BATCH 1 QUESTIONNAIRE
Twentieth Century Music
By Elliott Antokoletz
YOUR TEACHING
1. Please complete the table below for the Twentieth Century Music courses you teach. Please add
rows if necessary.
What is the
name of the
degree on
which you
teach
Twentieth
Century
Music?
During which
year of the
undergraduate
degree is
Twentieth
Century Music
taught, or is it
a
postgraduate
course?
Years 1, 2 & 3
Is it taught
during the
first
semester,
second
semester, or
both?
Is the course
core or
optional?
How many
students take
this course?
Is it structured
thematically or
chronologically?
Variable,
depending
partly on
module
choice
Some
elements are
core, others
are optional
Approx. 20
per year (i.e.,
60 in total)
BA (Hons)
Creative
Music
Technology
Years 1, 2 & 3
Both
Some
elements are
core, others
are optional
Approx. 30
per year (i.e.,
90 in total)
BA (Hons)
Popular Music
Years 1, 2 & 3
Both
Some
elements are
core, others
are optional
Approx. 15
per year (i.e.,
45 in total)
BA (Hons)
Performing
Arts
Years 1, 2 & 3
Variable,
depending
partly on
module
choice
Some
elements are
core, others
are optional
Approx. 30
per year (i.e.,
90 in total)
Both. The
approach is
generally
thematic,
although
themes may be
broadly located
within definable
historical
periods.
Generally
thematically,
with the
emphasis on the
use of
technology in
music
composition.
Generally
thematically,
with the
emphasis on
music in popular
culture
Generally
chronological
with the focus
on the
correlation
BA (Hons)
Music
MA Creative
Music
Technology
Postgraduate
Both
Core
10
between music
and
drama/theatre
Thematically
OUR BOOK
2. Looking at the contents list provided, are there any chapters that you consider superfluous and
conversely are there any omissions?
Bearing in mind I have only been able to read the first seven chapters so far, the emphasis of the
book seems to be predominantly focussed on musical developments from a relatively select group of
‘canonic’ European composers of the early twentieth century (although there is a chapter devoted to
the music of the US). As a result, the balance of the chapters seems uneven, with some composers’
works enjoying extensive analysis, whilst others merit only summary statements. Whilst this is
clearly an authorial decision, and perfectly valid in itself, it makes for an uneven coverage of western
art-music practice, both in scope and depth. In this respect, it is not particularly the case that any
chapters are superfluous, but that the depth of coverage in certain areas results in more superficial
coverage elsewhere (in what already seems to be a rather large book).
For Part I, there is almost no consideration of English composers (with the exception of Vaughan
Williams), a decision which omits the wealth of song material, for example, but which also does not
acknowledge more recent analyses of composers such as Holst, and even Elgar, as proto-modernists.
I would also welcome the inclusion of a chapter devoted to the influence of jazz, cabaret, variety
theatre, etc. on art music practice (it is clear that examples of this are mentioned along the way, but
the convergence of ‘low’ and ‘high’ art, so prevalent in the first part of the twentieth century would
legitimately merit greater attention).
Music and theatre, music and cinema, and music and technology seem conspicuous by their absence
at the moment (to begin a consideration of music with musique concrète is to miss half a century of
technological and artistic development).
Whilst I have not yet had the opportunity to read the later chapters, the chapters headings and their
relative balance seem to reveal an emphasis on fin-de-siècle and early twentieth-century practices at
the expense of post war developments. Given that the period 1945-2010 is far longer
(chronologically) than 1900-1945, one must ask why (and how) this period can be covered in only
seven chapters (assuming the chapters are equal in length). Indeed, the chapter list implies that the
period from 1960 onwards is covered only in the final three chapters. There is much that might be
included here (but again, I only have the chapters heading to guide me at the moment), and I will
comment more once I have had the opportunity to read them.
3. Is the structure of parts and chapters logical?
The above reservations aside, the structure seems logical and developmental. I particularly welcome
and enjoy the contextual information provided at the start of each chapter. This is, of course,
essential if one is to fully understand the wider context of the music under consideration, and is
exactly the kind of detail students need to know (but seldom do). Again, the relative balance of this
information seems a little uneven in the first seven chapters, and is not always integrated into the
analyses that follow. I would certainly welcome more contextual analysis, although I’m aware that
this significantly adds to the length of the book.
4. Each chapter will include the pedagogical features listed below. Please indicate if you consider
these to be Essential, Useful, or Not Needed using this symbol .
Essential
Useful
 I am not clear about
the purpose of these
unless the book is
intended to be a
textbook for students.
It may be that this is
common practice in
the US, but does not sit
comfortably with UK
practice. If the
questions are to be
genuine pedagogical
aids, the structure and
focus of the book
would, I feel, need to
be reframed to
delineate specific aims
more clearly.
Pedagogical Review
Questions
Annotated Suggested
Readings*
Not Needed
 (But I have several
reservations about the
works cited, if the
purpose is to direct
readers and students
to further reading).
Generally, the texts
cited will not be readily
available to the
inexpert reader, as
they tend to include
dissertations and –
overwhelmingly – outof-print books. This, in
part, seems to arise
from the relative
paucity of more recent
texts cited (most of the
material, whilst
perfectly valid and
even, seminal, is from
the 1960s-1990s).
*The Suggested Readings in Chapters 1 to 7 are yet to be annotated
CHAPTER FEEDBACK
5. Considering this is a music history textbook, do the chapters strike a good balance between
analysis and history?
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
As stated above, the introductory contextual information is most useful and sets the
scene well for what follows. This does take a good amount of space, however and
might be better in an introductory chapters perhaps. The following history survey is
detailed, although unbalanced, I feel, by the very long analyses of Elektra and (to a
lesser extent) Gurrelieder. As examples (or exemplars?) of the preoccupation with ‘the
language of trauma’, the analyses seem over detailed, and focus almost entirely on
tonally-defined structural matters. This makes for something of an uneven pace of
reading and a relationship between history, context and analysis that is not as
integrated as it might be.
The balance between history and analysis is good in this chapter, with an integration of
material that keeps the pace flowing. The examples chosen are some partial, however,
and, with the exception of Wozzeck, do not clearly relate to the theme of
expressionism (the analysis of Erwartung is brief and would have provided, along with
Pierrot Lunaire, a obvious focus for the musicalisation of the concerns of dramatic
expressionism). The analysis of Wozzeck, whilst much more relevant, is necessarily
brief. As with chapter 1, there seems to be something of a disconnect between the
overview aims and the purpose of the analyses.
This chapter contains a good deal of analysis, appropriately enough given the subject
matter. This is intermingled with historical description, which helps to vary the pace of
what otherwise might become a little over-concentrated. However, the chapter
focuses on the descriptive and does not immediately seem to provide the wider
intellectual and artistic context for the musical material examined evident in the first
two chapters. This is reflected in the numerous chapter sub-headings, most of which
deal with technical matters (see 8.below).
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
6. Is the number of music examples appropriate for each chapter?
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
The examples included relate only to the two epicentre works, with the emphasis lying
with Elektra (Gurrelieder only attracts two brief examples). It is therefore not so much
a matter of the number of examples, but their appropriateness, representativeness
and usefulness that is the question, I feel. The annotations relate to moments of tonal,
harmonic and structural significance, and it is not always clear how these illustrations
relate to the central (extra-musical_ concerns of the chapter.
Yes, but see the reservations in 5. above.
The chapter contains a larger amount of musical examples than most other chapters,
and this is necessary to both illustrate the points covered and to break up what would
otherwise be rather dense text. Most of the illustrations are schematic and the
notational examples cover a fairly limited range of music. A wider range of examples
could certainly be used if the purpose is to provide a representative range of twelvetone pieces.
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
7. Are the chapters pitched at the right level for your students and what are your thoughts regarding
the writing style?
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
The general level is appropriate for students (university level) although the writing
style moves between the concise, detailed yet approachable prose of the contextual
information, to some rather arduous and protracted pitch-based analysis that might be
hard work for students. The preoccupation here seems to be with a discourse of
theoretical musicology that favours pitch-class and harmonic analysis above all else.
This may suit some students but may not be necessarily entirely supportive of
approaches to analysis (and, in this aspect, musico-dramatic analysis) encountered in
several spheres.
The writing style is appropriate in this chapter, although the changes of tone and pace
evident in chapter one remain.
Yes, although the descriptions of the detail of twelve-tone techniques often uses
specialist language that presupposes a certain familiarity with historical analytical
techniques and terminology. This perhaps strikes at some nagging concerns I have
about the purpose of this chapter (and indeed the book in general), which moves
between that of a survey, a historical contextualisation and a text book. These things
are not mutually exclusive, of course but , as currently presented, seem to be
addressed with inconsistent levels of detail and varying amounts of presume prior
learning.
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
8. Can you make any specific recommendations for improving the content and structure of each
chapter?*
*The Chapter Overviews contain the sub-headings that will be inserted at appropriate places in the
text and revisited in Chapter Summaries
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
The overview is good here, although see above for some suggestions for changes in
the relative balance of material.
These seem rather brief and lacking in detail, particularly in comparison with other
chapters. The heading ‘Towards Expressionism’ surely needs a consequence? Indeed,
expressionism is not as clearly defined as it might be for students. The overview
subheading might qualify (as they do in chapter one) the context of the instances and
examinations of ‘free atonality’ and ‘principles of atonal organization’ (which are noth
rather unspecific and transferable terms in themselves).
There are vary many subheading headings here (11 compared with the 3 of chapter 2),
which focus on technical and descriptive consideration rather than contextualisation.
In this respect, they do not quite summarise the ensuing text (which does contain
elements of contextualisation) and also appear somewhat reductive. They do also not
relate wholly to the title of the chapter (music societies? World War One?) Might it be
better to combine some of these and frame them within the wider concerns of the
study?
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
9. In your opinion what are the strengths and weaknesses of the chapters?
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Good contextual information. Good overall coverage of significant trends in postromantic music developments in Vienna. Unclear connection between the overview
aims and the interrogation of the two chosen examples. Potentially over-detailed
analysis, concentrating on tonal and harmonic schemes, with little reference to other
characteristics of the music.
A good coverage of contextual information, although the subject (expressionism) is not
examined with the same level of detail as shown in the opening of chapter one. The
examples chosen are representative of the composers under consideration
(Schoenberg, Webern and Berg) but do not obviously relate to the general theme of
the chapter. The relationship between the concepts of organisation of material
covered and the mode of expression inherent in the dramatic subject matter (at least,
of those works where this is relevant) could be made more strongly.
This chapter contains detailed explanations of the techniques covered and the
circumstances of the composition of the selected works. The material lacks the
integration of earlier chapters though and seems to lose the wider contextual focus.
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
10. Do you have any further comments to make on any of the chapters?
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
ONLINE RESOURCES
11. Our research suggests that online resources play a key part in teaching and learning at higher
education institutions, and that as a result providing instructor and student resources for use
alongside our textbooks is important to their success. To what extent do you believe this applies to
the subject area of Twentieth Century Music?
12. Please indicate alongside each of the options below whether you believe they are useful online
resources for teaching and learning Twentieth Century Music and why.
Instructor Resources
Additional Readings/Documents
PowerPoint Presentations
Images
Test Bank
Instructors Manual
Other (please specify)
Student Resources
Video Links
Website Links
Glossary
Multiple Choice Questions
Audio Content
Other (please specify)
OTHER BOOKS
13. Please complete the table below for the Twentieth Century Music books you recommend.
Please add rows if necessary.
Title
Author
Publisher
Strengths
Weaknesses
14. Considering your answers to the chapter questions regarding the number of music examples,
would an accompanying anthology of complete scores appeal to you and your students?