Circulation Quote by George Perle
![“If... [Alban] Berg departs so radically from tradition, through his substitution of a symmetrical partitioning of the octave for the asymmetrical partionings of the major/minor system, he departs just as radically from the twelve-tone tradition that is represented in the music of Schoenberg and…” quote by George Perle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/cbc/george-perle-87539_circulation_if-alban-berg-departs-so-radically-from_1851359.jpg)
“If... [Alban] Berg departs so radically from tradition, through his substitution of a symmetrical partitioning of the octave for the asymmetrical partionings of the major/minor system, he departs just as radically from the twelve-tone tradition that is represented in the music of Schoenberg and Webern, for whom the twelve-tone series was always an integral structure that could be transposed only as a unit, and for whom twelve-tone music always implied a constant and equivalent circulation of the totality of pitch classes.”
About This Quote
Source Article: The Structure of Twelve‑Tone Music, 1970
Radical departures from tradition involve redefining pitch organization, shifting from asymmetrical to symmetrical systems.
In simple terms: Changing musical rules reshapes art.
Key Takeaway
Explore new musical structures.
Themes
innovation
tradition
structure
Mood
analytical
curious
Type
academic
critical
When to use this quote
- composing
- music education
- analysis of modern works
Key Concepts
Music theory
composition
aesthetics
Questions to Reflect On
- How does symmetry affect musical perception?
- What risks arise when breaking tradition?
A Different Perspective
Listeners may find radical changes unsettling.
![“[Charlie "Bird" Parker] would sit down and ask [Phil Wood], "What do you think about this whole secondary Viennese school with Schoenberg, Berg and Webern? Are you listening to that music and what do you feel about it?" These were the conversations that he was having. And he also said, what he…” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d1a/jon-gordon-1655_asks_charlie-bird-parker-would-sit-down-and-a_1110923.jpg)
![“You think about, like, [20th-century classical composers] Alban Berg, Schoenberg, and Webern sitting around in some living room in Vienna and being like, "We are the end of music. We are the end of this tradition. Music is done."” quote by David Longstreth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/0aa/david-longstreth-8561_20th-century_you-think-about-like-20th-century-classi_2113030.jpg)
![“[the impression of the first time I heard Webern's music in a concert performance] was the same as I was to experience a few years later when I first laid eyes on a Mondriaan canvas...: those things, of which I had acquired an extremely intimate knowledge, came across as crude and unfinished when…” quote by Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e96/anton-webern-30529_artist_the-impression-of-the-first-time-i-heard_3024013.jpg)
![“It was at Harvard not quite forty years ago that I went into an anechoic [totally silent] chamber not expecting in that silent room to hear two sounds: one high, my nervous system in operation, one low, my blood in circulation. The reason I did not expect to hear those two sounds was that they…” quote by John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/153/john-cage-2094_blood_it-was-at-harvard-not-quite-forty-years_56114.jpg)
