodescribeadancebypreciseanatomicaldescriptionwithreferencetothe
barsinmusic,butdescribingitbyseriesofpicturesinreferencetothescorewillbemuch
easiertograsp,withlessprobabilityofmisunderstanding.Quitesimilarly,adheringtothe
serialrulesstiffensthemelodicphrases,voidstheintonationalbasebybanningrepetition
ofatoneonwhichmanynaturalintonationprofilesrelyandknockingouttheharmonic
pulse of tensionresolution waves. Serialization of rhythm leaves even less space for
deliberatecommunicationofcharacter.Inordertoimplementasimplerhythmicactivation
forexpressivepurposes,thecomposerhastweakrowsandpermutationswithoutevena
listener being able to detect if rhythmic activation was accurate and satisfied the serial
rules,ornot.
Insteadoffacilitatingabasicmanipulationofmelody,rhythmandharmony,inorderto
build an idiomatic structure, serial approach focuses on formal adherence to an abstract
principle in belief of some harmonizing effect from the perfect coherence of forms. It is
quite typical for the composers of such works to see their goal in maintaining
proportionalityacrossthespanofmusicratherthanhavinganyrhetoricconcernsatall.A
number of postmodernistic composers had background in mathematics or engineering
(Boulez, Xenaxis, Denisov). The priority of abstract principle over communication make
suchworkshermeticallyclosecomparingeventothefirstwaveofavantgarde,likeBartok
orHindemith.Oneconsequenceofthisisthesimplicityofestimationofapostmodernistic
work: no need to worry about recognizing idioms, connecting them together and

formulating the line of rhetoric development what constitutes problems in critical

judgmentofthetonalcompositionwhyRachmaninovironizedabouttheabilityofcritics
toformaverdictuponasingleauditionofawork[especiallyiftotakeintoconsideration
thathehimselfpossessedtheabsolutememoryformusicandcouldreproduceacomplex
pieceinsonataformafteraudition,yetrefusedtojudgethequalityofacompositionupona
single hearing]. Indeed, hearing a certain defect in idiomatic composition does not
necessarilymeanthefaultonthepartofacomposer.Itverywellcouldbethatitwasthe
faultoftheperformertoidentifytheidiomandrenderitappropriatelytothecontext.1
The evaluation of postmodernistic work is straightforward and objective:
understandingthesetofruleschosenbythecomposerandtracingtheadherencetothem
throughout the score is sufficient to validate the work and relate its magnitude to some
otherworks.Theonlyextrafactortoconsider,accordingtothispostmodernisticapproach,
is the novelty of its technical decision. This criterion of originality in the compositional
designisspecifictothe1950savantgardeandlater.
Of course, artistic innovation is characteristic to the Western art in general. However
substantialincreaseininnovationoccurredinWesternEuropeduringthelate17thcentury
and the 18th century. The development of politics, economics, society, culture, literature
andarthasgeneratedanewattitudetoliferational,positiveandpractical,leadingtothe
replacement of Baroque values with the newer Classical ones. The historians mark this
time as a birth of the concept of modernity secularization of intellectual thought that
accompanied the flourishing of capitalistic society. One of the pronounced changes in the
perception of time was a shift from the Christian cyclic concept of time to the New Age
linear perception. The notion of timeline incorporates the capacity of things to change.
Therefore,processesthatinvolveinnovationbecameexposedineyesofthe18thcentury
Europeans,leadingtotheriseofinteresttothematterofrenewalofcontentinartworks,
includingmusic.Themusicforms,generatedinthemiddle18thcentury,suchasthesonata
form, are characterized with the renovation of the thematic material from exposition to
recapitulationandfixedstructuralchangesintheunveilingofthemusicform,sothatthe
listenercantellatwhichpointofthemovementheisatagiventime.2
ModernityhasopeneddoorstoinnovationinWesternmusic,whichbeforehandusedto
beratherconservative.Morestylisticchangesoccurredinthe18thcenturythaninthe17th
century,andstillmoreinthe19thcentury.AseducatedEuropeanswerebecominglinear
timeconsciousthroughliterature,theaterandmusic,theyalsobecamemoresusceptible
tochange.Theirennuizoneshrunk,andtheyfelttheneedforsomethingnewsoonerthan
their fathers and mothers, when listening to the same musical material. Throughout the
17thcenturymusicsectionsoverallbecomeshorter,andthe18thcenturyismarkedwith
thegenresofminiatureininstrumentalandvocalmusicbecomingpopular.

1Rachmaninov,Sergei(1978)Literaturnoyenaslediye.[LiteraryWorks]vol.1,ed.Z.A.
Apetian,Sovetskiikompozitor,Moscow,p.2122.
2Berger,Karol(2007)BachsCycle,MozartsArrow:AnEssayontheOriginsofMusical
Modernity.UniversityofCaliforniaPress,LosAngeles,p.117.

Innovationbecamepartofmusicallife.Musicaljournalscameintocirculationwiththe
chief purpose to keep the reader informed of the latest trends in music. Printed music
made the spread of new techniques a lot faster than ever before. As a result the pace of
innovationaccelerated.However,allinall,thingschangedgradually.Musichistorycontains
examplesofbigleapsininnovation,forinstance,byMonteverdiandFlorentineCamerataat
the end of the 16th century. However, such leaps were still manifestations of evolution
rather than revolution: the older grammars were not destroyed and substituted on the
spot.Thenovelformshadbeendevelopedforquiteawhileontheorderofdecades.Those
people who propagated new forms were masters of using old forms and often kept
implementing older techniques concurrently with the new ones in their practice. The
developmentwasgradualandsomewhatinclusiveratherthanexclusive.
Innovation of the 19th century music has defined three roads for a contemporary
composer to develop his own style, yet comply to the canonic models, in order to earn a
place in the cultural museum. Exoticism attracted especially French and Russian
composers,seekingtoincorporatenonWesternorpseudononWesternmaterialintheir
compositions. Nationalism was explored by composers of every nation in Europe and
Americas in attempt to define the national identity in musical terms, by reviewing the
musical means and configuring them to highlight the character recognized as
representative for a given nation. Folklorism set yet another direction away from the
musical establishment towards more trivial music, representative for people rather than
nation.InRussiaandotherEasternEuropeancountriesthisdirectionhasgrewintoentire
politicalmovement.3
The kind of innovation that became established in the 20th century followed these
three routes, but in a way a lot closer to revolutionary than to evolutionary type. Big
part of it was the rejection of a museum; innovators wanted to exhibit into their own
cultural space following the suit of impressionist painters during the 1870s, who
succeeded in splitting from the Acadmie and establishing Socit Anonyme Cooprative
desArtistesPeintres,Sculpteurs,Graveurs.
This model of innovation involves denial of the forms that were common beforehand,
seen as outdated past that contradicts modernity of the present. And the most principal
differencefrominnovationsofthe19thcenturyinthe20thcenturyinnovationsoccurlike
a domino effect, on the ongoing basis, with a pace of just few years separating a novelty
from a previous last thing. Such mode of progress is more typical for commercial
enterprises like clothing fashion than natural development. And indeed, the closer
examination shows that market competition is behind the 20th century accelerated
innovation.
Theoriginofitliesinthe1910sWesternEurope.Thereweresomeradicalcomposers
inthe19thcentury,likeAlkan,SmetanaorMussorgsky,whodisregardedtraditionalmusic
forms and harmony, and strove to develop their own idioms and formats of expression

3Burkholder,J.Peter(1983)MuseumPieces:TheHistoricistMainstreaminMusicofthe
LastHundredYears.TheJournalofMusicology,Vol.2,No.2(Spring,1983),pp.115134.

throughout their careers. However, their innovations did not catch up with their
contemporaries,anddidnotleadtothesubstantialgaininreputationofaninventorthat
wouldprovetobebeneficialattheirlifetime.Radicalinnovationswerenothighlyregarded
by the 19th century society. Even moderate innovators, like Berlioz, Chopin or Wagner
(moderatedbytheirrespecttotheclassicmelodicidioms),hadtoovercomeaconsiderable
resistance from public, peer composers and performers, as it follows from their
biographies. Altogether, relative importance of coherence of style was outweighing the
innovation factor back then, keeping the novel work within the idiomatic framework of
comprehensibilitytotheconventionalusers.
The situation started changing after Wagner, Debussy and Scriabin had diversified the
traditional grammar enough in every component, such as harmony, melody, rhythm,
texture and music form, and when the extremist groups, like futurists and dadaists, had
raisedthethresholdofwhatwasconsideredsociallyunacceptableinrelationtoart.Thebig
boost of positivistic philosophy and science during the 19th century also contributed to
forming the connotation between the concepts of invention and progress. It became
quite typical for composers, starting from Wagner on, to capitalize on the notion of
progress in drawing genealogies of their respective style. By the 20th century this has
becomeacommonpractice.4
Astheideaofprogresswasbecomingareferentialframeworkinpublicopinion,theidea
of innovation obtained strongly positive value. The beginning of the 20th century passed
underoptimisticassumptionofsomebrightfutureaheadandfaithinprogress.Modernism
was taking invention very straightforward: the more the better which led to enormous
increase of innovation from the composers. Younger generation was attracted by
modernistscelebratinginnovationasamarkofvitalityoftheirart.5
Inthebeginningofthe20thcenturythetrendforinnovationmergedwithanotherolder
trend of progressivity. The cultural consequence of intense industrialization process in
19th century Europe led to the increase of importance of sciences and technology.
Positivism of though characterized most European cultures of the 2nd half of the 19th
century. Public perception of arts also became positivistically colored. The most obvious
demonstrationofthatisthesurgeofliteratureontechniquesofmusicalperformance.The
new schools, collections of etudes and treatises differed from the earlier methods by
technicality of thought, systematic approach and great methodical elaboration. The First
Principles of Pianoforte Playing (1905) by Tobias Matthay is a good example of this
thoroughlymechanistic,scientific,understandingofplayinganinstrument.
Positivistic thought has determined the perception of history and culture during the
19th century. The pivotal impact came from Herbert Spencer, with his adaptation of
Darwinstheorytoculture,andspecifically,formulationoflawsofprogressandevolution

4Perry,Jeffrey(2000)Music,EvolutionandtheLadderofProgress.MusicTheoryOnline,
Volume6,Number5,November2000.
5Taruskin,Richard(2009)MusicintheEarlyTwentiethCentury:TheOxfordHistoryof
WesternMusic,OxfordUniversityPress,NewYork,p.12.

for music. From 1850s on Spencerian laws found public recognition and prompted John
Frederick Rowbotham to write the first progressive history of music. But the most
influential proponent of evolutionary historiography became Sir Hubert Parry, an Oxford
scholarandcomposer,whochallengedthebiographicalmethodthathaddominatedearlier
musichistoryresearch,andproposedthemodeloftracingtheevolutionofmusicalforms
as objective manifestations of spiritual activity. Parrys view on the progression from
monody to polyphony and then to harmony was accepted as a standard for Western
musicology. However, it is useful to remind that this view regarded progress as a single
modelthatisunilaterallytrueforallformsofmusic,thereforemakingpossibletojudgein
absolutetermsatwhichpointontheevolutionarylinefromsavagerytocivilizationagiven
musicformrests.Thismodelalsoallowedprojectionsintothefuture.6
And this is exactly what attracted the ultramodernistic composers. Stravinskys and
Schoenbergsrhetoricwasbuiltexactlyonlinkingthetechnicalfeaturesthatcharacterized
their music to the evolutionary process of the past to legitimize and validate their
respective modernizations. Such strategy proved to be effective and made an impression
on numerous critics and musicologists, as well as performers and peer composers,
initiating the discourse about the future of music language and the direction of its
developmentallbuiltonthepremiseofselfpropelledevolutionofmusicstructures.The
chief import of such philosophy was the notion of wrongness of the common sense:
somethingthatappearsasanormnow,willbecomeobsoleteasamatteroftime,andgive
way to a correct thing in future. As though science proves common sense to be
fundamentally wrong, and the composerinnovator is not making things up, but just
recognizes the evolutionary momentum and becomes the driving force in letting the
historyfulfill.
Eventuallytheevolutionaryprojectionstrategyhassucceededinconvincingthepublic
thatsomethingthatdoesnotappeartomakesensenowmightberegardedasusefuland
progressive in the future, justifying ultramodernistic art and rubbing it the point that
inabilitytoseethevalueofevolutionaryinnovationisthesignoflackofexpertiseinthe
course of evolution. Hence, arguing against the artistic innovations testifies of ignorance
and historic shortsightedness. This overturn of consensus was set in place somewhat by
the1920s.Notmuchhaschangedsincethattimethebeliefinprogressmaybeout,but
the word progressive is still understood as a viable and positive term. The opposite of
progressiveconservativealsohasretaineditsnegativeconnotationinrelationtoart
intheworldoftoday.AsRichardTaruskinputit:thecentralmythinmusicologyoftodayis
stilltomarrythePermanentRevolutiontotheGreatTradition.7
Suchmarriagehasattractedmanycomposersoftheavantgardelineageaswell,from
Arnold Schoenberg to Tristan Murail. The paradoxical combination of revolutionary
attitudeandevolutionaryclaimsseemtopeacefullycoexistinthemindofanavantgarde

6Allen,WarrenDwight(1962)PhilosophiesofMusicHistory:AStudyofGeneralHistories
ofMusic,16001960.DoverPublications,NewYorkp.104117.
7Taruskin,Richard(2009)TheDangerofMusicandOtherAntiUtopianEssays.
UniversityofCaliforniaPress,LosAngeles,California,p.364.

artistwithouthimrealizingtheircontradiction.Anartistneedstojustifyhisrevolutionary
mission by the evolutionary development of the music structures as though those
structures have life of their own, and he is just permitting them to be the way they are
eager to come into being. Hence, the flavor of scientific objectivity combined with
revolutionaryphraseology.Thedesperateneedinoriginalitybyallcostsisstillatheartof
thisperplexedartisticposition.Theneedinhistoriclineageissecondary,supportive,tothis
originalityquestthatdefinestheverynotionofavantgardeartingeneral.8
ThegreatestmythoftheavantgardemovementisthestoryofStravinskysTheRiteof
Spring, conceived in attempt to revolutionize music language and fulfilling this goal by
establishing new type of discourse. This ballet became instantly famous in 1913 for the
scandalithasproducedatitspremiereandtheabnormaldegreeofinnovationitinjectedat
once,inasinglework,comparingtoeverythingthathasbeenpublicallyperformedbefore
it.Thiswasnottheintroductionofanewidiom,anewsubjectorevenanewtopicitwas
offeringofanewlanguagethelanguagethatwasnotconceivedcompletelyfromscratch
(itutilizedelementsknownfrombefore),butneverthelessnewinitsgrammarandmany
"invented"elements.Theworkwas"experimental"indirectsense:itwasatrialanderror
onpartofStravinskytoputforwardsuchanopus.Theworkwentfarbeyondthepointof
lapseofevolutionhownaturallanguagesusuallyprogressandsteppedintotheareaof
revolution,aforcefultakeoverbyaninventorpushingforhisinvention.Thependulumof
historyswungonewayduringthepremiere,devastatingStravinsky,butpromptlywentthe
other direction at the next performance, just a year later, this time in a concert hall, by
PierreMonteauxscoringbigsuccess.
Stravinsky played it amazingly right, and on top of everything certainly got lucky.
Marketing was a big part of the win. First of all, Diagilev, the genius producer did
everything to ignite the scandal at the premiere. Second, Stravinsky calculated well and
timely to switch from the medium of ballet, where he was subordinate to the
choreographer to the concert program music, where he was the sole winner. In this
transition Stravinsky spouted his genealogical theories, as well as retroactively invented
the conceptual meaning for his work, and exaggerated the degree of its originality (he
claimedtohaveonlyonefolkquotation,whereasinfacttherewerenine).9
Somehowthingsfellrightinplace,andthemusichasgeneratedanenormousresonance.
Hisworkindeedlaidthefoundationforanewlanguageofexpressionadoptedbyhundreds
of composers. This language turned out to be quite effective in communication and
thereforehasstayedfunctionaloverthetimepassed:idiomsof"TheRiteofSpring"arestill
inuseinthepracticeofmusicmaking,andcompositionswritteninsuchmannerarestill

8Krauss,Rosalind(1986)TheOriginalityoftheAvantGardeandOtherModernistMyths,
MITPress,Cambridge,Mass.,p.157.
9Taruskin,Richard(2009)TheDangerofMusicandOtherAntiUtopianEssays.
UniversityofCaliforniaPress,LosAngeles,California,p.421422.

performed worldwide. It would not be a big stretch to say that 20th century Western
musicalculturehasbeencreatedintheimageofStravinsky.10
ButspreadofStravinskianidiomswasnottheonlyhistoricoutcomefromTheRiteof
Spring. It proved to be pivotal in generating a new social trend in the profession of a
composersomethingthatTaruskinwittilycalled"rushtothepatentofficemodernism".
Inspired by Stravinsky's triumph, composers started following his path, trying hard to
invent something new, something that can be presented as though it emancipates the
creativity,somethingshockingenoughtogenerateascandalandthensupportthemusic
withsomekindoftheorythatwouldmakeitlookimportanttothecontemporaries.11
HenryCowellinventedtheclustermusictobeperformedonpianowithfists,forearms
andpalms.JulinCarrillocameupwiththeworld'sfirstmicrotonalcompositioninquarter,
eighth and sixteenthtones for unconventional instruments and specially trained voices.
GeorgeAntheildevelopedtheideaofalongcompositionthatwouldbelimitedtoonlyloud
soundsproducedbythebandofpercussiveinstrumentsandnoisemechanisms.Itdidnot
takelongbeforeinnovationbecamearequisitefornewcompositions.Andthesituation
hasnotreallychanged.Inthe21stcenturyEinojuhaniRautavaaraisstillearningpointsby
producing the music with bilateral keyboard symmetry (with innovative graphic
notation)forasymmetricalyearof2002.12
The Western composers who kept writing using traditional tonal idioms, like
Rachmaninov,Medtner,R.Strauss,werestigmatizedbyWesterncriticsasretrograde.Thus,
one of the best Rachmaninovs works, Symphonic Dances, was pinned by the New York
critics for sounding long and derivative, being "a rehash of old tricks". Rhapsody on a
ThemeofPaganiniwas"notphilosophical,significantorevenartistic","it'ssomethingfor
audiences".Muchofcriticismhadtodonotwiththeworkperse,butwithitstonalbase,
viewed as having nothing more to say in a world where the art had demonstrably
progressed,andoriginalityandinnovationcametomeaneverything.13
Even worse was situation for those composers who had not established a big name
before the 1930s. Negative connotations of tonal music in conservatories and in media
were one of prime motives for creation of famous 20th century hoaxes by talented
musicians:HenriandMariusCasadesus,orMikhailGoldstein.
Nothing was hit as hard in compositional practices of the 20th century as metric
organization.Justasthecomposersofthefirsthalfofthecenturywereallconcernedabout

10ibidp.420.
11Taruskin,Richard(2009)MusicintheEarlyTwentiethCentury:TheOxfordHistoryof
WesternMusic,OxfordUniversityPress,NewYork,p.193195.
12Paul,Brandon(2008)BilateralKeyboardSymmetryintheMusicofEinojuhani
Rautavaara.TheOhioStateOnlineMusicJournal,Volume1,Number2.
13Franklin,Peter(2000)Modernism,Deception,andMusicalOthers:LosAngelescirca
1940.In:WesternMusicanditsOthers,ed.G.Born&D.Hesmondhalgh,Universityof
CaliforniaPress,Berkeley,p.143162.

the motoric effect of their music, the composers after the 2nd World War allied to fight
meter with rhythm. The conviction that traditional metric organization is primitive and
rigid,andthatithasforsomereasonbeenneglectedbypreviouscomposers,andtherefore
needsmodernization.
Throughoutthe19thcenturycomposershaveprogressivelydevelopedthedichotomyof
rhythmic content versus metric form. Romantic composers like Schumann, Chopin and
Brahms made use of metric dissonance, when the rhythmic figures accumulated their
violation of the metric pulse followed by metric resolution, when the phrases coincided
with the meter. The genesis of atonal music brought in further expansion of rhythmic
factor,provingtheontologicalconnectionbetweenthetonalityandthemeter.Ingeneral,
allformsofatonalmusicarecharacterizedbyweakmetricperiodicity.Thetransitionfrom
tonalitytoatonalitycorrespondswiththenumberofcomposersabandoningthebarlinein
their compositions: Eric Satie, Arthur Lourie, Hugo Kauder, Olivier Messiaen. Even when
the atonal compositions maintain the regular time signature, often the metric pulse is
purelynominal,hardlyevidentthroughauditionofmusic.
Starting from Webern avantgarde composers strove for complete segregation from
meter,makingsurethattherhythmiccontentiscompletelyfreefromanytraceofametric
structure. In order to secure complete unrepeatedness of rhythmic content, a number of
composers during the 1950's have come up with systems of serialization of rhythm,
explicitly stating that metric divisions are retained in their scores purely for the
convenience of synchronization of parts. Stockhausen, Boulez and Nono were unhappy
with even that meager periodicity that was left in their serial opuses due to the integer
valuesoftwelveusuallyrhythmicperiodsof78,comprisedfromthesumofallrhythmic
valuesfrom1to12.Thesecomposersfoundsuchperiodicityresemblingthe6/8pulseand
wentoutoftheirwayexcoriatingthe"evil"78periodsbymeansofextrarhythmicrowsor
subdivisionofrhythminto"phases"or"formants"inStockhausen'smusic.14
Oneofthemostinfluentialexamplesofsuchtimingreform,thathasbeenservingasa
model for more recent compositional techniques, gave Kalheinz Stockhausen. Like many
other postmodernistic composers, almost right from the beginning of his career, he has
denounced all traditional idioms that have existed before 1920s, including not only
classical, but all other natural forms of music (folk, popular, etc.). Instead he strived to
generatehisownrulesforputtingsoundstogether.FollowingthestepsofSchoenberg,he
startedoffbyinventinganovelconcept.
In1957hecomesupwiththeobservationthatpitchanddurationcanbeconsideredas
manifestation of the same phenomenon on the microtonal level since the period in
rhythmcanbeequaltotheperiodinfrequency(atabout1/16sec).Asoundeventisheard
asapitchifitoccursataratefasterthan16cyclespersecond,butturnsintoadurationata

14Schnittke,Alfred(2004)TheWorksonMusic[StatyioMuzyke],ed.IvashkinA.,
Kompozitor,Moscow,p.7071

slower rate. From that Stockhausen forms the idea of matching the pitch and duration in
thetonestobuildthecomposition.15
His presentation makes hasty and unclear impression: goals are not stated at the
beginningofdiscussion,argumentpointisconstantlyshifting,thediscourseisoverlylong.
The standard acoustic terminology is mixed up in both, original German and English
translation:theterm"phase"isusedinsteadof"period","formant"insteadof"harmonic",
and "filed" instead of "band". Peculiarly enough, Stockhausen did not correct his
terminologyinthesecondedition,butplacedastatementacknowledginghisinadherence
tothestandard.Thisisyetanotherdemonstrationofhisdisinterestincommunicationto
theenduserofhiscreation.
The point of presentation is by no means new: Ezra Pound and Henry Cowell have
discusseditabout30yearsearlier.However,whatisnewinStockhausen'stextistheidea
of correcting the musical notation for inequality of representation of time and pitch. He
seeks a method of organization where tones would be notated by reflection of the
increments of the 12element scales simultaneously in pitch and duration. Most of the
article is dedicated to the problems in such a notation, occasionally skipping to the
discussionofvariabilityoftimingintheperformancepractice.16
Theideaoforganicunityoftimeandpitchfallsonthegroundofsomehighlyspeculative
philosophicaltheorybyViktorvonWeizscker(18861957),aphysiologistwhousedthe
Gestaltpsychologyinattempttototheoreticallydefinetheunitofperception.Thepartof
histheoryrelatedtoexplanationofthebiologicaleventsasresultsofpreviousexperience,
constantly repatterned, rather than fixed responses to stimuli must have attracted
attention of Stockhausen (as he himself later admitted). Stockhausens import from
Weizsckeristhemotto"timeisinthings,andthingsarenotintime"interpretedasthat
eachlivingobjecthasitsowntimewithprojectiononmusicstructures,holdingthateach
sound calls for its own time. "Uniform time is only an abstract thing that can exist for
traffic,fortrainsandairplanes",butnotinmusic."Thetimehasbecomecompletelyrelative
dependingonthematerialthatyouuse",andbreakingthroughtheroutineoftime"would
make"thingsrevealtheirmystery".17
Withsuchideasinmind,withhisinventioninhands,Stockhausenheadsbackintothe
historic past (likely, following Schoenbergs path). However, Schoenberg was sensitive to
thesemioticsoftheoldgrammarandneverreallypushedforhisdodecaphonicprinciples
toapplytotheoldmusicforinstance,regardingthelastfuguefromtheWellTempered
KlavierasamereindicationofBachsinteresttothe12tonesasaparticularentity.
UnlikeSchoenberg,Stockhausenretroactivelypusheshisownideaalltheway:heclaims
that Mozart had applied the numeric proportion of the tonicdominant (3:2) and tonic
subdominant(2:3)progressionstothemetricandrhythmicorganizationinhiscadences,

15StockhausenK.(1957)howtimepasses,DieReihe,1957,No.3.p.1050.
16Roads,Curtis(2004)Microsound.TheMITPress,p.7274.
17Paul,David(1997)KarlheinzStockhausen.SecondsMagazine,No.44p.6473.

creating the combinations of two and three bar groups, as well as four bar phrases
alternating with the 6 bar phrases. The same principle is claimed to rule the changes of
dotted rhythms with the straight division, and switches from regular division to triplets.
Stockhausencoinstheconceptsof"metriccadence"and"rhythmiccadence",anddeclares
themequivalentswiththeharmoniccadence,generalizingfromthisametricsyncopation
law,accordingtowhichrhythmicandmetricirregularityversusregularityarethesameas
dissonance versus consonance in the music grammar. Regularirregular succession is the
beginning of the cadence, whereas irregularregular succession is the conclusion of the
cadence.18
WiththehistoricauthorityinhispocketStockhausenfeelscomfortabletoadvancetothe
general claim of the "unified time" that embodies main perceptual categories of color,
harmony, melody, meter, rhythm, dynamics and form. Again much of the composer's
attentiongoesinthetechnicalitiesofdivisionofsuchtimeinordertobringallproperties
ofthesoundunderasinglecontrol.Inapivotalarticle"Theconceptofunityinelectronic
music"allthediscoursegoesaboutthetechnicalmattersandthereisnoevenastatement
ofhowsuch"unifiedtime"ishelpfulforthelistenertoreceivethemessageinthemusic.19
In fact, Stockhausen is completely disinterested in communication with any audience,
apparently not envisaging even an ideal listener during his creative process. Moreover,
the very issue of perceptibility of his innovative structures is out of the table in his
considerationsforcomposition.Paradoxicallyforanadherentofthephysiologicaltheorist,
Weizscker, Stockhausen is explicit in his statements that perception does not need any
consideration,sinceitisinfinitelyadjustable.Hedisregardstheuniversalnotions,suchas
"just noticeable difference" in pitch intervals. He holds that there are no absolute limits,
and one is always able to change one's perceptional limits by exercise. Stockhausen is
aware of his disagreement with the cognitive sciences, but dismisses the scientific data.
Thus,hestatesthatheusespitchintervalssmallerthanthePythagoreancomma,whichis
normallynotconsideredtobeperceivable,buthefindsitnottrueatallyoucancertainly
perceiveit.20
Stockhausenseesthepurposeofnewmusicnottofollowtheperception,buttochange
it, to help people enlarge their consciousness. He seems to sincerely believe that
inventingnewformsoforganizationsomehowwillinfluencethelistener,perhapsinthe
manner of music therapy. This attitude must be responsible for ignoring the matters of
communication altogether and zooming into the technicalities of structuring: developing
special scales of points, groups, moments for sound parameters and methods for
aligningthem(formulas)intotheprocessplanpieces(likePlusMinus).Resolvingthe
problemsofwhethertocrystallizeparametersintoelements,ortocrystallizeelementsinto

18StockhausenK.(1961)KadenzrhythmikderMozart.DarmstdterBeitragezurneuen
Musik.Darmstadt,1961,band4,p.3872.
19StockhausenK.,Barkin,E.(1962)Theconceptofunityinelectronicmusic,Perspectives
ofnewmusic,Autumn,1962,v.1No.1.,p.3948.
20Cott,Jonathan(1974)Stockhausen:ConversationswiththeComposer.London:Pan
Books,p.89.

formula,becomeasortofaritualtothecomposer,akintheproceduresofpreparationof
raw material to an alchemist. The satisfaction from inferring the formula that is a mini
composition of all possible musical aspects, reflecting the image of galaxy, with nuclear
tonesandaccessoriessurroundingthemlikestarsandplanetsmustbetheendgoalofthe
entire process of composition, completely devoid of the matter whether such attitude is
indeedexpressedandperceivedbythelistener.21
Taking rhythm matrices, reordering them by number matrices, then combining them
togethertoformtheseparatecolumnsofaFinalRhythmMatrixconsistingofsixcolumns
andsixrows,afterwardschoosing19ofthe36blocksandfinallyderivingthepitchcontent
out of the initial rhythm all of this procedure is remarkably close to the idea of making
goldoutofmercury.22
However,evenifthecomposerbelievesinmagic,thatdoesnotmakehismusicmagic.
ThetruthisthattheentirecreativeoutputofStockhausenisbuiltaroundtheabstractidea
thatistakenaprioriandstrictlyreinforcedonthematerialofmusicaltoneswithoutany
justificationsorconsiderationsforthelisteners.Therealpurposeofthecompositionhere
isnotconveyinginformationtothelisteners,butselfsatisfactionofthecomposerasfrom
accomplishing a challenging intellectual puzzle. The satisfaction from having the entire
pieceastheonetimespectrumofasinglefundamentaldurationagenuine(accordingto
Stockhausen) tonality is a completely egotistic sensation by no means shared by the
listenersorperformers.23
They can believe that they realize some concept through Stockhausens music, but the
makeup of this music is such that nothing can really being conveyed through it. Non
communicative techniques all are similar in setting a makebelief condition for the
consumption of the music, which often produces a religious connotation. There are
numerous works composed in noncommunicative techniques with religious or mystic
titles suggesting some kind of a bliss like Stockhausens Mantra (1970). In fact, the title
like that in combination with the chaotically complex sound and the conceptual meaning
verbalized by the composer to accompany the publication of the score, and/or big
emphasisontheorganizationofthetechniqueinthatpieceallarepointersthatthemusic
belongstothecategoryofnoncommunicative.
Serial technique is not the only one that can be systemically incomprehensible. For
instance, John Cages music has a completely different sound and organization from
Stockhausens,yetitisasnoncommunicativebyitsdesign.Cageisalotmoreopenabout
itthanStockhausen.Inhisdescriptionofhisprocessofcompositionheclaimstofollowthe
methodestablishedintheIChing,whichaccordingtohimconsistsofthrowingthreecoins

21Coenen,Alcedo(1994)Stockhausen'sparadigm:Asurveyofhistheories.Perspectives
ofnewmusic,32(2)p.200225.
22Truelove,Stephen(1998)TheTranslationofRhythmintoPitchinStockhausen's
KlavierstckXI.PerspectivesofNewMusic,Vol.36,No.1(Winter,1998),pp.189220.
23Cott,Jonathan(1974)Stockhausen:ConversationswiththeComposer.London:Pan
Books,p.76.

to decide every aspect of the music structure. He goes at length to explain which
combinationsofsidesofthecoinsresultinwhichhexagrams,andhowtoderivefromthem
thevaluesforeachaspectoftheperformance,diligentlyscatteringtheinstructionwiththe
Chinese terms. At the end he states that this is a way to make a musical composition the
continuityofwhichisfreeofindividualtasteandmemoryandalsoofthetraditionsof
theart.Thesoundscenterwithinthemselves,unimpededbyservicetoanyabstraction.
Thiscompositionisnottobejudged.Itisabsolutelyperfect:amistakeisbesidethepoint,
becauseanythingthathappensduringtheperformanceisjustifiedbythecomposer.24
We can observe here patterns similar to Stockhausens method of time unity. In the
samewaythecomposerarbitrarilydecidestopickanabstractprincipleandsystematically
apply it to the organization of music tones in place of traditional means of organization.
Cage completely cuts off with the history of music before him, following De Koonings
mottoThepastdoesnotinfluenceme;Iinfluenceit.Cagethinksthatneitheranystudyof
the past music nor performance is necessary. For him the history of music starts with
experimentalmusicandisboundtooriginalityandinventiveness.25
Because of his nihilistic orientation, Cage is not seeking any historic roots for his
technique in classical music. Instead of music history he goes to the history of religion,
usingthescrapsofinformationthathaveholystatus:fromI-Ching (BookofChanges,a
mythological cosmogonic document of about 20th century B.C.) to anecdotes about Chan
Buddhistmonks(MiddleAgesChina).WhatmatterstoCageisthatsuchreligioussystems
are exotic to the Western audience, hard to grasp and as in case with Buddhism
disregardrealitythewayitappearsasfalse.ThisopensCageshandstoexperimentwith
absurdmethodsofmusicalorganizationasthoughbydoingthathecallsourattentionto
falsehoodofourvalues.Thetruthofthematteristhatafterreadingthemainmonuments
of Chinese ancient philosophy of Buddhist orientation, it will become clear that: a) the
adherents of these teachings did practice traditional music and fine art according to the
conventional norms; b) their realization of falsehood of the sensible world did not lead
themtoridiculeit;c)theydidnotmakeanyprofitonpreachingtheirbeliefsandconducted
amonasticlifestyle.
Cages Buddhist insights into compositional organization have little to do with the
content of Tripitaka, Abhidharma and sutras; his ideas only follow some superficial
similaritywiththeanecdotesabouttheBuddhistmasters.Inreality,CagesBuddhism,like
Stockhausens absolute time, are just forms of marketing more specifically, branding.
Themainpurposeofthesetechniquesistomarkcompositionsasdistinctfromthosebythe
other composers. The rest of it is fiction that can vary from one noncommunicative
techniquetoanotherone.Thefunctionofanormal,traditional,techniqueistofacilitate
communicationofinformation.Thisfunctionisresponsibleforshapingatechnique.When
thetypeofinformationtobetransmittedchanges,thetechniquebecomestransformedand
eventuallycanbereplacedaltogetherbysomenewtechniquehowithappenedwiththe

24Cage,John(1961)Silence:LecturesandWritings,WesleyanUniversityPress,Hanover
NHp.5759.
25ibidp.6775.

general bass replacing strict polyphony. Schoenbergs dodecaphony also falls within this
naturally driven, functional, techniques, since its rules have been gradually defined from
thepracticeofconveyinganantagonistconflictualcontentviathemusicstructures.
However,theapproachexemplifiedinStockhausensworksbecamethemodelformost
posttonal developments. The overall image of Darmstadt school was shaped after the
radical lines of Stockhausen, Boulez and Nono. Nonserial music occasionally performed
andevenproducedatDarmstadtdidnothaveimpactoverserialorientationthatremained
at the forefront of Darmstadts reputation of the avantgarde leading force in the world,
holding serialism as the highest achievement of the European avantgarde. The message
fromDarmstadthasbeenthatofrebellionagainstthetraditionalnorms,aestheticcontrol
and political power no matter what stylistic modification took place at times of the
triumvirate by Nono, Boulez and Stockhausen (19561961), Boulez directorship (1962
65),Stockhausensdomination(19661974)orafterhisleave.Thephenotypeoftechnique
anditstreatmentforthemodernavantgardehasbeensetinthe1950s.26
Postmodernistictechniques,beitCagesorStockhausens,differfromoldertechniques,
including modernistic (of the 192040s), by being anticommunicative. Schoenberg
designedhisworkssothatthemusicalstructuresinthecompositionwouldfollowacertain
dramatic plot in presenting a particular character, image, mood or attitude. But this is
exactly what many postwar composers did not want to do noticed by their own
colleagues.Thus,LucianoBeriocomplainsthattheimageofacosmopolitancomposer,busy
with the conveyerproduction of sophisticated makeups becomes a commonplace. Never
beforeacomposerhasbeenasclosetobecomethealienfigurewithinasocietyhelivesin.
Berio blames it on the composers practice of designing new perceptual methods for the
listener.Moderncomposerstendtozoomintotechnicalmanipulationsoftonesandforget
that these tones are symbols of reality. Such composers can provide exhausting
descriptive analysis of their creations and are helpless in grasping the meaning of the
music.Thismakestheoriesoftheirtechniqueuselessforcreationofmusic.27
WitoldLutoslawskicomplainsaboutabsenceofanyfabulainmajorityofworksstarting
fromthe1960'sandon.Insteadthecomposersmontagepreconceivedstructures.Theydo
not imagine how their work unveils itself in sound, and as a result loose the purport of
theirworkdonotseetheforestforthetreesintheirmusicstructures.Modernmusic,asa
rule, does not consider the issue of perception. Not everything fixable in the score is
perceptible.Noneofgreatcomposersofthepasthaveignoredtheperception.Theyplayed
their music while composing and adjusted the structures according to their perception.
Theylivedthroughtheirmusic.Itwasunthinkableforthemtocomposebystitchingsome

26Attinello,Paul(2007)PostmodernorModern:ADifferentApproachtoDarmstadt.
ContemporaryMusicReview,Vol.26No.1,p.2537.
27Berio,Luciano(1968)Thecomposeronhiswork:meditationonatwelvetonehorse,
ChristianScienceMonitor,15July1968,p.8.

abstract fragments together on paper. No wonder that the works generated by such
stitchingsoundstatic,boringandleavethelisteneruntouched.28
Whenthecommunicativefunctionisabandoned,andthecomposerdoesnotdesignhis
musictotalktothelistener,thestructuresofamusicworktendtobecomegovernedbythe
marketinglaws.Thecomposerintuitivelystartslookingforapatternoforganizationthat
would make him be noticed not necessarily through audition, but through concomitant
factors as well: the title of the piece, its instruments, the artistic manifesto etc. He keeps
adjustinghisproductlineuntilbytrialhefindsoutwhatimageworksbestforgeneration
ofcriticalinterest.Thenhestartsraisingthebrandawarenessofhisproduct.Ifthebrand
recall falls, he reconfigures the brand elements and launches an update a new
development in his technique. The careers of Cage and Stockhausen very comfortably fit
thismodelofbranding.
HansWernerHenzewriteshowoppressivewastheDarmstadtSchoolinrelationtothe
young composers employing any traditional structures in their music. Boulez and
StockhausendidnottolerateanythingbuticonicpostWebernianavantgarde,ignoringthe
booingaudiencesatthenightconcerts.Henzepicksonthenoncommunicativecharacterof
themusicpropagatedatDarmstadtandattributesittothefashioninupperclasssocietyof
thatday.Healsonoticesthereligiousmysticflavorofthemodelworksappreciatedatthe
school and the aversion to the very idea of simple, concrete and comprehensible
communicationbetweenthemusicandthelisteners.29
The formalistic and selfpromoting flavor of noncommunicative compositions
apparentlydidnotpassunnoticedevenbytheavidsupportersofavantgarde.LuigiNono
created a havoc in 1959 with his lecture Historical Presence in Music Today. Nono
accused his colleagues of hiding from real life, with its social and cultural issues, into an
ivory tower of futureoriented abstraction. Indeed, the composers of modernistic
generation, like Prokofiev or Stravinsky, measured themselves against the composers of
the past both, while composing a work and in evaluation of its public success. Post
modernistic composers found a more convenient way just to dismiss the successful
predecessorsasanachronist.
At the center of Nonos attack was John Cage, whose chanceoriented compositional
methods earlier have caused a sensation at Darmstadt and influenced Stockhausen and
Boulez.Nonolabeledchancetakingas"morallyflawed",Cage'sideaof"freeingofsounds"
as "spiritual suicide", and concentration on technicalities as betrayal of the composer's
duty to influence the society. Nono warned his fellow composers of the dangers of
succumbingtoanultimatelynihilistictemptationintheirblindrejectionofthecriticalrole
ofhistory.

28NikolskayaI.(1988)WitoldLutoslawskionhimself,onhisworksandontraditions;
InterviewXX[W.L.osebe,otvorchestve,otraditsiyah.IntervyuXX]SovietMusicMagazine,
1988No.9p.103112.
29Henze,HansWerner(1982)MusicandPolitics:CollectedWritings,19531981.
TranslatedbyPeterLabanyi.Ithaca:CornellUniversityPresspp.155,p.50.

Here Nono was defending Schoenberg's legacy, bound to it by his aesthetic and ethic
values, as well as personal attachment (his first opus, that decided on his compositional
career, was variations on a Schoenberg's theme, also Nono was married to Schoenberg's
daughter Nuria). "Sounds have history", Nono pointed, "Sounds carry with them the
trace"ofthecontextinwhichtheyhadbeenproduced.The"evangelical"aspirationsofthe
Darmstadtcomposerstoposeasa"messiah"inestablishinganew"new",fromscratch,era
was mere utopia. The comfortable sensation of being the means and the end in their
compositions was a remedy for a disaster where "anything goes". "Music will always
remain a historical presence, a witness to those who consciously confront the historical
movement",wasNonosconclusion.Newstructuresshouldbebornfromahistoricneed
andnotfromthecomposer'swhim.30
Noteworthy are the confessions by Edison Denisov, another avid participant of the
DarmstadtSchoolfromthe1950s,aclosefriendofNono,BoulezandXenakis.Thereisnot
asingleoutdatedtechnique,itisonlytheaestheticsthatbecomesoutdated.Notechnique
should be dismissed as "outdated" it always can turn out to be not only useful, but
essential.Ifanytechniqueeverdies,thishappensallbyitselfandnotasaresultofpublic
obstruction. If you want to find your own way, before anything you must master every
technique that has existed before you even those ones that are considered dead for
instance,strictpolyphonyorevenearlier.Beforeyoutryoutatleastacoupleofworksin
suchatechnique,itisimpossibletotellwhetheryouneeditornot.Everythingshouldbe
realizednottheoretically,butthroughpractice,"frominside".31
These conclusions should be understood as a purport of long investigation of the
standingprinciplesofavantgarde.WhenDenisovwritesinhisnotebooksthathemoreand
more withdraws from using serialism, that he sees series as a background device,
unnecessaryandevenharmfulformelodiccontentwheretheseriesislikelytointroduce
unnaturalness and scholasticism this is the outcome of his experience of following the
rulesofanoncommunicativetechnique.32
ItistheclashbetweenthegrammaticalformsandtheartisticaspirationsleadsDenisov
to conclude that most modernistic compositions elaborate on dull empty melodic
intonations, and for many composers intonation as a category does not exist at all.
Microstructureshaveenlivenedmusic,butmadethetexturesofracturedthatitcrumbles
intomicrospecs.Decorativedodecaphonic"dust"masksallthemelody.Andthisisagreat
loss. There is a strong need in melodic line of long span, capable of consolidating the

30Nono,Luigi(1999)HistoricalPresenceinMusicToday.Trans.BryanR.Simms.In:
Composersonmodernmusicalculture:ananthologyofreadingsontwentiethcentury
music,SchirmerBooks,NewYork,p.168174.
31Composersonmoderncomposition.Anthology.(2009)[Kompozitoryosovremennoi
kompozitsii.Hrestomatiya]ed.KiuregianT.S.,TzenovaV.S.,MoskovskayaKonservatoriya,
Moscowp.278.
32ibid.p.279.

texture for a music form to shape out. One of the biggest defects of modernistic music is
ignoranceofmelodicintonation.33
Denisovblamesthebreakwithtraditionforthedegradationintheexpressivecapacity
ofnewmusic.Itmustbehardforhimtostepoverhisownvenuesbackinthe1960'sand
1970's,buthehascouragetofacethefacts.Heacknowledgesthattheinnovativenessofthe
1950's was artificial, a form of a "shock therapy" in attempt to bring the aging body of
modernism back to life. And indeed after the serialism was quickly exhausted and
abandoned, the best representatives of avantgarde have turned back to the national and
Europeantraditions.Denisovbelievesthat"neoromanticism"andminimalismareempty
and"capitulatory"movements,notreally"dangerous"totheprogressofconceptualmusic
becausetheyare"weakandaccidental"butveryharmfulforthetradition,sincetheyboth
fakeitwith"pseudotradition".34
BytheendofhiscareerDenisovhascometorealizethattheartificialgrammarsofnew
music are inferior to the traditional grammar, and attempts to replace these artificial
grammars with newer grammars, that are artificial in some other ways are futile. The
mosteffectivewayforthecomposertowriteexpressivemusicisbyrestoringthemodus
operandi of the modernistic era of the beginning of the 20th century: to skew the
proportionofnoveltyandutilizethebulkofthetraditionalgrammarwithasthebasefor
someinnovativetreatmentnottocompletelyreplacetheoldgrammarwiththenewone.
Paradoxically,endofserialisticdominanceinthe1970sdidnotleadtointroductionof
new communicative techniques. Being realistic apparently is very hard for a modern
conceptual composer. In 1993 Ligeti still was finding the ties of postmodernistic
technicalitystiffening:"Iaminaprison:onewallistheavantgarde,theotherwallisthe
past,andIwanttoescape."Herecalledhowbecominganavantgardeartistfeltlikebeing
acceptedinaprestigiousclubwithstrictrules:"tonalityout",melodiestabooed,together
with the periodic rhythms. Then, after Darmstadt was over, "everything is allowed", but
"one cannot simply go back to tonality". There must be a way of "neither going back nor
continuingtheavantgarde".35
EvenmoreconflictingfeelsthecolleagueofDenisovintheMoscowavantgardegroupof
the 1970s, Sofia Gubaidullina. She admits that she looks at the 18th and 19th century
compositions"withenvy".Theirformsaresonaturalandeffectivethatamoderncomposer
hasnothingleftbutenvy.Whycannotamoderncomposerutilizetheseformsiftheyareso

33ibid.p.283.
34ibid.p.284.
35Ross,Alex(2008)TheRestIsNoise:ListeningtotheTwentiethCentury,Farrar,Straus
andGiroux,NewYork,p.506.

good?Gubaidullinaissetontheconclusionthat"theresourcesofclassicalformarealready
exhausted",thisis"apassedhistoricstage",and"weliveindifferenttime".36
But the music grammar is not an oil field. How can it be exhausted? And nobody
segregatestimeintoparcelslikehowitisdoneinzoning.Idiomsofmusicareveryclosein
their function to the idioms of speech. When we speak, we do not discard this word
becauseitdatestothe16thcentury,andpreferthatword,becauseithasbeenintroduced
in the 20th century. In fact, any normal speaker ignores the words dating as long as the
wordssuittheintentiontoexpress.Evenusinganarchaicworddoesnotrendertheentire
sentencearchaic.Thecontexthaswonderfulcapacitytoreconfigurethesemanticsofany
singleunit.Andmusicisevenmorecontextualthanlanguage.
Itispossibletotakehistoricmusicalidiomsandconfiguretheminawaytotogiverise
to a coherent integrated form that does not sound anachronic. The impression of
anachronismusuallycomesnotfromformbutfromcontent.Aslongastheolderstructures
aremixedwiththemoremodernones,andthereisatimelyandtopicalpointtomake,the
workisnotgoingtoshockanybodyasbeingunrelatedtomodernreality.Atestimonyfor
thatisDenisovsreconstructionofSchubertsunfinishedLazarus.TheSchubertswritingis
cutrightinthemiddleofanaria.ItisveryhardtopickthemomentwhenSchubertsmusic
finishes, and Denisovs music starts although Denisov did not follow any Schuberts
sketches.HesimplymadethemusicupnotevenimitatingtheSchubertsstyle.Theidioms
DenisovusedincludethetonalprogressionsthatcanbefoundinmusicofRichardStrauss
or Mahler. But somehow there is a strong sense of stylistic unity and coherence of
structure,withoutanyredflagspoppingouttoalarmofoutdatedness.37
Nikolai Korndorf is an example of a composer who has formed within the avantgarde
music, but by the 1980s became dissatisfied with the stiffness of its techniques and tried
out minimalism. After his Symphony No.3 (1989) he realized that the diatonic major and
metricrepetitivenessarelimitingthescopeofhisexpressionverymuchliketheserialor
aleatoric techniques. Get out! (1995) became the demonstration against boredom and
emptiness of minimalism, where the musicians act out consistent attempts to relief
themselvesfromrepetitionofthemusic,butbecomecaughtintotheendlesscanonuntil
oneafteranothertheyfalloff,andthelastmusiciantearsthescoreapart.
Korndorfstartedlookingforsomefusionofstylescapableofprovidingenoughcontrast
togenerateadramaticcontent.Asamusician,hewasmostlyinfluencedbyhisteacherin
conducting, Leo Ginzburg, an accomplished vitalist performer (according to Taruskins
classification). The instinct to communicate to the audience was ingrained in Korndorf,
himselfatalentedconductor(hewontheAllUnioncompetitionin1976),pushinghimto
expandintotheareasofoldorthodoxchant,historicstylesofclassicalmusicandhistrionic

36Composersonmoderncomposition.Anthology.(2009)[Kompozitoryosovremennoi
kompozitsii.Hrestomatiya]ed.KiuregianT.S.,TzenovaV.S.,MoskovskayaKonservatoriya,
Moscow,p.355.
37SchubertDenisov(1996)LazarusD689.BachCollegiumStuttgart,HelmuthRilling.
HansslerClassicsCDp.98111.

action.SymphonyNo.4Undergroundmusic(1996)reflectedthenewfusion:rock,Soviet
masssongs,folk,bardsong,gypsyromances,streetdrunksongs,chants,quotationsfrom
Haydn,Mozart,Beethoven,Mahler,Musorgsky,OrffandShostakovichnotasacollageor
parody,butasanintegrativeseriousartwork.38
The artistic development of Korndorf, most evident in his four symphonies, is
characteristic for a contemporary composer who has something to say to the audiences:
thereisnootherwaytoreachthelistenerbuttospeakconventionalmusicalidioms.There
is no way around it the challenge of the art of composition is still there, where
Shostakovich,BrittenandSibeliusleftitinwrappingthefamiliaridiomsinawaytoform
acoherentwhole,aestheticallyappealingtothelistener.
Itappearsthatcompetitiontoinventnewmusicstructures,launchedbyStravinsky,has
mergedwiththenoncommunicativecompositionaltechniquestobringtolifesomekindof
disease that strikes contemporary composers and makes it very difficult for them to
explicitlyexpresswhatevertheyhavetosay.Thereisamodernisticsyndromeinplace:
the irrational belief that reusing an expression that somebody has used longer than a
decade ago is necessarily bad and inacceptable that music has to be put together
accordingtosomecompletelyoriginalprinciples,andspeakinginanintelligibleway,upto
a point, clearly and casually, constitutes a debasement of art and encroachment on the
freedomofexpression.
Theysaythattheavantgardeisleftsofarbehindthatthedistancedoesnotallowany
moretosoundtheavantgardeway.Butnotmuchhaschanged.ComposerslikeKorndorf
arerare,whereascomposerslikeTristanMurailarealloverandheisquiteconsciousof
similarity of his compositional practices to those of high avantgarde of the 1950s. He
continues to search for innovative ideas and materials, both on a technical level and
aesthetically,tocreatenewsonic/musicalobjects.Murailadmitsthefaultofavantgarde
in emptying the concert halls, but thinks that cutting avantgarde off was a wrong
response:ifonlytheycouldwaitforalittlelongeruntiltheIRCAMcomposerswouldhave
developedthebetterarsenaloftoolsforgeneratingthespectralmusic!39
Murailseriouslybelievesthatitispossibletobuildnewmusicallanguagebasedonthe
studyoftimbreatIRCAM,andinitiateacoherentdiscourseinthisnewlanguage.Hegoes
at length into technical discussions of what constitutes an atom and an object of this
language, and gives only scarce considerations for the semantic aspect of this wouldbe
language.HeisastepaboveStockhausen,caringaboutperceptibilityofnewlanguage.But
he appears to be ignorant of the basics of semiotics, believing that a beautiful sound of
cello, with nice vibrato means just a beautiful cello sound with vibrato to the listener.
Murailthinksthatteachingthelistenertodissectthecontentsofasoundintoitsspectral
components all of which have their own lives would do the trick, and turn the

38Dubinec,Irina(2002)YabezuslovnooshushayusebiaRusskimkompozitorom:
Avtobiografiyasliricheskimiotstupleniyami[BeingaRussiancomposer:Anautobiography
withlyricalretreats]MuzykalnayaAkademiya[MusicalAcademy](2)p.5264.
39Murail,Tristan(2005)Afterthoughts.Contemporarymusicreview,24(23)p.269272.

experience of a listener into the discourse. Murail equates the spectral analysis with
semiosis: having the listener to derive the subclasses of the object class arpeggio in the
manner similar to a computer program segmenting the audio stream as a menu of
possible operations, i.e. broken arpeggio:, a unidirectional motion, or a zigzag path. He
refers to Debussy as an example of such syntax that presumably stands beyond the
thematic development, however providing good set of anchor points for the listeners
perception. Murail is excited about the possibility to bypass thematic organization and
formalmodels:ifwenowaddintheideaofprocesstransformationfromonetextureto
another or generation of objects whose characteristics vary progressivelywe obtain
someabsolutelyfascinatingresults.40
The only thing learned by Murail from avantgardes failure with the audiences is the
importanceofcommunication,whichisunderstoodinextremelynaiveforthe21stcentury
way: as an intention to call the listeners attention to certain auditory elements that are
perceptible by ear and can be logically united into a sequence of similar events. This is
thoughttosatisfythecriterionofsuccessfulconveyingamessagethemostthatMurail
coulddedicatetothematterofexplanationhowhisnewlanguageisgoingtoworkinallof
hispublishedpapers.Puttingacheckmarknexttosuchsketchydiscussion,heishappyto
jumptohisfavoritechewingintothenittygrittyofspectralstructures.Thisisthesame
situation as with Stockhausen in relation to his favorite timing, or Cage with his favorite
chance. The same obsession with making new language out of previously unexplored
materialsindisregardtothebasicsofcommunication.
Firstofall,DebussyisoneofthemostthoroughthematicdevelopersinWesternmusic,
on par with Beethoven. Digging virtually into any piece by Debussy will reveal his
meticulousattentiontothemotiveworkandthematiccontentofeachmotive.Itisarguable
that thematic arrangement of the motives constitutes the music form as a compositional
methodforDebussyandnotthinkingintermsofperiodsandsentences.Justabrieflook
intohisSyrinxshowstwothematicallycontrastingmotives,withthefirstofthem,primary
initsthematicimportance,receivingdevelopmentinbars4and5,givingrisetothenew
thematicmaterialattheendofthesentence,inbars68.
NotationExample:DebussySyrinx.
Debussy's method consists in defining one laconic, usually diatonic, motive as the
"nucleus" for a work (or its big section) and then inferring as many variants from this
motive, involving expansion and extrapolation, as possible, occasionally using secondary
motives for contrasting purposes. This economy of thought creates an impression of
concision, strong logical coherence and density of expression which make it easy to
recognize Debussy's music upon first hearing. Debussy builds music form by montage of
the small chunks of limited thematic material, avoiding recapitulations and preferring

40Murail,Tristan(2005)VilleneuvelsAvignonConferences,CentreAcanthes,911and
13July1992ContemporaryMusicReview,2005,Vol.24Issue2/3,p.187267.

variability to it, often with new thematic material added in conclusion of a piece or a
section.41
Debussysmusicindeedisanexcellentmodelfortheoriginaltechniquethatstayswithin
theframeworkofthetraditionalgrammar.Theonlyproblemisthatthelanguageproposed
byMurailhasnothingtodowithDebussy.Theprimarysourceofmeaninginmusicisthe
convention. But convention applies to the structural elements that are already in use,
recognized by a significant number of music users as a particular entity, and associated
withaparticularcharacter,image,attitudeoractionbyvirtueofsymbolicsimilarityofthe
soundtotheconnotedsemanticvalue.Thepuncturerhythmicfigureisknownasamusical
entitytousersofallkindsofmusic,andisassociatedwiththebouncymodeofactionand
brisk character, because jumping creates uneven pattern where the legs springing and
throwingthebodyuptakelongerthanlandingofthebody.Briskcharacterisapropertyof
someoneengagedinsuchaction.Andthepatternoftherhythmlongshortmatchesthe
pattern of the bouncy action. This is how listening to the puncture rhythm becomes
meaningful.
Listeningtothespectralswellofastrangesoundingsonancecannotbemeaningfulto
thelistenerfortheabsenceofanyconventionrelatedtosuchauditoryobject.Moreover,it
isnotgiventhatthelisteneractuallywillbeabletoregistersuchswellasadiscretesonic
unit. Stating that hearing spectral arpeggio and then classifying it as a broken arpeggio
constitutes making meaning is a demonstration of ignorance of the basics of semiotics.
Meaning is a piece of information attached to a particular reproducible physical
manifestationbypowerofconvention.Hearingthatarpeggioisbrokenconstitutesanalysis,
butnotsemiosis.Whereisthepieceofinformationassignedtothevirtueofbeingbroken?
Thisinformationoughttobephysicallyunrelatedtothebodyofthesign.Brokennesscan
not be the meaning of arpeggio, because it is a property of arpeggio. Brokenness of
arpeggiocanbeasignofdamagebyvirtueofassociationbetweenbreakingofsomething
thatleadstoitsdeterioration.However,forsuchconnectiontohappenitisnecessaryfor
thesoundofbrokenspectralarpeggio:1)tosoundindetrimentalway;2)tobeidentifiable
asadiscreteauditoryevent;3)tobesupportedbytheconventionamongstthemembersof
theaudience.
Murailomitsthediscussionofanyofthesethreeeminentconditionsforhislanguageto
work. Instead of carefully reviewing the lexicon of his language sign by sign, aspect by
aspect,hecheerfullydeclaresthatbeautifulvibratoofcelloshouldmeanbeautifulvibrato
of cello to the listener and proceeds to the technicalities of how spectral data can be
segmented.WhatthistellsisthatMurailonlywishestocommunicatetotheaudience,but
inrealityhasnothingtosay.Allhisideasconcernwhatkindofmaterialcanbeexposedto
the listener, and nothing from what he is saying in his papers concerns the content he
wantstoexpress.Moreover,justlikeStockhausenandotherhighavantgardists,Murail
doesnotunderstand,ordoesnotwanttounderstand,thatsoundcannotbethecontentof

41Denisov,Edison(1983)Modernmusicandtheproblemsofevolutionofthecomposer's
technique[Sovremennayamuzykaiproblemyevolutsiikompozitorskoitechniki]Sovetskii
Kompozitor,Moscowp.90111.

sound.Formcannotbecontentthereisareasonwhytherearetwowordsandnotone
andformandcontentarenotsynonyms.Contentisplacedintoformsothatthiscontent
would be readily available for the senses of the user. Form serves as the container for
contentwithoutthecontentitisemptyandmeaningless.
Sound structures that do not possess content are no different than phonetic poems in
pseudolanguages by Tristan Tzara. All they can express is the nihilistic attitude of the
author and lack of anything of importance to share with. All how they can impress the
audienceistosurpriseandentertainforawhile,afterwhichtheannoyancewillcome.The
onlywaytoavoidsuchimpressionistoconvincetheaudiencethatsuchreactionisbad,
andthereissomehiddenvalueinlisteningtosuchsoundstructures.Inordertosucceedin
such suggestion the author has to be supported by an entire institution of authorities. In
the past this support was provided by the public institutions for ideological reasons.
However,subsidizationhasseverelydamagedtheentirestateofaffairsinseriousWestern
music, that is why now the consensus is that egalitarian policies should be stopped. So,
whatappears,Murailagreeswiththisinwords,butinhisactionshestillcreatestheavant
gardeproductinhopethatsomeauthoritywillforcehiscreationonthepublic.Thereisno
other way: the listener will use music either because of convention or because of an
authority.SinceMuraildoesnothavesuchauthority,hehasusesomeoneelsesauthority.
Butdoesntthismakeshislanguageauthoritarian?
Murail treads along the footprints of Stockhausen: the same obsession with the
innovativetechnique,thesamelackofinterestinthemattersofperceptionandsemiosis,
thesamepseudoscientificimagingandassociationwithmodernityoftechnology(inthis
case,computermusicandIRCAMresearch).Eventhehistoricgenealogyisthere:spectral
music is hooked to Debussy in search for authority, and the row of composers are
reviewedinordertobedismissedforinadequacyoftheirapproaches,fromSchoenberg
toGlassandAdams,withScelsichosenastheprophettoclaimtheultimatetruenessof
thenewproposedtimbrallanguagelanguagewithoutmeaning,butthenexthotact.42
The noncommunicative model of musical language, formulated during the late 1940s,
keepsexistinglikePhoenixwitheachprogressiveismburningthepreviousoneallin
orderforthesameorganismtoresurrectfromtheashes.Theprincipaldifferencefromthe
legendarybird,though,isthattherebornorganismcomesoutdefectiveandlivesforfew
years rather a halfmillennium. Technically speaking, we should speak of postavant
garde to refer to this cultural phenomenon that keeps functioning after the dismissal of
serialism and aleatorics that are usually associated with avantgarde. The chain of
techniques,whereeachcomestodeposethepreviousoneforitsmostpronouncedsins
(rigidity of serialism, randomness of aleatroics, redundancy of minimalism), like domino
effect, descends from Schoenbergs dodecaphony. It is the principle of musical autonomy
elevated by Schoenberg to the status of law of music form that set the direction for
rejection of any external source of influence or factor of formal function. The audience
becamethegroupofpatientsinfectedwiththedangerousvirusofpopularmusicnotbe

42Murail,Tristan(2005)ScelsiandL'Itinraire:TheExplorationofSound.Contemporary
MusicReview,2005,Vol.24Issue2/3,p.181185.

consideredbutrathertreated.Popularmusicbecamethedevil.Musicalpastdied,but
was OK for public performance under the condition that modern works are paid their
share.
All other forms of music were put in quarantine: Western folk, nonWestern
traditional, ethnic or urban music, along with historic classical styles (which were OK to
play but not to compose) were all regarded as impure with various degrees of
contaminationwiththepopularvirus.Subsequently,thelexiconofavantgardeandpost
avantgarde was starved of conventional idioms, crippling the capacity of the talented
composerstoconveywhattheyhadtosaytotheaudiences.Specifically,tonalityandmeter
have been quarantined from times of Schoenbergs life to modern day. Whenever a
restricteduseoftonalityormeterwasallowed,asinminimalism,theresultingmusicwas
not organized along the lines of tonal or metric idioms, but in mere mimicry of them,
maintaining the compositional framework of Schoenbergian autonomy. Incorporation of
ethnic or historic models within the sterile formalistic framework, instead of fusing with
ethnicorhistoricprototypes,onlycreatesadistanceandtranscendsthem.43
That is why, no matter what ism inspired the author, the resultant work remains
historicallyandgeographicallyaberrantfromtheworldwelivein,appearingalientothe
audiences. Paradoxically, just as drawing from jazz, folk, exotic nonWestern music was
inspiringthemodernistsofthebeginningofthe20thcentury,themodernistsoftodayfeel
awkward exposing authentic musics in their works, and prefer to deconstruct these
exogenousmodelsandreassemblethemwithintheselfenclosedavantgardeframework.
Suchinjectionsarebelievedtobeallitneedstorevitalizethedysfunctionalavantgarde
body.44
Yet another paradox is that the early modernism put popular music forms into use to
shocktherespectableaudienceswithlowbrowagenda,provokescandalsandearnpoints
in social protest against the philistine culture. The postminimalist composers, like Louis
Andriessen,FredericRzewskiandtheirfollowers,embracerockandjazzcultureinattempt
toattractaudiences,testifyingtothefactthatrockandjazzhavehigherstatusinthepublic
eye than the avantgarde legacy. This in itself should be regarded as a proof of utmost
failure and transgression of principles: from Adornos and Schoenbergs repulsion of
popular culture to begging the popular audience to patronize serious music using the
cultural authority of the high art institutions (universities, concerthalls) to sanctify that
whichappearstobetheprofanity,accordingtotheirprinciples.45
Bargain with the devil is easier for the postavantgarde composer than speaking
traditional music language. Big part of this must have to do with the decline of the

43Born,Georgina(2000)Musicalmodernism,postmodernism,andothers.In:
IntroductiontoWesternmusicanditsothers.Ed.G.BornandD.Hesmondhalgh,University
ofCaliforniaPress,BerkeleyandLosAngeles,p.1220.
44ibid.
45Fink,Robert(1998)ElvisEverywhere:MusicologyandPopularMusicStudiesatthe
TwilightoftheCanon,AmericanMusic,Vol.16,No.2(Summer,1998),pp.135179.

craftsmanship in modern composers. Sixty years of fasting would break any organism.
Mostofthemodernistsofthe1920s,includingSchoenbergandStravinsky,couldproduce
musicofthemuseumquality.Theirchoiceofidiomswascompletelyvoluntary.Thenext
generationwasalreadycompromisedinquality:SchoenberghadhisVerklrteNacht,and
Stravinsky Petrushka or the Firebird; but composers like Hindemith or Honegger could
not afford writing in the traditional idiom therefore, their mastery of harmony, melody
andformremaineduntested.MostoftheWesterncomposersborninthebeginningofthe
20th century received profound training in traditional techniques, but abandoned them
upon graduation. However, when they themselves started teaching composition, their
studentswouldinevitablyobtainlowerqualityinstructionintraditionaltechniques,since
their teachers lacked the firsthand experience in writing publicly successful works in
traditionalidioms.
Thereiscertainunfairnessinwhythecomposersareallowedtoviolategrammar,and
performers are not. No performer would be acknowledged as professionally fit without
beingabletoperformpiecesfromthetechnicallyadvancedcanonicrepertoire.Butmodern
composers get away with receiving the status of maestro, while many of them are
completelyincapableofcomposingaconvincingsong,sonata,quartetorconcertousingthe
conventionalcanonicidioms.Mostofthesecomposerssuccessfullyhidelackofthebasics
behindthefacadeofsome"unconventional"moderntechniques.
InSovietblockcountriesthepoliciesofsocialistrealismrequiredallmusicalschoolsto
implement the traditional harmony, counterpoint and music form teaching by the same
standardsthatwereemployedbeforemodernism.DenisovandSchnittkeweretrainedby
their teachers (respectively, Shebalin and Golubev, both accomplished masters of tonal
idioms) to fluently express themselves in traditional forms, to which their earlier works
can attest. However, many of their Western contemporaries simply do not have works
writtenintraditionaltonalidiomsheldtotheartisticstandardsofthepasti.e.Xenakisor
Penderecki. Progressive increase of presence of avantgarde philosophy in the Western
academiarelaxedtheemphasisontraditionaldisciplinesofmusic,makingthemlooklike
vestiges of unrelated past, and produced composers incapable of writing a good quality
tonalquartet,fugueorsymphony.
Agreatnumberofmoderncomposershavenootherchoicebuttopursuethephantom
the phantasy that one could invent a new musical language without reference to other
musics,withoutrecoursetosyncretism,strippedofrepresentationalintent,andthrougha
processofpureconceptualinvention.46
Itiseasierforapostmodernisticcomposertolookforsomemagicwayofdiscoveringa
phenomenon that has been overlooked by previous composers and pulling out from it a
new"universalfix"likeStockhausen's"unifiedtime".Thatcouldbe"spectralmusic",with
its idea of inference of music form from timbre. Or, Pyotr Meshchaninov's mathematical

46Born,Georgina(2000)Musicalmodernism,postmodernism,andothers.In:
IntroductiontoWesternmusicanditsothers.Ed.G.BornandD.Hesmondhalgh,University
ofCaliforniaPress,BerkeleyandLosAngeles,p.17.

theory of musical evolution, for which Gubaidulina has high hopes to provide a modern
composerwithareliable,authorizedbyscience,modernizedanalogofdodecaphonya
correctwayofputtingsoundstogether.47
Brought to life by the emancipation movement, in the form of emancipation of
dissonance,themodernisticsyndromeitselfcallsforemancipationtosavemodernistic
composersfrommodernisminordertoletthemreallybereallyfreeincommunicatingto
theiraudiences!
The isolationist obsession of postwar avantgarde with quasiscientific ontology and
falseconfidenceinselfsufficiencyeventuallyledtothedemiseofDarmstadtschool,with
itschampions(likeLuigiNonoorFrancoEvangelisti)denouncingtheircreation,seeingit
as a dictatorial attempt of forceful takeover in new music (a dodecaphonic police), and
other participants dissolving due to the differences in musical orientation. However, the
precedence of noncommunicative technique has been established. The algorithm of
inventingaprinciple,justifyingithistorically,elaboratingitintoatechnique,fabricating
some kind of fiction to accommodate the dry matters of technicalities, and making an
evangelicalclaimthisformulaforlaunchinganewthingisstillverymuchalive.After
all, Stockhausen, Boulez and Cage have proven their branding scheme to be quite
effectiveinbuildingtheirnamerecognition.
The legacy of innovation in sake of innovation, in perfect vacuum, free from any
contamination by the audience, keeps inducing confusion amongst the composers, no
matterhowtheystandinrelationtoStockhausen,BoulezorCage.Thus,CorneliusCardew
initially served as an assistant to Stockhausen and composed total serialist music. After
exposuretothemusicbyCage,hedroppedserialismandswitchedtoimprovisationinfree
jazz manner with the newly founded group AMM (1965), in what they called laminal
style, characterized by long tones and rests. In parallel, he created his opus magnum,
Treatise (196367), the world biggest (193 pages) graphic score of invented notation,
withoutanyinstructionshowtodecipherthegraphicelements.Cardewleftitcompletely
up to the performers, following what he perceived as the thesis of Ludwig Wittgensteins
TractatusLogicoPhilosophicus:peoplesetuprulesforpleasure,andthenholdbythem.
48
By taking existing elements of notation, distorting them and mixing them up with the
geometric symbols and elements of technical drawings, Cardew strove to illustrate
Wittgensteinspropositionsandinvestigatethestructureofwhatcanbesaidbyplotting
the limits. (ibid.) Influenced by David Tudors ideas of giving performers more creative
rights,CardewdecidedtoenableeachperformerofhisTreatisetogiveofhisownmusic

47Composersonmoderncomposition.Anthology.(2009)[Kompozitoryosovremennoi
kompozitsii.Hrestomatiya]ed.KiuregianT.S.,TzenovaV.S.,MoskovskayaKonservatoriya,
Moscow,p.353.
48Anderson,Virginia(2006)Well,It'saVertebrate:PerformerChoiceinCardew's
Treatise.JournalofMusicologicalResearch,Volume25,Numbers34,4/JulyDecember
2006,pp.291317.

hewillgiveitashisresponsetomymusic,whichisthescoreitself.(ibid)Thisconceptwas
created in polemics to Stockhausens attempts to engage aleatorics in his PlusMinus
(1963), which caused a sarcastic reaction in Cardew. It seems that being caught into the
heat of competitive discussion about the formschemes and their impact on the
performers, Cardew was not aware of the fact that his Treatise was not really a
composition, since it lacked a preconceived scheme of organization of sounds that would
directthelisteningexperiencesoftheaudience.Infact,Treatiseisnothingbutabunchof
pages filled with meaningless signs disconnected from whatever the musicians would
decidetoplay.Bythesametokenmusicianscouldcomeupwithsomeideasofwhattoplay
byexaminingthecracksonthewallswouldthatconstituteaperformanceofTheWalls?
The utmost instability of the avantgarde composers axiology is striking in case with
Cardew,whoswungintheearly1970stoMaoism,denouncedhisTreatisealtogetherwith
theimprovisatorymusicandpublishedthebookStockhausenServesImperialism,where
in Maoist repentant confessional style, Cardew acknowledged his former mistakes and
condemned the Western avantgarde. He swore in loyalty to the new task of integrating
with the working class movement as a whole, and a group of working musicians, in
particular,withthepurposetocreatesimplemusicforsimplepeople[apparently,suchas
hisratherawkwardpianominiatureLongLiveChairmanMao!(1973)arrangedasacross
between a march and a retro popular song on the theme closely resembling Raindrops
KeepFallin'onMyHead(1969)byDavidandBacharach.49
Volatility of axiological views is as characteristic to the modernistic syndrome as
negativity in attitude, attraction to scientifically sounding postulates, and eagerness for
innovation. Consequently, the grammatical organization in the music by avantgarde and
postavantgarde displays volatile traits by the tendency to hybridization of various
techniques. At the absence of the audiencebased convention, fusion of unrelated
techniques is likely to induce fluctuations in the principles of organization both, within a
work and between few works of the same composer. An example of such grammatical
instabilitycanbefoundinalmostallmajorworksbyAlfredSchnittke.
Thebiggestobstacleinstudyingtheseriousmusicpost1940sistheconfusionofnon
communicative and communicative devices. Even within the grammatical system that is
noncommunicative, individual works can be meaningful through the genre or style
referents, collage, quotations. associations of the timbre of an instrument with the
particulartypeofmusic,etc.evenstrictfollowingtothetechniquesoftotalserialismor
aleatorics had notable exceptions of some composers who managed to communicate
particular images or characters through their music like Ligeti, Nono, Berio, Maderna,
LutoslawskiandPenderecki,defyingthelimitationsofthetechniquetheychosetoadhere
to. However, their success does not add any credit to the grammatical system they used.
Total serialism, aleatorics, timbral music and minimalism varieties of style/technique all
are based on noncommunicative grammars, meaning that if the composer follows the
prescribed techniques of making music, the result will be an abstract progression of

49Cardew,Cornelius(1974)StockhausenServesImperialism.LatimerNewDimensions
Limited,London,p.68.

meaninglessmusicstructures.Meaningfulcommunicationcanoccuronlyifextrasystemic,
nongrammatical,factorsbroughtinthemusic.
Some techniques, like dodecaphony, present a mixed case: thus most works by
SchoenbergandBergarecommunicativeandidiomatic,whereastheworksbylateWebern
andKrenekarenot.Objectivelyspeaking,dodecaphonyasagrammaticalsystem,severely
limitsmusicalcommunicationcomparingtotraditionaltonalsystem,howeveritdoesnot
exclude expression. Similar semiotic restrictions characterize other 20th century
grammars: Stravisnkys or Bartoks. In general, all posttonal techniques that avoid
traditional metric organization, tend to narrow the content available for transmission.
However,ontheotherhand,theymakeexpressionofparticularkindofcontentmorevivid
ormoredetailedthanthetraditionaltonalgrammar.
Yetadditionalprobleminthe20thcenturyresearchisthatsomanycomposersafterthe
2ndWorldWarhaveshiftedfromonetechniquetoanotheronthespurofthemomentas
new compositional techniques became available. Hybridization of techniques makes the
taskofsemioticanalysisofthemverydifficult.
Therearecaseswhereitisextremelyhardtodrawtheline,whetherthecompositionis
communicative or not. An example is late Stravinskys experiments with serialism. When
KaraKarayev met Stravinsky in Los Angeles, during the first International Music Festival
held at UCLA, he asked Stravinsky whether he heard internally the sounds of the serial
musicwhilehewascomposing.Stravisnkyansweredthatitwasimpossibleforhimtohear
itall.Butthen,heremarked:heoftenwaspleasantlysurprisedwhilelisteningtohisworks
performedlater.50
It looks that this case qualifies as genuinely experimental, where at least certain
aspectsofcompositionarenotidiomaticallycognizedbythecomposer,contributingtothe
game of the chance phenomenon reserving space for surprise at the end of the
composers work. Such model definitely would not hold in relation to idiomatic text:
pickingthewordsbysomecomputeralgorithmandstickingthemtogetherinasentenceis
notgoingtoproduceanaestheticallyvalidpoem.However,withStravinsky,thesituationis
not that clear cut he has earned a reputation of being a diligent tester of his
compositions,payingenormousattentiontotheaggregatesoundgeneratedinhisworksat
particular places. It is possible that Stravinsky controlled his choice of the serialistic
rhythms to a big extent without being aware of it. Such situations require extra
investigationonthepartoftheresearcher.However,itappearsquiteconclusivethatafter
the2ndWorldWarthepracticeofheavilyrelyingonthecompositionaltechniquebecame
so wide spread that many composers did not see anything wrong in writing from head
ratherthanbyear.
It is extremely important for the musician to distinguish between noncommunicative
andcommunicativebreedsofmusic.ItwouldbefutiletolaboroverinterpretationofCages
or Stockhausens compositions, when pretty much anything would go in complete

50SovietMusicMagazinereport,ISSN00385085[SovetskayaMuzyka]1961No.9p.121.

accordance with the composers intention, as long as there is some minimal resemblance
with the notation. However, performing a composition by Lutoslawski or Ligeti would
requireaseriousinvestigationintothetechniqueofcomposition,itshistory,itslimitations
and the composers identity. Performance of modern repertoire definitely imposes
extensive musicological component in preparing for the performance, requires critical
judgmentandartisticintuition.
Attheenditislefttoaperformertojudgewhetherthepostmodernisticcompositional
techniqueisworthoflearning.Afterall,thelinguisticmodelholdshereprettywell:whatis
the payback of learning a particular language. Learning the technique of fugue allows to
communicatetheideascommontoBaroqueculture.Learningthedodecaphonictechnique
opens the world of Expressionistic aesthetics. The question for a postmodernistic
techniqueisthen:whatkindofexpressionitenablesandhowrewardingiscommunication
of it? The negative answer on this question is the reason why some of the finest
performers, legendary for their expressiveness, have avoided playing postmodernistic
music during the peak of its reign. Heifetz made a note that when he occasionally played
works by contemporary composers, that was to discourage the composer from writing
any more and to remind himself about the greatness of Beethoven. Piatigorsky was
somewhatcuriousaboutthenewmusic,andoccasionallyevencommissionedsome,but
referredtothiscompositionsasdeadbornbabies.
Since the very profession of a performer depends on success in communication,
performersoftenfindthemselvesinpositiontofindexpressioninsomethingthatdoesnot
haveitbydesign.AgoodexampleofitisthecreativeoutputofStravinsky,whosedenialof
any emotional content in music became well known (music is, by its very nature,
essentiallypowerlesstoexpressanythingatall).51
Yet many of the performers during the 1920s and 1930s have performed his works
ratheremotionally,alongthelinesofRomanticmodelofperformance,asitisevidentfrom
therecordsbutthendeservinganapprovalfromthecomposer.AgoodexampleisSamuel
Dushkin, the pupil of Auer and Kreisler quite passionately sounding artist, as expected
fromaworldclassviolinistinthefirsthalfofthe20thcentury.Stravinskywasveryhappy
about Dushkins interpretations of his works. He praised Dushkin for refined taste, great
musicalcultureandexceptionalprofessionalism.52
So,ononehandStravinskymakesstatementsthattheidealperformerisachurchtoller,
and the ideal conductor is the military band tactbeater because they just do their job
accuratelyandnothingmore.Yetonanotherhandhedemandsexquisitephrasing,dynamic
nuancesandexpectsfromtheperformerstofigurethemoutfromgraspingthespiritof
thework.NeverinhiscopiouspublicationhadStravinskynamedasingleperformerwho
had overinterpreted his music, although many of them on record applied the vitalist

51Stravinsky,Igor(1936)Stravinsky:AnAutobiography,Simon&Shuster,NewYork,p.
83
52StravinskyIgor(2005)Hronikamoyeimuzykalnoizhizni[Chroniquesdemavie]ed.&
comment.byI.Vershinina,Kompozitor,Moscow,p.3556.

treatment. [ex. Fournier] According to Soulima Stravinsky, his father criticized those
performers who "only played notes" and "did not know what to do with these notes",
insistingthat"theperformershavetobeintelligent".Soulimatestifiesthathisfatherwhen
he performed himself was seeking to put into sound a lot more than was printed in the
score;hismannerwasnotdryandalienatedasmanywouldthink.53
NumerousStravinskysrecordings[overadozenhourstotal]onlyaddtoconfusion.In
hisautobiographyhestatedthat,beingdisappointedwithconstantmisunderstandingby
the performers of his compositions, he took a great labor upon himself to leave reliable
reference performances for his most important works. Each of such recordings has
involved a great deal of thought and elaboration, and the result should be regarded as a
modelforanyfutureperformance.Hespecifiedthatfaithfulreproductionofthemodelwas
allhewouldconsidergreatfromanyconductor.54
Unfortunately,Stravisnkysmultipleversionsofthesamework(i.e.fiveversionsofThe
RiteofSpringonrecord)donotagreewitheachother.Heregrettedthattheconductors
pridepreventedthemfromlisteningtohisrecordspriortorehearsalswiththeorchestra
[ibid p.236] It looks, like he himself had too much dignity to doublecheck his previous
records.
Moreover, there is a reason to doubt the integrity of Stravinskys directions. If his
complaints on the liberties of vitalist conductors like Pierre Monteax, who routinely
crossedouttheauthorsmetronomemarkingsintheautographandwrotehisown,marked
andexecutedunwrittentempomodificationandRomanticizedthestyle,thenitislogicalto
expect a perfect geometrical performance from the author himself. Monteaux 1929
recordingfeaturedspeedinguptheDansesacralefromoriginalM=126to148156;major
slowdownatthemiddle;andtwogradualtempochangesdesignedtoprovidethemelodic
linewithWagnerianstylerubatoinclearviolationofthegeometricalprescriptionbythe
author. Stravinsky edited out all tempo fluctuations from this dance in the 1929 edition,
andin1938specificallyinstructedAlfredoMolinaritokeepthedancestrictlyat126.This
iswhathehimselfrecordedin1960.However,in1969StravinskyinsistedforRobertCraft
to make accelerando towards the end of Danse sacrale. And the composers 1921 Pleyela
pianorollexhibitsnotonlyaccelerando,butthetempoatM=148,anddramaticslowdown
inthemiddle.55
Apparently,Stravinskyeitherkeptdoublestandardsorhaddifficultieskeepinghismind.
Whateveritis,buthesetagoodexampleforthemodernperformerunfortunately,quite
commonsituationfortheultramodernisticmusic,wherethecomposerriskstogetcaught
between various innovations. The performer is left with the option to follow what the

53ibidp.3967.
54Stravinsky,Igor(1936)Stravinsky:anautobiography,Simon&Shuster,NewYork,p.
236237.
55Fink,Robert(1999)"Rigoroso(M=126)":"TheRiteofSpring"andtheForgingofa
ModernistPerformingStyle,JournaloftheAmericanMusicologicalSociety,Vol.52,No.2,
pp.299362.

composer preached or to choose and follow one of the documented versions. The best
compromise in such situation would be to investigate the score, identify idiomatic units
thereandcomeupwiththerightrenditionbyweightingwhatisknownabouttheidioms
found in the score and the composers statements about his style. This makes the task of
formulatingtheactualidiomsofthe20thcenturymusichowtheysoundratherthanwhat
is claimed by the composer the most important requirement for the performance of
modernmusic.
Unfortunately, noncommunicative postmodernistic works do not leave such
opportunity,becauseoftheiresotericorganizationtheyareverymuchlikeabookfilled
up with strange combinations of letters in unknown language. Neither looking at such
lettersnorlisteningtothepresumablesoundofthemgivesanycluetowhatissuchbook
about.
Stravinskysmusicisnotlikethat.Hisscoresreflectnotpreconceivedrulesofhisown
grammar, but the development of thematic material very much like composers of the
previous centuries. Before his serial period he was known to compose by ear and
thoroughlycheckeverysonanceonthepianobeforefixingitinthescore,listeningtoitand
tryingagain,overandoverforwhathisbrothersusedtocallhimthepianotuner.56
Stravinsky did not avoid the historic idioms of musical expression. In fact he was very
proudofhisheritage.Inhisradioaddressesbeforehisperformanceshepresentedhimself
asadirectheirofGlinkaandTchaikovsky.57
What Stravinskys statement means is that if the performer understands music by
Tchaikovsky, then he will be able to understand his music. Stravinskys composition
(before 1936, when his statement of his lineage was made) is constructed by principles
similar to Tchaikovsky, using similar idioms. That is why Heifetz and Piatigorsky have
performedtheearlyStravinsky.
Thenoncommunicativetechniquesleaveaperformerwiththechoiceeithertofabricate
the expressive content out of thin air in order to generate something attractable to the
listener, or just play notes, ignoring the audience altogether as Stockhausen and Cage
actuallydidthemselvesandhope(ornot)forsomemagicresult.Insakeofaccuracyit
should be noted that the seeds for such attitude are found in Stravinskys rhetoric about
presumable unemotionality of music and shortsightedness of the public. Combined
together such views conveyed the idea that for the composer it is unnecessary to be
concerned about being understood and bother with any conventions supposedly, the
criticsandtheaudienceswouldfindmeaninginanythingdumpedatthemsuccessisalla
matterofpurelygravitasonthepartofthecomposer.

56Craft,Robert(1994)Stravinsky:ChronicleofaFriendship,VanderbiltUniversityPress,
Nashville,Tennessee,p.138.
57DruskinM.S.(2009)TheCollectedWorks,vol.4IgorStravinsky[Sobraniye
proizvedenii,tom4,I.S.]KompozitorSanktPetersburg,p.490.

Bythe1930ssuchviewhasbeenquitefirmlyestablishedamongstmusiciansaswellas
inacademia.Indeed,therearestrongphysiologicalgroundsforthewishfulthinkingbias.
Human need in emotional input is so strong, and biologically ingrained, that it does not
take long after a new musical composition is offered to general public before the public
consensusassignssomeemotionalvaluetoit.Oneofthemostfamousexamplesisthestory
howBeethovensSonataNo.14turnedintoMoonlight.Musichistoryisfilledupwithsuch
examples.AsMelvinRiggputit:ifthecomposerleavesnointerpretationofhisproduction,
itisusuallynotlongbeforeoneisinvented.58
In relation to the temporal organization, paradoxically, the ultra modern techniques
demonstrateapronouncedtendencyforsimplificationdespitethecomposersaspirations
forultimatecomplexity.Themostintricatetimingideastilldependsontheperceptionof
the performers who are conceiving it, then on the performers physiological ability to
convertprescribedtimingintosoundsandthenontheabilityofthelistenerstoperceive
that timing. At the starting point of this scheme the organization can be excruciatingly
complex like Stockhausens Himmelfahrt (2005) for organ or synthesizer, soprano, and
tenor. The composition is built on the chromatic scale of 24 different tempos (where the
metronomicvalueforeachtempoisderivedfromaprecedingonebyusingamathematical
formula), which correspond to the scale of 24 timbres (complex timbres correspond to
slower tempos). The keyboardist is required to perform in two different tempos
simultaneously, with occasional addition of the vocal parts, stimulating the listeners to
transcendfromphysicalworldtosomethingunimaginableunheardinvisible.59
Therealityofperformanceleavesnobricksinthecomposerstechnicalfoundation.Ifhis
intention was to collide two streams of movement of specific proportion to suggest a
particular auditory illusion, then the stage number two already defeats the original
concept: no performer is capable of processing two tempos simultaneously; and had it
happenedbymiracle,nobrainwouldallowtocontrolthemotorfunctionintwodifferent
scales and this without even consideration of keeping a particular fractional temporal
ratio between two processes. The performer is going to flatten all the notes into one
stream,quantizingallthedurationstothestandardbinarydivisions,andmostlikely,make
plenty of mistakes which will pass completely unnoticed by the audience, which would
perceivethemusicasanirrationalprogressionofsoundscontrastingintheirtimbre.Will
thattranscendthemintoanotherworldisaseparatequestion,butthestreamofdatathat
they will process is equivalent to a single row of unpatterned digits a task nearly
impossibleformemorization,andthereforebringingtheauditorysensesintothemodeofa
background listening (mindlessly scrolling through the sounds). By no means such task
imposesanyeffortonthepartofalistener.Thetruthissuchlisteningiseasy!

58Juslin,PatrikN.;Lindstrm,Erik(2010)Musicalexpressionofemotions:Modeling
listeners'judgmentsofcomposedandperformedfeatures.MusicAnalysis,March2010,Vol.
29Issue:Number3p.334364.
59Stockhausen,Karlheinz(2006)StockhausenCoursesKuerten2006:Composition
CourseonKlang,the24HoursoftheDay:FirstHour:AscensionforOrganorSynthesizer,
SopranoandTenor,2004/05,WorkNo.81.Krten:StockhausenVerlag.

Compare this to the task of following the music by early Stravinsky (i.e. Pribaoutki
example).Constantmetricalternationsarecombinedwithquitediverserhythmicfigures,
includingsyncopationandostinatofigures.Tothisshouldbeaddedhypermetricpulsations
due to the periodically occurring pedal tones. Each phrase requires expressive timing, so
doesthevocalpartinrelationtotheaccompaniment.Tenbarsofthismusiccontainsmore
informationforthelistenertoprocessthantheentireworkbyStockhausen.
The noncommunicative postmodernistic techniques put pressure on musicology.
Thereisinfinitevarietyofgrammarsthatcanbeinventedattheabsenceofanypragmatic
factors.Alreadytherearehundredsofmethodsoforganizingmusicalstructurescreatedin
the past 50 years, many of which are completely scholastic and abstract, devoid of any
expressive capacity. Does the mere fact of generation of a noncommunicative grammar
justifyitsstudy?Thisisaseriousquestionthatneedsanurgentanswer.Specialistsinthe
atonalmusictheoryhavecollectedalistofalmostahundredcompositionaltechniquesof
modern time. Many of them present a puzzle as how to categorize them, which of the
multiplecategoriestogivepriority,howtodistinguishbetweenthecomposer'sintentions
andthewayhowthemusicactuallysoundsetc.60
Thetextbooksoncompositionaltechniquesalreadylooklikeanentryonanimalsin
anancientChinesedicitonaryTheCelestialEmporiumofBenevolentKnowledgewiththe
followingcategorization:(a)thosebelongingtotheEmperor,(b)thosethatareembalmed,
(c)thosethataretame,(d)pigs,(e)sirens,(f)imaginaryanimals,(g)wilddogs,(h)those
includedinthisclassification,(i)thosethatarecrazyacting(j),thosethatareuncountable
(k) those painted with the finest brush made of camel hair, (l) miscellaneous, (m) those
whichhavejustbrokenavase,and(n)thosewhich,fromadistance,looklikeflies.61
Thereisaneedforsettingcriteriaforinvestigationofcompositionaltechniques.Andthe
issuesofcommunication,perceptionandresponsetomusicshouldbepartofconsideringa
techniqueasvalidorexperimental.
Postmodernistic composers who create noncommunicative techniques love the word
experimental.ThusCagedissuadesthosecomposerswhofindthistermtoodisciplinary,
obligingtoadheretosomeorder.Hefindsthiswordaptforthatkindofmusicwhichcalls
foragazingattitudetowardsanenvironmentfilledupwiththingstolookat,asifoneisa
touristprovidedthewordexperimentalisunderstoodnotasdescriptiveofanactto
belaterjudgedintermsofsuccessandfailure.62

60TzenovaV.S.(2003)StructuralphenomenonofNewmusic:compositionaltechniques
[StrukturnyifenomenNovoimuzyki:tehnikikompozitsii].In:Satortenetoperarotas;
Y.N.Kholopovandhisschool.MoscowTchaikovskyConservatory,Moscowp.275282.
61Borges,JorgeLuis(1975)OtherInquisitions:19371952,UniversityofTexasPressp.
101105.
62Cage,John(1961)Silence:LecturesandWritings,WesleyanUniversityPress,Hanover
NHp.13.

Thisisexactlywhatthetermexperimentdenotes:atrialanderrorprocedurecarried
out with the goal of verifying a hypothesis. In for a penny, in for a pound. If one takes
advantages of calling his work experimental in order to avoid compliance to already
acceptedrulesandlaws,thenhehastoholdtotheconsequencesandprovetheexistenceof
newrulesandlaws.Anexperimentleadseithertoitsconfirmationordismissal.Noscience
keepsthebookofallexperiments.Onlythepositiveresultsoftheexperimentsareretained
as a theory. The experiments that did not turn out to be useful are discarded. It is about
timeformusicologytofollowthesamepursuitandauditthebulgedcorpusofexperimental
techniques. Let us see which techniques made it to qualify as a new functional form of
music.Letusstudysuchtechniques.Letusnotstudythefaultyexperiments.