Introduction

Shortly after the publication of the Harmonielehre in 1911, Schoenberg wrote to the publisher Emil Hertzka at Universal Edition. In the letter, he stated his intention to write a series of books for music instruction. The unfinished manuscripts Zusammenhang, Kontrapunkt, Instrumentation, Formenlehre (1917) and Der musikalische Gedanke und die Logik, Technik, und Kunst seiner Darstellung (1923-36) represent Schoenberg's subsequent efforts to systematize his music theory. In 1980, Whittall observed that only at that time technical issues concerned with analysis and criticism were beginning to be adequately explored in Schoenberg's theoretical writings. Schoenberg defended, throughout his career, his position as the heir to the tradition of German music. He saw his musical inheritance as an acquired knowledge that would grant him the necessary authority in order to teach composition and to evaluate music critically.