Classical music was revolutionised after 1900. This new art music, hailed as the most important new development in musical history, also provoked hatred and scandal. Composers such as Schönberg and Stockhausen became the icons of connoisseurs, whereas others, such as Strawinsky and Messiaen appealed to a broader audience. After World War II, postmodernism and minimal music gained ground and composers such as Leonard Bernstein and Arvo Pärt produced music which belongs to the best loved classical music. The most representative works of all these composers, and their companions, are discussed in this book.

The central questions this book seeks to answer are: Why did composers write music which sounded so completely different from all that was expected and how did they compose this music? This book delves deeply into the craft of composing itself, the structures and strategies used by composers to arrive at an ordering of their sound world, and their responses to the world that surrounds them or, in other words: the trifecta of analysis, historical context, and philosophical context behind the written music.
This book is intended for professional musicians, composers, and music lovers who crave to know how composers operate. If you want to know exactly why this new music sounds as it does, this is the book for you.