Old-Age Style: The Case of Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951)

This article argues that misreadings of Theodor W. Adorno undermine some musicological research on late musical style, particularly with regard to the works of Arnold Schoenberg. It considers alternatives in the forms of exile (Edward Said), old-age style (Stuart Taberner), and disabled style (Joseph Straus) for Schoenberg's very late oeuvre, a body of work characterized by diatonically inflected dodecaphony and overt communication with the audience.