We can all agree that this music, Pierrot Lunaire, by Schoenberg is not particularly pleasant to listen to. Explain why he wrote such atonal music. What educational basis does it serve? Why do you think he wrote music that was so inaccessible to the public audience? Additionally, what value do you believe atonal music has (please think seriously about this) and why do you think musicians practice and perform music that has been rejected by the average listener?
Now– compare this to the opera Wozzeck. There is a clear reference of the music to the plot of the opera. There is also a clear connection to film noir that rises in the 1940s. Compare the Schoenberg to the Berg. Which do you prefer and why? (You may not like either work, or you may like both, but your academic opinion about these is important, so please consider these works!)
Conjecture as much as you wish, as I really value the listener’s opinion on this. I have played TONS of music over the years that I did not enjoy as a listener, but sometimes thoroughly enjoyed it as a performer, and your thoughts and ideas are important to me.