The Structure of Atonal Music

Describes and cites examples of pitch-class sets and relations in atonal music.

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“For some years now, a group of American composers and theorists including Babbitt, Teitelbaum, Martino, and Lewin, have been elaborating mathematically based procedures for the analysis of pitch structures in atonal music.  In this book, Allen Forte expands the results of their work into a comprehensive theoretical survey illustrated with examples from a wide range of composers.”—Times Higher Education Supplement
“An attempt to ‘provide a general theoretical framework’ for the description and analysis of musical pitch-structures that resist interpretation in terms of conventional tonal or 12-note serial systems…. Not the least achievement of this book may be to establish the limits for a positive meaning for atonality…. Forte always moves forward with elegant clarity, explaining even quite conventional terms and illustrating his points with directness and care.”—The Musical Times