THE PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK is to present the main lines of development
of twentieth-century music through a study of selected compositions
by its most influential composers. The author assumes that the student
has some knowledge of the main stream of music and an understand-
ing of its underlying principles (such as tonality, harmony, form, etc.),
since the new style traits are presented as outgrowths of this more
familiar music. On the other hand, extensive technical knowledge is
not necessary to use this book. It is designed for college courses having
no other prerequisite than an introductory course in music, such as
Introduction to Music or Music Appreciation.

In surveying the era and attempting to evaluate its musical
achievements, one finds that the first half of the twentieth century has
as many shifting patterns and designs as a kaleidoscope. To impose a
definitive pattern is impossible at this time and the different books de-
voted to the subject reflect various points of view. Some books supply
us with a year-by-year recording of events while others describe
musical activities within geographical boundaries. Still others discuss
the period by writing biographies of composers, analyzing significant
compositions, or by defining certain aspects of music theory. All of
these approaches are valid and helpful to students.

This book seeks to treat the principal factors involved-person-
alities, chronology, style-in a manner that shows various interrelations
as well as fundamental trends in the development of the art. The
special problem of writing contemporary cultural history is the neces-
sity of making judgments about persons, events, and works of art that
have not yet stood the test of time--the only true criterion of aesthetic
value. As a result it is inevitable that there will be differences of
opinion concerning emphasis and proportion in such a book as this and
that the final decisions will be more personal than if one were making
a survey, say, of the music of the first half of the sixteenth century. The
present author has been guided in his decisions by his experiences with

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