The New York Reception of "Pierrot lunaire": The 1923 Premiere and Its Aftermath

Author(s): David Metzer

Reviewed work(s):
Source: The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 78, No. 4 (Winter, 1994), pp. 669-699
Published by: Oxford University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/742506 .
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TheNewYork
of
Reception

lunaire:The 1923
Pierrot
andItsAftermath
Premiere

DavidMetzer

increasein
Duringthe 1920s,New YorkCitywitnesseda significant
music.One of the mostcontroversial
ofmodernist
the performance
Pierrot
worksof thisperiodwas ArnoldSchoenberg's
lunaire,which
1923. Accordingto the
on 4 February
receiveditsAmericanpremiere
criticLawrenceGilman,the performance
families,severed
"disrupted
remarks
incited
critics
to
aboutone
unbrotherly
life-long
friendships,
another,and filledwholepagesin the Sundaymusicsectionsof the
Pierrot
To criticsand concertgoers,
epitomized
modemnewspapers."1
servedas a lightning
rodforthe
and it therefore
istcomposition,
new music.As a receptor
and vehementdisputesurrounding
growing
was galvanizedbya varietyof musicaland
in thatdebate,Pierrot
This studyof the 1923 and 1925 New Yorkperforsocialcurrents.
mancesexaminesnot onlyhow criticalreactionsto the workexposed
ofmusicbutalso how Pierrot
absorbed
understandings
contemporary
in
American
the anxietyoverthe far-reaching
changesunderway
society.
and GeorgeAntheil'sBallet
UnlikeEdgardVarase'sHyperprism
works
that
also
scandalized
New Yorkaudiencesdurtwo
mecanique,
Pierrot
has
received
numerous
the
1920s,
subsequentperformances
ing
in the city,includingone twoyearsafteritsAmericanpremiere.Surfora workthathas achievedsuchvitalityin twentiethprisingly
musicallife,severalaspectsof it have been neglected,
century
itsreceptionhistory.2
Whereasthe receptionof Igor
particularly
The
Rite
one
Stravinsky's
ofSpring, of thefewmodernist
compositions
in canoniccentrality
thatrivalsPierrot
and regularperformances,
has been sketched,thatof Schoenberg's
has barelybeen
melodrama
traced,especiallythe responseto the workin the UnitedStates.3The
in landingon forAmericanreactionoffers
a uniquecase, as Pierrot,
musical
shaken
entered
a
world
bythe sudden
eignsoil, dramatically

669

670 TheMusical
Quarterly

in theperformance
ofnewmusic.The regular
increase
presentations
therareopportunity
oftheworkprovide
to trackthereception
ofan
in
modernist
not
the
unstable
musiearly
important
composition only
therapidly
cal worldof1920sNewYorkbutalsothrough
changing
musical
environment
ofthelastsevendecades.A chartofthatmeaneffects
by
dering
pathshowsboththeoriginal
explosive
produced
Pierrot
andthevarious
andoftencontradictory
that
work
meanings
hasaccruedsinceitsNewYorkpremiere.
in theAmerican
NewYorkaudiences
first
encountered
Pierrot
whichdisseminated
the
ofthe1912Berlinpremiere,
pressreviews
in
the
that
work
had
revolutionary
gained
Europe.4
James
reputation
to thecomposition
Huneker's
reviewintroduced
manyNewYorkers
thesubsequent
discussions
ofSchoenberg
influenced
andsignificantly
He expressed
in American
musical
overthecomdismay
writings.5
hismusica "lexicon
from
tonalconventions,
labeling
poser'sdeparture
confounded
ofthework,
ofanarchy."
bytheiconoclasm
Although
a
to
ofmoods
Huneker
ability express diversity
Schoenberg's
praised
andatmospheres:
intheordinary
isthis,without
Whatkindofmusic
sense;
melody,

withoutthemes,yeteveryacornof a phrasecontrapuntally
developed
thatdoes not smitethe ears,lacerate,
byan adept,withouta harmony

theeardrums;
forced
intohateful
keys
marriage
figuratively
speaking,

thatare milesasunder,or else too closelyrelatedforauralmatrimony;

thatare so
no form,thatis in the scholasticformalsense,and rhythms
kind
of
music
is
monotonous-what
varied
as
to
become
persistently
the
blackness
of
thisI repeatthatcan painta "crystal
sigh,"
prehistoric
night,the abyssof a morbidsoul,theman in the moon,thefaintsweet
and the strutof thedandyfromBerodorsof an impossible
fairyland,

ofpoints,
orharmonic
Thereisnomelodic
line,onlya series
gamo?
dots,dashes,or phrasesthatsob and scream,despair,explode,exalt,
blaspheme.

Huvividmoodpainting,
DespitesuchpraiseofSchoenberg's
He closedhis
ofPierrot
wasnegative.
assessment
neker's
concluding
thework:"Ifsuchmusic
hisability
to appreciate
review
bydoubting
I
then
for
is
to
become
long DeaththeReleaser.
accepted
making
be
thatin timeI might
be
the
still
would
Moreshocking
suspicion
it."While
to likethismusic,to embrace
it,after
abhorring
persuaded

death did, in fact, release Huneker beforethe New York performance,

his discussionsof Schoenberg'smusic afterthe 1913 reviewof Pierrot
show an increasedappreciation,althoughof earlierand, by that time,
less iconoclastic works. Exposureto such compositionsas the Firstand

NewYorkReception
lunaire 671
ofPierrot

SecondString
convinced
Nacht,andGurrelieder
Quartets,
Verklarte
himofthecomposer's
as a "reaction
formal
and
significance
against
He evenpredicted
romantic
thatSchoenberg,
likeStrauss
beauty."
wouldsoonbecome"conventional."6
andDebussy,
Huneker's
review
andotheraccounts
ofEuropean
performances
musicpropagated
thecomposer's
ofSchoenberg's
as a
reputation
hiscompositions
radicalevenbefore
wereknownin thecity.For
a 1913Current
articlelabeledhim"thefirst
futurist
instance,
Opinion
in music."7
The initialperformances
ofSchoenberg's
in thecity
works
thisview,as critics
confirmed
oftendecried
hisattacks
on established
musical
NewYorkconcertgoers'
first
direct
with
practices.
experience
thecomposer's
musicwasa performance
ofthreeearlysongsbythe
American
baritone
ReinaldWerrenrath
on 23 October1913(op. 1,
no. 1, andop. 3, nos. 1 and3). Duringthesubsequent
twoyears,a
seriesoflocalpremieres-the
FirstString
Nacht,the
Quartet,
Verklarte
FirstChamber
PelleasundMelisande,
ThreePianoPieces
Symphony,
PianoPieces(op. 19)-scandalized
audiences
(op. 11), andSixLittle
andfueledtheincipient
debateovermodernist
styles.
The following
NewYorkpremiere
oftheFiveOrchestral
Pieces,
The work,performed
op. 16,cemented
Schoenberg's
reputation.
by
andthePhiladelphia
Orchestra
at Carnegie
Hall
LeopoldStokowski
on 29 November
a critical
thatnotonly
1921,provoked
response
but
almost
rivaled
the
over
Pierrot.
The conservaanticipated
outrage
tivecriticHenryKrehbiel
wasso stunned
thathe resorted
to quoting
theBiblein hisdefense
thecomposition.8
The equallyreacagainst
Richard
Aldrich
claimedthattheworkcouldnotbe regarded
tionary
as musicandthatitprovedto be moreheretical
thanthemusicof
othercontemporary
composers:
Butthereweredoubtless
audiencetowhom
few,ifany,in lastnight's

thepiecesboreanyrelationto musicat all. . . . thereis not the slight-

estreasonto believethat[theinstruments']
andcatersqueaks,
groans,

inanywaythemusical
idioms
oftoday
ortomorrow
wauling
represent

or anyotherfuture
time.Hardwordshave been said aboutthemost
recentoutputof Messrs.Casella, Stravinsky,
Prokofieff
and othersof
the samekind;butmostofwhattheyhave done is innocent,lucid,and
reasonablecomparedto Sch6nberg's
achievements.
Possiblysomesort
of apologyis due to them.9

New Yorkconcertgoers
waitedelevenyearsafterthe Berlinpremiereforthe first
Americanperformance
ofPierrot,
a delaycaused
towardGerman
partlyby thewarand the resultant
publicantipathy
Another
was
the
in
committed
music.1'0
impediment
difficulty finding

672 TheMusical
Quarterly

musicians.
The International
Guild(ICG), established
Composers'
by
VareseandCarlosSalzedoin 1921,accepted
thechallenge
ofperformLouisGruenberg,
a guildmember
whohad
ingthecomplex
work.11
attended
bothrehearsals
andconcerts
ofPierrot
ledbySchoenberg
in
wasselected
as theconductor,
Greta
Berlin,
alongwiththesoprano
a third
choiceafter
EvaGauthier
andMimine
Torpadieas thereciter,
Salzedohaddeclined.
Varesewroteto Schoenberg,
himoftheconcert
and
informing
him
In
asking tojointheguild. hiscurtresponse,
Schoenberg
questionedthegroup's
to perform
theworkandturned
downthe
ability
12The composer's
invitation.
resentment
waslargely
fueled
bythe
of
his
Pierrot
to
both
and
Gurrelieder
guild'sdisruption plans present
a 1923American
tour.He askeda NewYorkreporter
towarn
during
audiences
notto regard
theperformance
as definitive,
since"a
hisartistic
couldnotexpress
to
ideas.13The guildmanaged
stranger"
securepermission
to program
thecomposition
the
from
only
publisher
andnotfrom
14
Schoenberg.
theICG continued
to prepare
DespiteSchoenberg's
objections,
thework.ClaireReis,theindefatigable
oftheguild's
chairperson
oversaw
thearrangements
andpublicity
executive
forthe
committee,
In an effort
to inform
the
concert.
released
a press
concertgoers, group
statement
thatdiscussed
career
and
Pierrot
as
his
billed
Schoenberg's
achievement.15
The ICG alsoscheduled
a lecture
"mostsignificant"
andheadofthemusicdivion Pierrot
byCarlEngel,a guildmember
ofCongress
sionat theLibrary
thatthe
(7 January
1923).Admitting
to grasp,"
he nonetheless
toldtheaudiencethatit
workwas"difficult
earswithwhichto listento it."16
wastheir"duty"
to find"theright
to findtheright
The musicians,
werestruggling
however,
technique
andinsisted
on moretimeto prepare,
withwhichtoplayPierrot
theconcert,
scheduled
for21
whichforced
Reisto postpone
originally
until
later.
demands
for
additional
two
weeks
Gruenberg's
January,
thepremiere,
butReisconto postpone
rehearsals
againthreatened
vincedhimto agreeto thenewlyscheduled
date.17
thepremiere
withan openafternoon
The guildprefaced
at
Thatevening's
rehearsal
on thedayoftheperformance.
program
works
Charles
Koechlin
theKlawTheatrealsocontained
(Sonata
by
etdivertissements)
andDariusMilforTwoFlutes),ErikSatie(Sports
to Reis's
from
Saudades
doBrasil).Thankslargely
haud(excerpts
the concertwas soldout, and, accordingto her,abouttwo
efforts,
hundredpeoplewereturnedawayat thedoor.18The successof the
eventhelpedbringthe struggling
group'sendeavorsto theattentionof
the publicand critics.

NewYorkReception
lunaire 673
ofPierrot

The workmeta dividedcritical

largely
reception,
splitting
lines.19
attackagainst
The strongest
reviewers
Pieralonggenerational
a venerated
rotwasunleashed
bythe"OldGuard"critics,
quartet
WilliamJ.Henderson,
Richard
Aldrich,
HenryT. Finck,
including
Activeas farbackas thelastdecadesofthe
andHenryE. Krehbiel.
andstandards
wereinfluenced
theirapproaches
nineteenth
century,
by
romanticism
ofGerman
theaesthetics
and,forthemostpart,proved
in comprehending
newtrends.20
inflexible
Fink,andKrehAldrich,
the
Old
to
the
the
members
of
Guard
review
biel, only
premiere,
theircriticism
on Schoenberg's
fortheestablished
focused
disregard
thestrong
theuseof
traditions
ofpastmusic,mentioning
dissonances,
lackofcontrapuntal
the
anda perceived
unitybetween
Sprechstimme,
This
music
so
affronted
Finck
that
he
left
instrumental
after
the
parts.
first
sevensongsandreferred
to Pierrot
andtheotherprogrammed
as "dreary
musicaltomfooleries."21
works
In contrast
to Fink'srevulsion,
several
critics,
younger
including
PittsSandborn,
PaulRosenfeld,
andKatherine
the
Spaeth,praised
Rosenfeld
and
the
critic
work,albeitto different
degrees.
unsigned for
music"intense"
theSunfoundSchoenberg's
and"sensuous,"
respec"as musicis an interesting
idea";
tively.SpaethclaimedthatPierrot
shedisliked
themelodicwriting
andheardtheinteraction
however,
thereciter
between
andtheaccompaniment
as producing
"a rather
effect."
of
the
irritating
generally
Although
complimentary work,
wasconfounded
Sandborn
thathe
bythemusical
language,
stating
in orderto form
wouldrequire
additional
a definite
hearings
opinion.
he concluded
thatthepremiere
"a painstakNevertheless,
represented
ofoneofthemosttypical
andsignificant
ingperformance
compositionsofoneofthemostimportant
livingcomposers."
In contrast
to thecritical
audiencereaction
is difficult
response,
to assess.Reviews
oftheperformance
a diverse
describe
audience
ofcurious
"theyounger
andyoungest
consisting
concertgoers,
generationsofthelocalmusicalintelligentsia,"
and"thearistocrats
of
music."22
Alsopresent
werethe"distinguished
musicians
whoare
to bring
on themillennium
in whichcacophony
shallreign,"
striving
a vanguard
Alfredo
Milhaud,Stokowski,
Casella,Georges
including
In a derisive
Enesco,andWillemMengelberg.
essayinspired
bythe
Krehbiel
described
the
various
of
concert,
responses concertgoers.
Althoughhis negativeviewof the workclearlyprejudicedhis report,
he offered
the mostextendedaccountof audiencereaction:
I saw perhapsa scoreofpersonswho werebraveenoughto leave the
roomat the first
whichpresenteditselfwhentheycoulddo
opportunity

674 TheMusical
Quarterly
so withoutbeingrudeand morethananotherscorewho had thehardior amusedly
whenevertheperformance
hood to smilesarcastically
struckthemas absurd,and yetsat it out to the bitterend. But no one
indulgedin catcalls,or even hisses.That was an exampleof thegood
rulein Americanconcert-rooms.
mannersthathabitually
I also saw and hearda hundredor morepersonsstandup and
beforeputtingon theirwrapsand coats. I
applaudtheperformance
scannedtheirfacesto see whetheror not theyweremusiciansor mem-

inconcert-rooms
where
music
bersoftheclasstobefound
good,sound
was
in
from
fadandfactitious
is
heard.
search
dissociated
My
clap-trap

vain-musicians
jokedorswore-generally
pulledmysleeveandeither

11Feb.1923)
theformer.
(Krehbiel,

thework
Whereas
mayhavebeendismayed,
manyconcertgoers
a
celebrated
event
success.
To
recount
to
be
a
briefly
popular
proved
convinced
someguildmemmusical
thistriumph
in American
history,
ofthepiece.That
a secondperformance
Reis,tooffer
bers,including
a bylawin theorganization's
contradicted
charter,
however,
desire,
first
drawnupbyVarese,whichstatedthattheICG onlyoffered
perThe argument
thatensuedover
formances
anddidnotrepeatworks.
ledto a schism.
Frustrated
thispolicyeventually
byVarese'sautocratic
their
secededandformed
Reisandseveral
othermembers
leadership,
theLeagueofComposers.23
On 22 February
ownmusicsociety,
1925,
in
Pierrot
a
concert
itsintentions
thenewgrouprealized
byfeaturing
at theTimesSquareTheatrewithHowardBarlowas theconductor
The program
theleague's
andTorpadieagainas thereciter.
typified
included
LazareSaminsky's
toPierrot,
ambitiousness
and,in addition
TheDaniel
one-actoperaGagliarda
PlagueandGruenberg's
ofa Merry
Oscar
as
the
critic
and
was
a
The
concert
success,
Jazz.
Thompson
in
nowdomiciled
ofmusical
noted,"All thehighpriests
modernity
ceremonial
at Times
at Sundaynight's
NewYorkwerecelebrants
oravidlisteners."
eitheras composers,
interpreters,
SquareTheatre,
wasGeorgeGershwin.
One ofthe"highpriests"
thediscritical
alsostirred
Thisperformance
debate,although
The
concert.
bytheearlier
putewasnotas heatedas thatprovoked
strands
interwove
intricate
bothperformances
surrounding
controversy
to thepiece
andsocialviews.On one level,reactions
ofmusical
the
of
musical
the
expectations period,thatis,the
exposed general
andlisteners'
conventions
from
music
formulated
of
past
perceptions
experiences.24In attackingor praisingPierrot,criticsrelied on contemporaryideals of the nature and role of music, and throughouttheir
reviewsthese ideals were educed. In particular,the work,as would be
expected, challenged traditionalviews of tonalityand genre; however,

lunaire 675
NewYorkReception
ofPierrot

thelimits
ofexpresitalsotouched
regarding
uponbothconceptions
thatmusicbe beautiful
andmoral.
sionandtheexpectation
cultural
wasalsoshapedbylarger
to Pierrot
The response
prestheearlydecades
DanielSingalhasdescribed,
sures.As thehistorian
in theUnitedStateswerea periodofcultural
ofthetwentieth
century
Victorian
to the
the
from
thewaning
created
by shift
instability
as a cultural
nascentmodernist
culture.25
Singal'sviewofmodernism
from
all areasofAmerican
onepermeating
life,departs
phenomenon,
aesthetic
viewofthemovement
as an autonomous
thetraditional
In thisreconceptualization,
he hasdrawnuponthe
development.
in hisdiscusworkofPeterGay,whoregards
modernism
(implicitly,
like
as a distinct
historical
culture,
sions,itsEuropean
manifestations)
to Gay,modernism
theEnlightenment
and.Victorianism.
According
cultural
a secondRenaissance"
that
was"a pervasive
revolution,
in all itsbranches."26
culture
"transformed
shift
themagnitude
a cultural
ofthat
To mapthoroughly
thereachofthisessay,which
described
bySingalandGayis beyond
outline.Sucha sketch
shouldbegin
canprovide
onlythemostgeneral
a
that
withthenotionofAmerican
Victorianism,
phrase maystrike
as
in American
an
discussed
somereaders
as oxymoron;
however,
in
Victorianism
ruledon bothsidesoftheAtlantic,
studies,
arising
as a result
ofAmerica's
cultural
theUnitedStateslargely
dependency
on Britain.27
The Victorian
outlookwasbasedon theperceived
certruths.
As
E.
of
moral
and
Walter
wrote,
tainty
Houghton
spiritual
morals,
art,education-allweregov"Politics,
economics,
history,
lawsorprinciples
trueforall times
erned,itwasthought,
byuniversal
A moraldichotomy
between
the"human"
andplaces."28
andthe
beliefs.
The former
embraced
those
"animal"alsoshapedVictorian
thatdistinguished
manfrom
such
as
elements
educabeast,
religion,
contained
forces
thatthreatened
tion,andthearts,whilethelatter
Victorians
strove
to shieldthemselves
notably
sexuality.
propriety,
destructive
"bestial"
forces
andattempted
from
to cultivate
a worldof
innocence
andperfection.
The Victorian
socialviewcontained
other
dichotomies-for
thedistinction
between
andinfeexample,
superior
riorclassesas wellas between
whiteandnonwhite
races.
Victorianism
Modernism
notwitha uniform
cultural
challenged
stancebutwitha vastandoftencontradictory
of
array beliefs,
perspectives,and aesthetics.As Singalpointsout,one ofthe dominant
impulsesof the culturewas to assaulttheVictorianconceptionof
inviolabletruths.In lieu ofsuchtenets,modernism
acceptedmoral
and irrationality
and openlyexaminedall aspectsof
uncertainty
humanbehavior,includingthe sexual.Partofthisexploration
was

676 TheMusical
Quarterly

thefascination
withpsychic
andirrationality
thatfueled
complexity
movements
oftheperiodas wellas theexpandmanyoftheaesthetic
howmodernism
ingfieldofpsychoanalysis.
Moreover,
Singaldiscusses
the
various
social
divisions
integrated
upheldbyVictorianism,
particutheareasofclass,race,andgender.
larlythosegoverning
In hisstudy
ofearly-twentieth-century
American
culture,
Stanley
Cobenalsofocuses
on thedissolution
oftheVictorian
of
justification
hierarchies
in thoseareas.Without
the
cultural
rubric
of
employing
Cobenviewsthatdisintegration
as a partofa sweeping
modernism,
Victorianism."29
Thisrevolt,
to him,was
"rebellion
against
according
ledbya growing
factions
ofwhichchallenged
thelimits
intelligentsia,
ofknowledge
andtruth
culture.
In addition,
prescribed
byVictorian
thehierarchies
namedabovewereassaulted
notonlybythoseintellectualsbutalsobyvarious
and
social
the
forces,
political
including
activities
ofleftist
andlaborgroups
andsuchpopulation
shifts
political
as themigration
ofAfrican
Americans
tonorthern
citiesandthe
increased
ofwomenin theworkplace.
theattack
presence
Although
launched
and
intellectuals
rob
Victorianism
byminority
groups
helped
ofitshegemony,
thatculture,
as Cobenpointsout,hasprovedresilient.Forinstance,
thepresent-day
Vicreligious
Righthasrenovated
torianconceptions
ofhome,family,
in itscampaign
andmorality
for
values."
"traditional
family
Otherdestabilizing
forces
anddevelopments
thatareeitheroverlookedorunderemphasized
byCobenandSingalyetmerit
mentioning
increased
include,in no particular
order,
urbanization,
mechanization,
scientific
toVictorian
andthedisillusionment
verities,
challenges
about
World
War
What
also
deserves
tobe notedis that
I.
by
brought
modernism
wasnotsolelya socially
advanced
movement
butcontainedreactionary
as is evident
to thosewhohaveconimpulses,
theelitist,
fronted
viewsthatunderscore
much
racist,andmisogynistic
art.Moreover,
modernism
hadan ambivalent
modernist
relationship
withtheforces
oftechnology
withwhichit linkeditself
orwasconnectedbyothers,
a contradiction
in thecontemporaneity
evident
of
bothartworks
from
machines
andurbanlifeandthose
drawing
energy
andthemysterious
motives
ofthesubconcelebrating
"primitivism"
scious.
Thesetensions
notso muchto theabundant
inconsistentestify
ciesofmodernism
butto thegeneral
flux
cultural oftheperiod,as
conflicts
occurredbothbetweenand withinVictorianism
and modernmism.It is againstthisbroadand chaoticbackdropof culturalconflict
thatPierrot
workas morethana prodemerged.ViewingSchoenberg's
uctof radicalaestheticforces,criticsconnectedit, mostoftennega-

NewYorkReception
lunaire 677
ofPierrot

withtheextensive
in American
In
underway
tively,
changes
society.
theworkwitha declineinmorality,
mental
theyassociated
particular,
theories
ofSigmund
Freud,mechanization,
illness,theinfluential
these
radicalpolitical
movements,
and,through specific
associations,
a general
cultural
decay.
thereaction
to Pierrot,
it is necessary
to sumBefore
examining
heardinNewYork.At thetime
marize
themodernist
styles
already
musicwasstillcutting
initialinroads
ofthe1923recital,
modern
into
andpianistLeo Omsteinmade
thecity'smusicworld.The composer
to introduce
to newidioms.
thefirst
concertgoers
significant
attempt
of"modemandfuturist
music"featured
notonlyhis
His 1915recitals
but
also
local
of
works
ownshocking
bysuch
premieres
compositions
as
and
Ravel.
modernistsSchoenberg,
Scriabin,
Throughout
European
therestofthe1910sandtheearly1920s,Ornstein
diligently
promodemmusicsocieties-the
Threenewlyformed
motednewstyles.30
ICG, Pro-Musica
(NewYorkchapter,
1920-30),andtheAmerican
Ornstein's
the
MusicGuild(1921-24)- intensified
efforts,
increasing
in
The
most
of
new
music
heard
the
city.
variety
frequently
performed
thepremiere
ofPierrot
before
wereSchoenberg,
modernist
composers
andOmstein.
Ravel,Bart6k,
Stravinsky,
Debussy,
withmodemmusic,mostcritics
still
Despitethisfamiliarity
of
the
traditions
the
era
as
rigidly
upheld
"common-practice" inviolatheroleofevaluative
ble.Theseconventions
assumed
standards,
and,
attacked
to
strongly
challenge
guidedbythem,reviewers
Schoenberg's
As wasto be expected,
theOld Guardcritics
reiterated
tradition.
theircensure
thatsuchmusicwasvoidofproper
and
tonal,melodic,
for
"Of
formal
stated:
relation
to
Aldrich, example,
any
practices.
ormusical
as heretofore
understood,
harmony,
melody,
expression
thereis nothing."
Eventheyounger
FrankWarren(1923)claimed
was"sawing
in twoMr.Old
thatthe"trick"
ofthecomposition
in
the
faces
of
the
audience."
Critics'
over
Tonality
right
dismay
innovative
musical
often
led
them
to
dismiss
Schoenberg's
language
theworkas noise.ArchieCoatesheardPierrot
as "a rendering
in
musical
notation
ofthesounds,
knives
sayofice in a thintumbler,
in a brasstray,bagpipes,
andforks
a rusty
pumphandle."
with
Thosecritics
convention
werealsocompelled
preoccupied
to assignPierrot
to an established
musical
genre.The general
expectationsprovidecriteriaforlisteners
to place a workwithina specific
genre;forinstance,helpingthemjudgean instrumental
composition
or a concerto.As is typicalofmanymodas a sonata,or a symphony,
transcended
traditional
categories.The unique
ernistworks,Pierrot
withstring,
wind,and piano
conceptionof thework,Sprechstimme

678 TheMusical
Quarterly

in theirefforts
confused
NewYorkcritics
to compreaccompaniment,
addressed
thisissue,andtheirdiscushenditsgenre.Theyfrequently
in confronting
sionsrevealhowtheyturned
againto convention
Pierrot.
Somecritics
of
cautiously
accepted
Schoenberg's
designation
Theirchiefobjection
wasto theuseofSprechstimme.
melodrama.
This
was
not
unfamiliar
New
York
to
audihowever,
technique,
completely
ences.In 1910,Engelbert
received
Humperdinck's
operaKinigskinder
In
itsworldpremiere
at theMetropolitan
that
work,HumperOpera.
triedto createan equilibrium
between
dinck,likeSchoenberg,
speech
theapproximate
andsongbyspecifying
accentuapitch,inflection,
ofthereciting
whereas
tion,andrhythm
part.However,
Humperdinckaimedfornaturalism
andclarity,
usedSprechstimme
Schoenberg
ofmadness.31
The merits
ofHumperdinck's
to conveythedelirium
weredebatedbytheNewYorkcritics,
andmanyofthem
technique
in theirreviews
Krehbiel
latercitedKdnigskinder
ofPierrot.
mentioned
theoperaandpastexamples
ofmelodrama,
evengoingas farbackas
themonodists
oftheearlyseventeenth
buthe sawSchoencentury,
oftheform
as "grotesquely,
new."Sandborn
berg'streatment
horridly
ofthegenrefrom
andStrauss's
Enoch
Fidelio
(1923)citedexamples
Arden
went"a stepfurther"
andclaimedthatPierrot
byusing
Sprechstimme.
Pierrot
as a songcycle.Vocalrecitals
Severalcritics
approached
theNewYorkmusical
andconcertgoers
werefamiliar
filled
calendar,
withtheGerman
Liedtradition,
thesongcyclesofSchubert
especially
withsuchworks,
Pierrot
sharesseveralcharacteristics
andSchumann.
use
of
voice
theselecthe
a
and
texture,
accompaniment
particularly
and
tionofa groupofpoemsunitedbythemeornarrative
structure,
motivic
orthematic
theintegration
oftheindividual
piecesthrough
withthesongcyclemay
connections
connections.32
Suchgeneral
a visiting
criticfortheEvening
haveledErnest
British
Post,
Newman,
theLied.In
as a "newtwistto an oldcommonplace":
to viewPierrot
theconcluding
fact,he regarded
piece,"O alterDuft,"as nothing
a littleoutofshape."
German
Liedwrenched
"buta platitudinous
camecloseto resembling
Henderson
alsoclaimedthatthisnumber
he accused
andeloquence";
"a songofmarvelous
however,
beauty
For
the
such
an
outcome.
of
others,
diverting
Schoenberg purposely
and the
the uniqueinstrumental
use ofSprechstimme,
accompaniment,
fromthe Lied
macabrethemesofthe textdissociatedthecomposition
The criticfortheSun, forinstance,claimedthatthe
tradition.
to considertheworkas a collection
madeit impossible
Sprechstimme
ofsongs.

NewYorkReception
lunaire 679
ofPierrot

traditional
Besideschallenging
genreandtonalconceptions,
thatmusicmustbe beautifrustrated
thedominant
Pierrot
expectation
forms
a keycomponent
ofthecultural
outlook
ful.Thisassumption
called
"the
thatGeorgeSantayana
tradition,"
memorably
genteel
schemeemployed
thecultural
here,canbe seenas a
which,within
Whileavoiding
a concise
cornerstone
ofAmerican
Victorianism.33
mind
he described
a splitin theAmerican
definition
ofthephrase,
andtheintellectual
andartistic.34
thepractical
between
Music,like
to an idealfrom
theotherarts,wasseparated
dailylifeandrelegated
as a manifestation
of
isticrealmin whichitwasregarded
primarily
thanas an intrinsic
of
andmorality
rather
nobility,
expression
beauty,
Thisdichotomy
influenced
bothmusical
humanexperience.35
producthesymphony
hallto thetradeperiodtionandconsumption
as, from
as theessenceofbeauty.
The conductor
icals,musicwaspromoted
sermonized
on therarefied
ofmusic:
WalterDamrosch
beauty
ofthebeautiful
is inno sense
Musicis an artinwhichtheconception
us. Itspowerto evoke
worldwhichsurrounds
baseduponthephysical
is greater
andmoreimmediate
thanthatof
an innerdreamofbeauty
thathavebeeneducated
andin mindsandhearts
anyofitssisters,

itswonders,
music
willgivehappiness
the
toappreciate
beyond
properly
ofanyotheragency
forthatpurpose.36
possibilities

whichalsoprinted
Damrosch's
On theotherhand,Etudemagazine,
in an advertisethiscrudecommercial
enticement
offered
remarks,
wellspring
mentblurb:"Every
pieceofmusicyoubuyis an unending
drink
until
from
whichyouandyourfriends
ofbeauty
may
yoursouls
havebeenrefreshed."37
that"spring"
andfailedto
To manyreviewers,
Pierrot
clogged
thatDamrosch
Thistransgression
the"happiness"
of
deliver
promised.
metwithcritical
theVictorian
tenetofmusical
censure.
Sucbeauty
severalofhispeers'objections,
Warren(1923)
cinctly
expressing
the
of
that
sense
work
for
ofbeauty
we
giving
"nothing
reproached
to thosein linewithhim,themusic
lookforin music."According
andthethemes
ofthetextemphasized
Krehbiel
considered
ugliness.
an affront
to the"principles
ofbeauty"
thatthe"ageshave
Pierrot
andhe regarded
theworkas symptomatic
provedto be fundamental,"
in terms
ofthetrend"thatbeauty
ofugliness,
and
maybe expressed
thatuglinessofsubjectis fitobjectforexpression"
(11 Feb. 1923).
Chiselingawayat the pedestalofcivilization
uponwhichmusic
rested,suchviews,in his opinion,markeda returnto savagery.
however,beautyis in the ear of the listener.The Sun
Apparently,
critic(1923), forinstance,claimedthatseveralmovements
in Pierrot

680 TheMusical
Quarterly

In general,
rose"tothebeautiful."
ofthework
though,
supporters
eschewed
theconventional
ofbeauty,
criterion
theirpraise
focusing
on otherelements,
notably
expressiveness.
Muchofthedebatesurrounding
theworkcentered
on theissue
ofexpression.
Guidedbytheemphasis
on beauty,
andmoralnobility,
thegeneral
musical
ityin thegenteeltradition,
expectations
prein
scribed
thatcertain
the
Giraud's
subjects,
including grotesqueries
formusical
Thisbeliefledto accusapoems,wereunsuitable
setting.
tionsthatSchoenberg
hadtransgressed
thepropriety
ofself-expression
in regard
to bothtopicandfervency.
forinstance,
Krehbiel,
largely
builthisattackon theworkaroundthisissue.As notedabove,he
in Pierrot,
decried
of"ugliness"
which
Schoenberg's
presentation
himto askrhetorically,
incited
"Doesnottheright
a
of practitioner
in artto express
himself
of
dependuponwhatis in himthatis worthy
andtheMusical
Courier
(11 Feb. 1923).Krehbiel
expression?"
in capturwithbeingtoointense
reviewer
(1923)charged
Schoenberg
the
of
the
text.
The
that
such
moods
latter
believed
ing
high-pitched
wastheunfortunate
legacyofWagner:
expression
wrote"expressive"
WhenWagner
music(in imitation
offrogs
and
forinstance)
he openedthedoorfortalentless,
conscienceless,
dragons,
likeSchoenberg,
whodo notwhereto drawtheline....
musicians
WhenWagner
sacrificed
absolute
musicto theexpression
ofdramatic
whosacrifice
to suchas Schoenberg,
all
ideashe gavetheimpetus
musicto thesamegodofexpressiveness.

in
viewsconcerning
sustained
expression
Despitethenarrow
musical
wereimpressed
thegeneral
manyreviewers
by
expectations,
eventhosewhodisandpictorial
dramatic
Schoenberg's
adeptness,
critic(1923),forinstance,
likedthemusic.The Evening
Telegram
hasinvented
a newmeansofexpression
that"Schoenberg
admitted
andeffective.
as
thatis picturesque
Judged musicit is hideous.But
andthemusicfollows
the
thepoemsareonlya seriesofgrotesques
the
somecritics
lineofthought
ofthepoet."In particular,
regarded
considered
the
techWeil
as
dramatically
potent.Irving
Sprechstimme
musical
theinevitable
expression,
niqueas partof"theinevitable
his
in
For
his
forGiraud's
medium"
guildpoems.
part,Engel,
Pierrot
on thelinesofexpression:
defended
lecture,
largely
sponsored
the
themostgenuine,
"Whatmayseemcrudeanduglyis evidently
thatSchdnberg
has foundso farforwhatis in
mostfitting,
expression
of
his mindand heart."Moreover,he praised"thedynamicintensity"
withmeaning"
musicand claimedthatit was "fraught
Schoenberg's
and "thesinceredesireto conveysomething
deeplyfelt."'3

NewYorkReception
lunaire 681
ofPierrot

admirer
oftheworkwasRosenfeld.
themostardent
Perhaps
in therecepThathe shouldhaveoccupiedsucha singular
position
is notsurprising;
Rosenfeld
tionofPierrot
not
vigorously
championed
in theotherarts,particuonlynewmusicbutalsomodernist
styles
andliterature.39
farfrom
Moreover,
larlypainting
beinga detached
he
an
admirer, developed imagistic,
fragmented
prosestyle,ofwhich
reviewis representative,
thePierrot
thataccords
withtheoriginality
andaesthetic
ofthenewidiomsthathe supported.
spirit
vividsetting
of"a scoreoftortured
andbizarre
Schoenberg's
Rosenfeld.
He heardwithin
moods"especially
entranced
thismusica
desire"
loose
and
the
"smothered
breaking
regarded painful
expression
ofthatdesireas representing
criesin a world
humanity's
anguished
controlled
To Rosenfeld,
theintense
emoincreasingly
bymachines.
ofthemusicpainfully
thedehumanizing
effects
of
tionality
expressed
in contemporary
theincreased
mechanization
he
made
Here,
society.
a uniqueextramusical
thebroader
of
association,
as, within
reception
modern
wereoftenviewedas symptomatic
ofrather
music,newworks
thana reaction
mechanization.
theambivalent
against
Capturing
between
modernist
artsand"modernizing"
relationship
technological
Rosenfeld
himself
madetheformer
conconnection,
developments,
in
review
andelsewhere
thatthemusicofStravinsky
tending this
thepulseofbothmachines
andurbanenvironments.40
For
captured
theirpart,detractors
ofmodernist
drewuponthesesameassociastyles
suchmusicas mechanistic
tionsto dismiss
andcerebral.41
Rosenfeld,
considered
a
Pierrotprimal,
work,callingSchoenthough,
physical
that
berg'smusic"thehumantorsoof[his]time."As he described,
undertheweight
ofmachines:
bodywrithed
Schoenbergis the manwithouta machine.He is the creatureof a time
ofdislocation.The machinery
oflifeno longercooperateswiththe
humansoul. It movesto a rhythm
of itsown; and themechanical
thingslaughdownthe poorhuman.. . . The humantorsoof thistime
is in the musicof Schoenberg.He is the thingwithoutarms,without

ofcommunication,
without
a phallus.
He isthe
legs,without
organs
Analmost
quivering
helpless,
pulp;blindly
stirring,
groping,
stretching.
immovable
seems
to
lie
his
voice.
And
when
it
it
weight
upon
speaks,
seemsto tearitselfthrough
shrouds;to comeout as agony,as hysteria

even.

In addition to conveyinga torturedphysicality,Rosenfeld'simaginative interpretation

focuseson the psychic,tighteningthe linkages
made between Pierrotand mental illness, an association evoked by
both the extremeanguishhe depicts and his heated, impressionistic

682 TheMusical
Quarterly

morepsychological
received
attention
thanany
prosestyle.Pierrot
inNewYorkduring
otherworkperformed
the1920s.Criticsoften
it in terms
described
ofderangement
andinsanity.
In fact,some
reviewers
both
and
outright Schoenberg's Giraud's
questioned
sanity.
usedthemacabre
in the
themes
Gilmanclaimedthatthecomposer
textas "a pretext
forthereleaseofvarious
ofhisown,"and
psychoses
"the
WeilcalledGiraud's
half-mad
of
brain."
poetry
product a sickly
The Evening
reviewer
contended
thatanylistener
Journal
sympathetic
to theworkwouldhaveto be mentally
unbalanced:
"[T]heimpression
that[Pierrot]
madeon thislistener
wasthathe wasscarcely
sufficiently
to penetrate
morethanitsmoresuperficial
In a
deranged
mysteries."
1921articleon Schoenberg's
didnotfocuson
music,FrankPatterson
ofspecific
individuals
butrather
theentire"world."
thesanity
Pierrot,
works
andmodernist
artsin genalongwithotherofthecomposer's
"Is theworld
eral,ledhimtoposesomeunanswerable
questions:
mad?
Has
our
normal
mental
andarewe
ceased,
going
development
destined
tobecomea universe
ofidiotsandimbeciles,
and
neurotics,
hysterics?"42
Whilepresent-day
no longer
critics
dismiss
Giraud,
Schoenberg,
between
Pierrot
andmental
ortheworldas insane,theconnection
in current
hasbecomea commonplace
of
instability
understandings
in turn-of-the
home
thework,as it is situated
of
Vienna,
century
withFreudappears
in
FreudandExpressionist
artists.
The association
in the1920sNewYorkreception.
form
The evocation
of
an indirect
Freudin thesereviews
revealsthewidespread
thathisideas
currency
Thisinfluence
the1920s.43
hadachievedinNewYorkduring
largely
whichhe
datesbackto Freud's1909tripto theUnitedStates,during
After
thatvisit,hisideasquickly
at ClarkUniversity.
lectured
penenotonlythemedicalcommunity
but
trated
American
society,
swaying
The Greenwich
culture.
circlesandpopular
alsointellectual
Village
andpolitical
revolutionaries
a groupofintellectuals,
artists,
radicals,
the
before
World
WarI, were
banded
loosely
together
during years
histheories,
Freud.Theyenlisted
to embrace
particuamongthefirst
thatis,theoutdated
tobattle"puritanism,"
larlythatofrepression,
In the
culture.
advocated
andconventions
byVictorian
morality
versions
of
watered-down
Freud's
more
views,or,
1920s,
accurately,
the
culture.
extensive
was
So
hisideas,permeated
American
popular
thattheSears,Roebuck
withpsychoanalysis
fascination
catalogue

suchFreudian-influenced
booksas Ten ThousandDreamsInteroffered
As
WilliamLeuchtenburg
Sex
Solved.
the historian
and
Problems
preted
within
has aptlynoted,"[L]ikethe automobile,Freudwas brought
for
was
new
moral
What thepublicreached
reachofeveryone."44

NewYorkReception
lunaire 683
ofPierrot

tenetsto replaceoraugment
thoseofthewandirections,
specifically
this
church.
search
Christian
involved
Often,however,
merely
ing
Freudian
to sanction
sexualpermissiveness
andother
theory
distorting
indiscretions.45
One ofthemostvisiblesignsofFreud's
influence
on American
of
was
the
on
dissociety
sprinklingpsychoanalytic
jargon popular
in which
alsoduststhereviews
ofPierrot,
course.Thisterminology
andmentalinstability
suchreferences
to psychoanalysis
as "subconscious,""paranoiac,"
"neurotic,"
"insane,"
"deranged,"
"psychoses,"
and"hyper-erotic"
Notsurprisingly,
"hysteric,"
appearfrequently.
review
Rosenfeld's
wasthemoststrongly
affined
withFreudian
theory.
the
the
critic
a
rolein radical
During prewar
years,
played prominent
andartistic
intellectual
to theSevenArts,
circles,
notably
contributing
a leadingpublication
ofthatmilieu.Withseveralofitskeywriters,
WaldoFrankandRandolph
Bourne,
namely
drawing
uponFreud,that
in
a
role
the
dissemination
of
hisideas.Of
journalplayed significant
noteareAlfred
BoothKuttner's
which
essayson thecreative
process,
thesignificance
oftheartist's
discuss
andtheinspiration
unconscious
released
Rosenfeld's
in theSevenArtsand
byneurosis.46
participation
hisinterest
in newintellectual
andaesthetic
undoubtdevelopments
him
with
Freud's
familiarized
theories
and
him,in a
edly
encouraged
lesssystematic
to explorethepsychoanalytic
waythanKuttner,
creation.47
aspectsofartistic
in Rosenfeld's
Suchan approach
review
ofPierrot.
As
emerges
seenin theexcerpt
he
toward
above, gestures
presented
indirectly
in a general
Freud,evoking
waytwokeypsychoanalytic
concepts:
andcastration.
The directlinkto Freud,though,
is the
hysteria
whichis Rosenfeld's
desire,"
earlier-quoted
phrase"smothered
poetic
variant
oftheFreudian
catchwords
or
"repressed""suppressed"
"desires."
So widely
usedwerethesephrases
andthegoverning
conthat
the
writers
SusanGlaspellandGeorgeCram
ceptofrepression
Cookemployed
themin theirone-actcomedy
Desires
Suppressed
spoofRosenfeld's
review,
ingtheGreenwich
Villageintellectuals.
although
notcomicalin tone,couldhaveprovided
material
forthatplay.The
criticthematicizes
in various
thereview,
repression
waysthroughout
as Kuttner
didwiththeanonymous
therelationartist,
emphasizing,
Pierrot
andSchoenberg's
shipbetween
deepsubconscious
pool.Rosenfeldhearsthispool bubblingup, or attempting
to do so, in boththe
and
the
work.
Forinstance,Schoenberg,in his opinion,
composer
suffers
fromthe repression
of"sensual"impulses:"The refined
burning
sensuousness
ofWagner,of Debussy,and ofScriabineseemslodgedin
[Schoenberg];
tearingat his fleshforegress."Like thatsuppressed

684 TheMusical
Quarterly

a muted"anguish"
stirsin Pierrot:
"Thetonesarefullof
carnality,
of
almost
but
androaring
suffocated; drumming
anguish; anguish
underneath
theblanket
ofsilence."Although
thatanguish
failsto rip
theoppressive
a brief
moment
blanket,
Rosenfeld,
through
providing
ofrelief
hisrepression
from
claimsthata "smothered
motif,
desire,"
onerelated
ofmechanization,
to "break
to theoppressiveness
manages
loose"in Pierrot.
Pierrot
wasassociated
notonlywithFreudian
and
psychoanalysis
mentalinstability,
butalsowithdecadence
andthemoral
general
thattermconnotes.
accusations
ofdecadence,
the
poverty
Bearing
reviews
oftheworkjoinedthevigorous
debateovervaluesthat
American
the1920s.Thiscultural
discord
is
society
engaged
during
mostcloselyidentified
withsuchopposing
movements
todayperhaps
as theProhibition
ofthetireless
antivice
societies
andthe
campaign
newyouthculture,
withitsfemale
The general
idol,theflapper.48
conflict
between
tradition
andchangein whichthesemovements
alsoragedaroundthearts.It shouldbe notedthatthe
participated
waspartly
former
which,as
position
upheldbythegenteeltradition,
theartsas a moralrealmanddemanded
mentioned
above,promoted
thatthosewhopursued
oras recipients,
have
them,eitheras creators
character.
Suchviewswerewidely
a virtuous
heldin American
musical life,as seenin thefollowing
oftwopeoplewhooccupied
opinions
in thatworld.Mrs.W. A. Harper,
an amateur
verydifferent
positions
musician
andsupporter
ofperformance
believed
that
organizations,
"truth
musicconveyed
andgoodness,"
andtheconductor
FrankDamthat"thenoblertheart,thenoblershouldbe the
roschcontended
"49
interpreter.
between
artandmorality,
Duringthe1920s,therelationship
in intellecof
a
other
became
issues,
part highly
publicdispute
among
the
New
a
of
conservative
acatualcircles,
Humanists,group
pitting
andPaulElmerMoore,against
ledbyIrving
Babbitt
demicsandartists
alliedwithmodernist
trends.50
The former
artists
andcritics
various
in
which
their
a
moral
of
discussions
art,
conception
championed
thevitalroleofthevalues
andstressed
mostoftenmeantliterature,
In
themodernists
theyexcoriated
upheldbyVictorianism.51addition,
suchvalues.Thatcensure
wasnotwholly
forabandoning
fallacious,
didrejecttraditional
forthemodernists
values;however,
theyalso
MalcolmCowley
searched
fornewonesto replacethem.As thewriter
described,his younggeneration
belonged"to a periodoftransition
Walter
fromvaluesalreadyfixedto valuesthathad to be created."52
toMorals(1929) markedan important
stepin
Lippmann'sA Preface
one that,
thatcreation.He realizedtheneed fora new moralsystem,

NewYorkReception
lunaire 685
ofPierrot

unliketheVictorian
common
model,wouldbe basedon "necessity,
most
sense,and,
importantly,
experience."53
It is thevoicesofmoraltradition
rather
thanthoseofchange
thatwhisper
thereception
ofPierrot.
In attacking
thework,
through
severalcritics
thelinkage
ofmodernism
withimmorality,
propagated
The term"decadence"
defies
concise
or,as theycalledit,decadence.
definition
orspecific
to
a
cultural
in a
application
period.Stretched
ofdirections,
ithasbecomea polysemous
voidofany
variety
phrase,
authentic
However,
in herstudy
meaning.54
offin-de-siacle
culture,
ElaineShowalter
isolates
onebroadusageoftheterm:"[I]twasthe
labelappliedbythebourgeoisie
toeverything
thatseemed
pejorative
and
from
ArtNouveauto homosexualunnatural,
artificial, perverse,
ofPierrot
brandished
theword
ity."55
Drawing
uponthisusage,critics
"decadence"
to disparage
thework;however,
consistent
withthe
oftheterm,it is unclearwhattheyspecifically
viewedas
vagueness
decadent.
Ratherthansingling
outa particular
feature,
theycast
broadaspersions
on boththemoralsoundness
ofthepieceandSchoenThe Heraldreviewer
berg'scharacter.56
(1923)claimedthatPierrot
on decadence,"
whileWarren
statedthatthetextpossessed
"verg[ed]
a "decadent
The Evening
critic(1923)wasmore
sentiment."
Telegram
both
andthemoodsin hiswork
condemnatory,
labeling Schoenberg
a closecompanion
Downes
"diabolical,"
phraseofdecadence.57
dwelledparticularly
on theissueofmorality.
He calledSchoenberg
decadent"
whohadproduced
a mawkish
"a highly
gifted
piece.Morehe
Pierrot
as
and
over, regarded
"fundamentally
unhealthy,
mephitic,
in deplorable
needoffresh
thatcontrast
witha "fullair,"qualities
blooded,vitalkindofart."
Downes's
ofillhealthrevealshowcloselymetaphors
of
diagnosis
deterioration
circulated
aroundPierrot.
As described
bymanycritics,
theworkfestered
in theconcert
hall.It at onceconveyed
moralslipofsanity.
Thesedisintegrations
page,physical
decay,andtheerosion
servedas symptoms
ofdecadence,
of
which,in turn,wassymptomatic
a larger
cultural
As
R.
Reed
in
out
his
of
decay. John
points
study
in nineteenthdecadence
andtwentieth-century
arts,thatvagueterm
connoted
cultural
reviewers
ofPierrot
did
degeneration.58
Although
notspecifically
relatetheworkto a broadcultural
decay,theirgeneral
accusations
ofdecadence
andtheirindulgence
in metaphors
ofdegen-

erationrevealhow theysaw Schoenberg's

piece as partof thedeterioratingworldoutsideof the concerthall, especiallytheweakeningof
suchfoundations
ofsocietyas health,mentalstability,
and morality.
Criticsalso pushedthe debateoverPierrot
intothesocial realm
byconnectingtheworkwithradicalpoliticalideologies,particularly

686 TheMusical
Quarterly

anarchism.
Thislinkage
stemsfrom
thehighprofile
ofanarchism
and
otherleftist
movements
in
New
York
before
and
after
the
political
war.Keyfigures
andorganizations
in theseactivities
included
John
theIndustrial
Workers
oftheWorld(IWW),
Reed,EmmaGoldman,
andthemagazine
TheMasses.59
Whatdistinguishes
theprewar
movements
from
thethoseofthe1920sis theclosecollaboration
between
artists
andpolitical
a bondthatbrokeundertheweight
of
radicals,
thedisillusionment
Thisearlier
produced
bytheconflict.60
cooperativespirit
canbe seenin thetwogroups'
inboththe
involvement
ShowandthePaterson
StrikePageant
at MadisonSquare
Armory
Gardenof1913.Manyofthesamefigures
whopublicly
supported
modern
Mabel
alsohelped
art,notably
Dodge,Reed,andLippmann,
to organize
thepageant
to benefit
millworkers
in Paterson.61
striking
Thesecultural
rebelsbelievedthattheartsandradicalism
shareda
and
that
each
had
an
in
role
liberating
spirit
important
brushing
away
conventions
andfostering
newpersonal
freedoms.
As Margaret
Anderandart
son,editoroftheLittle
Review,
stated,"[A]narchism
concisely
arein theworldforthesamereasons."62
Anderson's
from
herpersonal
equation,
although
reconfigured
radicalvision,playeda prominent
rolein thereception
ofmodernist
in
New
York
the
and
styles
during period1915-29,as bothsupporters
ofthoseidiomslinkediconoclastic
opponents
compositional
developmentswiththegoalsandpoliciesofleftist
movements.
The
political
former
viewedmusicandpolitics
as surging
an
along emancipatory
wavethatwouldcrushthebulwark
oftradition,
whereas
thelatter
believedthatmodernist
innovations
andradicalpolitics
the
propelled
samedisruptive
andthreatening
forces.63
Thisantimodernist
view,
whichdominated
thereviews
ofPierrot,
wassuccinctly
expressed
by
thecriticandcomposer
Holden
in a 1917essaythat
Huss
Henry
attacked
notSchoenberg's
melodrama
butnewmusicin general:
"It is
without
doubttruethattherestlessness,
thesavage,reckless,
anarchisticspirit
whichhasmanifested
inpolitics
itself
andculminated
in the
warhasalsomightily
affected
sucha delicate,
sensipresent
gigantic
tiveartas Music."64
Huss'spolitical
at theoutsetoftheNewYork
parallelappears
In
ofPierrot. hisreview
ofa 1912Berlinperformance
ofthe
reception
calledSchoenberg
an "anarchist"
andwentso faras to
work,Huneker
himto MaxStirner,
a German
whoadvocated
compare
philosopher

individualism
and thebreaking
freefromwhathe viewedto be the
irrational
lawsofsociety.Althoughthe 1923 and 1925 reviewsmade
no suchspecificassociations,
thepoliticalanalogy,
theyreinforced

NewYorkReception
lunaire 687
ofPierrot

As
thework"radical,"
and"revolutionary."
"anarchistic,"
labeling
thesecharged
seenin Huneker's
andHuss'scomments,
not
epithets
to thedisintegration
ofcompositional
conventions
but
onlyreferred
socialunrest,
a turmoil
alsoalludedto a larger
by
political
epitomized
likeanarchism.
movements
thedebateoverthe1923and 1925performances
Although
thesameissuesanddrewsimilar
cultural
the
involved
connections,
to thelatter
revealsa greater
ofthework,parresponse
appreciation
in theareasofharmonic
andexpression.
The inveclanguage
ticularly
tivethatcharacterized
of
the
reviews
was
absent
many
original
mostly
in
in thoseofthesecondconcert.
Thischange tonewaslargely
due
within
thecritical
to thetransition
ranksduring
theintervening
two
ofmodern
the
music,namely
years.Manyoftheseverest
opponents
Old Guardcritics,
hadeitherdiedorretired.
Henderson,
Surprisingly,
theonlyactivemember
oftheOld Guard,praised
thework,calling
it"tremendously
stillhadseveraladverPierrot,
however,
interesting."
saries.LeonardLiebling
calledit"a phantasmagoria
ofblarings,
in
tear-bombs
musical
miasmas
tone,
shriekings,
howlings,
gruntings,
andvocalandorchestral
Other
dissenters
included
poisongases."
NewmanandWarren.
The workalsoleftmanycritics
dumbfounded
andunableto
formulate
a clearopinion.BothSandborn
andThompson,
twoperin
critics
still
found
the
work
and
1923,
plexed
"baffling" "puzzling,"
The latter
Pierrot
as "a riddlenotto be solved
respectively.
regarded
in a day,a year,ora decade."Twoofthestrongest
were
supporters
Musical
Courier
whoclaimedthat
Gilmanandtheunsigned
reviewer,
ofthisscoredefies
"theperfection
criticism.'"65
In addition
to thepassing
ofthecritical
guard,thistwo-year
in
marked
a
increase
the
ofmodern
period
significant
performance
to theactivities
ofthecompeting
new
music,a trendduelargely
musicsocieties.
severaloftheprominent
Moreover,
performing
orgaand
chamber
to
nizations,
ensembles,
including
symphonic
began
moremodern
music.The exposure
to a widervariety
ofconprogram
robbed
Pierrot
of
its
as
of
styles
temporary
reputation theepitome
"To us thisappears
as
Downes,forinstance,
concluded,
modernity.
musicofyesterday,
to a periodandposecharacteristic
of
belonging
thepost-romantics
andofinflated,
tendencies
whichare
egotistical
thepostwarantipathy
happilyfallingaway."His attitudereflects
an aversionparticularly
towardromanticism,
in the clarity
manifested
and restraint
ofneoclassicalstyles,whichDownesfrequently
discussed.66In fact,thistwo-year
intervening
periodwitnessedan influx

688 TheMusical
Quarterly

ofneoclassical
serious
critical
attenworks,
manyofwhichreceived
Wind
tion,particularly
Instruments,
Octet,
Stravinsky's
Symphonies
of
andConcerto
forPianoandWinds.
Thisincreased
withmodern
erodedaudifamiliarity
styles
partly
in musicallanguage.
A significant
enceaversion
to newdevelopments
between
thereceptions
ofthe1923and 1925concerts
is
difference
theattention
to
break
with
convention.
Whereas
given Schoenberg's
decried
thecomposer's
"anaroftheearlier
manycritics
performance
concentrated
on theeffect
rather
chism,"thoseofthe1925concert
To manyreviewers,
dissothanthenature
ofthemusical
language.
nancewasnotevenan issue,letalonea sourceofalarm.Gilman's
to thisaccepon hissecondhearing
ofthepiecetestify
comments
doesmusicageandmellowthattheacerbity
tance:"Yetso rapidly
traitofthestyleof'Pierrot
Lunaire'
whichonceseemedan essential
to detectin ourhearing
oftheworklastnight.Or perwasdifficult
thattheinfinitely
humanearhas,in our
adjustable
hapsit is merely
caseat least,madeitspeacewiththismusic."
ofSchoenberg's
stylewasa growing
Coupledwiththeacceptance
ofhismusical
overtheaesthetic
language.
potential
skepticism
had
andDownesbelievedthatthecomposer
Henderson,
Thompson,
in Pierrot
withhisrejection
tonal
oftraditional
reachedan "impasse"
Henderson
andmelodicpractices.
claimed,"No greatartcanbe built
foundation"
(28 Feb. 1925).Thompson
uponthisindeterminate
andhisfollowofthework"putSchoenberg
addedthatthe"mastery"
for
rather
than. . . open[ing]
ersin a cul-de-sac
anynewdominions
thetonalart."
theviability
of
While1925reviewers
mayhavequestioned
oftheintense
music,theygenerally
expressiveapproved
Schoenberg's
himforexceeding
theproper
Ratherthanreproaching
nessofPierrot.
as wasdonein 1923,manycritics
boundsofself-expression,
praised
detractor
ofthe
Even
hisimaginative
Downes,an admitted
setting.
his
his
best-at
most
at
the
be
found workto "Schoenberg
composer,
the
to imagine
andexpressive,"
addingthat"itis impossible
precise
in anyotherway."Gilmanclaimedthatthevividness
musiccomposed
as in thepremier
ofthecomposition
perforjustas striking
proved
thatofthe
remained
forusunchanged:
mance:"Yetone impression
weboftones,itsextraordinary
mordant
exprespowerofthisstrange
ofa scoreofdifferent
to theutterance
itsswift
siveness,
conformity
moods."He also disputedthe viewthatthe subjectmatterofthe text
ofmusicalsettingbypointingout thatbothSchoenwas not worthy
bergand Shakespeareexplored"areasofthehumanconsciousness
and light."
ofsweetness
remotefromthe influence

lunaire 689
NewYorkReception
ofPierrot

In addition
to beingoneofthemostscandalous
works
ofthe
one
of
the
Pierrot
has
also
to
be
most
1920sinNewYork,
proven
forithasbeenreprised
thereoften.Reconfirming
itsinitial
durable,
audiences
further
withthechallenging
piece,the
goalto familiarize
thethird
NewYorkperformance
on 16
offered
LeagueofComposers
version
Robert
Edmond
featured
1933.
This
by
Jones
staged
April
fulfilled
his
Stokowski
andMinaHager.Sevenyearslater,Schoenberg
in thecity.Sponsored
Pierrot
of
desireto present
bytheNewFriends
in a concert
at TownHall on 17
Music,he ledErikaStiedry-Wagner
November
1940.
ofthesetwoperformances
reveals
newpermutaThe reception
musical
Pieras audiences
tionsin thegeneral
expectations,
perceived
thantheydidin 1923and 1925.Ratherthan
rotquitedifferently
the1920s,theemorebuke
orpraise,as itdidduring
inciting
strong
of
the
work
viewed
as
and
eventrivial.
was
now
cool
For
tionality
in
admirer
the
the
of intensity
of score 1925,
Downes,an
instance,
labeledPierrot
"tepid"and"anemic"in 1933.67Gilmanlikewise
After
viewedtheworkas "sterile"
and"artificial."68
the1940perforPerkins
the
emotional
content
ofthework
mance,Francis
interpreted
in a different
it
that
was
too
refined
for
light,arguing
contemporary
"Thepresent-day
to thesubtilizaaudiences:
periodis notconducive
whichpervades
tionofemotion
thetextandtheremarkable
score."
He addedthat"theemotional
limits"
ofthemusicwere"rather
to thoseofthetext.69
narrow"
compared
The response
to the1933and 1940concerts
alsoincluded
a
overthemodernity
ofPierrot,
an issueinitially
raised,butnot
dispute
in 1925.Whereastheinnovative
musical
and
fully
explored,
language
were
the
most
contested
issues
the
critics
1920s,
expressiveness
during
nowfocused
on evaluating
thetimeliness
ofthework.Reviews
ofthe
arelargely
dividedbetween
thoseconsidering
it a historicomposition
cal piecerepresenting
thespirit
ofa pasttimeandthoseregarding
it
as a modern
workcommunicative
to a contemporary
audience.
Formanyreviewers,
theauraofmodernity
aroundPierrot
had
dissolved.
The
musical
no
completely
language longer
provednovel,
andtheworkwasviewedas havinglittlecontemporary
relevance.
claimedthatitwas"horribly
old-fashioned"
Gilman,forinstance,
andhad"agedpitifully."70
Perkins
sawPierrot
as "musicofthepast,"
and recommended
thatit be reprised
occasionally"onlyas a period
viewedtheworkas
piece."71Like thosetwocritics,Downesoriginally
dated. In his 1933 review,he calledthe composition
"a fiftieth
echo"
ofnineteenth-century
Germanromanticism;
however,Schoenberg's
of Pierrot,
whichhe claimed"revealed[thework's]
performance

690 TheMusical
Quarterly

hisopinion.Ratherthandismissing
themelodrama
secret,"
changed
as a historical
he
now
its
oddity,
praised "provocative
modernity."
to Downes,hada "genuineness
andpresent
Pierrot,
according
validity"
forcontemporary
audiences.72
The criticandcomposer
A. Walter
Kramer
thatthework
agreedwithDownes'slaterposition,
claiming
wasas "modern"
as at thetimeofitsNewYorkpremiere.73
Thisgeneralcritical
over
the
timelessness
of
Pierrot
and
Downes's
vacildispute
lationrevealhowsharply
viewsofthecomposition
turned
around
ofitsmodernity.
perceptions
The historical/contemporary
alsolargely
informs
the
dichotomy
of
Pierrot.
The
with
present-day
reception
contemporary
preoccupation
historical
and
aesthetic
hasprovided
an
periodization
categorization
oftheworkas an example
ofmodernism
andExpresunderstanding
sionism.
Giventheseconcerns,
to manyconcertgoers,
Pierrot,
symbolizestheZeitgeist
offin-de-siecle
Vienna.Recentperformances
ofthe
the"Vienna1900"concert
seriesat the
piece,mostnotably
during
Art
Museum
ofModern (7 Sept.1986),havepresented
theworkin
Thisassigned
sucha context.
historical
rolealsoinfluences
audience
listeners
neutralize
theeffect
Forexample,
oftheemotionperception.
themes
thesequalities
as reprebyprimarily
viewing
alityandmacabre
theirseparate
sentative
ofExpressionist
artinstead
ofappreciating
merit.
aesthetic
in
Pierrot
stillasserts
itself
associations,
Despiteitshistorical
It
is
of
musical
as
modernity. regarded a semipresent-day
conceptions
in music(history)
a
nal workofthetwentieth
century,viewreiterated
The 1991Tansustained
concert
courses
and
by
survey
programming.
Musicaffirmed
thisrolebyhighFestival
ofContemporary
glewood
in thatseason'sopening
concert.
The workmaintains
Pierrot
lighting
in the
relevance
becauseofitssignificance
itspresent-day
largely
this
musical
of
modernist
languages
during century.
development
oftonality
hascreated
a troubling
legacy.
Schoenberg's
rejection
a newgeneral
orcommunal
Ratherthanleadingtoward
style,
syntax
erosion
of"common-practice"
eraconventhisbreakandthegeneral
consena stylistic
voidofanymusical
tionshaveproduced
pluralism
within
musical
sus.Pierrot
resonates
general
expectations
present-day
madeandthebenefits
boththesacrifices
becauseitrepresents
gained
aesthetic
freedoms.
from
itshard-won
In itshe
is prophetic.
In thisrespect,
EmileBauer's1923review
is decadent,perhapsit is not; but if
concluded,"[P]erhaps[Pierrot]
the
one can listenwithout prejudicesof thepast,one mayhearthe
withall itsdangersand also all itstriumphs."
menaceof thefuture
Besidesheroracularstatement,
Bauer,byevokingpastand future,

NewYorkReception
lunaire 691
ofPierrot

alludesto thechronological
ofPierrot,
a workthatgripsthe
paradox
ofthemodern
moment
andbeyond
thatpointsto the
ever-shifting
future
bythatmodernity,
promised
yetoverthecourseofdecadeshas
beenatomized
intotheintoxicating
"ancient
scentfrom
fabledtimes"
ofwhichitsprotagonist
dreams.74
Appendix
1923 ReviewsofPierrotlunaire
Newspapers
Richard."Music."NewYorkTimes,5 Feb. 1923,p. 18.
Aldrich,
on NewMusic."NewYorkTimes,11 Feb.
. "SomeJudgements
sec.
5.
1923,
7, p.
5 Feb. 1923,p. 9.
Coates,Archie."Music."NewYorkWorld,
GuildGivesConcertofModern
Novelties."
NewYork
"Composers'
5 Feb. 1923,p. 7.
Herald,
GuildOffers
NewMusic."NewYorkEvening
5
"Composers'
Telegram,
Feb. 1923,p. 13.
MusicalTomfooleries."
NewYorkEvening
Finck,HenryT. "Dreary
Post,5 Feb. 1923,p. 7.
"International
Induct'Pierrot
Lunaire.'" NewYorkSun,5
Composers
Feb. 1923,p. 10.
H. E. "Symphony
GivesConcertMarred
Krehbiel,
byBurlesque."
NewYorkTribune,
5 Feb. 1923,p. 4.
. "TheCurseofAffectation
andModernism
in Music."New
YorkTribune,
11 Feb. 1923,sec. 5, p. 5.
" 'Moonstruck
in Premiere."
NewYorkEvening
5
Pierrot,'
Journal,
Feb. 1923,p. 14.
Pitts." 'LoonyPeete'andSublunary
Matters
Cometo the
Sandborn,
5 Feb. 1923,p. 7.
Klaw."TheGlobeandCommercial
Advertiser,

692 TheMusical
Quarterly

"Concert
andOpera:Schoenberg's
New
Spaeth,Katherine.
Novelty."
YorkEvening
Mail,5 Feb. 1923,p. 10.
P. " 'Pierrot
Lunaire'
andOtherMusicoftheNew
Tyron,
Winthorp
YorkWeek."Christian
Science
5 Feb. 1923,p. 16.
Monitor,
FrankH. "In theRealmofMusic."NewYorkEvening
Warren,
World,
5 Feb. 1923,p. 21.
Journals
"NewYorkDebatesMerits
of'Pierrot
LuBauer,EmileFrancis.
naire.'" Musical
Leader45 (8 Feb. 1923),126.
"International
Guild."Musical
Courier
86 (8 Feb. 1923),
Composers'
33.
F. "Schoenberg's
Herbert
'Pierrot
Lunaire.'" TheMusical
Peyser,
22 (Mar.1923),53-54.
Observer
Paul."MusicalChronicle."
TheDial 74 (Apr.1923),426Rosenfeld,
32.
Oscar." 'Pierrot
Lunaire'Puzzles
at FirstAmerican
HearThompson,
America
37 (10 Feb. 1923),6.
ing."Musical
1925 Reviews
ofPierrotLunaire
Newspapers
NewYorkTimes,23 Feb.
Downes,Olin. "LeagueofComposers."
25.
1925,p.
"TheLeagueofComposers
Branches
Out."New
Gilman,Lawrence.
YorkHerald-Tribune,
23 Feb. 1925,p. 11.
W. J."Gloomy
One ActOperaHeard."NewYorkSun,
Henderson,
23 Feb. 1925,p. 6.
--

. "GeniusisNeededforNewMusic."NewYorkSun,28 Feb.

1925, p. 4.

lunaire 693
NewYorkReception
ofPierrot

NewYorkAmerican,
Leonard."TheLeagueofComposers."
Liebling,
23 Feb. 1925,p. 12.
NewYorkEvening
Ernest."LeagueofComposers'
Concert."
Newman,
15.
23
Feb.
Post,
1925,p.
Pitts."SevenLeaguesofComposers."
NewYorkEvening
Sandborn,
23 Feb. 1925,p. 6.
Telegram,
23
FrankH. "RealmofMusic."NewYorkEvening
World,
Warren,
Feb. 1925,p. 6.
" 'DanielJazz'in Premier
at Concert."
NewYorkEvening
Weil,Irving.
23
Feb.
7.
Journal,
1925,p.
Journals
Courier
90 (5 Mar.1925),12.
Musical
"LeagueofComposers."
Oscar."Modernist's
Operaand'DanielJazz'Vie on ProThompson,
"
with
'Pierrot
Lunaire.'
Musical
America
41 (28 Feb. 1925),30.
gram
Notes
I wouldliketo thank
Fortheiradviceon earlierversionsand theirencouragement,
RobertMorgan,EllenRosand,JanetSchmalfeldt,
Tick, CraigWright,and
Judith
LeoraZimmer.
1. LawrenceGilman,"The LeagueofComposersBranchesOut," New YorkHeraldTribune,23 Feb. 1925, p. 11.
2. In his studiesof Pierrot,
bothpressreviewsofand
JonathanDunsbyincorporates
on the work;however,he does not providean overviewof its
academicperspectives
reception:Dunsby," 'PierrotLunaire'and theResistanceto Theory,"MusicalTimes
130 (1989): 732-36, and Schoenberg:
Pierrot
lunaire(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,1992), 2-6.
3. The receptionof the initialperformance
ofThe RiteofSpring
is insightfully
and
discussedin TrumanBullard,"The FirstPerformance
of IgorStravinsky's
thoroughly
The RiteofSpring,"
(Ph.D. diss.,EastmanSchool ofMusic, 1971).
4. ArthurM. Abell, "Berlin,"MusicalCourier65 (6 Nov. 1912): 5, and "Der WanMusicalAmerica17 (16 Nov. 1912): 21. Both
derer,""What Is ArnoldSchoenberg?"
in Dossierde Pressede Pierrot
reviewsare reprinted
Lunaire,ed. FrangoisLesure,vol. 2
ofDossiersde Presse(Geneva: Minkoff,
1985), 13-16.
5. JamesHuneker,"Schoenberg,MusicalAnarchist,Who Has UpsetEurope,"New
YorkTimes,19 Jan. 1913, sec. 5, p. 9. Reprintedin a shorter
versionin Huneker,

694 TheMusical
Quarterly
NewYork:Sagamore
(1915;reprint,
Press,1957),60-65.
Ivory,
Apes,andPeacocks
Thisversion
is included
inDossier
dePresse,
18-21.
6. James
"MusicofTo-dayandTo-morrow,"
inIvory,
Huneker,
Apes,andPeacocks,
104-20.
Futurist
inMusic,"Current
7. "TheFirst
54 (Mar.1913):208.
Opinion
8. H. E. Krehbiel,
A WeirdEffort,"
'Five-Pieces'
NewYork
Tribune,
"Schoenberg's
30 Nov. 1921,p. 18.
9. Richard
"ThePhiladelphia
NewYork
30 Nov. 1921
Aldrich,
Orchestra,"
Times,
13.
p.
10. During
thiseleven-year
wasperformed
inseveral
counPierrot
period,
European
tries.Schoenberg
followed
theBerlinpremiere
witha tourthrough
Gerimmediately
andCzechoslovakia.
HisVereinfdir
musikalische
Austria,
many,
Privatauffihrungen
offered
in 1921and1922,including
a tourofGermany,
performances
Holland,
andSwitzerland.
MichelCalvocoressi
introduced
Parisian
audiences
Czechoslovakia,
andE. Robert
Schmitz
ina 1912lecture
to excerpts
series.
byPaulede Lestang
played
MilhaudandJeanWidner
thefirst
ofthework
presented
complete
publicperformance
as conductor
andMaryaFreund
inFranceon 16Jan.1922withMilhaud
as reciter.
Forthisconcert,
thetextwasretranslated
intoFrench
from
theGerman
after
version,
As a signofAmerica's
touseGiraud's
unsuccessful.
original
poetry
proved
attempts
in theinternational
musicworld,
NewYorkoffered
before
Pierrot
prominence
growing
andItalydid.The first
wasbyMilhaud
andFreund
GreatBritain
English
performance
delleNuoveMusiche
an Italiantour
on 19Nov. 1923.TheCorporazione
sponsored
artists
in 1924.Formoreon earlier
ofPierofSchoenberg
andassisting
performances
dePresse,
247-56.
rot,seeDossier
11. Fora discussion
ofthehistory
andinfluence
oftheguild,seeR. AllenLott,
" 'NewMusicforNewEars':The International
Guild,"Journal
Composers'
ofthe
36 (1983):266-86,andDavidMetzer,
"TheAscenAmerican
Society
Musicological
inNewYorkCity,1915-29"(Ph.D. diss.,YaleUniverdancyofMusicalModernism
172-232.
sity,1993),
trans.EithneWilkins
andErnst
12. Edward
Letters,
Stein,ed.,Arnold
Schoenberg:
Kaiser(London:FaberandFaber,1964),78-79.
NewYork
Lunaire'
13. "Schoenberg
Doesn'tWantHis'Pierrot
14
Herald,
Played,"
Jan.1923,sec. 7, p. 4.
86 (1 Mar.1923):23.
Courier
14. "Pierrot
Again,"Musical
86 (1 Feb.1923):21.
Musical
andHisMoonMadPierrot,"
Courier
15. "Schoenberg
ina latercollection
is included
of
called"Sch6nberg
16. Engel'saddress,
Lunaire,"
A. Knopf,
Discords
1931),84-97.
(NewYork:Alfred
Mingled
essays,
andCritics
17. ClaireReis,Composers,
Conductors,
(NewYork:Oxford
University
Press,1955),11-13.
18. ClaireReis,interview
1977,YaleOralHistory
Jan.1976-Jan.
byVivianPerlis,
Music.
ProjectinAmerican
forboththe1923and1925pera listofcitedreviews
19. The Appendix
contains
theAppendix.
comefrom
references
toreviews
Thefollowing
formances.

lunaire 695
NewYorkReception
ofPierrot
viewsofthe"OldGuard"critics,
andaesthetic
ofthecareers
20. Fora discussion
ofNewMusicinNewYork:1919-1929"(Ph.D.
"TheCriticism
seeBarbara
Mueser,
"AnAmerican
ofNewYork,1975),42-103;OscarThompson,
diss.,CityUniversity
and
Richard
LeftbyW.J.Henderson,
The Legacy
SchoolofCriticism:
Aldrich,
23 (1937):428-39;andWaroftheOld Guard,"Musical
TheirColleagues
Quarterly
A Centennial
MusicCritics:
American
renS. Smith,"FourDistinguished
Note,"
America
Musical
74,no. 4 (1954):6, 130,134.
In a
wassmallandunappreciative.
thattheaudience
21. Finckalsocommented
at Futurhisclaims.(Finck,"WhatHappened
to theEvening
letter
Post,Reisrefuted
Finck
NewYorkEvening
isticConcert,"
Post,17Feb.1923,p. 10.) In hisresponse,
theworkeventhough
forpraising
Sandborn
herviewandthenadmonished
dismissed
that
Sandborn
oftheaccompaniment.
andgroans"
to the"squeaks
he referred
replied
thathe
andrepeated
tobe viewedas negative
thatdescription
he didnotintend
ofPierrot
to developa clearer
neededanother
(Finck,"Philharmonic
opinion
hearing
23
Feb.
York
New
New
1923,
Post,
p. 8).
Evening
Plays
Symphony,"
22. Aldrich
(5 Feb. 1923)andSpaeth(5 Feb.1923).
ofthissplit,seeReis,Composers,
accounts
first-hand
23. Forcontrasting
Conductors,
GlassDiary:Volume
a Looking
andCritics,
1, 188313-15,andLouiseVarese,Varese,
1928(NewYork:W. W. Norton,
1972),188-91.
todescribe
the
ofexpectations"
coinedthephrase"horizon
24. HansRobert
Jauss
in a
andithasbeenappropriated
tojudgeliterary
criteria
works,
byreaders
employed
a
to
as
in
this
History Challenge Literary
"Literary
study.
Jauss,
way
verygeneral
vol. 2 ofTheory
an Aesthetic
trans.Timothy
Bahti,inToward
ofReception,
Theory,"
ofMinnesota
andHistory
Press,1982).OrigiUniversity
(Minneapolis:
ofLiterature
inLiteraturgederLiteraturwissenschaft,"
alsProvokation
nally"Literaturgeschichte
amMain:Suhrkamp,
alsProvokation
schichte
1970).
(Frankfurt
inthe
Victorian
toModernist
25. DanielJoseph
Thought
Singal,TheWarWithin:
ofNorthCarolinaPress,1982),and
1919-45(ChapelHill:University
South,
39 (1987),
American
A Definition
ofAmerican
"Towards
Modernism,"
Quarterly
to Ameriin thisissueofAmerican
dedicated
7-26. Singal'sessayandothers
Quarterly
inAmerica,
Culture
ed. Daniel
as Modernist
havebeenreprinted
canmodernism
Calif.:Wadsworth,
1991).
Singal(Belmont,
Joseph
Masters
andVictims
andOther
Germans:
26. PeterGay,Freud,
Jews,
ofModernist
Culture
Press,1978),21-22. See alsoGay,Artand
(NewYork:Oxford
University
&
andMondrian
Act:On CausesinHistory:
Manet,Gropius,
(NewYork:Harper
Rowe,1976).
in America
isdrawn
from
DanielWalker
culture
ofVictorian
27. Thisdiscussion
as a Culture,"
American
Victorianism
27 (1975):507-32,
Howe,"American
Quarterly
9-11.
ofAmerican
andSingal,"Definition
Modernism,"
Frame
TheVictorian
28. WalterE. Houghton,
ofMind,1830-1870(NewHaven:
YaleUniversity
Press,1957),145.
in theTwentieth
on Victorianism
29. Stanley
Coben,"TheAssault
Century,"
Victorianism:
American
27 (1975):604-25,andCoben,Rebellion
against
Quarterly

696 TheMusical
Quarterly
in 1920sAmerica
TheImpetus
(NewYork:Oxford
Press,
forCultural
Change
University
1991).
30. On Omstein's
career
andmusic,seeVivianPerlis,
"TheFuturist
MusicofLeo
31
Notes
the
Music
Association
(1974-75):735-50,andMetzer,
Library
Omstein,"
of
85-130.
ofMusicalModernism,"
"Ascendancy
31. Fora discussion
ofHumperdinck's
F. Kravitt,
seeEdward
"The
innovation,
ofWordsandMusicinLateRomantic
Musical
62
Melodrama,"
Joining
Quarterly
inthemelodrama
isdescribed
tradition
in
(1976):571-90.TheplaceofPierrot
2-6.
Pierrot
lunaire,
Dunsby,
is thesongcycle;
32. Dunsby
that"thesupporting
argues
generic
type"ofPierrot
5.
Pierrot
lunaire,
Dunsby,
inAmerican
"TheGenteelTradition
33. Santayana
coinedtheterminhisaddress
25
of
at
on
at
the
California
Berkeley
University
Aug.1911.This
given
Philosophy,"
Tradition:
Nine
is presented
in DouglasWilson,ed.,TheGenteel
version
original
Harvard
Press,1967),38-64.
University
Santayana
(Cambridge:
Essays
byGeorge
inContemporary
Studies
revised
thespeechin Winds
Opinion
ofDoctrine:
Santayana
Sons,1913),186-215.
(NewYork:CharlesScribner's
seeF. I. Carpenter,
"The
ofthegenteel
34. Fordifferent
tradition,
interpretations
15 (Sept.1942):
A Reinterpretation,"
NewEngland
GenteelTradition:
Quarterly
AnAgeofCriticism,
1900-1950(Chicago:Henry
VanO'Connor,
427-43;William
"TheGenteelTradition,"
in TheAge
Mumford
1952),3-18; Howard
Jones,
Regnery,
1865-1915(NewYork:Viking,
Varieties
1971),
Experience,
ofAmerican
ofEnergy:
intheGilded
A Genteel
American
Culture
andPolitics
Endeavor:
216-58;JohnTomisch,
TheGenteel
Stanford
Dawidoff,
Press,1971);andRobert
University
Age(Stanford:
inAdams,
andSantayana
vs.Democracy
andSacred
Tradition
James,
Rage:HighCulture
of
North
Carolina
Hill
London:
and
142-93.
Press,
1991),
University
(Chapel
American
musical
ofmusicinnineteenth-century
35. On theseidealistic
perceptions
Generation:
A SocialHistory
MusicintheCultured
A. Mussulman,
life,seeJoseph
of
Ill.:Northwestern
MusicinAmerica,
1870-1900(Evanston,
Press,1971),
University
andPopulism
inAntebellum
Class":Elitism
"MusicoftheHighest
andMichaelBroyles,
Boston
Press,1992).
(NewHaven:YaleUniversity
"TheHumanNeedforMusicin DailyLife,"Etude33 (Jan.
36. WalterDamrosch,
1915):9.
Etude33 (June1915):409.
37. "Buying
Beauty,"
38. Engel,Discords
87.
Mingled,
onFourteen
inPortofNewYork:Essays
hiscritical
breadth
39. Rosenfeld
displayed
Moderns
American
Brace,1924).
(NewYork:Harcourt,
is
musicwithmechanization
ofStravinsky's
thelinkage
40. In thePierrot
review,
it
is
of
the
in
discussions
whereas
other
as
a
composer
quality,
presented negative
the
viewedpositively.
Here,Rosenfeld
Stravinsky
against
propsupthemechanistic
"themechanical
howtheformer
tortured
captures
describing
Schoenberg,
corporeal
human
overthemicroscopic
itstriumph
thatshouts
bug."On Rosenfeld's
rhythm

lunaire 697
NewYorkReception
ofPierrot
seeHughM.
musicwithmechanization,
andOmstein's
ofbothStravinsky's
linkages
UniandArtinAmerica,
1916-1946(AnnArbor:
FalseDawn:PaulRosenfeld
Potter,
Microfilm,
1980),29.
versity
at theBarof
inR. H. Wollenstein,
"Modernism
areexpressed
41. Theseopinions
America
Musical
PublicOpinion,"
43 (26 Feb.1927):3.
ofModernism,"
Musical
Cou"Arnold
42. FrankPatterson,
Impressions
Schoenberg:
8.
rier83 (7 July
1921):
the1910sand1920s
ofFreudinAmerica
ofthereception
43. Thisdiscussion
during
of
of
Freud:
"The
Americanization
F.
H.
draws
Matthews,
Sigmund
Adaptations
upon
1 (1967):39-62;John
Studies
before
1917,"Journal
ofAmerican
Psychoanalysis
in
toSocialControl,"
FromNarcissism
"TheNewPsychology:
Burnham,
Chynoweth
The
ed.
America:
in
Twentieth
and
1920s,
Braeman,
John
Century
Change Continuity
OhioStateUniversity
H. Bremner,
andDavidBrody
Robert
Press,
(Columbus:
TheBeginnings
andtheAmericans:
1968),351-98;NathanG. Hale,Jr.,Freud
ofPsyintheUnited
1876-1917(NewYork:Oxford
Press,
States,
University
choanalysis
Little
TheNewYork
Renaissance:
Frank
Iconoclasm,
Wertheim,
1971);Arthur
ModemrninAmerican
1908-1917(NewYork:NewYorkUniverCulture,
ism,andNationalism
"Freud's
Journal
America,"
ofAmerican
sityPress,1976),69-74;andDuaneVorhees,
12 (winter
Culture
1989):43-52.
ChiThePerils
2d ed. (1958;reprint,
44. WilliamE. Leuchtenburg,
ofProsperity,
ofChicagoPress,1993),166.
cago:University
the1920s,seeRalphvonTrecsckow
45. On theabusesofFreudian
theory
during
inDancFrom
theGeneralto theSpecific,"
Twenties:
"Freud
and
the
Roaring
Napp,
R. Broer
Blues:TheGreatEscapeoftheTwenties,
ed. Lawrence
ingFoolsandWeary
GreenUniversity
andJohnD. Walther
Press,1990),
Green,Oh.: Bowling
(Bowling
172-81.
SevenArts1 (Feb.1917):406-12,and
"TheArtist,"
BoothKuttner,
46. Alfred
1 (Mar.1917):549-52.
Seven
Arts
"TheArtist
(A Communication),"
ofRosenfeld,
statesthatthecriticwasfamiliar
with
47. In hisstudy
HughPotter
of
and
Gestalt."
He
also
mentions
the
overideas
"Freudian
Freud,
Jung,
"principal
FalseDawn,83. Fifteen
his
tones"in someofRosenfeld's
reviews;
Potter,
yearsafter
wrote
an article
thatconcentrates
Pierrot
Rosenfeld
on thetheories
ofFreud
review,
30 Apr.1938,485-86.
andGod,"Nation,
andJung:
"Psychoanalysis
Prohibition
andtheProgressive
1900-1920(Cam48. James
Timberlake,
Movement,
Harvard
andBeautiful:
Press,1963),andPaulaS. Fass,TheDamned
University
bridge:
inthe1920s(NewYork:Oxford
American
Youth
Press,1977).
University
"Music:An Expression
ofLifeandCharacter,"
31
Musician
49. Mrs.W. A. Harper,
Institute
Art,1905-1926(NewYork:
ofMusical
(Aug.1926):26. FrankDamrosch,
SchoolofMusic,1936),178.
Juilliard
in twocollections
50. Thisdebateculminated
ofessays:
Norman
Foerster,
ed.,
ontheOutlook
Humanism
andAmerica:
Civilization
(NewYork:Farrar
Essays
ofModem
& Rinehart,
A SymGrattan,
ed., TheCritique
1930),andC. Hartley
ofHumanism:
andWarren,
(NewYork:Brewer
1930).
posium

698 TheMusical
Quarterly
51. On theNewHumanists,
seeDavidJ.Hoeveler,
A
Jr.,TheNewHumanism:
PressofVirginia,
1900-1940(Charlottesville:
America,
ofModern
Critique
University
from
thegenteel
tradi1977).It shouldbe notedthattheNewHumanists
departed
in theirdenouncement
tioninsomekeyways,notably
ofthedetachment
ofartfrom
lifewithin
thattradition.
52. Malcolm
Exile'sReturn:
A Literary
Cowley,
Odyssey
ofthe1920s(1934;New
York:Vintage,
1956),9.
53. Roderick
Generation:
American
1917-1930(ChiNash,TheNervous
Thought,
1970),110.
cago:RandMcNally,
oftheterm,
oftheinstability
seeRichard
54. Fora discussion
Gilman,Decadence:
TheStrange
andGiroux,1979).
(NewYork:Faber,Straus,
Lifeofan Epithet
55. ElaineShowalter,
Gender
andCulture
SexualAnarchy:
at theFindeSiecle(New
York:Viking,
1990),169.
etMe'lisande,
56. In herstudy
ofthereception
ofPelleas
discusses
how
JannPassler
ofDebussy
"Pelcritics
alsoquestioned
themoralqualities
andhisopera.See Passler,
leasandPower:ForcesBehindtheReception
ofDebussy's
Music
Opera,"19thCentury
10 (1987):257-59.
OhioUniversity
57. JohnR. Reed,Decadent
Press,1985),7.
Style(Athens:
58. Reed,Decadent
7.
Style,
in
59. Forstudies
ofthesemovements,
seeChristopher
Lasch,TheNewRadicalism
as a SocialType(NewYork:Alfred
A. Knopf,
America
(1889-1963):TheIntellectual
inBohemia:
TheRadicals
Rebels
1965),andLeslieFishbein,
oftheMasses,1911-1917
Hill:
of
North
Carolina
Press,
1982).
University
(Chapel
ofthewaron thecultural
seeHenry
oftheeffect
60. Fora fuller
discussion
rebels,
A Study
First
Own
Time
Innocence:
the
Years
Our
F. May,TheEndofAmerican
of
of
TheNewYork
Little
RenaisA. Knopf,
1969),361-98;Wertheim,
(NewYork:Alfred
A History
NewYorkIntellect:
sance,215-26;andThomasBender,
Lifein
ofIntellectual
A.
NewYork
1750totheBeginnings
ofOurOwnTime(NewYork:Alfred
Cityfrom
1987),249-55.
Knopf,
ShowandthePaterson
Strike
61. Martin
Green,NewYork1913:TheArmory
Pageant
Sons,1988).
(NewYork:CharlesScribner's
3 (Mar.1916):3.
Little
Review
"ArtandRadicalism,"
C. Anderson,
62. Margaret
308-12.
ofMusicalModernism,"
63. See Metzer,
"Ascendancy
in SomeUltra-Modern
Futurist
Element
HoldenHuss,"TheAnarchic
64. Henry
2 (May1917):139-41.
Music,"ArtWorld
theFirst
viewsofSchoenberg,
earlier
65. ForGilman's
Quartet
String
particularly
andHis
PianoPieces,
andtheThree
Schoenberg
op. 11,seeGilman,"TheIrrubrical
199(Mar.1914):452-57.
Review
American
Music,"North
Extraordinary
at a LeagueofComposers
Downesspokeaboutneoclassicism
66. Forinstance,
neoIn
he
discussed
lecture-recital
addition,
Stravinsky's
(6 Apr.1930).
frequently
inhiscriticism.
works
classical

NewYorkReception
lunaire 699
ofPierrot
67. OlinDownes,"GalaProgram
NewYorkTimes,17Apr.1933,
ByComposers,"
p.16.
68. Lawrence
17Apr.1933,p. 13.
Gilman,"Music,"NewYork
Herald-Tribune,
D. Perkins,
69. Francis
"NewFriends
LedbySchoenberg,"
NewYork
Program
18Nov. 1940,p. 15.
Herald-Tribune,
70. Gilman,"Music,"13.
"NewFriends
71. Perkins,
15.
Program,"
72. OlinDownes," 'Pierrot
lunaire':
ofHisScoreBrings
Schoenberg's
Conception
OutItsTrueMerit,"
NewYorkTimes,
24 Nov. 1940,sec.9, p. 7.
73. A. WalterKramer,
MusicandFilm,"
"Composers'
LeagueGala ListIncludes
Musical
53 (25 Apr.1933):13.
America
isfrom
74. Thisline,"O alterDuftausMarchenzeit,"
thelastsongofPierrot;
translationbyAndrew
in Dunsby,
Porter
Pierrot
71.
lunaire,