Preface

It is remarkable how poorly informed those active in musical life generally areabout even the most elementary technical matters concerning contemporarymusic. Such a lack of knowledge would probably not be tolerated in any otherprofession. Since even specialised literature hardly offers solace, the presentbook aims to underline certain technical aspects of contemporary musicallanguage. It has been written from the point of view of the composer ratherthan that of the theoretician, an approach which has its advantages and dis-advantages, as one can easily imagine.

This book is intended for various categories of readers. First and foremostit is addressed to the music student of today, for whom some knowledge ofcontemporary music may now be considered normal. Subsequently, it is writ-ten for all musicians engaged in one way or another in new music: perform-ers, teachers and others who in practice often face certain problems that canbe solved through a deeper investigation of the structure of the musical lan-guage. But the well-informed musical amateur too may consult many chap-ters to his advantage.

To make matters as concrete as possible, much use is made of easily acces-sible scores; thus compositions are discussed that may regularly be heard inthe concert hall or through recordings. Electronic music has been left out ofconsideration. Not only are scores scarce, but a technical approach to the sub-ject is hardly meaningful unless the reader is at home in the world of the elec-tronic studio.

The above-mentioned paucity of technical literature has obliged the writerto organise the content in his own way. It proved necessary, even with regardto terminology, to devise names and definitions for certain concepts. This,together with the hitherto unknown diversity of individual styles and tech-niques, will safeguard the reader from generalising about what is discussed, apath that would merely lead to new academicism. The specific purpose of thisbook is to encourage everyone to become better acquainted with living music.

Preface to the Second EditionA period of more than seven years lies between the preparation of the first edi-tion and this second one, a considerable length of time in view of the rapidlychanging contemporary music scene. Beside a few corrections this new edi-

9

opmaak Music 15-07-2005 15:19 Pagina 9

tion therefore contains a number of additions that cast light on the develop-ments of recent years.

After the many – fortunately favourable – reactions to the first edition,one critical remark persisted: the names of a number of important contem-porary composers are hardly mentioned or have been omitted altogether. Thisis indeed the case, and the reason lies in the aim that I have pursued. For whatI have written has no documentary pretension at all, but is based on the studyof those aspects of twentieth-century music that are new in respect to classi-cal traditions. I chose the period around 1910 as my starting point, with theworks of composers then in their thirties, since it was then that these newphenomena first occurred with some frequency, and in a manner essentiallyintegrated into musical thought.

Preface to the Third EditionNew names and new trends continue to emerge, and each new impression ofthis book would perhaps justify the addition of a new chapter.

I have nevertheless decided not to tamper with the essence of the book,which is a survey of the most important technical aspects of twentieth-centu-ry music up to the 1960s. It would appear that the half century thus coveredcontains in its essence all those elements that characterise the music of today.New developments hardly occur in terms of the technical aspects of music.

An exception is formed by electronic music, which in the past few yearsin particular has developed rapidly. But this same period has seen the publi-cation of so much literature on the subject that it would not seem useful toincorporate it again in the present book.

Amendments in this third edition are therefore limited to a few additions,slight alterations and corrections which owe their origin to comments madeby many alert music students and other readers.

10 music of the twentieth century

opmaak Music 15-07-2005 15:19 Pagina 10