Musik von einem fremden Planeten?. Variationen über Struktur, Wahrnehmung und Bedeutung in der Musik des 20. und 21. Jahrhunderts

The relationship between musical structure, perception and meaning can be understood as a key to the development of theory post-tonal music. Preliminaries this are developed in three “variations”. First, review difficult music new 20th century is explained by (1) an increasingly diverse compositional practice that has lead composer-centred “theory”, often amounting nothing more than scantily contextualized documentation composer’s intentions techniques, (2) universalist dogmatic tendency music-theoretical discourse around 1900 which, however, since into “epistemological pluralism” (Nicholas Cook). Graz research project “organisation sound”, initiated headed author, pursues just such pluralistic methodology integrating author- listener-perspectives on based morpho-syntactical conceptual framework with references gestalt theory. This approach emerged not least from observation music, especially after 1945, been conceived “morphologically” strong focus perception, argued second variation. idea “worldliness” [Welthaltigkeit] inseparable allowed composers retain auto-referentiality while at same time claiming social-political impact contemporary illustrated short discussion structural coherence (political) works Brian Ferneyhough, Helmut Lachenmann Salvatore Sciarrino. third variation discusses these questions detail through examination two recent Chaya Czernowin Isabel Mundry. In Czernowin’s Excavated Dialogues – Fragments Western Chinese instruments organized culturally hybrid space saturated conflict emerging highly gestural material; Mundry’s Ich und Du solo piano orchestra go several stages ambiguous identity informed essay Japanese philosopher Kitarō Nishida. Antinomies composers’ self-interpretations analysis results music-specific polyvalence should inform any