"Never was anything as incoherent, shrill, chaotic
and ear-splitting produced in music. The most piercing
dissonances clash in a really atrocious harmony, and a
few puny ideas only increase the disagreeable and
(5) deafening effect."
This remark aptly characterizes the reaction of
many listeners to the music of Arnold Schoenberg.
But this particular criticism comes from the pen of the
dramatist August von Kotzebue, writing in 1806 about
(10) the overture to Beethoven's opera Fidelio.
Both Beethoven and Schoenberg stirred
controversy because of the way they altered the
language and extended the expressive range of music.
Beethoven, of course, has stood as a cultural icon for
(15) more than a century, but that didn't happen overnight.
His most challenging works did not become popular
until well into the twentieth century and, significantly,
after the invention of the phonograph, which made
repeated listening possible.
(20) Like Beethoven, Schoenberg worked in a
constantly changing and evolving musical style that
acknowledged tradition while simultaneously lighting
out for new territory. This is true of the three different
musical styles through which Schoenberg's music
(25) evolved. He began in the late-Romantic manner
music charged with shifting chromatic harmoni-
esthat was pervasive in his youth. People who enjoy
the music of Brahms ought to love Schoenberg's
Verklaerte Nacht, and they usually do, once they
(30) get past the fact that they are listening to a piece
by Schoenberg.
Schoenberg later pushed those unstable harmonies
until they no longer had a tonal basis. He did this in
part because in his view it was the next inevitable step
(35) in the historical development of music, and he felt he
was a man of destiny; he also did it because he
needed to in order to express what he was compelled
to express.
Finally, he developed the 12-tone technique as a
(40) means of bringing a new system of order to nontonal
music and stabilizing it. In all three styles, Schoenberg
operated at an awe-inspiring level of technical mastery.
As his career progressed, his music became more
condensed, more violent in its contrasts, and therefore
(45) more difficult to follow.
But the real issue for any piece of music is not
how it is made, but what it has to say. If Schoenberg
hadn't existed, it would have been necessary to invent
him, and not because of the 12-tone system, the seeds
(50) of which appear in Mozart. What makes Schoenberg's
music essential is that he precisely delineated
recognizable and sometimes disquieting emotional
states that music had not recerded before. Some of his
work remains disturbing not because it is incoherent,
(55) shrill, and ear-splitting, but because it unflinchingly
faces difficult truths.
1. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?(A) Though Schoenberg's music is more widely appreciated today than when he was alive, it is still regarded by many as shrill and incoherent.
(B) Because of his accomplishments as a composer, Schoenberg deserves to be as highly regarded as Beethoven.
(C) Though Schoenberg's music has not always been well received by listeners, it is worthy of admiration for both its expressive range and its technical innovations.
(D) Schoenberg is most important for his invention of the 12-tone technique of musical composition.
(E) Despite the fact that he wrote at a time when recordings of his compositions were possible, Schoenberg has not been accepted as quickly as Beethoven.
2. Which one of the following could be said to be disturbing in a way that is most analogous to the way that Schoenberg's music is said to be disturbing in line 54?(A) a comedian whose material relies heavily upon vulgar humor
(B) a comedian whose humor shines a light on aspects of human nature many people would prefer to ignore
(C) a comedian whose material is composed primarily of material already made famous by other comedians
(D) a comedian whose material expresses an extreme political philosophy
(E) a comedian whose style of humor is unfamiliar to the audience
3. The author begins with the quote from Kotzebue primarily in order to(A) give an accurate account of the music of Beethoven
(B) give an accurate account of the music of Schoenberg
(C) suggest that even Beethoven composed works of uneven quality
(D) suggest that music that is at first seen as alienating need not seem alienating later
(E) suggest that one critic can sometimes be out of step with the general critical consensus
4. All of the following are similarities between Beethoven and Schoenberg that the author alludes to EXCEPT:(A) They worked for a time in the late-Romantic style.
(B) Their music has been regarded by some listeners as incoherent, shrill, and chaotic.
(C) Their compositions stirred controversy.
(D) They worked in changing and evolving musical styles.
(E) They altered the language and expressive range of music.
5. Which one of the following aspects of Schoenberg's music does the author appear to value most highly?(A) the technical mastery of his compositions
(B) the use of shifting chromatic harmonies
(C) the use of the 12-tone system of musical composition
(D) the depiction of emotional states that had never been captured in music before
(E) the progression through three different styles of composition seen over the course of his career
6. It can be inferred from the passage that the author would be most likely to agree with which one of the following statements about the relationships between the three styles in which Schoenberg wrote?(A) Each successive style represents a natural progression from the previous one.
(B) Each successive style represents an inexplicable departure from the previous one.
(C) The second style represents a natural progression from the first, but the third style represents an inexplicable departure from the second.
(D) The second style represents an inexplicable departure from the first, but the third style represents a natural progression from the second.
(E) The second style represents an inexplicable departure from the first, but the third style represents a natural progression from the first.