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Rating: 
Summary: penetrating and accessible
Review: Although I have not delved into an extensive study of books on this subject, Perle's "Serial Composition and Atonality" provides the reader with an easily approchable look into and often misunderstood art form. He covers the development of the Second Vienese Style from "free" atonality through more complex set structures using plenty of musical examples and "speaks" in a "normal" manner rather than trying to bog down the reader with a lot of complex technobabble (the subject is dry enough to begin with) that looses a person within the first sentence.
Rating:
Summary: Clear insight into a complex style.
Review: Although I have not delved into an extensive study of books on this subject, Perle's "Serial Composition and Atonality" provides the reader with an easily approchable look into and often misunderstood art form. He covers the development of the Second Vienese Style from "free" atonality through more complex set structures using plenty of musical examples and "speaks" in a "normal" manner rather than trying to bog down the reader with a lot of complex technobabble (the subject is dry enough to begin with) that looses a person within the first sentence.
Rating:
Summary: penetrating and accessible
Review: As far as I can tell, George Perle's books are the only ones that really come to grips with atonality. Others are either 1) simplistic glosses, 2) pieces of propaganda, or 3) attempts to impress or intimidate the reader (so as to entrench their authors in academia). Having heard one of George Perle's piano sonatas on the radio the other day and once a string quartet of his in concert, I can testify that he is himself a first-rate composer, and isn't it better to read the works of one who has an artistic stake in his subject?However, for a contrasting point of view, I also recommend--with reservations--"Milton Babbitt: Words about Music", edited by Stephen Dembski. Like George Perle, Milton Babbitt is a prominent serialist composer. As it happens, I'm not a particular fan of his music, and I think his analyses tend miss the substance of the music he analyzes, but he is an influential, articulate, and intelligent exponent worth hearing out.
Rating: 
Summary: A survey of pantonal music
Review: Perle's book is considered a classic in the theory world, and well so. It gives a thorough analysis of representative works of not only Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern, but also of Stravinsky, Bartok, and Babbitt. I was able to learn from it many of the tools of serial music and their application in specific pieces. The world of serial composition is actually much broader than I had hitherto realized. As a composer, I found this book helpful, but I would recommend Charles Wuorinen's SIMPLE COMPOSITION in addition. My main problem with this book is Perle's consistent use of the word "atonal." This furthers the myth that there is such thing as "atonal music." First of all, serialist work is more accurately "pantonal;" it encompasses all tonalities, and implies all tonalities. Furthermore, it is a misleading term, as there is no music that uses no tones (all sounds have some frequency, and therefore some tone). This edition is an improvement over an older one. The older edition, which I read, contained a section in the chapter on simultaneity which I thought was absolutely ridiculous. This edition omits the section.
Rating:
Summary: A survey of pantonal music
Review: Perle's book is considered a classic in the theory world, and well so. It gives a thorough analysis of representative works of not only Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern, but also of Stravinsky, Bartok, and Babbitt. I was able to learn from it many of the tools of serial music and their application in specific pieces. The world of serial composition is actually much broader than I had hitherto realized. As a composer, I found this book helpful, but I would recommend Charles Wuorinen's SIMPLE COMPOSITION in addition. My main problem with this book is Perle's consistent use of the word "atonal." This furthers the myth that there is such thing as "atonal music." First of all, serialist work is more accurately "pantonal;" it encompasses all tonalities, and implies all tonalities. Furthermore, it is a misleading term, as there is no music that uses no tones (all sounds have some frequency, and therefore some tone). This edition is an improvement over an older one. The older edition, which I read, contained a section in the chapter on simultaneity which I thought was absolutely ridiculous. This edition omits the section.
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