Webern: "Symphony" Op. 21

[Synsacrus]

Anyone else notice that the picture of Webern very slowly gets closer and closer and closer?

[TheRiteOfWinter]

is it really this short? When I heard he had a symphony I thought it would be an hour long piece...

[lvbandmore]

Thanks for your annotations - always helpful. I would only ask that you mark the beginning of each of the variations...

[TheRiteOfWinter]

@zsinet3 Why do you call it abstract music?? Do you know why do people call paintings 'abstract'? Because there is a reality from which they are conceived. Picasso is abstract because watermelons dont have edges and corners. Paintings can be realist or abstract, based on their portrayal of the physical universe. But what is the physical reality in music that makes a symphony be abstract or not? I dont think that the diatonic function can be arbitrarily called a reality, it is as abstract as this

[somor98]

the progress of the piece moves a bit too rapid to be meaningful

[PabloRomero1991]

In this twelve-tone serialism example, do you think Webern utilized the 12x12 Matrix at all?

Very interesting notes by the way!

[ptm5150]

@PabloRomero1991  Webern worked out the row permutations using lists, the matrix came after him. The sketches are at the Paul Sacher Foundation in Switzerland, I have seen a second hand copy from a friend of mine who has made the trip several times. Op. 21 is 12-tone and some do consider it serial but the serial element doesn't apply to dynamics, meter/rhythm, or articulation, it's more a consequence of the row. Music with the label Serialism is usually associated with the Darmstadt School.

[ZappaZavala]

Sounds like Cubism

[cbraslow]

Why, in spite of its formal perfection, does this and other of Webern's music seem to lack all form and thus interest to my musical ear? Yet, I truly love much of Berg's dodecaphonic work . Strange.

[threviatghei]

@cbraslow I guess it's just personal. I LOVE this piece (Webern in general), and I don't really like Berg, though I'm preparing to listen to his Op.1 played by Gould. To my ears Webern is the only one who can make sense out of serialism!

[NekoSofi]

What does op mean?

[NewMusicXX]

@NekoSofi "Op." stands for "opus" meaning "work". The opus number refers to the order of a composers published works.

[NekoSofi]

@NewMusicXX Oh, thankyou Very much.

[FoxTreatment]

The first time you hear Webern, it can be jarring and confusing. Sometimes, it can sound like nothing. Then, if you listen, notes will stand out to you. Timbres will come through, and it the articulation will drive it forward. Soon, it is like listening to something out of this world. He is an icon of a mathematical and technologicla age of music. I only wish I had realized this sooner.

[gnolti]

@FoxTreatment

Well stated. Although obviously the least theatrical and expansive of them, Webern to me is the most Mahlerian of the Viennese School, simply by virtue of his phrasing. He basically took Mahler's visions and condensed them into diamonds.

[Bagas]

Webern made serialism and atonality very cerebral and emotional. Definitely my favorite composer.

[bonuzround]

Creepy , creepy man. Awesome song.

[DerangedRanger1]

This is an excellent channel. Thanks for posting it! The comments are great.

I make one suggestion: if you can put the score up that would be even better. You might take a look at the channel "rmannion" as an example. That is a very useful channel as well because the score is shown as the music is playing. I don;t know if it would always be possible, but it would be a great tool if you did this.

Thanks!!!

[TheImpressionable]

@DerangedRanger1 with serialism, I just prefer to listen to the beauty of it. i wouldn'y want to play it

[DerangedRanger1]

@TheImpressionable What has that got to do with posting the score? You don't play orchestral pieces looking at a score.

[knightess5829]

@TheImpressionable It's just a way to follow along with the music, some prefer it, although I personally don't :)

[Saxymanda87]

Webern was an Austrian. So many people hated his work even performers didn't want to perform his work. Listeners found it incomprehensible. In WW II the Nazis banned his work completely. He was stuck at his publishing position. Feel bad for the guy.

[clubsandwedge]

I'm pretty sure that this music can't be fully appreciated and thus enjoyed unless you are pointed to a couple things. The obvious thing is the distorted sense of space and time which drew a sort of parallel with post-romantic/impressionist movements of visual art like cubism. I think of music prior to THIS type of serialism as a sort of conceptual movie. The absolute dynamic concept of experience questions the difference between organicism and continuity (Perspective reality and Actual reality)

[SamrFoster]

Who is performing?

[NewMusicXX]

@SamrFoster London Symphony Orchestra under Pierre Boulez

[Marchawc]

The 2nd Viennese Skool rocks!

[TheImpressionable]

@Marchawc i'm sure they would agree with you if they were here today... *cough* they would dissaprove of rock *cough*

[LILmoquie]

Klangfarbenmolodien

[iamalittlespy]

This is very beautiful.

[MrRaph87]

trés beau travail de pédagogie ...

trés beau travail tout court.

merci !!

[PianoplayerPaul]

Excellent notes to go along with this excellent piece of music!

[lorenzarthur91]

thank you for your annotations, they are always interesting and helpful.

[frosty956]

yay webern! i love webern!