SerialismΩ
[related: the Second Viennese School, Matrix][disambiguation: Creation Matrix]
Hyper-mathemetical and, some say, alienating system of music composition based on the sequential ordering of discrete musical elements according to a predetermined matrix - typically involving pitch but often extendable to parameters such as rhythm, dynamics, articulation, and timbre. Serialism emerged as an almost inevitable result of the myth of collective progress that plagued the 20th century. The practice was established in the early 20th century by the "Second Viennese School", particularly the innovations of Arnold Schoenberg, whose twelve-tone technique established a paradigmatic framework for "dodecaphonic" organization. Subsequent and even more dogmatic iterations, often referred to as "total serialism," extended the serial principle to encompass all aspects of musical structure, as exemplified in the works of composers such as Anton Webern. Other composers, such as the hopelessly-romantic Alban Berg and the outlandishly ambitious extraterrestrial Karlheinz Stockhausen, took a more freewheeling approach to the practice. Serialism was widely criticized for its perceived opacity, rigidity, and complete repudiation of "the music of the cosmos", leaving audiences throughout Europe and the United States ostracized and apathetic. Sustained and generous governmental funding of such startlingly unpopular mathematical music led to speculation in certain circles that serialism was being exploited for its cryptographical potential by various espionage agencies.
Ωref#[Heinrich Kincaid] :: Composer Webern was Double Agent for Nazis.