By: Brian Moseley, University of Buffalo
Abstract of Video:
Anton Webern’s approach to twelve-tone composition is often centered on strategically concealing and revealing aspects of compositional structure. For Webern, this approach mirrored his understanding and experience of the world itself. This video shows how this kind of strategy is used in “Gelockert aus dem Schoße,” the last movement of Webern’s final completed work.
Bibliography:
Moseley, B. (2017). Sense, Structure, and Webern’s Mysterious Modernism. Theory and Practice, 42, 81-100.
Shreffler, Anne C. 1994. “‘Mein Weg geht jetzt voru¨ber’: The Vocal Origins of Webern’s Twelve-Tone
Composition.” Journal of the American Musicological Society 47 (2): 275–339.
Webern, Anton, and Alban Berg. Forthcoming. Briefwechsel Anton Webern - Alban Berg. Ed. Rudolf Stephan
and Simone Hohmaier. Mainz: Schott Music.
About the Author:
Brian Moseley is an associate professor of music theory at the University at Buffalo, specializing in 20th and 21st-century music, particularly the works of Anton Webern and Thomas Adès. His research explores topics such as surrealist automatism, time and memory in music, and the influence of Webern on contemporary composition. Moseley is a prolific scholar, with publications in leading journals like Music Theory Spectrum and the Journal of Music Theory, and contributions to award-winning edited collections. Active in music theory pedagogy, he co-authored the open-access textbook Open Music Theory. A dedicated member of the music theory community, Moseley has served in leadership roles for the Society for Music Theory and the Music Theory Society of New York State. Beyond academia, he is deeply involved in Buffalo's non-profit arts world, serving on the boards of Buffalo String Works and Nusantara Arts.