Death wish Quote by Malcolm MacDonald
““In fact, had there been less discussion of the syntactical construction of Schoenberg’s music, and more of what it says, people might more readily have noticed what an essentially positive composer he is. There is no trace in his music of the post-Wagnerian ‘death wish’ that infected so many of his contemporaries, and can even be traced in the music of younger men like Berg. He explored horror and disorientation because he believed they could not be effectively rejected and transcended until they had been fully known. ‘Clarification””
About This Quote
Source Book: Schoenberg and His World by Malcolm MacDonald, 1990
Schoenberg’s music should be understood for its expressive meaning rather than just its technical structure, revealing a fundamentally positive artistic intent despite exploring dark themes.
In simple terms: Focus on what music conveys, not just how it’s built.
Key Takeaway
Listen for emotional truth beyond technique.
Themes
music analysis
artistic intent
positivity
Mood
thoughtful
analytical
Type
critical
interpretive
When to use this quote
- concert listening
- music education
- composition study
- critical essays
Key Concepts
Atonality
expressionism
psychology
Questions to Reflect On
- How does focusing on meaning change your perception of complex music?
- Can technical detail coexist with emotional understanding?
A Different Perspective
Technical analysis alone may miss emotional impact.
![“They [the critics] deal with Schoenberg’s early works and all their wealth by classifying them, with the music-historical cliché, as late romantic post-Wagnerian. One might just as well dispose of Beethoven as a late-classicist post-Haydnerian.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e1f/anonymous-1_classicists_they-the-critics-deal-with-schoenberg-s_2736267.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…” quote by George Perle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/cbc/george-perle-87539_circulation_if-alban-berg-departs-so-radically-from_1851359.jpg)
![“[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)
