Anton Webern
Über musikalische Formen [On musical forms]
Lecture notes from Ludwig Zenk, Siegfried Oehlgiesser, Rudolf Schopf und Erna Apostel
Publications of the Paul Sacher Foundation, vol. 8
Edited by Neil Boynton, 2002
438 pp., 15.6 x 23.4 cm
ISBN 3-7957-0450-2 (PSB 1012)
EUR 36
The lecture notes collected in this volume were taken from the courses in musical form that Webern held in various private Viennese homes from 1934 to 1938. While the contents of his two preceding courses on the historical preconditions of twelve-tone music have been familiar since the publication of Willi Reich's notes («Der Weg zur neuen Musik», 1960), his thoughts on musical form, especially as exemplified by Beethoven's piano sonatas, are hereby made accessible to a large public for the first time. Taken down partly by professional musicians and partly by amateurs, the notes form a major contribution to our understanding not only of Webern but of the entire Second Viennese School. Rounding out the edition is a detailed commentary on Webern's teaching activities, his circle of pupils, and the musico-theoretical premises behind the topics discussed in his courses.