What will I learn about: how twentieth-century classical music reflects its historical context, evolving from lavish Wagnerian operas to modern sounds amid extreme political divisions and global wars?

Discover how twentieth-century classical music reflects its historical context, evolving from lavish Wagnerian operas to modern sounds amid extreme political divisions and global wars.

What will I learn about: Learn how Richard Strauss's opera Salome shattered musical norms by introducing shocking dissonance and the 'devil in music,' ushering in a bold new era of composition?

Learn how Richard Strauss's opera Salome shattered musical norms by introducing shocking dissonance and the 'devil in music,' ushering in a bold new era of composition.

What will I learn about: the unique way Gustav Mahler pushed avant-garde boundaries in his Sixth Symphony by blending traditional forms with militaristic beats and massive percussion?

Understand the unique way Gustav Mahler pushed avant-garde boundaries in his Sixth Symphony by blending traditional forms with militaristic beats and massive percussion.

What will I learn about: Explore the historical tension between popular box-office success and avant-garde innovation through the complex rivalries of early modern composers?

Explore the historical tension between popular box-office success and avant-garde innovation through the complex rivalries of early modern composers.

What will I learn about: why Arnold Schoenberg pioneered radical atonality in Vienna, using extreme dissonance to challenge bourgeois values and express deep personal turmoil?

Find out why Arnold Schoenberg pioneered radical atonality in Vienna, using extreme dissonance to challenge bourgeois values and express deep personal turmoil.

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The Rest Is Noise

Listening to the Twentieth Century

Alex Ross

★ 4.2 / 5(48 ratings)

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Categories:

History

If You're Curious About These Questions...

You should listen to this audiobook

💡Have you ever wondered why a single musical premiere in 1913 was so provocative that it actually triggered a full-scale riot in the streets of Paris?
💡Did you know that some of the twentieth century’s most influential compositions were secretly shaped by the high-stakes political agendas of the world’s most notorious dictators?
💡Are you curious about how the 'noise' of modern life—from world wars to technological revolutions—was transformed into the groundbreaking soundtracks we listen to today?

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Key Takeaways from The Rest Is Noise

✓Discover how twentieth-century classical music reflects its historical context, evolving from lavish Wagnerian operas to modern sounds amid extreme political divisions and global wars.
✓Learn how Richard Strauss's opera Salome shattered musical norms by introducing shocking dissonance and the 'devil in music,' ushering in a bold new era of composition.
✓Understand the unique way Gustav Mahler pushed avant-garde boundaries in his Sixth Symphony by blending traditional forms with militaristic beats and massive percussion.
✓Explore the historical tension between popular box-office success and avant-garde innovation through the complex rivalries of early modern composers.
✓Find out why Arnold Schoenberg pioneered radical atonality in Vienna, using extreme dissonance to challenge bourgeois values and express deep personal turmoil.

Learning Tools

Reinforce what you learned from The Rest Is Noise

Mind Map

The Rest Is Noise

Breaking Wagner's Shadow+

The Birth of Atonality+

Rhythm and Folk Influences+

Post-WWI Reckoning+

Totalitarianism & Politics+

Post-WWII Radical Avant-Garde+

American Minimalism+

Legacy in Modern Music+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 12

What composer cast a 'long shadow' over the early twentieth century with grandiose operas that were later championed by Adolf Hitler?

A. Gustav Mahler
B. Richard Strauss
C. Richard Wagner
D. Igor Stravinsky

Question 2 of 12

How did Richard Strauss's opera 'Salome' shock early twentieth-century audiences?

A. By using entirely electronic instruments and tape manipulation.
B. Through its liberal use of dissonant tritones that juxtaposed different harmonic spheres.
C. By incorporating American jazz rhythms into a traditional German opera.
D. By featuring a completely silent performance for over four minutes.

Question 3 of 12

What personal and social factors contributed to Arnold Schoenberg's radical shift toward atonality?

A. A desire to create 'music of use' for the working class and his sudden financial ruin.
B. His rejection of bourgeois values and the trauma of his wife's affair and her lover's suicide.
C. A mandate from the Austrian government to create a new nationalistic sound.
D. His exposure to American jazz and the resulting desire to blend it with classical forms.

Question 4 of 12

How did the Parisian audience's reaction to Stravinsky's 'The Rite of Spring' compare to the Viennese reaction to Schoenberg's atonal works?

A. The Parisian audience sat in stunned silence, whereas the Viennese audience cheered wildly.
B. The Parisians immediately embraced the dissonance without any protest, unlike the violent Viennese.
C. While both caused scandals, rambunctious and violent audience reactions were somewhat expected and accepted in Paris.
D. The Parisians walked out quietly in protest, while the Viennese audience sued the composer.

Question 5 of 12

Following the devastation of World War I, how did the emerging group of composers in Paris known as 'Les Six' change the direction of classical music?

A. They returned to the grandiose, romantic style of Wagner to inspire national pride.
B. They shunned pre-war pomposity in favor of formalism, clear structures, and jazz influences.
C. They exclusively composed propaganda music to support the French military.
D. They abandoned traditional instruments to focus solely on the new twelve-tone method.

Question 6 of 12

How did American composers like George Gershwin and Duke Ellington respond to the European-dominated classical music scene?

A. They completely abandoned classical training to play traditional folk music.
B. They moved to Europe to study under Arnold Schoenberg and adopt twelve-tone serialism.
C. They successfully blended classical sophistication with American jazz and blues.
D. They focused exclusively on writing 'music of use' for communist political rallies.

Question 7 of 12

In Weimar-era Germany, the 'politics of style' deeply divided composers. What was the primary debate between these musical factions?

A. Whether to embrace American jazz or return to traditional German folk songs.
B. Whether to create accessible 'music of use' for the average person or pursue intellectual formalism like the twelve-tone method.
C. Whether to use acoustic instruments or the newly invented electronic synthesizers.
D. Whether music should be performed in grand concert halls or in underground bohemian cafes.

Question 8 of 12

What type of music was officially demanded by leaders in Stalinist Russia, putting contemporary composers in a difficult position?

A. Atonal and formalist music that pushed the boundaries of the avant-garde.
B. Clear, accessible 'people's music' that avoided self-serving complexity.
C. Lavish, Wagnerian operas that celebrated the tragic heroes of the past.
D. Experimental electronic music that showcased Soviet technological superiority.

Question 9 of 12

Why did the FBI open a file on American composer Aaron Copland during the Cold War era?

A. He was caught smuggling Soviet musical scores into the United States.
B. He refused to compose music for the federally funded New Deal arts programs.
C. He incorporated coded anti-American messages into his ballet 'Billy the Kid'.
D. He had ties to socialist movements, attended a peace conference with Shostakovich, and was homosexual.

Question 10 of 12

What musical philosophy was aggressively championed by Pierre Boulez in post-WWII Paris?

A. Total serialism, where all aspects of music like rhythm, pitch, and dynamics were plotted as coordinates on a grid.
B. Minimalism, which focused on droning chords, hypnotic patterns, and extreme simplicity.
C. A return to the romantic tonality of the 19th century to heal the emotional wounds of the war.
D. Aleatoric music, which relied entirely on rolling dice and random chance to determine the notes.

Question 11 of 12

How did John Cage's approach to the avant-garde fundamentally differ from the European serialism of composers like Boulez?

A. Cage insisted on using only traditional European orchestral instruments without any modern alterations.
B. Cage made the randomness of his compositions readily apparent using tools like the I Ching, deconstructing the elitism of composing.
C. Cage wrote highly structured, emotional symphonies designed to manipulate the audience's feelings.
D. Cage believed that music should only be used for political propaganda and direct social change.

Question 12 of 12

According to the text, how did the twentieth-century classical avant-garde influence later popular music?

A. Pop artists completely rejected avant-garde techniques, preferring strict four-chord structures.
B. Minimalist and electronic pioneers like Terry Riley and Karlheinz Stockhausen directly inspired artists like The Who and The Beatles.
C. Modern rock bands adopted the twelve-tone method as the standard for writing pop melodies.
D. Pop producers like Brian Eno stopped using electronic instruments to return to classical acoustic orchestrations.

The Rest Is Noise — Full Chapter Overview

1Recommendation
2In Wagner’s lingering shadow, modern classical music advanced boldly, propelled forward by the groundbreaking compositions and dramas of Richard Strauss.
3Mahler’s Sixth Symphony met the avant-garde unlike Strauss’s Salome did.
4In Vienna, Schoenberg emerged as a radical, dissonant, highly influential voice.
5Stravinsky soared to fame with The Firebird and The Rite of Spring.
6Post–World War I, Europe craved a new sound from Paris, arriving together with strong jazz influences and colors.
7In the United States, with classical music seen as European, composers embraced jazz or wrote for Broadway.
8In pre–World War II Berlin, musical style politics mirrored the era’s deep divisions throughout society at-large.
9Politics shaped music in Stalinist Russia and in an America uneasy about Communism.
10In FDR’s America, composers argued over what music should be made while a wave of European refugees rapidly arrived stateside.
11In postwar Germany, the Darmstadt School emerged, as the avant-garde became increasingly aggressive and brash.
12Minimalism sprang from the American West Coast and rooted itself in New York’s bohemian art scene.
13John Cage dismantled classical composition while minimalism presented a path forward.
14The influence of twentieth-century classical music still deeply permeates today’s eclectic popular music.

The Rest Is Noise Summary & Overview

The Rest Is Noise (2011) takes you on a musical journey through the twentieth century, from the game-changing work of Richard Strauss and Igor Stravinsky to the minimalist compositions of John Cale and Philip Glass. Author Alex Ross puts modern classical music into eye-opening perspective, chronicling the revolutionary changes and how they were influenced by the tumultuous events of the 1900s.

Who Should Listen to The Rest Is Noise?

Music buffs and fans of classical music
Anyone interested in the history of the twentieth century
Scholars of contemporary art

About the Author: Alex Ross

Alex Ross has been The New Yorker’s music critic for over 20 years. His writing has earned him multiple awards, as well as a Guggenheim Fellowship and a MacArthur Fellowship. The Rest Is Noise is his first book and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist.