ABSTRACT

From the emergence of Modernity in the 1900s to the 'emotionalization' of New Music in the 1970s, various traces of Franz Schubert's music can be found in twentieth-century compositions. Expression at the limit of what can be said becomes the sign of true vitality – a real, albeit Utopian, aim for Schubert which also plays a decisive role in the musical thinking of contemporary composers. This chapter examines two perspectives: firstly, the farreaching significance of Schubert's sound utopia, the timeless topicality of which is rooted in its radical content as well as its form. As Schnebel's expression of 'released time' suggests, the Utopia of liberated time corresponds to a compositional attitude that can be described as being passive rather than active, 'tentative rather than straightforward'. Thus, the music of Schnebel and Rihm may serve as examples for a general tendency in music during the past 30 years.