Atonal music creates coherence from within without presupposing any preordained order.

Evidence

The new concept that appears … includes every kind of music that produces a connection between partial, relatively independent, complexes such that their character and relationship to one another appear compellingly, without similarities or variations in motif being generally detectable. At the same time, such similarities and variations are not rigorously disallowed, and are occasionally suggested in the discreetest possible way. The impulses and relations occurring in music of this sort do not presuppose any preordained or overriding order, not even a principle such as the thematic principle, but instead produce connectedness from within themselves. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 2211

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the structural principle of athematic music: connectedness produced from within, without any overarching thematic principle.
• XREF: Connects to Adorno’s account of how avant-garde form acquires coherence without traditional organizing principles — parallels the Frankfurt School’s broader argument that modern art must find immanent, non-hierarchical forms of order. — connects to: Reading and playing music can occur without genuine listening — Pauline Oliveros, Deep Listening, 46; Amplitude-modulated noises alone can carry recognizable melodies.; Improvised sound can emerge before conscious recognition of it — Pauline Oliveros, Deep Listening, 57 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Reading and playing music can occur without genuine listening #exemplifies (0.80) — Pauline Oliveros, Deep Listening, 46
• Amplitude-modulated noises alone can carry recognizable melodies. #corroborates (0.75)
• Improvised sound can emerge before conscious recognition of it #corroborates (0.75) — Pauline Oliveros, Deep Listening, 57