Sets and Nonsets in Schoenberg's Atonal Music

Author(s): Allen Forte

Source: Perspectives of New Music, Vol. 11, No. 1, Tenth Anniversary Issue (Autumn -
Winter, 1972), pp. 43-64
Published by: Perspectives of New Music
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/832462
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 SETS AND NONSETS IN SCHOENBERG'S
ATONAL MUSIC

ALLEN FORTE

A consideration of Schoenberg's atonal music ought to refer to

a theoretical framework for atonal music in general. The present
article, however, will not set forth such a framework, but will fo-
cus, instead, on an elementary problem in Schoenberg's atonal
oeuvre,1that of distinguishing compositional units or sets from sec-
ondary formations or nonsets.2
In order to concentrate on this aspect of Schoenberg's music
and to avoid digressions into other interesting aspects, no effort
will be made to show the function of sets in the music. No com-
plete analyses will be presented, although every musical example
quoted is extracted from a complete analysis-and, indeed, could
not be convincingly and confidently presented to the reader other-
wise. There will also be no comparison of Schoenberg's atonal and
twelve-tone procedures.
Schoenberg's atonal compositions exhibit a remarkable and inno-
vational kind of structuring, one that cannot be characterized sim-
ply, although a matrix of two or more dimensions might serve as an
adequate model. With one exception, this aspect of Schoenberg's
music has not been documented in the literature.3
The components of these musical structures are pitch-class sets
containing from four to eight elements, usually. For any given com-
position the stock of sets that have structural significance (to be
discussed below) is relatively small. As some indication of number,
Herzgewichse, Op. 20, is constructed of exactly nineteen sets and
their complements.4 An extreme case is the fourth of the Five

1Atonal is used here in the now conventional sense to designate the nontonal, pre-
twelve-tone music.
2An approach to a theory of atonal music has been made in [1]. A more recent
refinement and extension will be found in [2].
3George Perle, the exception, cites some instances, but his readings are insufficiently
detailed and often contain mistakes.
4Some knowledge of now standard terms is assumed.

* 43 -
 PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC

Piano Pieces, Op. 23, which is based upon only three hexachords
and their complements.
In the course of this exposition, it is hoped that certain notions
concerning Schoenberg's use of compositional materials will be
laid to rest. Among these are the notion of the "basic cell,"5 the
idea that tonalistic formations, such as the triad or augmented triad
are important components, the notion that some elements are
"independent details,"6 and the idea that familiar configurations,
such as the whole-tone scale and "chords in fourths" play signi-
ficant roles in the music. It is indeed unfortunate that these views
have become as widely disseminated as they have, for they tend to
obscure Schoenberg's unique genius.7
Before proceeding to the main task, it is necessary to introduce
some elementary symbols. All references to pitch-class sets will be
by set-names.8 A set-name consists of a digit representing the num-
ber of elements in the set, followed by a hyphen, followed by two
digits representing the position of the set on a fixed list. (There
seems to be no need to reproduce the complete list here, since
only a small number of sets are cited and since there is no extended
discussion of properties of sets and relations among them.) Thus,
for example, 6-14 is the name of a six-element set occupying the
fourteenth position on the list. If a Z precedes the position number
this means that the set is one of a pair A, B such that A has the
same total interval-content as B but is not inversionally or trans-
positionally equivalent to it. The bar above a set-name signifies
complement. For instance, 5-15 = 7-15 means that 5-15 is the
complement of 7-15. One final convention, which is perhaps more
familiar to readers of this journal. Transposition of a set S is de-
fined as the addition (mod 12) of some positive integer t to each
element of S. Occasionally this value will be given in connection
with the musical examples-for instance, t = 11.
It must be emphasized that set-names are only labels; they in-
dicate nothing about the function of a particular instance of a set.
This can be dealt with only at a level of analysis higher than that
attained in the present endeavor.
5As described in [3].
6Also in [3].
7Schoenberg is partly and indirectly responsible for this, of course, by virtue of his
discussion of chords in fourths, etc. in the latter part of the Harmonielehre.
8Asin [1] and [2].

*44
 SETS AND NONSETS IN SCHOENBERG'S ATONAL MUSIC

The determination of a significant set, as distinct from a nonset,

is not always easy. Some informal guides are: (1) the set occurs
consistently throughout-it is not merely "local"; (2) the comple-
ment of the set occurs consistently throughout; (3) if the set is a
member of a Z-pair, the other member also occurs; (4) the set is an
"atonal" set, not a set that would occur in a tonal work. As may
be evident from this informal recitation, set-complex structure
provides important criteria of "significance," but will not be ex-
plicitly invoked here. See [1] and [2].
Most problems concerning the determination of significant sets
are resolved only through careful analysis of the entire work. And
while no such complete analyses are provided in this article, all the
examples are extracted from works that have been completely
analyzed, as indicated above.
It seems appropriate at this juncture to dispense with further
preliminaries, claims and disclaimers, and to proceed to some mu-
sical examples.
The opening of the first of Schoenberg's Three Piano Pieces, Op.
11 has been cited often, yet nowhere in the literature has its
straightforward hexachordal organization been described.9 This is

n^~~~~~i. .=7
.. I*

6-Z1o 6-16 6-Z39 (-6-ZIo) 6-16 6-16

6-16
6-1 6-Z3 6-16 nd two explicit forms 6-16 616 6-Z39
6-Z 6-16 6-16 6-Zio 6-Zio of 6-Zio)

Ex. 1

9Perle [3], Ex. 7, discusses the "intervallic cell" and describes the structure in terms
of trichords. Brinkmann [4], p. 63, emphasizes what he considers to be "a remarkable
accumulation of tonal elements," by which he refers to the fifth (B to E) spanned by the
uppermost line and the juxtaposition of major and minor third (G*-G). In this tonal-
evolutionary posture he emulates von der Null [5], p. 102.

* 45 -
 PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC

shown in Ex. 1. A hexachord of type 6-Z10 comprises the upper

part, while the lower, "accompanying," part consists of a hex-
achord of type 6-16. Subsequent important roles of these hexa-
chords are indicated in the remainder of Ex. 1. Hexachord 6-Z39,
the complement of 6-Z10, is featured in the consequent phrase in
m. 4; 6-16 is contained in the ascending figure that begins at m. 12,
and two forms of that hexachord interlock at m. 13. A more com-
plicated configuration involving both sets occurs at m. 28: 6-16 and
6-Z39 overlap, with 6-16 again being formed between the peak
note of the figure and the rising line in the lower register. At m. 29,
the culmination of the passage, 6-16 occurs yet again.
Within the last portion of the movement, beginning at m. 51,
the two hexachords are associated in the clearest possible way. Of
the three successive occurrences of the ascending figure in the low-
er register (Ex. 1), the first two form 6-16, while the final one
forms 6-Z39-the latter identical, with respect to pitch and reg-
ister, to the set in m. 4.
The interwoven multiple occurrences of 6-Z10 at m. 34 are
most remarkable, but not especially unusual in Schoenberg's aton-
al music. There in the uppermost part are two ordered transpo-
sitions of the melodic theme of the opening. (Note that the in-
variants exchange positions.) Added to these "explicit" forms of
6-Z10 are two overlapping forms, as shown. Thus, the incipient
development is literally saturated with the thematic set, 6-Z10.
(Compare Ex. 12 below.)
Example 2 provides additional perspective on the aspect of
Schoenberg's compositional technique under discussion. The mu-
sic shown in Ex. 2a is the opening of Herzgewachse, Op. 20 (1911).

Langsam

|i+b--- 1i 1 i

Ex.2a
- 46 -
 SETS AND NONSETS IN SCHOENBERG'S ATONAL MUSIC

6-Z19 6-Z3
8-12 8-7

'"6-Z 4 47 4-13 7-21 112 4 8 4-zs5

/ 4-13
5-32 6 Z19
4-Z15

5-21
4-19 4-19
.^~~ ' ~I/ --
XJ. , _
_ V
-
P -*~ . .*4jF
$ ^
-/l. i= f - M

5-1'6 4-12 4!Z29 4-Z15

Ex. 2b

Not untypically, large sets are formed, within which there is a good
deal of detailed structuring. As shown in the sketch-like repre-
sentation of Ex. 2b, the two 8-element sets, 8-12 and 8-7, are
followed by the hexachords 6-Z19 and 6-Z3. These sets and their
complements, as well as all other sets indicated in the example, are
significant components over the entire music. Indeed, almost all
the set-types utilized in the composition are exemplified here: all
seven 4-element sets, all but four 5-element sets (which include
two pairs of Z-related sets), and all but one complement-related
pair of hexachords.
Within the large set 8-12, the hexachord 6-Z44 is formed first.
This hexachord type is typical of much of Schoenberg's atonal mu-
sic, and little wonder, for it is his motto (Es-C-H-B-E-G). Its com-
plement, 6-Z19 (inverted and transposed), subsequently occurs
twice in the passage quoted: under 8-7 and immediately following.
Observe that 6-Z19 in the latter situation contains the complement
of 8-12, 4-12, as well as a new 4-element component, 4-8.
The 5-element set, 5-32, under 6-Z44 has no immediate conse-
quences in the passage. However, the set 4-Z15 (one form of the all-
* 47
 PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC

interval tetrachord), which occurs within 6-Z44, returns to accom-

pany the entrance of the voice (m. 2), at which point it forms a new
hexachord, 6-Z3, together with 4-13. Set 4-Z15 is also contained
in 8-7, as shown at the bottom of Ex. 2b. In the same context
there occurs the other form of the all-interval tetrachord, 4-Z29.
In addition to 6-Z19 and 6-Z44, other complement-related sets
are of interest here. In particular, the large set 8-7 is preceded by
its complement, 4-7. And set 7-21 (under 8-7) contains its com-
plement, 5-21. The latter two sets are among those especially fa-
vored by Schoenberg in his atonal music. Set 5-21 occurs through-
out the orchestral pieces Op. 16, for example, and throughout
Pierrot Lunaire. (Set 7-21 is, in fact, the final sonority of the latter
work.)
Two important observations need to be made in connection with
Ex. 2-important because they can be extended to apply to all of
Schoenberg's atonal music. First, notice that the slurred melodic
formation Gt-A-D-Eb (Ex. 2a) does not form a significant set (Ex.
2b). The Gt is an element of five sets, while A and D belong to
4-13 and Eb belongs to 8-7 and its subcomponents. Similarly, the
opening "motive" of the voice, F-G-G-F#t-Ft, is not in itself a
structural set, but a secondary formation, a nonset, the elements of
which belong to other sets. In general, a given "melodic line" may
not necessarily be a discrete structural component.10 This facet of
Schoenberg's music has led to much misunderstanding and caused
many blunders in the past, particularly where such secondary for-
mations are "chromatic lines" (as in the case of the voice motive
here), "whole-tone scales," or other familiar patterns. Schoenberg
simply did not compose with these and other well-worn formulae,
just as he did not compose with sets that properly belong to the vo-
cabulary of tonal music-although, as will be evident in subsequent
examples, such sets may be indirect results of the interaction of
significant structural components.
The second observation to be made in connection with Ex. 2 is
as follows. Every pitch belongs to at least one significant set; there
are no "independent details" [3]. This includes pitches written in
small notation, as Ab and C in the single occurrence of 4-8 in Ex. 2a
or Gt in 6-Z3 (Ex. 2b). Every detail, no matter how minute, is an
integral part of the complete musical conception.
10This applies as well to instrumental parts marked Hauptstimme or Nebenstimme.
These are not necessarily significant entities in themselves.

* 48 -
 SETS AND NONSETS IN SCHOENBERG'S ATONAL MUSIC

Misreadings of structural components abound in the literature

on Schoenberg's atonal music. Even a scholar as astute as George
Perle has erred in this respect. Example 3a shows his reading of
part of the penultimate measure of the fourth of the Five Piano
Pieces, Op. 23.11 This, we are told, is an instance of an indirect
chromatic progression (a chromatic progression with octave dis-
placement).12 However, as Perle well knows, this composition uti-
lizes a small number of hexachords throughout. Why would a more
or less trivial "chromatic" formation be introduced here at the very
end of the composition? To be sure, the hexachordal organization
of the lower part is somewhat concealed, but certainly the regular-
ity exhibited by the tetrachords should provide a clue.

a 6-z

ft 5

6-z44 \ 6-z Io
n,.,/ ,^m !
---
-Z f
p, 9:0. =$
b
6-Z10 6,-10 \

J- 1b

4-7 4-7 4-7 4-7

Ex. 3

Example 3b shows a correct reading of the passage in its entire-

ty. The upper part carries 6-Z44, a replica of the first statement of
that set, in m. 1. Three disjoint forms of 6-Z10 occur notated on
11In [3],p.25.
12The reading of this passage is all the more strange in view of the virtually correct
reading of the beginning of the piece, in [3], p. 48.

* 49 -
 PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC

the lower staff, the final one a replica of the first statement of that
set in m. 1. Finally, 6-Z10 is formed once again between the staves,
as indicated.
From the foregoing examples it should be apparent that a sys-
tematic description of Schoenberg's way of combining sets is fea-
sible-a typology of segmentation for his music. Nothing of the
kind will be undertaken here; instead, examples of some basic kinds
of structuring will be discussed and illustrated.
The embedded single set, which has been shown in Exx. 2 and
3, is, of course, a common type. An especially interesting case is
that in which a set contains its complement. (See, for instance, Ex.
6.) Similarly, simple overlapping has been shown (Ex. 1). The com-
bination of embedded sets (inclusion) with overlapping sets (inter-
section) is an obvious source of complicated configurations. Pas-
sages of this kind will be illustrated below.
Not at all obvious, however, is a remarkable feature of
Schoenberg's music that might be called overlapping in a single di-
mension.13 Example 4, from Herzgewachse, Op. 20, is typical. The
celesta part alone, except for the first three notes, consists of over-
lapping forms of 4-7, transpositionally related, with t = 11. Notice
that the repeated notes in the third form of the set effect an ex-
pansion, disrupting what would otherwise be a regular patterning.
Here, as in other aspects of his compositional process, Schoenberg
eschews the routine and obvious.

Celesta
m.17

~- 1+ 44-7- 4-7 4-7 4-7

Voice 6 4-18 4-19 4-18

Celesta 4 LL
b

-1.
I gw - o I ?
We

4-12 4-19 4-18 4-7

Ex. 4

13This was first suggested to the author by Steven Gilbert's dissertation [6], in which
melodic lines are subjected to a systematic analysis in terms of trichordal subsets.

* 50 -
 SETS AND NONSETS IN SCHOENBERG'S ATONAL MUSIC

The lower part of Ex. 4, Ex. 4b, shows the overlapping effected
by voice and celesta combined. While the middle part of the con-
figuration is made up of overlapping forms of 4-18 and 4-19, be-
ginning and end yield 4-12 and 4-7, respectively.
A clear example of a nonset is provided by the total configura-
tion shown in Ex. 4b: the 10-element "chromatic" set 10-1. In this
case the significance of the whole is entirely dependent upon the
significance of its parts.
Overlapping of a more complicated kind is shown in Ex. 5, ex-
tracted from the ninth piece of Pierrot Lunaire, Op. 21.14 Of the
two lines, the upper forms 4-18, the lower 4-8. At the same time,
the vertical pairing indicated creates disjoint forms of 4-18 and 4-8,
in that order. In the vertical resulting from the notes tied over the
barline, the upper hexachord is 6-Z43, a set that occurs as the
first hexachord in the piece (and in the same context as its com-
plement, 6-Z17-not shown here). One additional set is marked,
4-13, which is brought in with the three notes F$ -G-A. All three
sets, 4-13, 4-8, and 4-18, are stated in the previous music and are
significant sets throughout.

4-18 4-18
m.4

Ex. 5

Overlapping is a consistent feature of the vertical dimension as

well. Example 6, from Herzgew'achse, illustrates. Not all sets are
shown, but only those relevant to the overlapping feature. In par-
ticular, note that the overlapping 4-element sets, 4-7 and 4-19,
occur here in conjunction with three statements of 5-21. The last
statement of 5-21 is within one of the hexachords fundamental to
this music, 6-Z44. Both sets are favored by Schoenberg, as men-
tioned above.
14Actually the first piece to be composed. See Rufer [7].

? 51 ?
 PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC
m.24
6-Z44
4-7 _ 1

5-21 4-7

:-9 I.119

4-19 4-7 , U
5-21 5-21

Ex. 6

A somewhat similar situation is shown in Ex. 7, from the second

of the Six Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19, but one which is more con-
cisely structured. Within the large set, 8-19, occurs the hexachord
6-20. This hexachord, in turn, is structured by a regular overlap-
ping of two forms of 4-19, the complement of 8-19. These are in-
versionally related (t = 9), intersecting in the two common notes,
Eb and F#, and embedded within the complement set, 8-19, as
already noted. Still another level of overlapping is exhibited by the
two forms of 5-21 within 6-20, as shown.15 This latter overlapping,
however, is trivial, in the specific sense that 6-20 contains only 5-
element subsets of type 5-21. That is, any selection of five distinct
elements from 6-20 is reducible to a set of type 5-21.
5-21

4-19

L I

8-19
Ex. 7

15It seems doubtful that Travis's characterization [8] of this final sonority as a
functioning tonic chord is reasonable, in view of the substructures that have been pointed
out. Every component has a specific contextual meaning, in terms of this piece as well
as with reference to the entire set of pieces, whereas the "triad," C-E-G, is a nonset.
Compare Ex. 9 below.

* 52 ?
 SETS AND NONSETS IN SCHOENBERG'S ATONAL MUSIC

Vertical and horizontal overlapping combine to create passages

of greater complexity, while retaining a high degree of "strict" or-
ganization. Example 8, from the first of the Four Songs for Voice
and Orchestra, Op. 22, provides an illustration. In this short passage
m.15
4-19
4-19

,^ fkSi^~ _i-^-s^ w -:
a,Q
-9t
-is1l
4-19 9

4==$LJFLI Q Ja~~~~~.17 1

\ \ Fb-
4-19 4-19
6-20 L__
6-20
Ex. 8

the total chromatic is deployed in the following way. First, 6-20

is stated as a vertical (by violins) and then is sustained throughout
the passage, as indicated by the incomplete ties. The initial state-
ment of 6-20 is followed by another form of the same set (clari-
nets), related to the first by transposition, with t = 2. At this trans-
position level (one of two such) complete variance is effected-
i. e., the literal complement is produced.16 As is apparent from the
notation, the remainder of the passage consists of the horizontal
projection of 6-20 in all six voices, with the result that the hexa-
chord permeates both horizontal and vertical dimensions. What is
not obvious is that the hexachord is so ordered in both dimensions
that all six forms of the tetrachord 4-19 contained in 6-20 are
stated as overlapping segments.17 Only two pairs of 4-19 are marked
in Ex. 8. Represented in conventional letter-names, all six forms of
4-19 in 6-20 are as follows:
Eb-G-Bb-B
D-Eb-F -Bb
G-B-D-Eb
16Readers will recognize 6-20 as one of Babbitt's all-combinatorial hexachords.
17The ordering of 6-20 is special in another way, as well. It is one of the 24 permuta-
tions of that set which produce the basic interval pattern 34444 uniquely associated with
6-20. See [2]. Schoenberg discusses none of these matters in [9] or elsewhere. And,
indeed, there is every reason to believe that he would never have explained his compo-
sitional selections in any depth.

* 53 -
 PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC

Ft-G-Bb-D
B-Eb-F# -G
Bb-B-D-Ft
As a final comment on Ex. 8 it might be pointed out that the
"augmented triads" visible from the notation are not significant
structural components and, in fact, are a fortuity of notation or,
perhaps, a notational concealment-which would not be untypical
of Schoenberg.18 Example 11 below shows another instance.
The point that a total set may be significant only in terms of its
subsets was made above in connection with Ex. 4. Also common in
Schoenberg's music is the situation in which a subset is significant
only in terms of a superset. An amusing case is shown in Ex. 9,
m.3
4-19

4-Z15

6-Z44

Ex. 9

from the last movement of Pierrot Lunaire, Op. 21: the nonset B-
E-Gt that occurs at the end of the opening passage. This "triad" is
meaningful only as a subset of 6-Z44 (Schoenberg's motto again)
and 4-19, as shown in Ex. 9. Further, its two lower notes combine
with Db and F to form 4-Z15. Both tetrachords are prominent in
the opening phrase. There can be little doubt that the use of a 6
chord here is a bit of Schoenbergian whimsy. Indeed, the entire
opening, with its surface "simplicity," may have been intended to
dupe some unsuspecting critic.19
Thus far, some basic types of set usage have been examined and
illustrated and some general comments have been made. More com-
plex passages will now be considered, passages in which inclusions
and overlappings are compounded to create elaborate textures.
18Nor is it untypical of Stravinsky. Similar passages abound, for example, in The
Rite of Spring.
19There have been a few willing victims. H. H. Stuckenschmidt, for example, writes:
"The impression of simplicity is strengthened by presenting the theme in thirds. It is in E
major, with a 6/4 chord in the third and sixteenth bars." [10], p. 71.

* 54 ?
 SETS AND NONSETS IN SCHOENBERG'S ATONAL MUSIC

Example 10a provides the notation for the opening phrase of the
third of the Three Piano Pieces, Op. 11, a complicated work that
has perplexed several writers, and not without reason.20 The under-
lying set structure of the music is difficult to sort out and almost
as difficult to represent.
Example 10b is a representation of the sets that occur in the
opening "thematic" statement. Only sets of five or more elements
are shown. The 4-element sets, which are of considerable impor-
tance in the music, will be discussed below.
The passage divides naturally into two parts, corresponding to
the rhythmic articulation on the fifth sixteenth-note. The large set
formed in the first part, 8-Z15, is followed by the 7-element set,
7-Z18, which contains its complement, 5-Z18, as indicated. These
two large "top to bottom" sets are almost matched in importance
by the two large "left to right" sets, 6-Z44 and 8-18; but, whereas
8-Z15 and 7-Z18 are disjoint, 6-Z44 and 8-18 overlap.
The complement of 6-Z44, 6-Z19, is formed at the very outset
within 8-Z15, and the first hexachord within 7-Z18 is again 6-Z44.
The latter overlaps, as shown, with 6-5, and 6-5 here is the same
pitch-class set as it is when it occurs as the melodic theme of the
second movement. Within 6-5 are statements of 5-7 and 5-Z18, the
latter embedded within its complement, as mentioned above. These
two 5-element sets pair off against 5-7 and 5-21 in 8-Z15, and all
three 5-element sets interact throughout the movement. Although
additional, related sets are introduced subsequently, the six sets
shown here are fundamental components of the entire composition.
Still a further level of complexity is introduced by the 4-element
sets, as shown in Ex. 10c. Three of these are obvious: 4-Z15, the
opening motive in the lowest voice; 4-19, in the uppermost voice;
and 4-19 again, as the first four-note vertical.
The large "left to right" set, 8-18, decomposes into overlapping
tetrachords of four types, and the last of these, 4-16, occurs twice,
as indicated. Only the first (4-19) and last (4-16) verticals are sig-
nificant sets. The line beginning on Ct brings in additional sets by
overlapping, as shown separately at the bottom of the main part of
Ex. 1 c. All subsequently have various roles in the music.

20See, for example, Perle [3], Ex. 19, p. 21. Brinkmann [4], p. 121, has little of
significance to say about the opening of the movement, but is concerned with the octave
doublings, the motivic manipulations (motivische Arbeit), and the rhythmic "accelera-
tion" that begins in m. 2.

* 55 ?
 PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC

Bewegt

6-Z19 6-Z44 6-5

6-Z446-Z44 E E E A A C G#

b C F F D
\ C C Ab
8-18
C1 DI FI GI D C# A

A GI D C C C D D IC

8-Z 15 7-Z18

5-21 5-7 5-7 5-ZlI

4-13 4-19 -19 -Z29 4-18 4-16

\ E E A G#|

C C C F F Ab DI
c

Cl D# Fl G# D C# A

D# F# G# D C# A

4-Z
4-12 465 /

4Ex. 10

Ex. 10

* 56 ?
 SETS AND NONSETS IN SCHOENBERG'S ATONAL MUSIC

It would be gratifying to be able to assert that in Schoenberg's

atonal music there is a discernible increase or decrease in complex-
ity depending upon the date of composition of a particular work.
No such fluctuation is evident, however; the degree of complexity
seems to be more or less uniform over the entire corpus of music,
and, moreover, is independent of medium. The next example, Ex.
11, the opening of the fourth movement of the Five Orchestral
Pieces, Op. 16, is a case in point.
6-Z37
Molto Allegro

6 - Z-_-
3

6-Z37
---! ........... W

a _ Y _.j.__^ a _
Lif=__

6-31 6-31 6-31 6-31 6-31

5-21 5-21 5-21 5-21

6-Z4 (-6-Z37) formed by every such triple of "thirds"

C .
I t Is - - -= __
6-20 formed by every such pair of "augmented triads"

A kb b
d
1 6-Z6
6-Z6
formed
tri7pl-eof
formed
by every
by every
such
such triple of
"f ourth
"fourths" .-.--- __ __

.11
04-
C-ft-kt 4
e ? Z _ - -- -- _ _
ev fo d u

6-Z19 formed by every such pair of "minor triads"

Ex. 11

As indicated in Ex. 11, the dramatic opening melodic line forms

6-Z37, its peak note intersecting with a 5-element set (not signifi-
cant in itself) to form the first statement of the hexachord 6-31.

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 PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC

Upon first inspection, the subsequent motion is straightforward.

Each successive pair of verticals in sixteenth-notes states 7-21 and,
as shown, 7-21 is partitioned into sets 5-21 (its complement) and
6-31, creating the regular sequence indicated. (The three successive
occurrences of 7-21 are related by transposition, with t = 10, a
value that yields minimal invariance.) An ordered transposition of
the initial 6-Z37 follows, culminating again in 6-31. The latter,
however, does not have the same vertical arrangement as its coun-
terpart on the downbeat of m. 2.
About the diverging "chordal streams" in m. 2, it can be said,
without qualification, that (once again) the "augmented triads,"
"minor triads," and "chromatic lines" so congenial to the amateur
analyst are of no significance in themselves.21 Instead, four addi-
tional hexachords, which subsequently become more explicit struc-
tural components of the music, are introduced. Examples 1 lb
through lie set out the patterns. Overlapping triples of thirds (Ex.
1lb) create a succession of six forms of 6-Z4, a set of immediate
local significance, since it is the complement of 6-Z37, the set
formed by the opening melodic theme. Each pair of "augmented
triads" (both disjoint and overlapping) brings in a new form of 6-20
(Ex. llc), and the remaining hexachords, 6-Z6 and 6-Z19, are
formed in a similar way (Ex. 1id and Ex. lie). This is perhaps as
clear an illustration of multiple dimensions in Schoenberg's music
as one could find, although it is by no means exceptional.
As a final example of complexity, Ex. 12 displays the sets in a
passage from the fourth of the Five Piano Pieces, Op. 23. Here the
reader's indulgence is requested; it is extremely difficult to devise
clear ways of showing the sets that make up a complicated texture
of this kind. In the present instance six staves below the ordinary
notation have been aligned to show the component sets in expand-
ed form.
The piece is extraordinary for a number of reasons, not the least
of which, as mentioned above, is the fact that it is based entirely
upon three hexachords and their complements: 6-Z10 and its com-
plement 6-Z39, 6-Z19 and its complement 6-Z44, and 6-14. Only
6-Z39 is not stated in the passage under consideration.

21Robert Craft [11] has characterized the sixteenth-note passage in m. 2 as "A

trumpet 'smear,' consisting of seven augmented triads . . ." (p. 21). The minor triads
(trombones) are not discussed.

* 58 -
 SETS AND NONSETS IN SCHOENBERG'S ATONAL MUSIC
m.19
A,
A
,

-
K ^frsrr~\ .
,~~-- -- --2

-
-~>' '-r p ---= ' '
~v~~~~ A, A, 9=L:B4ft w

_:-~1~51b- | , i2

_
a(

---

~~~~~~~~~~~I I . .

----~~~~~~~~~~~ rb~=

6-1-4

Ex. 12

A somewhat deeper analysis of relations among the sets in this

passage will, it is hoped, provide clarification. First, however, it
should be pointed out that here, as is often the case elsewhere in
Schoenberg's atonal music, notation is not a reliable guide to the
underlying structure. For instance, in the formation labeled A1 the
beamed group B-A-Ab-G does not form a significant set (4-2), nor,
in B1 does the beamed group C-B-Bb-A. And, again, the various
"triads" are nonsets. These and other formations on the surface of
the music result from a more intricate and systematic deployment
of the basic hexachordal components. This deployment is perhaps
most easily described with reference to the subscripted groups
shown in Ex. 12.
The first two forms of 6-Z10 in A1 are inversionally related, with
t = 8, a value of t that produces four invariants-more than can be

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 PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC

obtained for any value of t under transposition alone. In A2 the

first two forms of 6-Z10 are again inversionally related, with t = 4.
Now, if the natural ordering effected by inverting and transposing
the first pair had been preserved, the middle dyads of both forms
would have retained the positions they now occupy, i. e.,
G Ft F
Eb D A
Db Ft Eb
F D B
but the outer dyads would have occupied reversed positions.
Schoenberg's compositional ordering, however, is such that the in-
variants are assigned to the same position throughout, i. e.,
G Ft F
Eb D A
B Ft F
Eb D Db
This accounts for the intersection of the two forms of 6-Z10, an
intersection which obscures to a large extent the discrete identity
of each.
An analogous situation exists with respect to the first two forms
of 6-Z10 in A2. Since the value of t for these two forms is the in-
verse of the value of t for the first two in A1, the two pairs have
the same number of invariants.22
The entire group A2 is a transposition of A1, with t = 4. This
value of t produces the maximum number of invariants, seven,
under transposition. And the invariant set is 7-33, the complement
of the 5-element "whole-tone" set. Thus, the invariants between
the two formations account for a secondary "whole-tone" feature
at the surface level.
Within and between groups A3 and A4 the relations are analogous
to those of groups A1 and A2. One, perhaps minor, feature should
be pointed out however: although the values of t in A2 for the two
forms of 6-Z10 are inverse-related, they are not 8 and 4, as in A1,
but 2 and 10.
Groups B1 and B2 exhibit a marked change in surface pattern
with respect to that of the A groups. This change is also evident in
22See Babbitt's fundamental discussion of invariance [12], which includes a discus-
sion of the results of inverse-related values of t under inversion.

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 SETS AND NONSETS IN SCHOENBERG'S ATONAL MUSIC

the underlying set-structure. Here, instead of one set-type, as in the

A groups, there are three. The members of each pair of sets of the
same type are transpositionally related, with t = 4. In the case of
6-Z44 and 6-14, this is the maximum amount of invariance obtain-
able under transposition, with four invariants-and the same four
for both types-between those sets in B1 and B2. There is, however,
no temporal coincidence of invariants as in the A groups. Moreover,
the amount of temporal coincidence of invariants between differ-
ent set-types is less here than it is between sets of the same type in
the A groups. For example, in B1 6-Z44 and 6-14 share no fewer
than five pitch-classes: B, C, Eb, and G, but the invariants coin-
cide temporally only in the case of E, G, and Eb. Nonetheless, the
intersections of the three set-types are sufficient to conceal effec-
tively the underlying structure of the final two B groups. Any ambi-
guity generated by this development passage, however, is immedi-
ately resolved by the subsequent music, which is a modified reprise
of the opening.23
A number of nonsets have been discussed in connection with the
passage under examination. To these should be added the 7-element
chromatic set that closes each of the B groups and the whole-tone
and "diatonic" formations that occur on all the verticals except
those which state 6-Z44 and 6-Z19 (first beat of A3 and first beat
of B2, respectively).
The previous paragraph concludes the discussion of specific ex-
amples. Some attention will now be given to reviewing general
aspects, with additional comments as required.
Of several general observations that have been made during the
discussion of specific examples, two are worth repeating here. First,
although Schoenberg uses and develops motives consisting of two
or three notes, these components are usually not fundamental con-
stituents, but may, in fact, be made up of elements of one or more
significant sets. (See, for instance, the opening melodic motive of
Herzgewachse, Ex. 2b.) Within the underlying structure of the mu-
sic, Schoenberg's complex matrix-like configuration, collections of

23As mentioned earlier, Perle [3], Ex. 65, gives a virtually correct reading of the
opening, assigning letters A through E to constituent sets. His set D, however, is a trans-
position of C (6-Z10), with t = 1, and the latter set is not the first occurrence of 6-Z10.
This intersects with the first four notes of his A (6-Z44) and is, in normal order: Ab-Bb-B-
C-D-DO. Further, his E (7-16) is a nonset, and several other forms of the basic hexachords
occur in the opening passage that he quotes.

* 61 ?
 PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC

fewer than four or more than eight elements are nonsets, for the
most part. Second, there is a specific limitation on the vocabulary
of sets. Sets with diatonic implications such as 6-32 (e. g., C-D-E-F-
G-A) are not components of the music, nor are whole-tone or chro-
matic formations.24
Exceptions to the preceding statement are to be found in the
first of Schoenberg's atonal compositions, Fifteen Poems from
"The Book of the Hanging Gardens" by Stefan George, Op. 15. In
particular, the second, third, fifth, eighth, and fourteenth songs
contain short whole-tone passages. These result from procedures
that are residual with respect to the "transitional" late tonal works,
such as the First Chamber Symphony, Op. 9. The third of the Five
Orchestral Pieces, Op. 16 also contains a recurrent component that
combines diatonic and whole-tone elements. This however, is a very
special case that can be interpreted only with reference to the mu-
sic in its entirety.25
One general aspect of the mode of occurrence of a set can easily
be inferred from the examples, but should perhaps be made explicit
at this point. A set almost invariably consists of contiguous ele-
ments; each element of a set intersects with or is adjacent to at
least one other element of the set.26 This does not rule out the pos-
sibility that sets may be formed over rests, as in Ex. 11.
An element may be repeated within a set. Such repetitions are
not arbitrary, but effect overlapping (either in the vertical or hori-
zontal dimension) without change of pitch-class content, hence im-
mediate temporal expansion of the set.

Schoenberg's remarkable creative and conceptual powers are evi-

dent at every stage in the compositional process, but perhaps most
extraordinarily so at the fundamental level at which sets are struc-
tured to form the basic matrix of the music. Each newly composed
configuration may affect more than one dimension, creating new

24In this regard, Schoenberg's music differs markedly from that of Stravinsky. The
latter, for example, in The Rite of Spring, does not hesitate to intermingle sets of the
familiar type with sets that belong to the new (at that time) vocabulary of atonal music.
25See [2] for an analysis of this movement.
26In the later atonal music, however, there is a tendency to use noncontiguous forma-
tions. One such has already been cited, without comment (Ex. 3b). Noncontiguous sets
at the surface level, such as the thematic restatement in m. 34 of the first piece of the
Three Piano Pieces, Op. 11, provide additional and obvious exceptions.

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 SETS AND NONSETS IN SCHOENBERG'S ATONAL MUSIC

sets or completing sets already partially formed. The result is a

strictly controlled, albeit often concealed texture of multiple di-
mensions in contrast to which the surface of the music gives the ap-
pearance of utmost flexibility and freedom. Flawed descriptions of
that surface and failure to recognize its underlying structure are re-
sponsible for the frequent misunderstanding of Schoenberg's aton-
al works and for the downgrading of the artistic achievement they
represent.27
It is tempting to compare Schoenberg's detailed way of segment-
ing the musical continuum with the traditional diminutions of tonal
music. Both are hierarchic, but they are essentially different with
respect to the concept of musical space. Accordingly, the tradition-
al notions of harmony and counterpoint take on radical new mean-
ings in his atonal music, if, indeed, they are applicable at all.
It appears that Schoenberg developed his new procedures during
a very short period of time, probably during the latter part of 1908,
at age thirty-four. Certainly they emerge almost completely formu-
lated in the first of the Three Pieces for Piano, Op. 11 (early 1909).
As has been emphasized in the course of this paper, this develop-
ment is characterized not only by the use of "new harmonies"
without reference to a tonal basis,28 but also by the complex de-
ployment of those components, creating a new dimensionality
appropriate to the new music.
Indeed, the very complexity of those procedures suggests an ob-
vious reason for the fact that Schoenberg's way of composing aton-
al music was not successfully adopted by anyone other than his
students, Webern and Berg.29 Others simply did not understand
what was going on in the music. In this connection, and in con-
clusion, it can be said that Webern's procedures are closer to those
of Schoenberg, although not as complex, while Berg is by no means

27Consider, for example, Boulez [13], p. 270, on the early atonal music: "Here I
observe a preponderance of intervals if the unfolding is horizontal, or of chords if it is
coagulated vertically, which are the least native to the classic harmony based upon super-
imposed thirds."
28Many of the new harmonies of course occurred in the late tonal music. For ex-
ample, the set 6-Z44 occurs in m. 2 of the first of the Two Songs for Voice and Piano,
Op. 14 (1907-1908) and as the first hexachord in the bass line of the second song from
the same work.
29There is room for speculation here. As far as one can ascertain from existing evi-
dence, it was not Schoenberg, but Webern who composed the first atonal work, his
Five Songs from "The Seventh Ring" by Stefan George, Op. 3 (1907-1908).

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 OF NEWMUSIC
PERSPECTIVES

as thorough or consistent as either Schoenberg or Webern, both

with respect to his selection of sets and with respect to the way in
which they are composed. Of course, both Webern and Berg devel-
oped their own idiosyncratic methods, the discussion of which is
not within the scope of this paper.

REFERENCES

[1] Forte, Allen: "A Theory of Set Complexes. "Journal of Music Theory,
Winter, 1964.
[2] Forte, Allen: The Structure of Atonal Music. Yale University Press,
forthcoming.
[3] Perle, George: Serial Composition and Atonality. University of
California Press, Berkeley, 1968.
[4] Brinkmann, Reinhold: Arnold Sch8nberg: DreiKlavierstiicke Op. 11.
Franz Steiner Verlag, Wiesbaden, 1969.
[5] von der Nill, Edwin: Moderne Harmonik. Leipzig, 1932.
[6] Gilbert, Steven E.: "The Trichord: An Analytic Outlook for Twentieth-
Century Music." Yale University Ph. D. Dissertation, 1970.
[7] Rufer, Josef, comp.: Das Werk Arnold Schoenbergs. Barenreiter,
Kassel, 1959.
[8] Travis, Roy: "Directed Motion in Schoenberg and Webern."Perspec-
tives of New Music, Spring-Summer, 1966.
[9] Schoenberg, Arnold: "Analysis of the Four Orchestral Songs Opus
22." Tr. by Claudio Spies. Perspectives of New Music, Spring-Summer,
1965.
[10] Stuckenschmidt, H. H.: Arnold Schoenberg. Tr. by E. T. Roberts and
H. Searle, Grove Press, New York, 1959.
[11] Craft, Robert: "Schoenberg's Five Pieces for Orchestra." Perspectives
on Schoenberg and Stravinsky, ed. by Benjamin Boretz and Edward T.
Cone, W. W. Norton & Co., Inc., New York, 1972.
[12] Babbitt, Milton: "Twelve-Tone Invariants as Compositional Determi-
nants." Problems of Modern Music, ed. by Paul Henry Lang, W. W.
Norton & Co., Inc., New York, 1960.
[13] Boulez, Pierre: Notes of an Apprenticeship. Tr. by Herbert Weinstock,
Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1968.

* 64 ?