Pitch and Structure in an Atonal Context—An Analysis of the Structural Characteristics of Schoenberg’s Op.16 No.2 “Vergangenes”

Abstract

This article takes the second movement of Schoenberg’s Five Orchestral Pieces as its subject. Using musical elements such as pitch, timbre, meter, texture, and dynamics as entry points, and drawing on the analytical thinking and methods of modern music theory, it analyzes the layout and structural characteristics of each musical element in this work through a combination of charts and textual description. By parsing the structural characteristics of each musical element and their connection to the overall structural layout, the aim is to achieve a comprehensive interpretation of these elements, moving from the micro to the macro, and the local to the whole.