Ernst Krenek on the Path Towards Serial Composition
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
The article examines the motives and aesthetical factors which impelled Austrian composer and music theorist
Ernst Krenek to turn in his music to the serial method of composition. Basing herself on the utterances of the composer
himself, as well as his autobiographical notes and books, the author of the article aims at reconstructing the logical path
which brought Krenek to dodecaphony. Having at first had a negative attitude towards this type of technique, and having
even expressed public criticism of Schoenberg, the composer gradually came to the idea of the historical inevitability
of serial composition and became convinced of the radical novelty of serial thinking. The article examines the impact
on Krenek of various historical figures: Franz Schreker, Ernst Kurth and Eduard Erdmann. An important impulse for
the composer was provided by the works of Austrian writer and satiric poet Karl Kraus, whose thoughts about language
turned out to be congenial to many significant musicians of that time (in particular, to Schoenberg). Attention is given
to points of contact of dodecaphony and the Neo-Thomist teaching which comprised the foundation of Krenek’s
religious worldview in the 1930s. Both the external factors (the political situation, the growth of totalitarianism) and
the inner reason (the challenge to the craft of composition) of the composer’s turn toward serialism are discussed.
Keywords: Ernst Krenek, Karl Kraus, Arnold Schoenberg, serial music, Neo-Thomism.
Article Details
Copyright
The rights on the results of intellectual activity and equated means of individualization are protected in accordance with Part IV of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The authorship, author's name, executor’s name, inviolability of the work and result of execution are protected by the rules of Part IV of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation of the author or executor, regardless of providing legal protection of such results of intellectual activity at the time of their forming.
Copyright laws regulate the civil legal relations for using works of science, literature and art. Such relationships are formed as the result of the author’s writing his or her texts. In this case the author can rightfully claim copyright of the work.
The author has certain rights to reuse the work (see: “Ethical Aspects in Terms of Multifold Publications).
Licenses
All copyrights on the articles belong to their authors. The author transfers the rights on using the article the publisher.
PDF versions of scholarly articles of the journal PMN are published by using the license Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives cc by-nc-nd, allowing loading and distributing works on the assumption of indicating the authorship. The works may not be changed in any way or used for commercial interests.
Criteria for Authorship, Co-authorship
The term “author” refers to all persons (co-authors) who have made a substantial contribution to conducting the research and creation of the manuscript and responsible for its content. The person (author) who has submitted the manuscript to the editorial board shall bear responsibility for the complete list of the group of authors and the changes made to the manuscript in accordance with the results of the peer reviewing and editing.
1. Authorship is based on the following criteria:
1) The author made a substantial contribution to the research activity and development of concept, collected the data, made analysis and interpretation of the data.
2) The author carried out the writing of the text of draft articles and edited it attentively and substantially.
3) The author approved the final version of the article prior to its submission.
4) The author bears responsibility for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript.
2. The authors shall guarantee that the submitted manuscript is the original work.
3. Scholarly reviews for some issue or other should be objective, present material in a wide range and at the same time take into account the views of the author of the review.
4. The authorship of scholarly publications is obligated to reflect accurately the contribution of individuals to the research activity, with specific information about the authors.
5. The authors may not mislead the readers by publishing acknowledgements of gratitude to people who were not actually involved in writing the work. Other persons who made contribution to the work, but are nevertheless not the authors, may be listed in the rubric of “Acknowledgements,” with indications of the type and extent of their activities.
6. Authors are obligated to provide a description of their contribution to the publication.
7. The order of authorship must be a joint resolution of co-authors. The authors should be ready to explain the order of their enumeration and listing.
8. The authors shall be entirely responsible for the correct definition of authorship acting in accordance with the rules adopted in their institution.
9. Investigators must ensure that only those persons who meet the criteria for authorship (that made a significant contribution to the work), shall be considered the authors, and the researchers who do not merit authorship will be excluded from the list of authors.
References
2. Kon Yu. A. Shenberg i «kritika yazyka» [Schoenberg and “Criticism of the Language”]. Muzykal’naya akademiya [Musical Academy]. 1994. No. 1, pp. 113–117.
3. Krenik E. Issledovanie o 12-tonovom kontrapunkte [Studies in Counterpoint Based on the Twelve-Tone Technique]. Translated from German by E. Kostitsyn. Kiev: Kostitsyn, 1993. 48 p.
4. Shenberg A. Pis’ma [Schoenberg, Arnold. Letters]. Compiled by Erwin Stein; Translated by V. Schnittke. St. Petersburg: Kompozitor, 2001. 464 p.
5. Dubinsky G. Krenek’s Conversions: Austrian Nationalism, Political Catholicism, and Twelve-Tone Composition. Repercussions. 1996. Vol. 5. Spring-Fall. No. 1–2, pp. 242–315.
6. Krenek E. Self-Analysis. New Mexico Quarterly. 1953. Vol. 23. No. 1, pp. 5–57.
7. Krenek E. A Composer’s Influences. Perspectives of New Music. 1964. Vol. 3. No. 1, pp. 36–41.
8. Krenek E. Horizons circled: Reflections on My Music. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1974. 167 p.