Adorno’s Marxism Versus Schoenberg’s Judaism. Ideological Foundations of Adorno’s Sociological Approach to Schoenberg’s Dodecaphonic Music Cover Image

Adornov marksizam versus Šenbergov judaizam. Ideološke osnove Adornovog sociološkog pristupa Šenbergovoj dodekafonskoj muzici
Adorno’s Marxism Versus Schoenberg’s Judaism. Ideological Foundations of Adorno’s Sociological Approach to Schoenberg’s Dodecaphonic Music

Author(s): Dragana Jeremić Molnar, Aleksandar Molnar
Subject(s): Social Sciences
Published by: Sociološko naučno društvo Srbije
Keywords: music; tonality; atonality; dodecaphony; ideology; capitalism; totalitarianism; Marxism; Judaism;

Summary/Abstract: In this article the authors devote their attention to the ideological dimension of Theodor Adorno’s attitude towards atonality, and especially towards dodecaphonic music. They are arguing that Adorno never really wanted to understand close interrelatedness between Arnold Schoenberg’s dodecaphonic project and his endeavors to go “back to the roots” of Judaism. Instead, Adorno developed a Marxist pattern of explanation which was hostile towards anything belonging to the repressive and meaningless “ancien regime”, as well as towards its “appropriate” ideologies and religions (like Judaism). In order to fulfill the primary task of reflecting the evils of the rule of contemporary totalitarian capitalism, modern atonal (and especially dodecaphonic) music had to be, according to Adorno, “progressively” purified of all ties with “reactionary” Judaism.

  • Issue Year: 51/2009
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 45-54
  • Page Count: 10
  • Language: Serbian