Reading Comprehension

PT144 · S1 · P1 · Q3 Arnold Shoenberg

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“Never was anything as incoherent, shrill, chaotic and ear-splitting produced in music.

Topic

Schoenberg's music: Its controversy, innovation, and emotional impact compared to Beethoven.

Framework

Old / New

Main Point

Like Beethoven before him, Schoenberg drastically expanded and altered the language of music in ways that upset many listeners, but his innovations—especially his emotional expressiveness—make his music both important and essential despite ongoing controversy. *The Most Valuable Sentence appears in the final paragraph: *

P1: Complaints About Chaotic Music

We open with an angry, over-the-top critique of “incoherent, shrill, chaotic” music—but the twist is, this was actually leveled at Beethoven, not Schoenberg.

P2: Reactions to Musical Innovation

The author draws a direct line between the criticisms Beethoven once faced and how people now react to Schoenberg; both pushed the boundaries of music and sparked backlash, though Beethoven is now revered.

P3: Comparing Schoenberg and Beethoven’s Innovation

Schoenberg, like Beethoven, never settled into a single style. Instead, he kept innovating, building on tradition while also forging into new musical territory, especially through three distinct periods in his own work.

3.

The author begins with the quote from Kotzebue primarily in order to

  1. give an accurate account of

    Not accurate

    The intended parallel the author sees in this quote is that people are "wrong" when they first hear Beethoven / Schoenberg. They think it's awful, because they don't get it yet.

    6% picked this

  2. give an accurate account of

    Not accurate

    The intended parallel the author sees in this quote is that people are "wrong" when they first hear Beethoven / Schoenberg. They think it's awful, because they don't get it yet. To make matters worse, this quote is about Beethoven, not Schoenberg, so this answer would certainly be weaker than (A). The author says that this quote accurately characterizes the reaction of many listeners, but not what the author (who loves both composers) would say it the correct account of their music.

    20% picked this

  3. suggest that even Beethoven composed

    Wrong Purpose

    The author's intended parallel is not that both Schoenberg and Beethoven wrote some stinkers, along with the classics. The negative-sounding quote isn't in there because the author thinks that some of Beethoven/Schoenberg sucks; it's there because the author thinks that modern listeners who might initially shun Schoenberg should realize that this is how people treated the now-celebrated music of Beethoven when it was first premiered.

    11% picked this

  4. Correct

    suggest that music that is

    Why this is right

    The intended parallels of Beethoven's and Schoenberg's situations are that they 1. both really reinvented the boundaries of music 2. both really got hated on by early listeners 3. eventually are / will be appreciated for being musical geniuses This answer is most supported by the first two sentences of the 3rd paragraph, where the author unpacks the relevance of talking about Beethoven: both B and S stirred controversy. B, of course, has stood as a cultural icon for more than a century, but that didn't happen overnight. This is the author's suggestion that it might take us some time to appreciate what Schoenberg has created.

    Skill tested: Local Purpose · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

    59% picked this

  5. suggest that one critic can

    Wrong Purpose

    The author isn't talking about one rogue critic vs. the general critical consensus. This is about "the reaction of many listeners" early on vs. how the listening audience understands an artist eventually.

    3% picked this

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